It’s 12 months since Calderdale Council’s state-of-the-art Customer First centre opened its doors to give local people information and advice under one roof in Halifax – and what a year it’s been. Nearly half a million enquiries have been dealt with, including some very unusual ones!
Staff at the centre have seen more than 150,000 people and have dealt with a whopping 309,850 phone calls, 11,156 emails, 1,300 live chats on the Council’s website and 600 social media messages.
Staff resolve over 83% of customer enquiries at their first point of contact with the Council, but they could be forgiven for being somewhat unprepared when a customer wanted to book a pest control treatment for the removal of a chicken breast left in her garden.
And when a customer wanted to know the best way to package and post a Christmas cake.
Other out-of-the-ordinary enquiries included someone wanting to know which shops in Halifax sell walnut whips; and another person asked if we could do her a favour and nip in to the market and then call her straight back to let her know if the sock shop is still there.
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, Cllr Marcus Thompson, said:
“Halifax Customer First is a great location for our customer services. People are enjoying quick, high-quality service and high-tech self-service kiosks where bills can be paid. Our helpful teams provide a range of information and advice, from housing and benefits to planning and licensing – but they might be somewhat unprepared for requests about Christmas cakes and socks!”
Contact the Council via:
Email: customerfirst@calderdale.gov.uk
Telephone: 01422 288001