Carmarthenshire Direct staff boost
The big freeze has not deterred Carmarthenshire Direct staff from struggling into work – so that there is someone on the end of the line when people phone the county council for help.
The Carmarthenshire Direct contact centre and Careline in Llandeilo, and the Customer Service Centres in Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford, have all operated with a full complement of staff despite the weather conditions.
They have won the praise and gratitude of the council’s executive board member for customer care Cllr Kevin Madge for their efforts in providing a vital service.
He also urged members of the public not to be impatient with staff who were dealing professionally with an unprecedented number of calls.
On Monday Carmarthenshire Direct received 3,000 calls, twice the usual number, and daily have been taking some 600 more calls than usual.
Contact Centre manager Eifion Davies said: “Staff have made a great effort to get to work, some walking up to five miles through the snow to work, and we have been operational all week.
“When the snow was really coming down on Tuesday everyone stayed to answer calls and we were open until 6pm.”
He said that the Customer Service Centres have been fully operational all week from 8.45am-5pm.
Careline staff have been covering the phones 24 hours a day and where they have been unable to get in because of road conditions the council has sent a 4x4 vehicle to transport them to and from work.
Mr Davies added: “It is a critical service and we have to make sure we have the staff there to maintain the service.”
Cllr Kevin Madge said he had visited all the staff before Christmas to thank them for their efforts and hoped to do so again next week.
“The staff have been working very hard handling a huge number of calls to deal with the situation.
“They are providing a vital service as the point of contact for people phoning the council for help and advice. I want to thank them for their efforts in getting into work despite the difficult conditions and for the professional way they are dealing with the large number of people phoning for help.”
The council’s points of contact are Carmarthenshire Direct, tel. 01267 234567 between 8.45am and 6pm Monday to Friday, and the three Customer Service Centres for face-to-face contact between 8.45am-5pm Monday to Thursday and 8.45am-4.30pm on Fridays.
The Carmarthenshire Direct contact centre and Careline in Llandeilo, and the Customer Service Centres in Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford, have all operated with a full complement of staff despite the weather conditions.
They have won the praise and gratitude of the council’s executive board member for customer care Cllr Kevin Madge for their efforts in providing a vital service.
He also urged members of the public not to be impatient with staff who were dealing professionally with an unprecedented number of calls.
On Monday Carmarthenshire Direct received 3,000 calls, twice the usual number, and daily have been taking some 600 more calls than usual.
Contact Centre manager Eifion Davies said: “Staff have made a great effort to get to work, some walking up to five miles through the snow to work, and we have been operational all week.
“When the snow was really coming down on Tuesday everyone stayed to answer calls and we were open until 6pm.”
He said that the Customer Service Centres have been fully operational all week from 8.45am-5pm.
Careline staff have been covering the phones 24 hours a day and where they have been unable to get in because of road conditions the council has sent a 4x4 vehicle to transport them to and from work.
Mr Davies added: “It is a critical service and we have to make sure we have the staff there to maintain the service.”
Cllr Kevin Madge said he had visited all the staff before Christmas to thank them for their efforts and hoped to do so again next week.
“The staff have been working very hard handling a huge number of calls to deal with the situation.
“They are providing a vital service as the point of contact for people phoning the council for help and advice. I want to thank them for their efforts in getting into work despite the difficult conditions and for the professional way they are dealing with the large number of people phoning for help.”
The council’s points of contact are Carmarthenshire Direct, tel. 01267 234567 between 8.45am and 6pm Monday to Friday, and the three Customer Service Centres for face-to-face contact between 8.45am-5pm Monday to Thursday and 8.45am-4.30pm on Fridays.
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