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5 minute read
Empowering customers and colleagues through our in-house repairs
Matt Roberts, PR and media advisor
We have been looking at the performance of our repairs and maintenance service, including your experience as a customer. Some customers are pleased with how our repairs are delivered in certain parts of the country, but that was not the case in others.
We looked at why those customers were not having a good experience and made some changes. These changes have mainly been rolled out in the North East and parts of the South.
You may know that some of our repair jobs are delivered by contractors (another business that completes repairs for us). Instead, we have brought the team in-house. We now have more control over the reliability and quality of our service.
James Cox is working on improving our repairs and maintenance service. He explains why bringing the repairs team in-house benefits customers and colleagues.
“One of the main differences is forming closer relationships with colleagues, especially those who work in our customer service centre.
“In the past, the customer service centre struggled to contact contractors. This made it difficult to update customers but now, colleagues can communicate directly. And the level of information customers get from us has improved.
But we haven't stopped there. We meet with the customer service team monthly to review how we work and discuss feedback.
Working with an in-house team has meant we are all working to the same values.
James | Customer service and planning manager
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“We now have more freedom. We can adapt work to suit the needs of our customers.” This gives us more time to focus on the customer.
“We also understand that customers have busy lives, and we want to provide an appointment day and time that suits them. So customers can now report repairs and book an appointment there and then. Before, customers were told they had to wait up to 12 weeks to book an appointment.
Getting it all in place and working well has been challenging, but it’s been worth it.
“We’ve had great feedback from customers. They said the communication has been excellent. When the appointment is in the system, they get a text when it’s booked and when we’re on our way. It’s great for customers because they don’t have to wait all day. The change has been well received.
“We are also seeing more compliments on the quality of the work and fewer issues, especially as we have more control to do follow up work if a job isn’t finished.
“Before, customers found communication to be slow. They had to call us to get the most up-to-date information. Now, we work with our scheduling team, they raise repair jobs and the customer service team to communicate information to customers a lot quicker. This also reduces call wait times for other customers and reassures customers that their repair is in hand.
“That’s not to say that our contractors are not doing some brilliant work elsewhere in the country. I know they are. But, we have found an approach that works for us, particularly for customers."
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We often have vacancies for repairs and maintenance roles. Take a look to see if we have anything for you.