Overall satisfaction with our service
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As in previous surveys, the large majority of enquirers and complainants are satisfied with the service they receive, while the majority of review customers feel dissatisfied.
Overall, 71 per cent of enquirers and 84 per cent of complainants said they were fairly satisfied or very satisfied with our customer service. This compares to enquirers’ satisfaction of 70 per cent and complainants’ satisfaction of 88 per cent in 2010-11. Good information and advice, good communication, and being kept informed, as well as interested and sympathetic staff, are the main reasons for customers being fairly satisfied with the service received.
As can be expected, our review customers (those who have asked for a review of the decision made about their case, or who have complained about us) were more critical about their experience with the Ombudsman: only a third (33 per cent) said that they were satisfied or very satisfied with our service. However, this has to be seen in the context that, on average, only around 25 per cent of enquirers and 12 per cent of complainants go to the review stage. This is also an improvement of 7 per cent compared to review customer satisfaction of 26 per cent in 2010-11.
The improvement can be linked to our new, more customer-focused approach to our communications with this group. Where possible and appropriate, we initially deal with review customers by telephone, before following this up in writing. We believe that this new approach allows for a more personal service and enables our customers to get their views and wishes across more easily.
However, the research results make clear that there remains room for further improvement: the main reasons why review customers continue to be dissatisfied with our service is that they lack confidence in our ability to handle the review of their complaint. They are concerned that their complaint was not investigated properly, that we did not take all the evidence into account and that our communications were poor.
‘At each stage they were helpful, nice people, didn’t hurry me or fob me off and spoke to me properly.’
(Enquirer)
‘Everything was very professional, they kept me updated, I was never left in the dark, they kept me in touch by phone. It’s a very professional organisation.’
(Complainant)
‘I expected a more professional service; I expected to have greater communication. They were ineffective.’
(Review customer)
Overall satisfaction with customer service May to October 2011*
(Figures for the period 2010-11 are in italics.)
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*Please note that the figures have been rounded to the nearest decimal place and, in some cases, may not add up to 100 per cent. This also means that ‘very satisfied’ and ‘fairly satisfied’ may not add up to overall satisfaction quoted elsewhere in the text.
