E-mail:

Benefits@thanet.gov.uk

Phone:

from 9am to 5.30pm.  If your family name begins:

A-Don call (01843) 577554

Doo-Ker call
(01843) 577555

Kes-Ric call
(01843) 577556

Rid-Z call (01843) 577551

Fax: 01843 577532

or Visit our offices

Customer satisfaction survey results

Between April and October, we phoned 298 Housing Benefits and Council Tax Benefits customers and asked them to give their views on the service offered by our Benefits Team. Of those, 114 agreed to share their views. 106 said that they were either 'satisfied' or 'very satisfied' with the service they received - this is 93%.

Overall:

• 36 customers commented on their face-to-face contact with the service, and 32 were either 'satisfied' or 'very satisfied' with the service they received - this is 89%

• 27 customers commented on their telephone contact with the service, and 26 were either 'satisfied' or 'very satisfied' with the service they received - this is 96%

• 51 customers commented on their written contact with the service, and 48 were either 'satisfied' or 'very satisfied' with the service they received - this is 94%

The customers were asked about the service they received the last time they had any contact with our Benefits Team. This could have been in person, in writing, or a telephone call. We also asked them for ideas about how the service could be improved.

Comments consisted of both compliments and ideas for improvement. All were reviewed and where possible, changes made to the way our service is offered. Below is a selection of the comments made where it has been possible to make changes to the way our Benefits Team works.

1. One customer’s benefit had been suspended, and although we sent a letter to the customer, they would have preferred to have been contacted by telephone:
   We will now ensure that where a customer’s phone number is known, we will try to contact them during the information request period, before the claim is suspended. We will still continue to send letters.
   
   
2. One customer commented on the layout of our notification letters and requested better signposting within the letters
   We developed a new style of notification letter that was passed to community groups for their views. As a result, a new letter was rolled out in September 2008. Its clarity will be reviewed again by the community groups in the next 2 months to ensure that any remaining issues can be resolved.
   
   
3. One customer commented about the wording of an information request letter
   The information request letters are currently being reviewed to make sure they meet Plain English principles.
   
   
4. Some customers wanted the telephone waiting time to be reduced.
   Recent recruitment has seen call waiting time reduce to normal. The current average waiting time is 36 seconds (June 08) – in January it was 3 minutes 27 seconds.
   
   
5. Some customers wanted the waiting times at Thanet’s Gateway Plus to be reduced.
   Recent recruitment has seen customers’ average waiting time reduce by 19%. The current average waiting time is 15 minutes (June 08) – in January it was 45 minutes.
   
   
6. Some customers commented on the amount of paperwork they have to fill in.
   

   We are installing an electronic benefits claim form on the internet. It is designed only to ask questions relevant to that person's circumstances, which will mean fewer questions to answer. This is expected to be available in January 2009.