Bledisole Service Centre has customers in mind

 

From Auckland Council:

New service centre puts the customer first

 

Opened today, the new Bledisloe Lane service centre – the first of its kind for local government in New Zealand – offers Aucklanders a state-of-the-art approach to meeting their customer needs.

With a focus on making it easier to do business with council, it features the latest technology and services not previously available and offers enhanced face to face interaction.

Customers are greeted by a concierge who can direct them to the service they require or they can do it themselves at one of the easy to use self-service kiosks.

There is also free wifi, people can order property information, and be connected by phone to other council departments for further assistance, or talk to staff in comfortable seated areas.

The challenge was to de-mystify complex council processes. The changes follow extensive research into what customers wanted and follow the latest retail industry trends and best practice here and overseas.

“Providing customers with options is at the heart of what we are trying to do,” says Councillor Christine Fletcher. “Depending on your individual needs, you can choose to use self-service kiosks for easy-to-understand information on council processes, making payments and doing research, or you can talk face-to-face with knowledgeable staff,” she says.

Becoming easier to deal with and raising customer service levels is key to meeting Aucklanders’ expectations of their council, according to Cr Fletcher.

The décor is far cry from what some might expect from a local authority – with bright colours and themes which reflect Auckland’s diverse communities and lifestyle.

This is council’s flagship service centre, serving not just central city residents and ratepayers but thousands across the region who visit the city daily for work and pleasure.  An estimated 90,000 people are employed in the central city.

The visit is made more welcoming by the ongoing changes to the Bledisloe Lane walkway, linking to the shared space of Elliott Street. When complete the new Bledisloe Lane will feature new paving, additional seating and cycle parking and a re-modelled canopy to make it a lighter and more inviting place.

More light and removing the alcoves will improve the lane’s safety with less opportunity for anti-social activity.

A pocket park at the Wellesley Street entrance will also open in the new year.

“The changes are good news for the many customers of the lane’s businesses such as the NZ Post, Kiwibank and the Metro Centre,” according to Cr Fletcher. “We are very grateful for the patience shown by both the businesses and their customers during construction,” she says.

The new service centre replaces the one in the Civic Building, which has now closed.

 

Further Information

The improvements to the customer service centre represent a long term investment and will inform changes elsewhere in the region, as and when other service centres require upgrading. The cost of the new service centre, including all the new customer touch points was $800,000.

During the holiday period, the new service centre will be closed from midday 24 December until 8am 5 January 2015.

—ends—