Language Support Services - Feedback
Feedback from customers and complaints during the last quarter (April – June 2009). We have received the following feedback about our service:
- 19 Complaints
- 8 Compliments
- 9 Comments
Complaints
The breakdown of the complaints is as follows:
- 13 were about timekeeping (the interpreter was late or failed to attend)
- 3 were about operational issues (charges, admin error)
- 3 relate to performance (interpreter conduct, accuracy of translation)
All of the complaints were thoroughly investigated and as a result of one complaint we have introduced changes to our administrative procedures to improve our service delivery.
Other complaints were forwarded to our external suppliers, and discussed during our regular liaison meetings. Of the 9 failures to attend, 3 related to the same provider and language. This issue was escalated up to the Service Manager of the supplier to deal with, and an urgent meeting was called, ensuring no further occurrences.
All complaints except 3 were resolved within 7 days of receipt. 3 complaints had to be investigated further and holding emails were sent to customers advising them of this. All complaints were resolved within 28 days. None of the complaints could have been dealt with at the first point of contact and none required the attention of a senior manager.
All customers were satisfied with the resolution they received and on 2 occasions we responded to complainants in their first language.
Service improvements that have been introduced following customer feedback within this timeframe are:
- Booking freelancers for 2 hours when the patient is arriving by hospital transport and booking them for either 11am or 3pm where appropriate, as this is the time the transport arrives.
- Daily administrative checks of BSL sessions booked.
- Mystery Shopping has been carried out (June 09) to check the availability of interpreters out of hours
- Telephone interpreting feedback gained by First Point (July 09) by asking the Non-English speaker specific questions about the service.
Compliments
8 Compliments were received during Q1 of 2009. These were received on feedback forms from internal customers and 2 of these stated the service was “excellent”. 2 praised interpreters for the excellent service they provided and for their professionalism. Other compliments were that the service is very good and communicates well.
Comments
9 informal comments were received. These were all from internal customers and related to the following:
- 3 felt the charges were too expensive. These related to translations and BSL.
- 2 felt there was a need for more interpreters/availability so the service could confirm sessions immediately
- 2 advised the formatting request of documents should be checked prior to translation
- 2 were intranet linked, 1 requested a simplified booking form and the other could not locate the service easily on the web
Service improvements that have been introduced following customer informal comments within this timeframe are:
- Have increased the number of BSL interpreters on our freelance register
- Format of documents is checked with customers and the service liaises with design team where appropriate
- Intranet pages have been updated
All of these informal comments, complaints and compliments form part of the ongoing learning and service development of Language Support Services. Regular contract meetings are taking place with providers where issues can be addressed and service improvement opportunities identified.