Waverley Council in New South Wales prides itself on providing exceptional service to the community with extended trading hours at a state-of-the-art customer service facility.
Located in the business hub of Bondi Junction, less than six kilometres from the centre of Sydney, the Waverley Council Customer Service Centre (CSC) provides residents, local businesses and visitors with access to council services and information, giving them the opportunity to interact with council in person, online or on the phone.
Opened in 2007, the CSC is staffed by over 20 highly trained employees ensuring a timely response to the community.
The Centre is only one of a handful of Council facilities in Sydney offering extended trading hours.
Mayor of Waverley, Sally Betts, said keeping our customers happy is a priority.
“The CSC is open every Thursday to 7pm in line with late night shopping.
“We want to provide the best service possible to our ratepayers and residents.
“We realise people have busy lives working and looking after their families, so we have tried to accommodate the needs of everyone.”
In addition, following a Customer Experience Survey conducted in late 2015, a concierge service was implemented in April 2016, to reduce wait times during busy periods.
A staff member assists those waiting to be served, checking their documents and directing them to the public computer if they need to obtain or amend information.
The concierge can also expedite the payment of rates by assisting the customer in using a self-serve EFTPOS tablet which allows them to scan their rates notice and swipe their payment card to obtain a receipt.
The Centre serves approximately 4500 visitors per month with an average wait time of three minutes.
The most popular enquiry is parking with over 800 Residential Permits and 750 Beach Permits being processed each month.
The planning counter serves over 800 customers with planning enquiries and lodges an average of 130 Development Applications each month.
The first resolution call centre handles approximately 6500 calls per month with less than 15 per cent of calls transferred to other areas.
Over 2000 requests for service are logged in the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System each month with 80 per cent of requests being logged by Customer Service staff speaking with customers over the telephone.
Mayor Betts said Council is always looking at new ways to improve the customer experience.
“I am very proud of the service we provide our ratepayers. There are many options for them to have contact with us and we regularly receive positive feedback about the centre.
“The staff at the centre do an exceptional job in helping the community and I’m pleased we offer such a diverse service.”
Council Customer Service Centre has over 20 staff members and is open for extended trading hours.
