Conservative Controlled Council is making it Easier for its Customers to Get in Touch

Conservative Controlled Tamworth Borough Council is asking its customers how they contact the authority, how their needs are changing and what can be done to make customer service even better.

To find out more about the way customers and potential customers communicate, the authority will be sending out a short survey, along with the annual Council Tax bill, to each of the borough’s 32,000 households.

Every home in Tamworth will receive a card inviting them to go online and complete the short survey, which asks questions about how customers currently contact the council, how they would prefer to make contact and what methods they would use if they were available.

Everyone who completes the survey will be entered into a prize draw and could be in with the chance of winning a TV.

The survey is part of a long-term project to change and improve the way that Tamworth Borough Council delivers its services, to meet the changing needs of its customers. A new customer services strategy has been written which sets out a three-year plan for how the authority aims to develop and shape customer services.

During the next 12 months, customers will be given much more choice about how they contact the council through new channels; including new and improved online access, web chat facilities, check-in by mobile phone and self-serve at Marmion House reception.

Customers will soon be able to report issues and contact Tamworth Borough Council by:

• A new mobile app which will allow residents to complete Council Tax processes, report missed bin collections and make payments
• An improved website allowing customers to interact with the council without having to come into Marmion House or ring in. If help is needed to navigate around the site, then it will be available via a new web chat service

In the near future, there will also be changes made to the service customers receive when they come into Marmion House, with customers able to make and manage their appointments through the website.

The changes to the way customer services are delivered will have a number of benefits to customers, including a more consistent service, which is much more convenient for customers to use.

Cllr Robert Pritchard, Tamworth Borough Council Deputy Leader, said, “The way that our customers want to communicate with us and access our services is changing, and we need to be able to meet those changing needs.

“This project is a long-term plan which will see a number of digital improvements developed and rolled out over the next three years.

“We want our customers to be at the heart of all we do, and that is why we are asking them to get involved with us at this early stage by telling us how they want to communicate with us. I would like to see as many people as possible taking part in the survey and having a say in how we serve you, now and in the future.”