Customer Service Policy

In-person/face-to-face interactions

Greeting:

• Members of the public will be greeted in a polite, friendly manner upon entering any service area.

Waiting:

• Members of the Public will be notified of expected waiting times
• If a member of the public is looking for an out-of-office or unavailable staff member, Town staff will provide an email to contact the employee if no other staff member is able to assist.

Phone interactions

Town staff will meet the following guidelines in all phone interactions.

Response time

Business hours:

• Phone calls coming in during regular business hours (Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) can be expected to be answered before reaching voicemail. If a voicemail message is left, it can be expected to be answered within the next business day.

After hours/holidays:

• Voice messages left when the office is closed will be responded to during business hours by the next business day.

Out of office:

• Phone calls directed to a staff member who is out-of-office can be expected to be told the length of their absence in their voicemail recording if it is longer than one business day.
• You have reached the office of (name), (position) at extension ( ). I will be out of office from (date) to (date), and will be unavailable during this time. Please leave your name, contact information and a reason for your call, or for immediate assistance press zero. Thank you.

Put on hold:

• Members of the public will not be on hold for longer than 2 minutes without having the option to speak with another staff member or ask for a call back.

Transfers

Reasons for a transfers:

• Members of the public will be transferred if they have contacted the main phone line but need to speak to someone from a specific department in order to have their question or concern properly addressed. Upon being transferred, the standards for response time apply.

Number of transfers:

• Members of the public should only be transferred once. However, depending on the situation more transfers may be necessary.

Reasons for redirection to external phone lines:

• Members of the public can expect to be given contact information to other municipalities, other government agencies or organizations if they are calling for a service provided by another level of government or agency.

Email interactions

Response times

Business hours:

• During regular business hours, members of the public can expect an email response by the next business day.

After hours/holidays:

• Emails received when the office is closed will be responded to during business hours by the next business day.

Out of office:

• Emails sent directed to a staff member who is out-of-office can be expected to be notified that they are not checking emails, and told the length of their absence if the staff member is out of the office for more than one business day. The Out of Office notification will also give contact information to another staff member who might be able to assist them.

Social media interactions

Responses:

• All responses to social media posts and inquiries will be forwarded directly to the CAO and will be responded to directly by the CAO

Written interactions – letters

Responses:

• Members of the public can expect a written acknowledgement within three business days with follow-up correspondence as necessary.

Complaints

Types of complaints:

• Breach of privacy
• Insurance claim
• Service delivery
• Service level
• Lack of customer service
• No access to politicians

Lodging a complaint

There are a variety of ways in which a complaint can be heard. The following methods are encouraged and communicated to the public. At any time, any person can:

• Complete a Complaint Form – located on our website and at the Town offices
• Request to attend the Town Hall and meet with the Municipal Law Enforcement Officer, in his/her absence, the CAO
• Contact the Ontario Ombudsman

All staff will accept complaints via written letter, email, complaint form. A form will be available at all public counters and on the website. All complaints will be kept in a written log by the Municipal Law Enforcement Officer.

Complaints regarding confidentiality breach

All complaints pertaining to allegations of a breach of personal privacy shall immediately be reported to the Clerk who administers the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. If an actual breach took place, the Clerk is obligated to report the breach to the individual whose privacy was breached and also the Provincial Information and Privacy Commissioner.

Complaints regarding property/vehicle damage

Complaints regarding damage to vehicles or property shall immediately be referred to the Treasury department who has the responsibility for risk and insurance.

Responding to complaints

The Municipal Law Enforcement Officer will respond immediately to address the issue if possible. If the Municipal Law Enforcement Officer is not able to address the issue, they will notify the appropriate department head or Clerk providing the following information:

• Date and time of complaint
• Nature of complaint

The department head/Clerk will ensure:

• Acknowledgement and receipt of the complaint with the complainant and advise of process
• The complaint is investigated
• Provide a response to the complainant within 10 business days. For those complaints that cannot be investigated and resolved within 10 business days, further communication is required with an estimate of when there will be resolution to the complaint
• Document action taken

If the complainant is not staffed with the response, staff will direct the complainant to the Integrity Commissioner or the Ontario Ombudsman.

Analysis of trends

• Department heads will review and analyze the complaint logs quarterly
• The results of the review will be used in determining what improvements are required
• Review of this policy will take place in the next review period (approximately every five years)