Date: 09/01/2009
For the fourth year running, High Peak Borough Council has come top in a mystery shopping exercise that measured how well local government in Derbyshire responds to customers.
The exercise, carried out by Mystery Shoppers Ltd, assessed the responses to both telephone calls and emails. A variety of measures was used including the speed, content and style of responses and first time success rate.
The exercise took place in August and September 2008, with 50 calls made and 25 emails sent to High Peak Borough Council. Although the Customer Services team handled most of the contact, a few calls and email messages were transferred to other staff for more detailed information and action.
In the overall average score for telephone calls for the county, High Peak was top with 95%. North East Derbyshire District Council was second with 93%. The lowest score was 84%.
High Peak came top in the overall score for emails with 87%. The Peak District National Park Authority was second with 82%. The lowest score was 62%.
The overall scores for calls and emails together confirmed a 91% rating for High Peak. Derbyshire County Council were second - scoring 83%. The lowest score was 70%.
Emily Thrane, Deputy Leader and Executive Councillor for Corporate Services, said: "One of our aims is to be seen as a 'customer first' organisation. The results of the mystery shopping exercise confirm that we are responding positively to our customers. We will be looking to build on our strengths and make improvements, where necessary."