West Berkshire Customer Charter

West Berkshire is a great place to live, work and visit

Our Customer Charter sets out how, when using council services, we will interact with you and value your opinion to ensure we deliver great customer service, value for money and put you at the heart of everything we do.

This Charter is our commitment to you.

We promise to...

be polite, open and friendly
listen and respect your needs
treat all customers fairly and equally
be responsive, helpful and courteous
make sure our teams are trained to help with your needs
offer a variety of ways to access our services, including a quicker and easier online experience
deal with your personal data sensitively
use easy to understand language and provide other formats if needed

When you call our contact centre or switchboard on 01635 551111...

we will answer your calls within 2 minutes (please bear in mind this may not be possible during our busy periods, or for our more complex services but we will let you know where you are in the queue and offer you an alternative way to contact us or request a call back)
if you request a call back, when we return your call, you can expect our staff to state their first name, their department and their reason for calling
we aim to answer your query first time wherever possible
if we have to transfer your call, we will tell you who we are transferring you to and ensure they are available before connecting you
we may record your call for training and monitoring purposes
we will be available during our published opening hours
out of hours, your call will be transferred to our 'out of hours' service for emergencies

When you call a direct dial number or contact a service directly...

we will answer your call within 1 minute
if your call is unanswered for any reason, you will be able to leave a voicemail. We will respond to your voicemail messages before the close of business on the next working day, or if we are out of the office, within 24 hours of our return

When you visit us and use our face to face services we will...

welcome you within 1 minute
ensure our reception areas are comfortable, clean, tidy and accessible
provide helpful advice and information
keep your waiting time to a minimum whenever possible

When we visit you we will...

ensure that, where appropriate, it is by prior agreement at a time and place mutually agreeable to both parties
aim to arrive promptly
ensure that all staff visiting have an ID badge with the council logo name/team

When you contact us by email or letter we will...

provide an automatic acknowledgement to all generic email addresses
respond within the timescales set out in the response email
confirm how your query will be dealt with and by whom as well as any further steps
respond to your letters within 15 working days by post (dependent on mail providers)

When using our online services and website, we will...

ensure our systems are available 24/7
ensure the information provided is up to date, relevant and easily accessible
ensure we offer help and support to enable you to use our online services
consistently review our online services to improve your experience
encourage your feedback and provide a route for you to do so
provide you with council news and information and keep you updated with decisions and consultations

When you use our social media channels, we will...

provide an acknowledgement if you have made a service request
aim to respond within 24 hours when our premises are open (working hours)
provide you with useful information such as highway closures, or events

When using our social media channels, we ask you to...

treat our staff and officers with respect
behave responsibly with regard to offensive language, behaviour and comments

When dealing with complaints, comments and compliments, we will...

provide you with information about how to report a complaint or compliment
record your feedback and use it to improve our service provision
Respond to corporate complaints within 15 working days (Stage 1) and 25 working days (Stage 2)
Respond to social care complaints within 20 working days (Stage 1)
treat complaints confidentially and fairly
inform you how to take your complaint further if you are not satisfied
apologise when we are at fault and work to make things right
ensure that compliments and comments are passed onto the relevant recipient

For Freedom of Information requests, we will...

acknowledge receipt of the request
supply FOI responses within 20 working days, except in exceptional circumstances
reserve the right to decline the request if it will take an unreasonable amount of time to collate the information or it is not available

In return we ask that you...

treat our staff politely and with respect
inform us if you are unhappy with the service you receive and let us have feedback if we have done well
treat our premises with respect so that everyone can enjoy them
tell us if you need information in a different format or language
make use of our online portal wherever you can to conduct transactions and seek advice
Keep us up to date about changes in your circumstance or household