Best practices book - Flipbook - Page 27
experienced alike, is designed to replicate some of the most lauded customer service providers
in private industry.
The most common comment from first-time visitors: “This looks like an Apple store.” That was the
idea, and the experience is supposed to feel much the same way. Our Customer Service Center
helped more than 8,800 walk-in customers last year before COVID required the closing of our
lobby in mid-March. Our average lobby wait time has historically been less than 10 minutes.
The Customer Service Center is an omni-channel support that assists customer via phone, email,
walk-in, and through web-based customer service events (CSEs). Our Customer Service Center
helped more than 18,049 walk-in customers last year before COVID. Our average lobby wait
time is less than 10 minutes. Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement’s Customer Service does
not stop at the lobby. Our Customer Service Center has handled 66,122 inbound calls in 2020,
with an average answer rate of 96%, and wait time less than 5 minutes last year before COVID.
More: Customer Service Center webpage
CUSTOMER FEEDBACK TOOLS
At the conclusion of each project, contractors and design professionals receive a link to a brief
electronic customer feedback survey. The survey instrument takes only a few minutes to
complete but is designed to perform a deeper dive into specific aspects of each project. This
tool has allowed Code Enforcement staff to identify and mitigate plan review and inspections
issues early, and both design professionals and contractors typically rate the agency’s response
near the top of the scale.
Additionally, web-based customer service interactions are logged and managed in an online
customer service portal, which allows for customer service events to be processed, recorded,
and assigned to appropriate staff. The CSE portal, which is accessible to customers as a link from
our website, captures general questions, feedback, and appeals. Customers with online
accounts can utilize their self-serve portals (see below) to submit and manage their customer
service requests from the end-user side. Since the pandemic began, we have processed nearly
2,000 web-based customer service events. More: Customer Feedback Portal
CUSTOMER PORTALS/PAPERLESS EXPERIENCE
Mecklenburg County was an early adopter of online customer portals among code authorities
and for several years, the process has been virtually
paperless.
A paperless plan review process allows for more efficient
review and resubmittals, a better record of
communication between the agency and the customer,
and quicker turnaround time. Paperless inspections allow
for real-time availability of inspection results in the
contractors’ online dashboard. The contractor dashboard
also allows for the general contractors to stay abreast of
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