Standards Committee 29/9/2011 Part 9

The Chair, Brian Cummings moved to the item entitled Mystery Shopping. Malcolm Flanagan said that at the last meeting on the 4th July, committee members had asked for details on Mystery Shopping which had been done on the call centre, One Stop Shops and libraries. He said they don’t ask specific questions, but make up … Continue reading “Standards Committee 29/9/2011 Part 9”

The Chair, Brian Cummings moved to the item entitled Mystery Shopping.

Malcolm Flanagan said that at the last meeting on the 4th July, committee members had asked for details on Mystery Shopping which had been done on the call centre, One Stop Shops and libraries. He said they don’t ask specific questions, but make up a case. There were a number of criteria which included the quality of responses. It was good to see things from the customer’s perspective especially the physical aspects. He went into the grades given to each service area. There had been some environmental concerns, signage and study areas. These would be added to the work program. Using the option of their own staff was cheaper rather than a commercial organisation.

The Chair, Brian Cummings asked if there were any questions and then asked what the concerns about libraries were.

Malcolm replied by saying they were aiming for greater linkage between the One Stop Shops and libraries. The concerns were around disabled access and signage.

Deputy Mayor Cllr Gerry Ellis said they needed more detailed figures and that it was meaningless and hard to understand. How could they call the call centres excellent when there were complaints from his residents about hanging on? Who’s wrong?

Malcolm said the good or excellent was assessed when they got through.

Deputy Mayor Cllr Gerry Ellis said that waiting doesn’t affect the excellence.

Malcolm said they do keep records of the number of people who give up. This was reported to the Council Excellence Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

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