Our research
We carry out a variety of regular and ad-hoc research to help us understand how we're doing and how we can improve our service to customers.
Here are a few examples.
Domestic tracker
For many years our independent market research agency telephones a random sample of 300 customers every month, whether they have had contact with us or not. We call this our Domestic Tracker.
The research is designed to help us understand perceptions and satisfaction levels. We ask customers how they feel about important issues such as our role in the environment, our role in the community and value for money.
The table below show the percentage of customers who strongly agreed or agreed with each statement.
Domestic tracker scores
|
|
End of year
2008/09
|
End of
year
2009/10
|
Year to
date
2010/11
|
|
Overall satisfaction
|
91%
|
89%
|
90%
|
|
Expectations exceeded
|
7%
|
6%
|
6%
|
|
Reliability
|
94%
|
94%
|
95%
|
|
Value for money
|
60%
|
60%
|
66%
|
|
Trust
|
90%
|
90%
|
91%
|
|
Responsible
|
76%
|
73%
|
75%
|
|
Enjoyable
|
78%
|
74%
|
76%
|
|
Empathy
|
70%
|
68%
|
68%
|
Customer experience surveys
In December 2009 our independent market research agency started telephoning a random sample of 300 customers each month, who have contacted us for any reason by telephone, e-mail, web, letter, fax or face-to-face and whose query has now been resolved. This survey asks about the customer's experience from the initial contact right through to the resolution of the query. This includes how the contact was handled, how quickly the query was resolved and how satisfied the customer was with the manner in which the query was dealt with.
The table below show the percentage of customers who were satisfied or very satisfied with each aspect
Customer experience survey scores
|
|
End of year
2009/10
|
Year to date
2010/11
|
|
Overall satisfaction
|
85%
|
83%
|
|
Ease of telephone contact
|
92%
|
92%
|
|
Helpfulness and attitude of staff
|
91%
|
91%
|
|
Knowledge and professionalism of staff
|
88%
|
89%
|
|
Kept informed
|
69%
|
74%
|
Ad-hoc research
In addition to our regular research we also carry out ad-hoc research on different topics using a variety of research techniques.
Case study - Recreation sites ad-hoc research
Recently we upgraded the facilities at two of our most popular recreational sites, Swinsty Reservoir, near Harrogate and Langsett Reservoir, near Sheffield. The changes were implemented to improve accessibility to all as well as to protect and enhance the habitats and biodiversity of the sites.
We want to delight all visitors who come to enjoy our sites, so to ensure the improvements met our customers' needs and expectations we carried out research with visitors. We asked a range of questions about their experience, including how they felt about the site, why they were visiting and how they felt about our service.
The results showed that
95% of visitors were delighted with their experience at Langsett and Swinsty. Of those who had seen the site before and after the improvements, more than
8 out of 10 said they thought the changes were for the better, and a third said the site was now better for walkers than it was before.
The main reasons for choosing to visit Langsett reservoir were the good walking (37%), to appreciate the beautiful scenery (27%) and for peace and tranquillity (9%). Those who were delighted with the site most frequently said it was because of the picturesque environment (49%) or the good walks (18%). Those who were not, said the reasons were the area was too commercialised and we had removed too many trees.
