Policy and performance

Customer First works hard for the council's customers to give them the best services and put them at the centre of everything that the council does. It strives to improve customer care for everybody - residents, visitors, local businesses and employees - across all the council's services: roads, waste services, social services and much more.

Our promise to you

Medway Council is determined to provide you with the highest standard of customer service. Staff will:

• be courteous and helpful;
• listen to you and make every effort to help;
• not discriminate or permit discrimination against anyone;
• encourage you to comment on the council's services;
• identify themselves by wearing name badges;
• provide information in clear and simple terms;
• investigate any complaint made about the council's services;
• always try to answer your enquiry fully the first time you contact them or if this is not possible, let you know what they intend to do to help.

The level of service you can expect is set out in the council's customer care charter. This website carries a summary of the latest performance statistics so that you can see how the council measures up. You can also check on how the council is dealing with complaints about its services in the Annual Complaints Report.

What we ask from you

• Treat our staff with courtesy and respect.
• Respond to reasonable requests for information in an accurate and timely manner.
• Tell us if you have special needs so we can accommodate them.
• Let us know if you need an interpreter to use our services.
• Let us know when our staff provide excellent service.
• Provide us with feedback on our service and tell us any suggestions you have to improve it.

More choice for you

You can access the council's services from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday and from 9am to 1pm on Saturday. Medway Council is committed to putting the customer at the centre of everything it does. Customers can choose how they wish to make contact either by:

• telephoning its award-winning contact centre (01634 333333);
• using electronic channels:
  
  
  • emails (customer.first@medway.gov.uk)
  • online services and forms,
  • the MyMedway portal on this website;
• visiting one of the contact points spread throughout Medway.

Medway Council is working hard to ensure that it keeps abreast of new technological developments to give its customers more choice, more access, more freedom and convenience at times which suit them. Its award-winning contact centre takes over 65,000 calls a month. The council has invested in the technology to help its highly trained staff to answer your queries and questions efficiently, effectively and to a high standard every time you call. It is committed to continue to develop its business for the benefit of its customers and to give ever greater value for money. You can check on Customer First's performance levels, which show its commitment to its customers.

Find out more about the council's committment to equality and diversity too.

Our route map to excellence

Customer First (CF) has achieved a great deal and is recognised both locally and nationally as a successful change programme, providing easy and convenient access to improved council services and measurable performance and efficiency gains. It is key to the transformation of Medway and this was emphasised in the council’s 2006 Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA), which said – “It is universally understood by all stakeholders that the council’s key priorities are Customer First and regeneration”.

With Phase 1 of Customer First successfully implemented and Phase 2 well under way, the future direction and priorities of the programme are to further the new transformation agenda for local government - better access to better services, enabled by technology. Find out more by downloading Customer First Direction and Development Priorities (pdf, 57KB). To use this file, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have this on your computer, please use our advice page.

If you have any questions and you want to speak to someone in your own language please phone 01634 335577 or one of the numbers below:

You can get this information in other formats by using the contact information below.

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