The Death of ‘Simply Brilliant'

Part Two - A lack of integrity

As we continue to lament the death of Ruth Cooke’s ambitious plan we look at another key failing - GreenSquareAccord’s lack of integrity.

A lack of integrity

Missed deadlines, broken promises, spinning the truth, a lack of probity, and a heaped spoonful of disrespect will certainly leave a sour taste in the mouths of your residents; it’s also another death knell to their corporate plan to become ‘A Simply Brilliant Landlord’.

Quantifying GreenSquareAccord’s lack of integrity

It’s an old one but it’s so important we will quickly start with it and move on…

If you say it - do it (trust)

If you agree to call someone back, call them back. Even if it is to inform them that you haven’t been able to solve their issue, this way they’ll know they haven’t been forgotten or worse yet simply ignored. It’s simple, level one customer service.

If you want trust, be honest

Having been told that our lacklustre ground maintenance and upkeep wasn’t due to staff being put on furlough, it was worrying to read that GreenSquareAccord had actually taken advantage of the governments furlough scheme.

Of course this large sum of money would have been passed on to GreenSquareAccord’s customers (many of whom as we know are vulnerable) - surely?

Again we won’t waste too much time highlighting GreenSquareAccord and their sporadic approach to using the truth, as we’ve already covered it here and here. A subject I’m sure we will return to again, but let’s hope not.

So they’re not trustworthy because they’re not always honest, which makes it hard for them to have any integrity. So what I hear you ask…

Will a lack of integrity bother GreenSquareAccord?

It doesn't seem to, and why not? Because it doesn’t negatively affect them.

Reduced level of service - yet an increase in service charges.

Calls and emails still ignored - yet an increase in service charges.

Failed to meet statutory health and safety requirements in relation to fire, electrical and asbestos safety - yet an increase in service charges.

Failure to repair homes - yet an increase in service charges.

You can always fake it!

When you don’t have integrity and it isn’t affecting your bottom line, you can always pretend.

Hoorah! - GreenSquareAccord want to listen to the voice of the customer! But haven’t GreenSquareAccord been pushing this for about three years now? - Yes they have. Perhaps with money spent on a new website they hope to reignite this program.

And it’s official - the ‘Simply Brilliant Landlord’ corporate strategy that we’ve all been on for about three years is dead (you read it here first folks!) and now we are on a new corporate journey to be Simply Brilliant Together! I suppose the ‘together’ bit is so they can offload some of the blame onto us long suffering residents.

A focus on the simple things - Like providing heating and hot water to your most vulnerable residents, young and old?

The customer voice! - Well I’m delighted! Surely this will mean less communication bans, no more blocking on social media sites, and no more being ignored! Maybe together we can help GreenSquareAccord reach an acceptable level of service, perhaps they can earn trust and gain integrity!

Too many organisations! - But in other situations, we are able to change provider if the service provided isn’t focused on our actual needs. If these other organisations provide a poor quality service or even a service we don’t want, we could leave! We can stop paying and find an alternative provider! With GreenSquareAccord, we are trapped in (what is currently akin to) a toxic relationship. We could leave but it would mean losing our home.

Make it easier! - The voice of the customer has been and is vocal. GreenSquareAccord just need to listen. The views have been here all a long, all GreenSquareAccord had to do was address them. GreenSquareAccord have already published the views of the customer (albeit in a diluted manner).

Easy to understand - We want safe homes. We want you to provide the service you’ve agreed to provide and are charge us for. We want you to charge a fair service charge that is value for money. It couldn’t be any simpler.

Are we ready? - GreenSquareAccord have been harping on about the ‘turning up the voice of the customer’ for years now! We’ve completed your surveys, we’ve been commenting on social media posts and many of us have taken part on your panels. We can’t shout any louder. When can we see the results of this feedback?

Are GreenSquareAccord ready?

In conclusion

GreenSquareAccord seem unable to settle on a corporate journey, rudderless in the high seas or merely treading water in a vague hope that nobody notices.

GreenSquareAccord seemed to be unable to settle on how long they were actually on the road to becoming a ‘Simply Brilliant Landlord'. Residents assumed at least two years into a three year plan, some GreenSquareAccord staff thought they were one year into a three year strategy, whilst others thought one year into a five year journey. Whichever option you measure it by it seems to be dead now.

No matter how far into the corporate journey we were things have not improved. As highlighted above response times are still an issue. The vulnerable still have to cope without heating and hot water, and GreenSquareAccord are still pushing the voice of the customer but aren’t listening.

GreenSquareAccord have just spent yet further funds on improving their corporate imagine with a new website and the recruitment of a Director of corporate affairs and communications. I too am again jumping onboard to further support GreenSquareAccord who once again seem keen to enable us residents to be part of this latest corporate journey, by listening to us and allowing us to focus upon the areas that need improvement. As such I’ve launched (unbeknownst to me GreenSquareAccord were again refocusing their ears on our voices) the Real Voice of the Customer! I’ve interviewed two residents this week and will be sharing their thoughts, views and concerns with you and GreenSquareAccord.

Together we can be brilliant, although most of us would settle on a landlord with just a modicum of integrity and the ability to provide the service they charge us for…