Exeter recognised for excellent customer service

A national standard for customer service, the accreditation recognises the excellent customer service standards across the diverse activities within the University’s Corporate Services department. These range from teams focusing on sport, legal, catering and hospitality to facilities management, finance, security, and grounds.

To achieve the accreditation, Corporate Services underwent a ten-month programme of activity which focused on the customer experience. Using the Customer First UK business model, the University implemented new quality initiatives across its customer-facing teams. These included Corporate Services implemented a comprehensive customer research programme, which led to the introduction of a customer satisfaction index, so the team can monitor year-on-year improvements and identify any issues.

When new appointments were made the focus was on improving the customer experience across Corporate Services. This ranged from the appointment of an Operations Manager in the Sports Park, to a Customer Services Manager in Campus Services. The Sports Park Operations Manager has developed a more coordinated approach to front of house services, which has contributed to membership of the Sports Park rising to over 6,000 for the first time.

The initiative also involved encouraging departments within Corporate Services to work together to address customer services issues. All teams now regularly review their performance in light of customers’ expectations.

Corporate Services then had to undergo a further rigorous external assessment to ensure its customer services activities were of a high standard to be awarded the accreditation.

Director of Corporate Services, Jeremy Lindley said: “This award reflects the hard work and professionalism of colleagues across Corporate Services. We decided to go for this accreditation as a way of ensuring our customer-facing activities were of the quality expected of a top ten university. I am delighted that we have achieved this prestigious accreditation and look forward to working with colleagues across the University to ensure we continue to offer excellent customer service in everything we do.”