High levels of customer satisfaction are essential if Victorian Councils are to meet the requirements of the State Government’s Best Value Victoria model. According to John Huitfeldt, Director of Customer Service Benchmarking Australia, Local Government must know how well it is handling enquiries from ratepayers and the general public if it is to operate within the parameters of the model.
He said that quality for all services, responsiveness to community needs and continuous improvement are some of the principles of Best Value Victoria – qualities that can all be assessed through responsiveness to customer needs.
“Staff members dealing with telephone enquiries are the first and most critical point of contact for customers and Council administrators must be confident that these calls are being handled efficiently and effectively,” John Huitfeldt said.
Customer Service Benchmarking Australia was established five years ago to assess the performance of telephone operators in a wide range of business fields, including Local Government, utilities, airlines, banks, insurance companies and telcos.
Since its inception, CSBA has been using a mystery shopper process in contact with more than 100 companies and institutions throughout Australia. Data has been collated and analysed to develop best practice models and all contact made by the company is assessed against this model.
Councils in both Victoria and New South Wales are included in the survey and use the data to monitor and improve their service performance.
For further information contact John Huitfeldt on 0412 178 742.
* Copy supplied by Customer Service Benchmarking Australia.
