The Complaint Process
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Like many residents I had hoped that the merging of two associations would have brought GreenSquare’s game up to par, however it looks like Accord might have been just as bad if not worse, so now GreenSquareAccord are keeping their bad habits alive.
I’m using a recently closed complaint by GreenSquareAccord to demonstrate how things haven’t improved and how new blood from Accord hasn’t brought the skills we might have hoped for.
To highlight the true epidemic of this failure it is also noteworthy that this complaint wasn’t closed by one of the many under-trained customer care specialist, but Elaine Moore Head of Customer Voice at GreenSquareAccord Housing Association.
Whilst I’m not in favour of naming and shaming I believe to fully explore this failure here it is required.
The complaint response in full - with my comments.
22 November 2021
Ref: Customer Care Complaint 2629
Dear Mr Irksome Toad (only joking - they used my real name)
Thank you for letting us know you’re unhappy with our response to your experience with our phone line not working on 3 July 2021, and also that this issue was not subsequently escalated in line with your request.
As noted in our acknowledgement letter of 18 November 2021, these points have now been escalated to the Customer Care (Step 2) of our complaint process.
In order to investigate these points, I have reviewed the email correspondence between Julianne Britton, Director of Customer Services, and yourself, since this issue was originally raised to Julianne at the time you were unable to reach our out of hours service on 3 July 2021. I have also spoken to Julianne to further understand the steps taken to investigate the problem with the phone line both at the time and since, and the reasons why this was not escalated earlier in the process.
As Julianne confirmed to you in her email of 14 October 2021, further investigation into the phone line issue would fail to produce a different outcome, however, below are the steps Julianne has taken to investigate the issue, together with the reason you experienced difficulty connecting with out of hours service.
Julianne was unable to replicate the fault you experienced at the time and so engaged with our phone line providers to understand what may have caused the issue. Multiple test calls were made, and our phone line providers retrieved and shared calls to help establish the root cause of the issue. Unfortunately, this is a lengthy process, and it is not always possible to establish the exact cause of an isolated fault. - Which is handy from GreenSquareAccord as this would have proven fault
I can see Julianne chased regularly for updates in the process, and that final responses were received in early October which were not entirely conclusive. - That could be argued, I spent a lot of time chasing her via email, through the MyGreenSquare portal and via phone calls. This was highlighted in my page titled ignoring residents.
In her email to you on 14 October 2021, Julianne explained: - 103 days later
Having reviewed our call plan, one of our suppliers has suggested your call may not have connected - False as I was in your queue until the line was cut off -as a result of the path and number of legs some of our calls take when they enter our phone system. As we still have some active legacy phone numbers like the one you called us on that morning (01865 773000, the number for our old Oxford office) some calls take more legs than others to reach their destination and this can cause the line to be weaker. We had not identified this as an issue before you raised it as no other customer has reported a similar issue to us before or since. We already have a plan in place to retire our legacy numbers and only retain our newest number – 0300 111 7000 – which will reduce the number of legs all calls take to reach our contact centre and the likelihood of any further intermittent glitches being experienced by any customer. We expect all other numbers to be successfully retired by the end of January after giving reasonable notice to all customers who use them of their retirement.
I have had some personal involvement in the work carried out both ahead of our merger and since, to ensure phone service to customers worked as it should once we became GreenSquareAccord. I can confirm our plans to retire the legacy numbers Julianne refers to above have been in place for some time, however this needs to be timed appropriately so that customers are aware of the correct number to use to reach us. For this reason, the diverts (or legs) referred to above have been in place to ensure anyone calling a legacy number can still reach us.
As a further update on the above, I can confirm that we have trialled a message to customers on the former Gloucester office telephone number during the last week, advising this number will be retired on 3 January 2022 - brilliant but all of this happened before said time and as such none of this is really relevant. The same will be in place for all other legacy telephone numbers starting week, supported by social media and website communication, advising the date they will also be retired.
We do occasionally experience glitches - Yes you do, many - in our phone system, although thankfully this is rare, and I am sorry - an apology! - this seems to have happened on 3 July when you called us. As Julianne has mentioned, once we are able to retire the legacy number (expected to be by the end of January 2022) this will reduce the likelihood of similar issues for other customers in future. - Helpful however something that has yet to be acknowledged is that this was an emergency call as the fire alarm had gone off and it was raining in the hallway as reported.
With reference to your request to escalate this issue to Customer Care (Step 2) of our process. Our complaint process (a copy of which is attached) requires we initially attempt to resolve issues at Resolve (Step 1). Where this is not possible within two working days - which it never is, the earliest respond even by GreenSquareAccord standards is two weeks - , we should escalate the issue to Step 2, so it can be managed formally. Since the issue was raised on 3 July, it has been logged on our system, and our Customer Care team were aware Julianne was liaising with our phone line providers to investigate the reasons for the issue you experienced.
As already noted, this can be a lengthy process and as such was unlikely to be resolved quickly – and so with hindsight, this should have been escalated to Customer Care so it could be formally acknowledged at Step 2 - not an apology but at least an acknowledgement - . At Step 2 we aim to reach a conclusion/resolution within 10 working days, however, in complex cases requiring the support of external service providers, this isn’t always possible. - I know. In most cases they take many months.
I can see Julianne offered her apologies this was not escalated in her email to you on 14 October - Wrong it was actually the 18th November before this was finally raise as an official complaint -, and also explained she was pursuing the phone line suppliers for updates on a regular basis over the summer. I am sorry - Thank you - this was not escalated to Step 2 much sooner, as it should have been, however, I hope you are assured we are aware of and acknowledge this error. I do not believe this was at all intentional, and can see Julianne had complete ownership of the issue you had raised, and so naturally wanted to see this through to conclusion for you. - Not intentional perhaps just another in a long line of communication failures
I would like to add that had this been escalated to Step 2 earlier, this would have been unlikely to reduce the length of time it has taken to establish the potential reason for the fault, and it is likely also that the issue would have remained with Julianne to complete the investigation she had already begun. - Wrong I could have taken it to the Housing Ombudsman months ago.
From the emails I have reviewed, I can see Julianne has updated you on progress at several points, however, both she and I acknowledge this could have been more frequent, even when perhaps there was not specific progress to share, so that you had additional reassurance the issue was still very much in hand. - Yes, that would have been very customer focused and might have stopped this from being escalated to the Housing Ombudsman.
In conclusion, I feel there are learnings for GreenSquareAccord which have been highlighted during the investigation Julianne has been pursuing:
We should have ensured the issue was escalated to Step 2 at the appropriate point to ensure the process was followed and the issue you raised was formally acknowledged
The importance of maintaining regular communication/updates throughout a lengthy of complex investigate to provide reassurance that progress is being made
I can see Julianne has offered her apologies for the above in her emails to you, and I too am sorry this issue has taken so long to reach a conclusion, and that it wasn’t escalated much sooner. I hope you are reassured that Julianne, together with our phone line providers, have completed a thorough review of potential reasons why your call failed to reach us on 3 July, and that the plan to retire legacy phone numbers early in January 2022 will further mitigate the risk of future issues
As a result of my Step 2 investigation, I can confirm your complaint is upheld.
I hope my response has answered your complaint and reassures you we’ve identified several learnings which will be taken forward. If you have any questions however, please let me know by phone on 0300 111 7000 or email at customer.care@greensquareaccord.co.uk
If you are unhappy with my response and would like to request an executive review, please advise us within 10 days of this response, outlining your reason for escalation.
Yours sincerely
Elaine Moore
Head of Customer Voice
As you probably aware I wasn’t happy - my response
Dear Elaine Moore,
Thank you for your email and the information therein.
As you’ll no doubt be aware the breakdown and failure with GreenSquareAccords ability to effectively communicate formed part of a larger complaint (your Ref: 2396): 28th September 2020
Lack of communication and action
I am aware that you brought this issue up in your contact with Julianne to which she addressed at the time. However, I have listened to the calls made from and to you in the last 6 months (this is as long as we hold our calls) but have not found any concerns in how your calls have been dealt with. If your concerns relate to a specific incident, please provide me with further details and I will happily investigate this further.
I can understand that it may appear that our Customer Service Team are not dealing with your requests appropriately as you are not seeing any action from your contact. I want to reassure you that this is not the case, but your complaint has highlighted that there are clear communication, ownership and record keeping issues between internal departments once your initial contact has taken place which makes it difficult for the Customer Service Team to help you or other residents when you contact us.
As this is still be an ongoing issues can you please make me aware of what learnings (as mentioned by you in your closing comments to complaint Ref 2629) have been taken forward this time and why this is still very much an active issue?
If you require any further supporting evidence of GreenSquareAccords inability to track communications, respond in a timely manner or raise complaints please let me know.
Kind Regards
The Irksome Toad - I can’t wait until I find an internal email where they refer to me as the Irksome Toad.
Elaine Moore’s response and where it became clear Accord had not strengthened GreenSquare
Good morning Mr Jenkins, and thank you for your response below.
Thank you for sharing the extract from your previous complaint (Ref 2396) The learnings I summarised in my response to your recent complaint were:
In conclusion, I feel there are learnings for GreenSquareAccord which have been highlighted during the investigation Julianne has been pursuing:
We should have ensured the issue was escalated to Step 2 at the appropriate point to ensure the process was followed and the issue you raised was formally acknowledged
The importance of maintaining regular communication/updates throughout a lengthy of complex investigate to provide reassurance that progress is being made
I can confirm that communication overall is something which we are very much focused on across GreenSquareAccord, as we know this is area which requires improvement to ensure customers are kept up to date, and to avoid the need for our customers to contact us to seek updates. Included in this is the need for all Teams to ensure records are up to date with notes and actions, to allow our Contact Centre to resolve as many queries as possible at the first point of contact, to ensure the experience for our customers is as efficient and effective as possible.
Please be assured that we share and discuss learnings from all complaints, as this is an important source of feedback and insight. Our Insight team hold a monthly session for Managers and Heads of Service where we share this information, and also track changes and service improvements made as a result of customer feedback - and of course any learning from complaints is shared with the Teams involved at the time of the investigation.
I hope this gives reassurance that communication is very much a focus across all levels of GreenSquareAccord.
Kind regards
Elaine
Elaine Moore
Head of Customer Voice
M
Sounds familiar - Perhaps Ms Moore wasn’t aware that this wasn't my first go on the merry-go-round.
Good evening Ms Moore,
Thank you for your email.
The point I’m labouring to make and the reason for me highlighting complaint ref 2396 is that I’ve had the exact assurances before, and not just in relation to the previously mentioned complaint. As written yesterday I can provide numerous examples of where there has been a breakdown with your communications and the assurances that have been given. Assuarncaes that are almost word for word as you have again provided here.
Are you assurances more robust than those of Gemma Freegard, Zoe Peckover, better yet Julianne Britton, Rachel Crownshaw or Suse Weeks, let's go even higher; are you assurances more valid than Robin Bailey’s? If not they are merely another example of GreenSquareAccord paying ‘lip service’ to this ongoing and frustrating issue of customer communications being ignored, lost, or delayed.
So I asked again - With GreenSquareAccord consistently making promises to improve their communications what actual steps have been put in place to ensure this happens?
Thank you again for your time in this matter, I’m sure like me there are much more productive ways you’d rather be spending your time. Still, none of us expected the road to being 'simply brilliant' to be an easy one to tread did we?
Kind Regards
The final response
Thanks for your response Mr Jenkins
I completely understand your frustrations; as you said, we are on a road/journey to ‘Simply Brilliant’ and there is much work ongoing to align teams and processes, all of which will help move this journey forward at pace. Hopefully the fact that the assurances you’ve received (from me and others) have been consistent in content, goes some way to provide confidence that we are very much united in our approach, and focused on the same key areas – communication is key for all of us, whether between internal teams, or with our customers.
I am always happy to respond to any questions or queries; you are welcome to contact me at any time.
Kind regards
Elaine
How long is this roadmap and when can the residents start to see some results?
One year?
Three Years?
Five years as noted by Julianne Britton via email on the 25th November
GreenSquareAccord customers is at the heart of our strategy; we are in the first year of a five-year strategy…
So we are one year into a five year strategy, but are we?
31st March 2019
“None of this is acceptable to the board and executive. Together with a much-changed executive we are determined to fulfil our ambitions of becoming a great landlord and builder of more affordable homes.” - Robin Bailey (then chair of GreenSquare)
So we are not in the first year of this ambitious plan as stated by Julianne Britton (Director of Customer Services)
September 2019
"We launched our latest corporate strategy, ‘Simply Brilliant’, in September 2019, with a very clear focus: create a truly customer-focused organisation that delivers core landlord services well.” - Rachel Crownshaw, Customer Experience Director
Hang on, doing things well isn’t the same as being ‘simply brilliant’ - reassuring to know I’m not the only one confused by the direction and timescale as outlined by GreenSquareAccord.
27th August 2020
“We've recognised the need for GreenSquare to refocus its efforts on being a great landlord and have launched a three-year corporate plan to deliver this change. The plan features much that will benefit customers…” - Ruth Cooke (CEO)
A three year corporate plan in 2020 yet by November 2021 it’s now a five year plan.
The direction isn’t clear, nobody at GreenSquareAccord can agree on how long this ambitious journey will take and in the meantime the same old mistakes are being made time and time again.
When will us residents start to see an example of this “Simply Brilliant Landlord”?
Over the past 12 months, we’ve made significant progress in changing the way we do things internally, but success will be when you feel the difference every time you interact with us.
Rachel Crownshaw
Customer Experience Director - December 2020
As a resident who has just raised the above mentioned complaint I can honestly say I ‘m not convinced of this ‘significant progress’ - Talking of things that don’t seem quite true:
“For me, this isn’t a corporate document – it’s an open invitation to all customers to get involved and be heard. We’re ready for action, let’s make a difference together.”
It’s not an invitation to all customers to get involved, if it was you wouldn’t block so many customer emails; or ask them to shut down their websites, delete their social media accounts and have lawyers write letters…
What to do next?
As Elaine Moore should have advised - we take it to the Housing Ombudsman. Something GreenSquareAccord should make all complainers aware of.