City of Wolverhampton Council’s environmental services staff, many of which are key workers, have received a Customer Service award for their work including tasks

carried out during the pandemic - Covid-19 lockdown.

Bin men, household waste recycling centre workers, street cleaners, grounds and tree maintenance teams, park rangers and staff working in cemeteries across the city

were given the Customer Service Excellence accreditation by SGS Ltd -

a world leading inspection and certification company.

Councillor Steve Evans, Cabinet Member for City Environment

at City of Wolverhampton Council, said: “To gain this prestigious award during a national pandemic is a huge accomplishment.

“It’s been more difficult than ever this year for the environmental

service teams, which is why this award demonstrates how they’ve continued to provide customer service excellence during the most testing of times.

“I’d like to thank all staff involved for their incredible

work ethic, ability to do their jobs under unprecedented circumstances, and their attitude to make sure the city kept operating without fail during lockdown. This truly is a team effort and a proud moment for the department and the council.”

Areas of good practice to gain the Customer Services Award Accreditation include:

• 
  
  Delivering residents’ needs in difficult circumstances: national pandemic Covid-19
• 
  
  A proactive approach to monitoring problems and issues such as fly-tipping and re-prioritising work for swift solutions
• 
  
  Working collaboratively with other teams across the council to make the customer experience for residents better.
• 
  
  Actively tackling issues raised in complaints through the council’s social media channels
  
  
• 
  
  An open and willing attitude to learning and changing in order to develop services for residents.

SGS Customer Service Excellence Assessor, Di Smith, said:

“City of Wolverhampton Council’s environmental services has now achieved the Customer

Service Excellence accreditation for all its operations. During the assessment it was clear to see the commitment to putting their customers’ best interests at the heart of its services and how those services were delivered. I congratulate the whole team on

their fantastic achievement.”

More information about environmental services can be found at

www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/recycling