Category: Customer Services

If you click on the Customer Services category link on the right hand menu you will see that I regularly check the performance of our Customer Services organisation.

I was a bit anxious after my last visit to Customer Services on 18th January so I went back today to check up on them.

It took 6 seconds to get a ticket timed at 11.21am. I saw a parking agent two minutes later. There were less than 40 people waiting in the whole place and there were two cash windows open with a queue of one person waiting for a free window. There were six people working on parking so there were only two people queueing for this service.

All in all everything seemed to be as it should.

If you click on the Customer Services category link on the right hand menu you will see that I regularly check the performance of our Customer Services organisation.

I did one of my mystery shops late on Friday morning. I did my usual thing of checking into the queue for a parking permit at 11:53am. It only took a couple of seconds to get past the meeters and greeters who were cheerful and efficient. There was quite a buzz in the place as there were about 50 people in the various queues but numbers were being called out so quickly it all seemed pretty smooth. There was a queue of 3 for the cash office but there were three windows open so no problem there really. Everything was calm and clean and it looked like most people were having a reasonable experience.

The only problem was the queue for parking permits which stood at 14 when I arrived and it took until 12:31pm to be seen. 38 minutes. Way too long. I had a brief chat with the officer. There were only three people working on parking permits, one was training and one was on lunch.

Mondays and Friday are usually busier days and lunchtimes are best avoided for a short wait – pretty much the same advice you would give somoene going to the bank! It was clear from the length of queue when I arrived that there would be a long wait so I had the chance to bail out if I wanted to. I have taken this incident up with senior officers so I expect that this situation will not recur. We’ll see.

If you click on the Customer Services category link on the right hand menu you will see that I regularly check the performance of our Customer Services organisation.

I did one of my mystery shops this lunchtime. It was perhaps predictable that lunchtime at month end and week end would be a bit slow.

I arrived at 12.10pm. There were 6 or 7 people waiting for the meeters and greeters but it only took a minute to get past them so I got in the queue at 12.11pm. Inside there were about 50 people waiting which is quite busy compared to previous visits. There were two cash office windows open with two customers being served and no-one waiting. The perking permit queue (I always put myself in this queue) was 6 people but it went up to 10 whilst I was there.

I was seen at 12.34pm so had a wait of 23 minutes. Long but in no way hideous considering it was three times over a bad time to visit. There were 5 staff covering parking with two off for their lunch break.

On my way out I used the loo. It was totally acceptable. Certainly as good as or better than the typical work place loos I have ever used. Certainly better than most pub/restaurant loos.

If you want to avoid the queues try paying PCNs, buying permits and vouchers online here. I just ordered some vouchers. Very easy. I am afraid I have had cause to pay a few tickets on line recently. Again, very easy.

Update: My vouchers arrived Wednesday morning (4th November). Less than three working days. Not bad.

If you click on the Customer Services Category link on the right hand menu you will see that I regularly check the performance of our Customer Services organisation.

I popped into the Customer Services centre this morning after an early morning meeting. I was checked in at 9:15am and was seen at 9:23am. There were four people waiting in the whole centre, two of whom were waiting on the issue of parking permits. There was one cash window open serving one person so there was no queue there. Everything was calm and businesslike.

Chatting briefly to the agent I saw they recommended avoiding the start and end of weeks if you want a quick visit. Also avoid the the end of the month.

If you click on the Customer Services Category link on the right hand menu you will see that I regularly check the performance of our Customer Services organisation. You might call it mystery shopping.

Today I was shopping in earnest as I needed a new parking permit and some more CPZ vouchers. We had our car totalled in a hit and run whilst it was parked outside the house last month. It was written off as a result. I needed a new permit rather than a renewal.

I walked in the 4:36pm. There were only 8 people waiting in the whole facility and I was only the second person waiting for a permit. I was seen in 2 minutes. Having checked my paperwork, given me permit and vouchers and taken payment I was out in another 8 minutes. Total time in Customer Services 10 minutes.

Great service from a very nice lady. Thank you.

At 9am this morning, on the dot, I was outside Ealing Council’s Perceval House with about 20 others waiting to be let into the main customer services reception area. There were a few people ahead of us being dealt with by the meeters and greeters and it took 4 minutes before we joined the other early birds inside.

There were six people ahead of me in the parking permits queue when I looked. It took precisely 7 minutes to get from the meeters and greeters to an agent sitting at their desk.

There were two cash office windows open with one person being served and one person waiting.

Everything seemed clean and efficient and smiley from what I could see. Well done all.

In November 2007 when Ealing implemented the new recycling scheme they managed to omit to deliver a white plastic recycling bag to my house. Black mark to Ealing Council. I never got around to ordering one for the simple reason that I just kept on leaving my plastics out in carrier bags and they got collected in the same way they had been previously. No sweat.

I decided to order me one this week. I called 020 8825 6000 at 10:26am on Tuesday 10th March. After less than a minute I was talking to an operator who took my details and I was off the phone within two minutes. I was told a bag would arrive in around 3-5 working days.

After a couple of meetings at the Town Hall this morning I arrived home at around 12:20pm to find the bag by my front door – 3 working days from order. Good job.