Customer Care
Charter
Wealden and Eastbourne Lifeline consider that every individual person we provide a service to is a valued and important customer and our aim is to offer the highest possible standards of customer service.
At your service - we will
- Always take time to talk to you and listen carefully to ensure that we are meeting your individual requirements
- Offer you a service that is as flexible as possible given your particular circumstances, providing you with options and choices designed to empower you to maintain or improve your quality of life
- Provide services designed to protect your dignity and independence and promote your health, well being and security
- Make available a range of equipment and services for you to choose from and regularly contact you to review your needs and requirements in order to make sure that we are doing everything we possibly can to meet them
- Maintain an Equality and Diversity Policy and Action Plan that aims to ensure that our services are accessible to and meet the needs of all the people who live in the communities. For example if you have a disability or special communication requirements we will recommend equipment and procedures tailored to your specific needs
- Respect your privacy and right to confidentiality
- Make every effort to ensure that our services are always of the highest quality and offer good value
- Show you respect and courtesy at all times
When you contact us or we contact you - we will
- Answer telephone calls within 6 rings, give our first names and greet you in a clear and friendly manner
- Always be willing to deal with any query you may have and respond to all enquiries quickly and efficiently
- Acknowledge letters and emails within 3 working days and reply in full within a further 10 working days
- Write in plain language
In order to ensure that our services continue to meet the needs of our customers - we will
- Continually seek to improve the quality of our service by monitoring and reviewing our performance and listening to our customers
- Consult you about any proposed changes to services
- Welcome your views about our services and provide you with clear guidance about how to let us know what you think and on how we will respond to all suggestions and complaints
For your safety and security - we will
- Ensure that our Lifeline contact centre service is available to answer your calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year
- Respond to 80% of emergency Lifeline calls within 30 seconds and 98.5% within 60 seconds
- Ensure that our operators possess the skills to provide you with a consistent high quality service
- Treat any Lifeline calls as being emergencies until proved otherwise
- Ensure that when we receive an emergency call from you appropriate assistance is called as quickly as possible. In all circumstances we will notify a nominated responder unless it is clearly established that you are not at risk or you specifically tell us not to
- Always take account of your express wishes unless we believe that to do so will jeopardize your health and safety; in which case we will make it clear to you what we intend to do and why
- Record all calls made to our contact centre
- Immediately record on our database any changes in your circumstances when you notify them to us
- Contact you at regular intervals if you have not activated your Lifeline telephone for a period of time in order to test that it is operational
- Maintain your Lifeline unit and replace it of the need arises
- Repair or replace faulty Lifeline units within 24 hours of the fault being reported
When bringing the service to you at your home - we will
- Never call on you without first making an appointment (except when responding to an emergency call from you)
- Always carry an identity card and show it to you without being asked
- Make appointments which are timely and convenient for you, and make every effort to keep them
You can help us to provide you with the best possible service - by
- Testing your Lifeline by pressing your pendant once a month
- Keeping us informed about changes in your circumstances
- Not misusing the service
- Telling us what you think about the service – the good and the not so good