You said...we did

Learning from your complaints, comments and compliments

We will not always get it right and we need you to tell us where things go wrong so that we can improve for the future. When you make a complaint, comment or a compliment, we want to learn from that experience.

Read our reports summarising compliments and complaints received each month.

Here are some of the ways that we have improved our services by listening to you.

Customer requested bench but was not contacted.	New seat supply procedure has been set up.
Customer unhappy with receiving council tax bills and recovery notices for a property that he is not the occupier of.	Procedures revised to ensure this type of error does not happen again.
Customer was unable to get through on telephone number 577115 to renew his green waste subscription all day. Tried from 10am to 5pm.	Next year green waste leaflets will go out at a different time of year so as not to clash with council tax billing letters.
Poor parking signage at Turner Contemporary.	Looking at additional signs on site.
No information on New Years' fireworks.	Over Christmas period when offices are shut, need to think about still having ability to update website so that information on cancellations ‎ etc is up to date‎.‎
Side waste not collected.	More advertising needed re: strike days.
Left a message but no call back.	We will be investigating the message system on the phones .
Correspondence received has already been opened or has not been properly sealed by mailcentre before despatch.	We have revisited the procedures for the manual checking of post with staff and have made arrangements for an engineer to check the machinery.
Continuing problems with seagull proof bags.	General letter required informing residents of the storage and use of seagull bags.
Overflowing dog waste bins in Dane Park over a whole weekend.	Look at Parks round with view to varying start location.
Customer taken offence at tone of Council Tax Final Notice.	Letter to be revised.
No record of previous call to customer services to rearrange direct debit for council tax and extend payment date, resulting in a reminder.	Learning from this customer to be fed into future staff training
State of Chalet at Viking Bay when customer took possession, toilet needs updating and particularly about the breakdown of the cliff lift.	TLF have acknowledged that the service received was not as expected and the matter is being reviewed. Procedural changes have taken place regarding out call out numbers for the lift contractor.
Customer wishes to complain about customer service received whilst trying to obtain a refund	We are aware that a number of other local Councils do their refunds in a different way. We are getting further legal advice and working with these Councils to see if we could make our refund process simpler - but still secure and compliant with anti-money laundering laws. We will issue fresh staff procedures to ensure that everyone is clear about the refund process and ensure there are clear enough markers to show why a refund may need to be made via a method other than BACS, so that we can better inform our customers. We will look at how many authorised staff we have for this process, to ensure we have the cover we need to stop absences affecting service standards. It is my experience that once we have addressed the processes and once the correct flow of information is available to our teams, the experience and expectations of customers will be much better met, in terms of competency, ability and attitude.
Complaint regarding process of Financial Declaration which resulted in huge overpayment for customer's Mother. Suggestion to implement regular savings updates.	This complaint has highlighted a problem area. We will consider how we can best identify cases where capital changes may have a significant impact on benefit levels so that we may ensure benefit is properly determined, avoiding unnecessary overpayments and upset.
Slipway barrier lock change	Look at procedure for notifying users when locks are changed
Heating charges	Ensure clear information is provided to tenants on any heating charge increases at the outset
Damp and condensation in property	Changes to procedure. Any issues noted in specialist reports should be highlighted and sent to the tenant along with a covering letter drawing their attention to them
Rechargeable works order charges	Review the RWO policy to ensure that decisions are made on balance of probabilities and that we do not charge for minor damage
Style of bins do not deter seagulls	New bins ordered to replace them
Excessive waiting time when calling the call centre during peak times	Resources to be used more effectively during peak periods
Unable to contact the Crematorium by phone	A new phone system has been installed
Signage directions to Dreamland still exists	The few remaining signs in Margate will be addressed
Fairground erected in front of house without prior notice	Notices will be issued prior to siting of fairgrounds
Could not contact TDC staff at the Crematorium on the weekend	Emergency TDC out of office number to be made available on site
Long wait for contact from the Housing team	A process has been put in place whereby a letter will be sent to advise tenants if we are unable to help and are closing their case.
Refuse not collected over the Christmas period	Collections over the Christmas period will take place 2010/11.
Out of date information on Planning Applications and Decisions	Area teams reminded of the correct procedures for dealing with withdrawn applications.
Green waste collection missed	Highlighted on collection round sheets to avoid recurrence.
Model aircraft used in Dane Park are dangerous	Signs put up banning their use and Community Wardens informed to enforce this.
Dogs seen on beaches during summer season	Wardens to make more frequent visits to specific beaches.
Raw sewage reported	Drainage survey carried out.
Disabled resident moved to a more appropriate council property but floors were uneven	Re-let standards to be revised.
Standardised paragraphs in correspondence in relation to CPO were inappropriate in some cases	Standardised paragraphs are under review and revised letters will be relaunched in November 2010.
Litter and glass left on on the beach at Palm Bay	An anti-litter campaign, highlighting the joint responsibility that the public and the council have to keep Thanet clean, was created featuring the 7 year old girl who wrote the complaint letter as well as TDC staff. The 'Lily Loves' Campaign includes posters, vehicle livery and free waste bags available on request from Bay Inspectors' offices, local cafes, shops and Margate's Visitor Information Centre.
Seagulls tearing open black sacks of rubbish left out on collection day	Many properties in Thanet cannot have wheelie bins due to their location and so a trial of seagull proof bags is currently in progress in some of these areas.
Sending out Council Tax bills and letters costs money - isn't it wasteful?	We are required by law to send bills every time we make a change to your Council Tax account - so we are unable to avoid this. However, all our bills are now printed direct onto plain paper, so we don't have to order and hold large stocks of pre-printed stationery. This saves a lot of money and resources. During 2010 we will also be introducing e-billing - where we can send bills by e-mail to those customers who prefer this option.
Better publication of the Discretionary Housing Payments scheme	Awareness campaign run, signposted from Council's website. 8.5% increase in payments made.
A number of local Estate Agents were concerned about how best to help their tenants who need to claim Housing Benefit. The rules are complex and it was easy for misunderstandings to lead to financial hardship.	We have helped organise forums and meetings where local Agents can get together and discuss issues. We have offered specialist training to agents' staff to improve efficiency and understanding. This has been very well received.
Maggots in wheeled bins	Leaflet produced and circulated in the next mailshot to customers – advising how to avoid maggots in wheeled bins
Wheeled bins not being delivered back to relevant houses once emptied and owners unable to identify their bins as they all look the same	Stickers put on all bins for residents to write their house number on
Parking in front of re-cycling area of block of flats	'No parking' signs installed
PC and telephone problems at the Broadstairs office	Quarterly checks introduced to monitor service provision
Planning applications - automatic consultation letters not produced for neighbouring properties	In 2008, the Council is moving into electronic service delivery, which will include the production of an automatic notification letter to all residents living adjacent to a proposed development site
Comprehensive site notes need to be taken to support assessment of planning applications	A training session, with all Planning Officers from the Planning Applications Team in attendance, took place in January 2008
Benefit’s written correspondence was hard to understand	All standard letters were reviewed and made easier to understand
Customers missing their ‘slot’ at the Gateway as their number is not verbally called	Additional screens have been ordered for the Gateway - customer needs will be assessed at Greeter point and any additional assistance identified at that stage
Security fencing on allotments not aesthetically pleasing	As a result of the learning outcome, the next time that Allotment Service send out information/notifications to allotment holders, they will provide an illustration of the proposed fencing. Also, to try and make the fencing more aesthetically pleasing, the Allotment Service will look to providing the fencing in a green painted finish
Resident unaware of Christmas collection schedule	Information will be sent out earlier and in a variety of formats
Delay in delivering green bins	Additional delivery crew added to clear the back log
Litter	Targeted street cleansing and increased frequency
Un-franked mail	Franking machinery checked and procedures for manual preparation and handling of outgoing mail revisited with staff, to mitigate future risk
Revenues - error with Direct Debit Instruction being punched into system	A new system will be implemented by 30.06.08 to avoid any Officer errors when putting Direct Debit details onto an account. The system will identify immediately any errors made (currently we have to wait for the Banks to identify this), ensuring customers have no delay in their instalments being collected
Revenues - failure to notify customer that their Direct Debit had been returned by the Bank unpaid	A new system will be implemented by 30.06.08 that will allow letters to be automatically sent to customers where their Direct Debit is returned unpaid
Revenues - Delay in processing information received and errors made when processing	Emphasis is being placed on corporate target for correspondence being processed within 10 days. We have introduced a dedicated trainer who is also responsible for undertaking quality checking. Therefore complaints identified as officer error will be significantly reduced and errors will be communicated to the member of staff concerned immediately. Where required, further training will be provided
Notices of proposed works to trees not positioned	Tree Officer informed it is essential that site notices should be placed as close to the location of the tree as possible in full public view. On occasions two or even three notices may be required and this must be a judgement made on site with the balance between being close to the tree and the notice being publicly accessible. Tree Officer should err on the side of caution and if he has any doubts to seek a second opinion from Line Manager or Section Head
Ongoing reviews needed of DDA compliant buildings	Now TDC is 100% DDA compliant, officers will re-survey buildings to see if additional improvements can be made

Send this page to:

Email Favourites

Print PDF

Twitter Facebook MySpace

Delicious Stumble Digg

More Destinations...