At GCH we strive to provide our Customers with good quality, professional customer service. We will treat you with respect and respond to your enquiries in a timely manner. In return we ask that you are respectful of others, provide us with constructive feedback and engage with us to help us continually improve our services.
When you call us, we will:
- Aim to answer your call within 30 seconds.
- Verify the caller through a security check before giving out any sensitive data/personal information.
- Our staff will confirm you are through to Gloucester City Homes and provide you with their name.
- Provide sufficient time for all your queries to be addressed.
- Offer to call you back if we need to put you on hold.
- Return your voice-mail message as soon as we can and within 1 working day.
- Resolve at least 90% of enquiries with an appropriate point of contact.
- Ask if you were happy with the service provided.
- Provide clear and helpful signposting to other organisations if we can’t help.
When we call you, we will:
- Check in advance whether any additional support or adjustments are required e.g. a language interpreter or BT Type Talk etc.
- Give our name, job title and reason for contacting you.
- Check it is convenient for you to talk and offer to call back if appropriate.
- Use Plain English or a language or format you need.
- If your voicemail answers, we will leave our name and return number.
When we visit your home, we will:
- Agree on an appointment time with you in advance and check if any additional support or adjustments are required e.g. a language interpreter, signer, support worker, family advocate, carer or female officer in attendance.
- Show you our identity card and encourage you to check that it is valid if you are not sure.
- Explain what we have come to do.
- Be polite and professional.
- Leave a calling card with the employee’s name, contact number and reason for a visit if you are not at home.
- Respect your home environment including complying with any cultural or religious considerations during our visit as appropriate.
When you visit our office, we will:
- Provide a fully accessible, welcoming and comfortable waiting area
- Provide friendly, professional and competent staff to deal with your enquiry.
- See you on time for your pre-arranged appointment. Please note, we offer an appointment-only service for our Customer Hub
- Offer to see you in a private area if your enquiry is confidential.
- Display our normal office opening hours outside and information on how to contact us including in an out-of-hours emergency.
- Advertise any forthcoming change to our usual opening hours.
When you write to us, we will:
- Respond to emails, texts and social media messages within 1 working day.
- Always ensure our Outlook Out of Office reply contains alternative contact details for emergencies.
- Respond by post within 5 working days or if we can’t, we will let you know who is dealing with your request and when you can expect a reply.
If you have a complaint, we will:
- Provide a number of ways for you to make contact with us.
- Take your complaint seriously and deal with it impartially and empathetically.
- Involve you in the investigation and inform you of the outcome.
- Respond to your complaint within clearly identified time scales.
- Clearly state if your complaint is upheld or not upheld and why.
- Learn from our mistakes and put things right.
- Monitor trends, and patterns and share lessons learnt to avoid repeat errors.
In return, we ask that customers:
- Are always polite and patient, especially at very busy times.
- Provide and share information relevant to your enquiry.
- Attend appointments on time, to avoid delaying work for other customers.
- Tell us if you cannot make an appointment ASAP.
- Tell us if you have a problem with your home or neighbourhood.
- Provide feedback on services received.
We thank you for your help and cooperation in applying our General Service Standards