Cotswold District Council changes customer services call centre hours as it ranks as one of the best in the country

In September 2023, the Council began trialing new opening hours for its customer services call centre, operating from 9am to 2pm instead of 9am to 5pm. It reduced the opening hours on quiet afternoons and increased operators on the phones during busy lunchtimes. 

Whilst the trial was taking place, the Council invested more in its online services and maintained its 9am to 5pm in person service at the council offices, in Cirencester and Moreton-in-Marsh, for people who needed to speak to someone face to face.  

The change is estimated to save £125,000 per annum, helping the council meet the significant financial challenge it is facing and providing a more efficient service for taxpayers. 

The Council has seen its core Government funding reduced in real terms by around 50% since 2013 and the recent rise in inflation has pushed up the cost of delivering council services, therefore it is necessary for the Council to change the way services are provided to ensure maximum efficiency. 

Throughout the trial, the Council consistently ranked in the top ten against other councils for telephone service customer satisfaction, even reaching the top three in March 2024, our busiest month. 

The Council has been introducing new digital services over the last few years and has been developing and improving its existing online services during that time. Online services include reporting missed bins, managing council tax and benefit payments, and requesting bulky waste collections. When the Council's garden waste service became available online, 90% of resident contacts were made through the website.  

Cllr Joe Harris, Leader of the Council, said, "The trial in changing our customer services opening hours has been a success and we are really pleased that customer satisfaction is still high. 

“We’ll always make sure that our residents are able to contact us by phone, particularly those who aren’t as confident using digital services but this trial has shown a clear shift towards many residents using online services. This change means we're now providing a more efficient service, and also a better service for residents with more digital options and better response rates.  

“We’ve also seen a reduction in average wait times during the busy lunchtime period and an overall increase in customer satisfaction. Additionally, outside the new telephone operation hours, our customer service staff have been able to allocate more time to high-demand areas affected by the cost of living crisis, such as Revenues and Benefits, and the Housing Service. 

“We will also be maintaining our 9 to 5 in person customer services in Cirencester and Moreton-in-Marsh along with our out-of-hours emergency lines to help people that need urgent support.” 

The Council will continue to provide a 24/7 emergency line for critical services such as homelessness support and emergency response. Calls made outside of operating hours will be directed to online services or advised to call back the next day.