Parking Services seem to have been overlooked in 'the whole Council approach to customers'

Improving the customer's experience of Parking Services

Siobhan Coughlan, a Principal Consultant for IDeA, has a wide range of experience in local government and has managed a number of varied projects, addresses these issues on the IDeA website. Here are some highlights:

·               Traditionally, the concept of good customer service has been something for the private sector to worry about. But the old notion of taxpayers being somehow different from business customers is changing. 

·               In recent years, the Government has introduced legislation, guidance and inspection standards based on ensuring public sector users receive a good customer experience. The 1999 white paper, ‘Modernising government’ committed the public sector to meeting the “needs of citizens, not the convenience of service providers”.

·               Last year, customer focus became an integral part of the revised Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA). This will be followed by the forthcoming Treasury-commissioned Varney Review, which is based around improving the customer experience. “In the last seven or eight years we have seen a significant shift in attitude within the public sector, especially in local government which has been leading the way. These initiatives have helped up the ante. Many people saw customer services as something for the private sector, but that is no longer the case.”

Defining 'customer service'

Siobhan says: “The definition depends on who you are speaking to. In my view, we should be thinking about a whole council approach to customers. It is not purely the responsibility of those officers working on the front line. First of all, it should be everyone the council deals with from the taxpayer to the parents of children in local schools.

“This, of course, includes a lot of people. So it is important to work out who they are and what services they need to use. It is not about a hierarchy, but grouping people and knowing what they want and designing services to meet these needs.

“For many residents, all they are after is a convenient way to pay their council tax and report things such as fly-tipping or an abandoned car. That can be easily done via the telephone, the internet or e-mail.

“However, for others, their needs are more complex. For someone who lives in social housing and is claiming a range of benefits, you may need to deal with them face-to-face. There may be rent to sort out, council tax to pay, perhaps subsidising school meals and uniforms. It is a different relationship.”

However, Siobhan believes councils should not stop there. “When talking about customer service, we should also be looking at how we work with, and deliver services to, voluntary organisations, businesses and government departments. I would even go so far as to say fellow officers and councillors. It is only by working closely with these partners that we will properly be able to join up services and improve the experience of customers.”

Source: http://www.idea-knowledge.gov.uk

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