Release Date:  02-May-2008

Callers to the city council's Customer Service Centre are benefiting from an innovative new call back facility which allows them to avoid the frustration of waiting on the phone in a queue.

The Customer Service Centre deals with a range of enquiries about council services, including housing, council tax benefits, recycling, and street lighting, and takes an incredible 400,000 calls a year.

With so many calls being made to the centre it's no surprise that sometimes lines get busy and callers find themselves in a queue.

If all customer advisors are busy the system gives the caller the choice to wait on the line in a queue or be called back. Those callers who opt to be phoned back will be contacted by a customer advisor when the caller's place in the queue is reached.

The system, which is free of charge, also gives callers the opportunity to be called back at another day or time convenient for them.

The system has proved a hit with callers - 92% of whom are called back within three minutes.  Mrs Elvins of Bedminster Down contacted the service centre with an enquiry about refuse and recycling. She said: “The system was easy to use and I was called back very quickly.”

Ms Burrows of Eastville called the service centre to order a black box for her recycling. “The call back system was really easy to use and I would use it again”, she said.

Councillor John Bees, Executive Member for Support Services, said: “The best thing about this system is that it gives you a choice - not just whether you want to be called back but when.

“The council is working hard to improve the experience residents from our city receive when they contact the council and this call back system is making a real difference to the level of service we provide.”

The Customer Service Centre is part of Access to Bristol (A2B), who provide friendly efficient access to council services.  The call back system is the brainchild of the A2B team and is part of their work to make it easier for residents to access the authority's key services.

Author:   Matt Smith, 0117 922 3332

For all media enquiries relating to this press release, please contact Corporate Communications on 0117 922 2650.

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