How can we improve customer service?
The City of Kingston is in the process of reviewing and updating our Customer Service Strategy, which was first introduced in 2016. As part of this effort, we want to hear directly from you — our residents, businesses and visitors. Your input will help us understand current service challenges, identify opportunities for improvement, and explore ways to enhance service through modern technologies. The updated strategy will reflect our commitment to aligning with the City’s mission, vision, and values, with the ultimate goal of improving customer satisfaction and making our services more efficient and accessible.
Your voice matters, and we appreciate your participation in shaping the future of customer service in Kingston!
What is customer service?
Customer service is the process that helps community members get answers to questions they have about City services and help accessing them.
Whether you call, email, submit a service request or visit a City facility when you ask a question of the City of Kingston you're interacting with our Customer Experience team. Our online systems and agents are the first point of contact for everything you need from the City, whether you're looking to apply for new permits, get a question answered about a recreation program, buy garbage bag tags and much more. Often questions and requests can be resolved in one interaction, however, sometimes they need to be referred to another department in the City. Our current goal is to provide an initial response within two business, days if it's not something that can be immediately addressed during that first interaction.
Get Involved - tell us what you think!
Submit your feedback by Dec. 12., you can provide feedback through one or more options listed below:
- Take our survey and let us know about your experience and expectations and you can enter a draw to win a $100 Visa gift card.
- Submit your customer service idea and view ideas submitted by others.
- Respond to our poll question about which future options you'd like us to consider.
Who's Listening
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Project Coordinator
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Manager, Customer Experience
Email ecaird@cityofkingston.ca
Use computing facilities to monitor the time between service request and complete resolution. Post the information for each department and capture it for each employee involved in it's eventual resolution. Some requests get delayed by debates among city staff in different departments or even external agencies. Empower employees to make decisions based on expected inputs from these other departments or agencies. Formalize rules that these other departments or agencies require to approve the request where numbers warrant.
Provide a staff directory and an organization chart on the website.
Many years ago, when I first started in retail work, my boss served as a mentor to me, instilling basic principles of Customer Service, i.e. "the customer is always right". They have followed me throughout my career(s). Perhaps it's time we educate our store managers on how to be a mentor to their employees. Also, employee orientation has gone out the window. How can an employee follow basic principles if no-one has never taken the time to tell them what they are? Perhaps the business associations or KEDCO could help with the overall education. If business want repeat customers, they need to have consistency and respect for their customers (and each other).
Some other cities use a central service centre (like a 311 number). This service/person will try to answer your question and/or will redirect your call to the appropriate sector/department. Instead of trying to find the right phone number from your web site. This service will help lots of seniors without internet or knowledge of using a computer. This is my feedback... Thank you!
You really need to hire more bylaw officers. It can take weeks for a problem to be resolved. It is not acceptable for Customer Service to mark a ticket as complete and send out a customer satisfaction survey when all they have done is forward the complaint to bylaw. Bylaw is seriously understaffed, so they can take weeks to address an issue.