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.
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What we heard
Why we engaged
The City of Kingston is reviewing and updating our Customer Service Strategy, which was originally introduced in 2016. To ensure this strategy meets the needs of our community, we sought input from residents, businesses, and visitors on their experience with customer service so we can understand current challenges and areas for improvement, including how we can use technology to improve service.
How we engaged
Get Involved Kington had 1,270 people visit the project page from Nov. 1 to Dec. 12, 2024. Our engagement approach included forums, guestbooks, quick polls, and various survey tools, with 195 participants contributing to the surveys. We also popped up in-person throughout the City at recreation facilities and collected input at ballet boxes throughout the community.
The map above shows a breakdown of postal codes where feedback came from.
What we heard
Public engagement used a wide range of tools to understand the community’s experience with customer service in Kingston, and the following themes were identified from all of the feedback submitted. Individual survey responses are also below.
Timeliness of Responses (60% of feedback): Many participants highlighted the importance of receiving timely responses to their inquiries. While some were satisfied with the current response times, others expressed a need for quicker replies, especially for urgent matters. The expectation for response times varied, with a significant number of participants expecting responses within one business day.
Friendliness and Professionalism of Staff (80% of feedback): The friendliness and professionalism of customer service staff were frequently mentioned. Participants appreciated the courteous and helpful nature of the staff. However, there were also suggestions for further training to ensure consistent professionalism and friendliness across all interactions.
Ease of Finding Information (43% of feedback): Participants expressed concerns about the ease of finding information about City of Kingston services. Some found it challenging to navigate our website and locate the information they needed. There were suggestions for improving the website's user interface and making information more accessible and easier to find.
Extended Customer Service Hours (17% of feedback): Some participants suggested extending the hours beyond the current 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule to accommodate those who work during regular business hours. Suggested extended hours included early mornings, evenings, and weekends.
How satisfied are you with the current level of customer service provided by the City of Kingston?
More than half of all participants told us they were very happy or happy with the current level of customer service.
Please rate the following aspects of the City of Kingston's customer service based on your experience.
Particpants let us know that our customer service is are friendly, knowledgeable, respond to questions in a timely manner and that the responses from City staff are clear and easy to understand.
How frequently do you interact with City of Kingston customer services?
More than half (60%) of respondents reach out to customer services a few time a year. A small number of respondents (5%) reach out weekly or daily.
In the last 12 months which options have you used to interact with City of Kingston customer service?
When seeking customer service, most respondents reach out using phone, email or with MyKingston, the online self-serve resident portal. A small number use customer service in person and even fewer use social media. For respondants who visted a facilitiy in person for customer service, most visited City Hall, the INVISTA Centre or Artillery Park Aquatic Centre.
The City of Kingston tries to respond to each question and service request within two business days. How soon do you expect to receive an initial response from the City?
A little more than half of respondents (53%) expect to hear from us within one business day. A small number expect to hear back from us within an hour.
If the option was available would you make use of more customer services (such as parking ticket payment, tax payments, transit pass purchasing, reporting missed waste collection etc.) at more City facilities?
Half of respondents told us they are happy with the phone, email and online services available for customer service. For respondents who told us they were interested in accessing more customer service options in person at facilities, 60% of them told us City Hall was their preferred location, followed by the INVISTA Centre.
Future tools poll
Participants were polled online and in person about what options to access customer service they would use, if it were made available. There was a strong preference for online and automated tools, with interest in mobile apps, web chat and AI tools.
Next steps
The feedback collected as part of this engagement will be used by City staff to inform our update to the City of Kingston Customer Service Strategy.
Who's Listening
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Project Coordinator
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Manager, Customer Experience
Email ecaird@cityofkingston.ca