Award-Winning Customer Service from NPDC

The customer service provided by New Plymouth District Council has been recognised with three national awards.

The Association of Local Government Information Managers (ALGIM) has given NPDC awards for Customer Service Team of the Year, Team Leader of the Year and Manager of the Year.

“The awards are a great endorsement of a lot of hard work and changes that have been implemented during the last year,” says Manager Customer and Regulatory Services Simon Pickford.

The most significant change was establishing case managers for customers with complex requests, such as for those opening a café who require building and resource consents as well as food and liquor licences.

“In many councils the front of house people are receptionists or cashiers, but at New Plymouth District Council they are the customer’s liaison with all other parts of the business,” says Mr Pickford.

“The front counter staff have really stepped up and become experts across all Council services.”

Team Leader Customer Support Sharon Bruce won Customer Service Team Leader of the Year for the proactive way she led the variety of changes in NPDC’s front counter services.

Manager Customer Support Mary-Anne Priest won Customer Service Manager of the Year for overseeing the installation of new telephone technology and broadening the way the Council responds to customer queries, such as through social media.

A recent customer satisfaction survey showed a 97 per cent satisfaction rate from customers who had contacted the Council for regulatory information during the 2011/12 year. 

The ALGIM Customer Service Awards 2012 are open to all local government organisations, and recognise best-practice customer service with a focus on innovation.