Chair of the Isle of Wight Council Scrutiny Committee, Dave Stewart, shares this latest release. Ed
Island Conservative leader Councillor Dave Stewart is to visit the Isle of Wight Council’s call centre to find out why ‘phoning the authority can mean a 40-minute, or longer, wait for someone to pick up.
Calling the time on hold “completely unacceptable” Dave said he and fellow councillor, Ian Ward, will spend several hours at the centre on 12th December to try and get to the bottom of the issue.
Vulnerable residents at risk?
He said problems answering the phone could be putting at risk vulnerable residents like the elderly and those with disabilities.
Dave said,
“Having to wait for so long to get through to the council is massively frustrating and it’s a major longstanding problem I’m hearing more and more about.
“For most people this is an irritation, but for vulnerable members of our Island community wanting help it could be a much bigger problem and I would like to see the Independents in charge thinking more about these people.
“Initially, I couldn’t believe the service was so bad but I recently tried to call and timed the response. Eventually I ended the call at 40 minutes before it was even answered and this is completely unacceptable.
“It was not a one-off either as other residents and councillor colleagues have reported similar experiences to me.”
Contracted out as money-maker
Dave, who chairs the council’s scrutiny committee, added the situation was ironic considering the independent-run council had recently contemplated contracting out the call centre as part of a potential money maker.
Dave said,
“In theory that was an excellent idea, but it hasn’t happened and it concerns me that either there is a failure in the way the council manages calls, or resources have been cut so much that it is now affecting the frontline service. The fact is the council must do better, be more customer focussed. I will be asking the questions as to why this service has been failing our community.
“I understand a review and change of approach is at last due to take place and this is welcome, but this has only started happening since I raised concerns about call centre performance with officers and subsequently in the scrutiny committee. Customer service should be paramount and we must put this situation right.”
