Council Customer Service Enquiries
Case reference FOI2026/02274
Received 22 September 2026
Published 14 October 2026
Request
For the purpose of this request, please define an “enquiry” as any inbound request for information, support, or service received and managed through the council’s central Customer Services, Customer Contact Centre, Contact Centre, webchat service, online customer contact channels, or equivalent first point of contact function. This request does not extend to enquiries sent directly to individual departments, service areas, officers, or councillors where these interactions are not centrally recorded. Please provide the following information for the most recent 12-month period for which complete data is available, and specify the exact dates covered.
Q1. Total enquiries. Please provide the total number of enquiries received by the council’s Customer Services/Contact Centre function during the reporting period.
Q2. Channel breakdown. Where recorded, please provide the total number of enquiries received through each of the following channels:
* Telephone
* Online form or customer portal
* Webchat
* Virtual assistant or chatbot
* Social media
* SMS, WhatsApp, or another messaging service
* Other (please specify)
If the council records some of these channels together, please provide the information using the categories held.
Q3. Telephone performance. If held, please provide:
* Average speed to answer telephone calls
* Total number of abandoned calls
* Average call-handling time
Q4. Service hours. Please provide the standard operating hours of the central Customer Services/Contact Centre function, including whether staffed customer service support is routinely available during evenings or weekends.
Q5. Complaints. If held, please provide the total number of complaints specifically relating to performance, responsiveness, or accessibility of the central Customer Services/Contact Centre function.
Q6. Customer satisfaction. If held, please provide the average customer satisfaction score (CSAT) or equivalent customer service satisfaction measure for the reporting period.
Q7. First contact resolution. If first contact resolution is measured, please provide:
* The first contact resolution rate
* The number of enquiries resolved at the first point of contact, if recorded Please also provide the council’s definition of first contact resolution.
Q8. Use of artificial intelligence. Does the council currently use any AI-powered technology within its central Customer Services/Contact Centre function? If yes, please briefly describe the technology and its purpose. This could include, but is not limited to, chatbots or virtual assistants, automated email handling, call summarisation, knowledge tools, or technology that assists customer service staff.
Q9. Customer service workforce. Please provide the average number of full-time equivalent staff working within the central Customer Services/Contact Centre function during the reporting period. If an average is not held, please provide the number recorded at the nearest available data and specify that date.
Q10. Most common reasons for contact. If enquiries are categorised by reason for contact, please provide:
* The five most common recorded enquiry categories during the reporting period
* The number of enquiries recorded in each category, if held If any requested information is not held, please state this.
Where possible, please provide any closely related information that is readily available.
Response
For the purpose of this request, please define an “enquiry” as any inbound request for information, support, or service received and managed through the council’s central Customer Services, Customer Contact Centre, Contact Centre, webchat service, online customer contact channels, or equivalent first point of contact function.
This request does not extend to enquiries sent directly to individual departments, service areas, officers, or councillors where these interactions are not centrally recorded.
Please provide the following information for the most recent 12-month period for which complete data is available, and specify the exact dates covered.
Q1. Total enquiries. Please provide the total number of enquiries received by the council’s Customer Services/Contact Centre function during the reporting period.
Answer: This information is not recorded.
Q2. Channel breakdown. Where recorded, please provide the total number of enquiries received through each of the following channels:
* Telephone
Answer: 53,642
* Email
Answer: This information is not recorded.
* Online form or customer portal
Answer: 2785.
* Webchat
Answer: Not Applicable.
* Virtual assistant or chatbot
Answer: Not Applicable.
* Social media
Answer: This information is not recorded
* SMS, WhatsApp, or another messaging service
Answer: Not Applicable.
* Other (please specify)
Answer: Not Applicable
If the council records some of these channels together, please provide the information using the categories held.
Q3. Telephone performance. If held, please provide:
* Average speed to answer telephone calls
Answer: 45 seconds.
* Total number of abandoned calls
Answer: 3576.
* Average call-handling time
Answer: 3 minutes 30 seconds.
Q4. Service hours. Please provide the standard operating hours of the central Customer Services/Contact Centre function, including whether staffed customer service support is routinely available during evenings or weekends.
Answer: Customer Services phone lines are open 9-5 Monday to Friday. Outside of these times emergency calls are dealt with by an out-of-hour provider.
Q5. Complaints. If held, please provide the total number of complaints specifically relating to performance, responsiveness, or accessibility of the central Customer Services/Contact Centre function.
Answer: 0.
Q6. Customer satisfaction. If held, please provide the average customer satisfaction score (CSAT) or equivalent customer service satisfaction measure for the reporting period.
Answer: This information is not held.
Q7. First contact resolution. If first contact resolution is measured, please provide:
The first contact resolution rate
The number of enquiries resolved at the first point of contact, if recorded
Please also provide the council’s definition of first contact resolution.
Answer: This information is not recorded.
Q8. Use of artificial intelligence. Does the council currently use any AI-powered technology within its central Customer Services/Contact Centre function?
Answer: No
If yes, please briefly describe the technology and its purpose. This could include, but is not limited to, chatbots or virtual assistants, automated email handling, call summarisation, knowledge tools, or technology that assists customer service staff.
Answer: N / A
Q9. Customer service workforce. Please provide the average number of full-time equivalent staff working within the central Customer Services/Contact Centre function during the reporting period.
If an average is not held, please provide the number recorded at the nearest available data and specify that date.
Answer: 12.
Q10. Most common reasons for contact. If enquiries are categorised by reason for contact, please provide:
* The five most common recorded enquiry categories during the reporting period
Answer: switchboard, waste, blue badge, registrars and planning.
* The number of enquiries recorded in each category, if held.
Answer:
switchboard 22,848;
waste 20142;
blue badge 3710;
registrars 3218;
planning 2286.
Documents
This is Herefordshire Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
You can browse our other responses or make a new FOI request.