A statement from Louise Mattinson

Since Covid, and even more so over the last 12 months, it has been very clear to me that the level of service that you, as CGA tenants, receive in relation to repairs has not been good enough.

We have always aimed to deliver the very highest levels of service and in previous years our tenant satisfaction for repairs was consistently above 90% - one of the highest levels in the country.  While we still compare well to other organisations there can be no argument that our standards have slipped and there are too many occasions where we have not got things right.  We know that until very recently, it was taking too long to get through to us on the phone and that it is still taking too long to get your repairs done and not enough repairs are getting done right on the first visit.  What’s also very clear, from reading the detail of complaints that you have made, from reading social media posts and talking to many of you, is that on too many occasions we have let you down when it comes to our communication and being clear about what we will be doing and when. 

I share in your frustration with this.  While it is easy to blame Covid for many of the issues, including dealing with a backlog of repairs and labour shortages amongst other challenges, the simple truth is that this is not good enough and we do recognise this.  Over the last few months, a lot of work has been done to get our repairs service back to where it was, and where it should be and we are starting to see these improvements.  Since early March we are now answering 96% of all calls to our repairs line with an average waiting time of less than a minute. We have recruited extra operatives and are bringing in more changes to reduce the time that you will need to wait for more urgent repairs.  We have added to the number of surveyors that we have so that we can get more complex repairs inspected quicker and are adding to the technical expertise we already have in house to improve accurate diagnosis.  We have also invested in customer service training, which is focussed on really listening to our tenants and improving the way that we communicate with you, for every member of staff at CGA. 

Whilst it is encouraging to see these improvements we know that there is still lots of work to do and I want to assure you that this is a priority for us all here at CGA.  The best way for us to improve our services is to make sure we are listening to you and that we learn from your experiences, be they good or bad.  With this in mind we will be holding a drop-in event on Wednesday 8^th May between 4pm and 7pm at our head office, Harbour House, where we would welcome anyone with any issues or suggestions for improvements to attend.  There’s no need to book – just drop in. Alternatively you can email us with any feedback or suggestions at repairs@communitygateway.co.uk and we will contact you back personally.