A mystery shopper exercise at South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Contact Centre found 98% of advisors answered enquiries to a high standard.
Conducted by an independent team of 16 researchers, the exercise involved 400 calls made at various times of day and across the week – at the Council’s busiest time of year. The calls tested the Contact Centre’s responsiveness, professionalism, and knowledge across a wide range of services.
The results show:
√ The Contact Centre achieved an average customer satisfaction score of 81% across all service areas. This compares to a benchmark score of 68% amongst other councils.
√ It earned a Net Promoter Score of +43, significantly above the scores for other councils, indicating customers are likely to recommend the service to others.
√ Every single Advisor gave their name to the customer and nearly every call was classed as ‘jargon free’.
√ Customer service advisors were consistently praised for their politeness, helpfulness, and ability to resolve queries effectively.
√ The Contact Centre demonstrated strong knowledge across diverse service areas, including Council Tax, recycling and waste, and housing.
The exercise, which was carried out by external provider Insight6, was a repeat of a mystery shop of the Customer Contact Centre back in 2023.
South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Lead Cabinet Member for Resources, Cllr John Williams, commented:
“These results are a testament to the dedication and professionalism of our Contact Centre team. We are committed to providing excellent service to our residents and being fit for the future, and this independent review confirms we are on the right track. Remember you can also complete many tasks online using our new website – which is making it even easier to get personalised, local information at a glance.”
Meanwhile, the District Council is now using Artificial Intelligence to ensure that when someone rings, their call is efficiently routed to the most appropriate Customer Contact Centre Advisor – or to provide an immediate answer if the caller prefers. This helps to free-up time for call handlers to deal with the more complicated inquiries where their knowledge and experience is important.
South Cambridgeshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, England, with a population of 162,119 at the 2021 census.
It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of Chesterton Rural District and South Cambridgeshire Rural District Council.
For additional information on South Cambridgeshire District Council visit their Website
