1 Oct 2024

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For the fifth year running, the team at Christchurch City Council’s Contact Centre has been judged among the best in the country for customer service.

The team of around 80 people provides assistance and advice to Christchurch residents 24 hours a day, seven days a week, even on Christmas Day.

They answer questions on a vast array of subjects, including some left-of-field ones like where can I harvest some flax from, marriage proposals to staff, and most recently calls about wild deer in Halswell. 

At the annual CRM/CCNNZ Contact Centre Awards held on Friday 20th September, they won the Industry Sector Awards for Public Services for the fifth year in a row.

In addition, they took Gold in the Supreme Awards category for the second year, demonstrating just how committed they are to providing the best possible service to the community, says Acting Head of Customer Services Simon Hay. 

“Our staff have great problem-solving skills; there are very few issues they can’t assist with. They’re resilient, consistent and of course they demonstrate a real passion for customer service.

“Operating in a 24/7 environment means there is always somebody on hand to help. And if there’s an issue that’s not within the boundaries of Council jurisdiction, our staff will try to direct people to the appropriate place.”

Mayor Phil Mauger applauded their win.

“The staff do a terrific job and the fact that they’re winning national awards multiple years in row is a testament to their hard work and dedication to providing our residents with outstanding customer service.”

Contact Centre staff were involved in a 10-week judging period with “mystery contact” emails and phone calls scored on criteria that included:

  • Answer time
  • Greeting
  • Quality of listening
  • Product knowledge
  • Value-add
  • Professionalism

“Our initial staff training takes place over three weeks but due to the wide variety and breadth of customer queries our team receives, it usually takes up to 18 months for a staff member to be fully trained.”

Mr Hay added that keeping the Contact Centre local and able to answer the public’s calls quickly was something that residents appreciated.

Last year staff fielded more than 750,000 total interactions. Included in this were 299,000 calls and 194,000 emails. They also respond to social media queries received outside of normal business hours.

The Council’s Contact Centre can be reached by calling 941-8999 or 0800 800-169, or by using the online forms at ccc.govt.nz. You can also check out Contact Us for a list of service centres and their opening hours.