During December 2009, tenants trained by the Society, posing as mystery shoppers, took part in an exercise to help improve the services we provide.
The shoppers contact staff in a variety of ways (by letter, telephone, in person at our offices any by email), and asked various questions relating to typical questions asked by tenants, such as repair reporting, paying rent, advice about anti-social behaviour, how to get a home and so on.
Each response was scored to check that our staff met the standards that we have set out. This is what the mystery shopping exercise revealed:
What we did well - the shoppers commented that our reception area felt much better visually as we have tidied it up and provided more up-to-date information. This felt more welcoming and cleaner. All our staff wore their name badges which improved their professional appearnace, and staff attitudes were very good - the shoppers were not rushed and found staff sympathetic and helpful.
What we could do better - occasionally the shoppers had to chase up our contractors to complete repairs, which caused confusion and dissapointment. Although we generally answer telephone calls within our target time, on one occasion we failed to answer the call. Similarly, although most visitors are seen within 5 minutes, on one occasion the shopper waited for 10 minutes.
What we need to change - there was no signage directing customers to our car park. Reference numbers are not routinely provided when a repair request is made, and timescales are not discussed.
From this information we will now talk to our staff and work towards improving our weaker areas, particularly regarding our repairs service.
We hope to carry out a similar service in the future, and if you would like to participate, please contact Les Woodin confidence on 01223 376995.
If you have any queries at all, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
