Council seeks feedback on draft Dealing with Difficult Customers Policy

The draft Dealing with Difficult Customers Policy is now on public exhibition through Council's online engagement portal, Engage Alpine. 

Council Chief Executive Officer, Will Jeremy, said the policy is particularly timely in light of a growing trend of poor behaviour from some customers and community members. 

"Most of our customers are reasonable, respectful and a pleasure for our staff to serve," he said. 

"We know that the most important step in managing difficult customer behavior is to keep customers from becoming frustrated in the first place. 

"We don't always get that right – I understand that at times delays in service and inability to get answers to seemingly simple questions can be frustrating for some of our customers. 

"We are focusing on increasing the quality of our customer service across the organisation, being responsive and timely in the way we support our customers, and working to clearly communicate expectations and outcomes." 

The draft Dealing with Difficult Customers Policy is based on the Victorian Ombudsman's 'Good Practice Guide: Managing Complex Complainant Behaviour'. 

Mr Jeremy said the policy is an important step towards refining Council's customer service approach and clarifying what classifies as unacceptable behaviour. 

"Unfortunately there are enough customers who behave in a way that is rude, abusive and even threatening to make a policy like this an important part of the way we do business," he said. 

"Over the past year we have had incidents where staff have been threatened with violence, abused over the phone and in-person and inundated with emails and phone calls after an answer to a customer question has been provided. 

"This type of behaviour will not be tolerated. 

"Whether you're interacting with our teams at the Bright Office, out in the field, at our libraries or transfer stations – or while our staff members are not working – that type of behaviour is completely inappropriate." 

The Policy outlines four steps towards managing complex customer behaviour: prevent where possible; respond to complex behaviour; manage behaviour that is or becomes unreasonable; and limit access as a last resort. 

It aims to balance the needs of Council staff, volunteers, contractors and Councillors with those of community members who need to connect with Council. 

Read the policy and share your views at: https://engage.alpineshire.vic.gov.au/draft-dealing-difficult-customers-policy