In August, we held a roundtable event about our new repairs strategy and how customers felt we could improve the current service. We wanted to hear what is most important to you.
Here is what you said:
What is the customer's perception of the repairs journey?
Our customers voted for their main areas of concern in the repairs customer journey. The results showed that the diagnosis and follow up work had the most negative sentiment. There was a general feeling that communication between these two stages in the customer journey needs improvement. The most positive feedback was around the completion of works. Customers highlighted that they didn’t mind waiting for repairs to be completed to a good standard as long as they were kept in the loop.
Our response...
We are currently in the final stages of writing our new in-house repairs strategy. The feedback from the roundtable event has been considered and incorporated within this 3 year strategy. This includes, reviewing the repairs communication process, improving the fault diagnosis stage and increasing resource.
What did we used to do that we don't anymore?
Customers suggested they wanted us to offer decorating services as this is something we previously offered. There was also requests for more flexible appointments so that people didn't have to take time out of work to be home for repairs.
Our response...
- Within the new strategy there is a consideration to offer appointment hours outside of what we currently offer. We will be doing a customer consultation about this soon to determine what timings the customers would prefer.
- Offering decorating services has been put in our "parking lot" as a great idea to consider moving forward.
Contractors vs. In house repairs
When asked about our contractors compared to our in-house repairs service, there was a general feeling that in-house repairs was preferable. Customers raised concerns about the inconsistency of communication and quality between the two services. Ensuring customers stay updated (preferably over the phone) as well as having a high standard of workmanship remained important throughout the discussions. There was also interest in hiring multiskilled operatives to reduce the need for multiple visits.
Our response...
- We are actively recruiting into multiskilled positions.
- Repairs communication is being scrutinised by our Customer Advisory Panel. They will also consider the comparison between communication for in house and contractors. They will then make recommendations for improvement which will be presented to our board.
Our new repairs strategy...
Our new repairs strategy is going to cover a lot of the topics raised at the roundtable event as well as many other updates to our repairs service. Watch this space in early 2026 for the launch of this strategy!