31 July 2001

Hutt City Council has published a brochure, entitled 'Sorting it out' to help people better understand the procedure followed by Council officers when dealing with a complaint.

"We want to be proactive in putting in place systems to ensure complaints are dealt with in a timely manner and in a way that reassures people making complaints that we take these matters seriously," said Stephen McArthur, General Manager Customer Services.

"Customers told us, through surveys and focus groups that they were not sure about what to do if they were not satisfied with our service. This brochure is a response to that need."

The new process is that complaints are recorded and tracked through Council's computer system, then forwarded to a council officer for action. An acknowledgement letter is then sent, setting out what action, if any, will be taken.

If the complainant is not satisfied, they can then ask that a senior manager review the complaint.

If the complainant is still not satisfied they can request that a Complaints Review Team, which will include two Group Managers, review the issue.

The customer call centre received over 7000 requests for service over the 2000/01 year, up from 4295 for the previous year. Complaints will now be recorded separately from requests for service, so that we can better track our performance.

The annual Communitrak NRB survey (2001) showed that 80 per cent of all residents were satisfied with the way rates are spent on services and facilities provided by Council.

Brochures are available from Hutt City Council Libraries, service centres , the customer service centre at 30 Laings Road and on the Council's website at www.huttcity.govt.nz

ENDS

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