Two Grand Union customers, Ashleigh Webber and Shawna Barnes, were recruited to our Customer Experience Committee in October, joining three other members Peter Fielder (Chair), Emma Killick and Brent O’Halloran.
The Committee held their first meeting on 21 October where they got right down to business reviewing the Regulator of Social Housing Consumer Standards, Grand Union’s response to the building safety consultation and the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaints Handling Code, along with our self-assessment against it. In addition to this they scrutinised key performance areas such as repairs, complaints and safeguarding.
Peter said “I know that this does not sound super interesting but Grand Union is here to serve our customers and all of these have a massive impact on the services that we provide and the homes and communities that customers live in.” He added “We were delighted to have a number of high-quality candidates to join the committee but it was Ashleigh and Shawna who really stood out. Their experience of delivering customer services as well as their lived experience of being Grand Union customers make them great additions to the committee.”
The aim of the committee is to ensure that we are keeping our promises to you, our customers. To do this the committee needs to be sure that we listening to the ‘Customer Voice’; understanding your experience of living in a Grand Union home, hearing your concerns and most importantly responding properly and promptly to the various issues which inevitably face all householders from time to time.
We also need to ensure that our own communications with you as clear and supportive as possible. It is the Customer Experience Committee’s responsibility to assure the Grand Union Board that we are doing the best we can for our customers.
Shawna (pictured left) said: “I decided to apply for the role of Customer Committee member because I wanted to represent fellow customers; to share ideas and perspectives from a customer’s stand-point. I also admire the values and ethos of Grand Union Housing Group and I saw the role as a way to develop myself in a well-established organisation.”
Ashleigh (pictured right) added: “I am really pleased to be on the Customer Experience committee. I applied to join because I think it’s a great forum to really feed back in detail about the customer journey. I have a customer service background and am really keen to share my experience and opinions and help shape the future of Grand Union customer service.”