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Collapse Issue 461 - 14 Jan 2019Issue 461 - 14 Jan 2019
Collapse  NEWS NEWS
Mayor criticises non-complying development approvals
Measles alert issued for the Peninsula
Station building may become retail space
Change of faces at Peninsula News
Chamber reports strong Christmas trade
Peninsula Tourism Partners claim council neglect
West St development attracts 40 submissions
Peninsula properties deleted from heritage list
Nursing home proposal to go before planning panel
Council staff sum up Woy Woy plans in two paragraphs
Peninsula won't reach potential without plan - Mehrtens
CWA branch joins tourism campaign
Short-term rental strategy deferred
Mayor calls residents' views on planning controls
Council reject 'mystery shopper' for service assessment
Council forms social issues committee
Former mayor named as Australia Day ambassador
Lantern parade returns for Australia Day
Lantern-making workshops
Chamber outlines agenda for 2019
Free cooking workshop
Technology workshops at library
Gamer tournament comes to Woy Woy
Euchre school makes $500 donation
Juggling demonstration held for local children
Christmas lunch held for volunteers
Mehrtens asks: Is development leading to lower quality?
Record fair to be held at bowling club
Collapse  FORUM FORUM
Ask residents first about apartment blocks
No more free passes to the races
Zoning changes usually come after a plan not before it
Read draft climate change policy
Determine climate policy before planning review
Council should take a stand against whale slaughter
Where are the wharf and mooring levies going?
Why single out dual occupancies in new standards?
Tidy up the Peninsula
Reorientation follows resident traffic observations
Collapse  HEALTH HEALTH
Golf enthusiast raises funds for Cancer Council
Hospital staff raise money for mental health support
Big year at local hospital
Collapse  ARTS ARTS
Association revives Dancing by the Water
Beach gathering for full moon
Folk club concert
Blues and beers
Collapse  EDUCATION EDUCATION
Brent Walker decides to move on
Changes to bus zone in Sydney Ave
Aboriginal education centre has new sign
Aboriginal cultural enrichment day
Alternatives offered with religious education
Class placements may change at Woy Woy
Principal warns of impact of online game
End-of-year excursion
Student leaders elected
Christmas concerts
Collapse  SPORT SPORT
Jemma Smith named in State life saving team
Woy Woy player named Star of 2019
Lachlan is finalist for gymnastics awards
Surf club scatters ashes of former member
Membership milestone
Social golf club makes presentations
Surprise gift

Council reject 'mystery shopper' for service assessment

Mystery shopping will not be used by Central Coast Council as a way to assess the quality of its service delivery.

The Council resolved at its December meeting not to use mystery shopping as a way to assess customer satisfaction with services such as Peninsula Leisure Centre, libraries, childcare centres or waste collection services.

In October, the Council asked for a report on areas to be assessed and the likely costs of market sampling and for a recommendation about whether to proceed with mystery shopping to assess the quality of Council's service delivery.

The report recommended against using mystery shopping and Councillors adopted that recommendation.

"Mystery shopping is a market research technique for measuring, and monitoring the interactions between a customer and an organisation during a pre-defined scenario," the council staff report said.

"Mystery shopping relies on observation and recall, and could be carried out on both a large and small scale across any area of Council," the report said.

"Often, the process involves a researcher (the mystery shopper) going incognito and reviewing the activities of staff, the venue environment, staff friendliness and knowledge.

"In some instances, the mystery shopper may also consider things such as the number of people in a queue, the number of counters open at a certain time, what items are on display etc.

"This means that mystery shoppers are not always 'shopping' but also experiencing a service or attending an event.

"This type of service can be procured through market research companies, mystery shopping providers, private investigators, training companies and advertising agencies.

"Council does not conduct any mystery shopping programs at present.

A Customer Experience Survey was completed last June.

"The results from the survey provide a very good insight into what our customers feel is important and their satisfaction ratings on a range of services and experiences.

"The data is used to develop service plans and action plans to improve the overall customer experience.

"The survey is the basis for the development of a Customer Experience Strategy which is currently underway and will include a Voice of the Customer (VoC) and Customer Journey Mapping programs.

"Both of these programs will be used to tell the story of a customer's journey from initial contact, through to engagement and longer-term relationship, understand the challenges or differences across all of our customer touchpoints and identify improvements and process.

"The strategy will include a vision, a customer charter outlining our service standards, data analytics, as well as an integrated approach to both employee and customer experience.

"This approach is well underway with linkages between the My Voice Survey and Customer Experience Survey and will provide actionable plans from each Business Unit to improve the customer experience, whilst engagement with the Leadership Team will ensure buy in for the strategy."

The staff report recommended that "Council continued to work towards an improved customer experience through development of the Customer Experience Strategy which includes continuing programs of surveys and complaints and feedback analysis and progresses the implementation of programs such as Voice of Customer and Customer Journey Mapping."





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