This a copy of the City Council’s newly revised customer service standards to be implemented in January. It does not appear to match the reports we got from residents at our last Ward Focus meeting about the time they have wasted in making phone calls to the Council. We were recently advised that there is no menu option for Parks and it was suggested to us that callers wanting to contact Parks should hang on for 2 complete cycles of menu option repetitions and wait for a person to pick up.

OXFORD CITY COUNCIL GENERAL CUSTOMER SERVICE STANDARDS

FOR PUBLICATION

E-mails, Requests made via the Council’s Website & Written Correspondence

• We will aim to acknowledge each customer contact received within 1 working day, either giving an answer in full or setting an expectation of what will happen next.
• We will aim to provide a substantive reply within 5 working days.
• If English is not your preferred language, we will provide a translation service for you on demand.
• We will provide fully accessibility within the website to enable all customers to read or hear its content.

Face to face

• We will offer a suitable appointment with an appropriate member of staff within 5 days of your request.
• We aim to see 90% of customers within 15 minutes of their appointment time
• We will ensure that your privacy is respected, and if appropriate provide you with a private interview room
• If English is not your preferred language, we will provide a translation service for you on demand.  In addition, we can also provide a British Sign Language translator subject to availability.

Telephone

• When you telephone us we will aim to answer your call within 20 seconds unless you choose for us to call you back.
• If English is not your preferred language, we will provide a translation service for you on demand.

Comments, complaints and compliments

• When you make a comment, complaint or compliment to us, we will acknowledge this within 3 working days
• We will provide you with a full response within 10 working days and if this is not possible, we will contact you again to let you know when you can expect to hear from us

Our staff

• Will always be polite and treat you with respect
• Will avoid using jargon so that you are clear about the information that has been given to you
• Will encourage you to give us feedback on our services so we can improve

In return we expect our customers to treat us with respect and courtesy.