CUSTOMER SERVICE ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT OF CITY OF

TSHWANE METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY: REGIONS 5 AND 7

Study commissioned by

CITY OF TSHWANE METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY Customer Relations Management Division

Study conducted by

B U R E A U O F M A R K E T R E S E A R C H College of Economic and Management Sciences

Project Owner

CUSTOMER RELATIONS MANAGEMENT DIVISION: CITY OF TSHWANE

CUSTOMER SERVICE ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT OF CITY OF TSHWANE

METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY: REGIONS 5 AND 7

May 2012

Study commissioned by

CITY OF TSHWANE METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY Customer Relations Management Division

Compiled by

Prof DH Tustin (Executive Research Director)

Prof AA Ligthelm (Research Director) Ms M Goetz (Senior Research Coordinator)

BUREAU OF MARKET RESEARCH College of Economic and Management Sciences

Project Owner

CUSTOMER RELATIONS MANAGEMENT DIVISION: CITY OF TSHWANE

CR036 Pretoria

2012

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The following individuals have contributed to the completion of this research project: Ms M Khaebana (Executive Director: Customer Relations Management Division, Corporate

and Shared Services Department - City of Tshwane)

Ms M Oosthuizen (Deputy Director: Customer Relations Strategy and Process Development - City of Tshwane)

Ms NJ Leriba (Bureau of Market Research: Data capturing)

Ms C Kemp (Bureau of Market Research: Language Editing)

Ms E Koekemoer (Bureau of Market Research: Report typing)

Ms M Goetz and Ms P de Jongh (Bureau of Market Research: Report typing, technical layout, data editing, cleaning and analysis)

Other City of Tshwane officials who played a key role in the success of the project:

Survey Projects Committee

Kishore Bedhesi; Barry Gerber; Melato Chikane; Pieter Cronje; Nico Manyelo; Nkagi Ndlovu; Willemien Hamman; Motladiile Zungu; Veronica Selatole; Thandi Madi; Aubrey Baloyi; Victor Seroka; Prudence Maisela; Terrence Melly;

Region 5 Regional Executive Director: Adv Frederick Lekwane; Goodwill Rahotsi; Veronica Selatole;

Region 7 Regional Executive Director: Oscar Moalusi; Aubrey Baloyi; Thandi Madi; Nonhlanhla S. Magagula; Prudence Maisela

Fieldworkers conducting intercept interviews at customer care walk-in centres/pay points in

regions 5 and 7

City of Tshwane personnel at all the customer interaction points in regions 5 and 7

Interviewers conducting computer-aided telephone interviews

Participating CoT customers

Councillors in regions 5 and 7

Language Services, Strategic Communication Division; Communication, Marketing and Events

The Customer Relations Management Division of the City of Tshwane would like to thank Prof

Deon Tustin and Prof André Ligthelm of the Bureau of Market Research for sharing their

knowledge and experience with us and for once again conducting a professional and exceptional

survey.

Exclusion of claims. Despite all efforts to ensure accuracy in the assembly of information and

data or the compilation thereof, the BMR is unable to warrant the accuracy of the information,

data and compilations as contained in its reports or any other publication for which it is

responsible. Readers of all the publications referred to above are deemed to have waived and

renounced all rights to any claim against Unisa and the BMR, its officers, project committee

members, servants or agents for any loss or damage of any nature whatsoever arising from any

use or reliance upon such information, data or compilations.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Background Following past trends in the private sector, heightened customer expectations of service quality

and standards have also emerged in the public sector, providing a sound rationale for the

Customer Relations Management Division of the City of Tshwane (CoT) to conduct a research

study on service quality and standards. In fact, the Customer Relations Management Division of

the CoT has taken the lead in conducting customer satisfaction studies since 2009.

After the local municipal elections in May 2011 the Metsweding District Municipality, Kungwini

Local Municipality and Nokeng Tsa Taemane Local Municipality merged with the City of

Tshwane. Previous customer satisfaction studies included only the pre-election demarcated

geographic areas within the CoT. The newly incorporated areas were added to the City of

Tshwane as Region 5 and Region 7 and resulted in changes in the regional borders and existing

wards. These expanded geographic boundaries and resulting changes created a need for

information on public service quality and standards within the newly established regions.

Consequently, the CoT Customer Relations Management Division commissioned the Bureau of

Market Research (BMR) at the University of South Africa (Unisa) to conduct a customer service

quality audit in regions 5 and 7. The aim of the study is to establish customers’ needs and

satisfaction ratings with regard to the standard and quality of services rendered at the different

CoT service interaction points (customer care walk in centre/paypoints ) in regions 5 and 7 and

to inform the planning of the intended new CoT customer satisfaction survey envisaged for

2013.

A service quality audit was conducted in the second quarter of 2012 among 359 customers

serviced across nine different customer care walk-in centres/paypoints within regions 5 and 7.

The research study included a primary survey among both households (90.5% of survey

population) and businesses (9.5% of survey population). These sample units were incorporated

into the research survey that incorporated a combination of computer-aided telephone (25.6%

of survey sample) and paypoint intercept (74.4% of survey sample) interviews to collect

relevant customer data across regions 5 (45.7% of survey sample) and 7 (54.3% of survey

sample). The research methodology resulted in the majority of customers being interviewed

personally at customer care walk-in centres/paypoints (90.3%). However, the research model

designed for the study also ensured the inclusion of customers’ views on service quality and

standards experienced primarily during telephone (7.5% of survey population) and e-mail (2.2%

of survey population) communication with the CoT.

Research analysis When analysing the survey findings among those customers who interacted with the CoT

during the preceding 12 months, it is evident that almost half the customers who were

interviewed, interacted primarily with the CoT to pay municipal accounts (47.6%). Other forms

of interaction included information (36.8%) and service (13.6%) requests and lodging of

complaints (1.9%).

Personal interaction Turning the attention to those customers whose most recent interaction with a CoT paypoint

was in person (90.3% of surveyed population), it is clear that most customers (73.2%) are

located fairly close (less than 5km or 30 minutes’ walking time) to a regional customer care

walk-in centre/paypoint. Of those customers who visited any of the nine customer care walk-in

centres/paypoints in regions 5 and 7 personally, approximately half (53.1%) indicated that they

are also aware of other customer care walk-in centres/paypoints besides the one visited most

recently. Of those aware of other customer care walk-in centres/paypoints, 69.2% also

confirmed that they had used other customer care walk-in centres/paypoints besides the one

visited most recently. This finding not only displays fairly high levels of awareness of other

customer care walk-in centres/paypoints in- and outside the survey regions but also supports

the aim of the survey to capture a broad picture on service quality and standards of multiple

customer care walk-in/paypoint interactions.

With the primary focus of the study on customer satisfaction, the survey findings revealed an

overall ‘average’ satisfaction with service quality attributes such as facilities, account payment

processing, trading hours, counter staff and resolution of queries/complaints. Figure A1 shows

the average satisfaction scores for each service attribute separately where ‘1’ = very dissatisfied

and ‘5’ = very satisfied. It should be noted that the average satisfaction scores relate only to

the most recent personal interactions with at least one of the nine CoT customer care walk-in

centres/paypoints located within regions 5 and 7.

FIGURE A1

AVERAGE SATISFACTION WITH QUALITY OF SERVICE DELIVERY AT CoT CUSTOMER CARE

WALK-IN CENTRES/PAYPOINTS

3.25

3.48

4.31

3.95

3.37

3.63

3.17

3.38

3.91

3.98

2.80

3.52

3.22

3.42

4.08

3.97

3.03

3.56

0 1 2 3 4 5

Facilities

Processing account payments

Trading hours and accessibility

Counter staff

Dealing with queries/complaints

Total

Very dissatisfied Very satisfied

Total Region 7 Region 5

When comparing service attributes, the CoT’s ability to deal with queries and complaints

received a relatively low rating (average ratings score = 3.03) by customers who last visited a

customer care walk-in centre/paypoint in person. As a complaint is regarded as an expression

of dissatisfaction about the standard of service, action or lack of action affecting a customer,

this survey finding is cause for concern.

Exhibit A provides a detailed analysis of the top and bottom items among the 29 different

service attributes used to measure the satisfaction levels of customers regarding the quality of

service delivery.

EXHIBIT A

TOP AND BOTTOM SATISFACTION ITEMS BY REGION

Region 5 Region 7

Variable Score Variable Score

Top

Convenience of customer care walk-in centre/paypoint operating hours

Staff ability to pay attention to customer details

Cashier preciseness in handling money(receiving money/return appropriate change)

All paypoint stations are manned during CoT office hours

Staff friendliness

4.31 4.06

4.03

4.01 4.01

Staff appearance (neatly and appropriately dressed)

Staff friendliness

Promptness of cashiers in handling money

Cashier preciseness in handling money (receiving money/return appropriate change)

Staff skills to do jobs well

Staff ability to pay attention to customer details

4.44 4.12 4.11 4.09

4.05

4.03

Bo

tto

m

Promptness in resolving misallocations of a payment

Adequacy of parking facilities

Promptness in opening a new municipal service account

Promptness in providing details on water leakage

2.82 2.92

2.95 2.98

Promptness in providing details on water leakage

Adequacy of parking facilities

Promptness in resolving misallocations of a payment

Promptness in resolving complaints

Promptness in resolving service requests

Promptness in providing electricity/water consumption reading and financial details

Equipment

Resolving information requests on first contact

2.25 2.41

2.64 2.69 2.75 2.79

2.94

2.96

It is clear from exhibit A that certain counter staff attributes/skills in both regions

received fairly positive satisfaction ratings. However, from a strategic perspective, items

with low rating scores require priority attention. Service areas such as promptness in

resolving misallocations of payments, adequacy of parking facilities and promptness in

providing details on water leakages, should receive prompt attention to improve the

quality of future service delivery at CoT customer care walk-in centres/paypoints in both

regions 5 and 7.

The overall satisfaction scores for customers who last interacted with the CoT in person

at a paypoint, are shown in figure A2 by region.

FIGURE A2

OVERALL CUSTOMER SATISFACTION RATINGS

Although the average scores displayed in figure B generally seem satisfactory, a closer analysis

of the satisfaction category frequency distributions show some level of uncertainty and

dissatisfaction among customers in both regions 5 and 7. In this regard, 21.3% of customers

seem dissatisfied with the quality of service delivery at customer care walk-in

centres/paypoints while 17.9% perceive service delivery as ‘average’. A regional analysis shows

11.7 9.6 10.5

8.8

12.3 10.8

13.9

20.9

17.9

41.6

37.4 39.2

24.1

19.8 21.6

0

25

50

Region 5 Region 7 Total

%

Very dissatisfied Dissatisfied Average Satisfied Very satisfied

Average score = 3.45 Average score = 3.58 Average score = 3.51

that approximately a third (34.3%) of customers in region 5 rated overall service delivery at

customer care walk-in centres/paypoints as ‘average’ (rating score of 3 out of 5) or were

‘dissatisfied’ (rating scores below 3) while about two in every five customers (42.8%) recorded

similar ratings (3 and below) in region 7. From a strategic planning perspective it is important

to elaborate on those service aspects about which customers are dissatisfied. These customer

complaints are thematically summarised in exhibit B by region.

EXHIBIT B

MAJOR REASONS FOR AVERAGE AND BELOW-AVERAGE SERVICE EXPERIENCE

Region Major concerns

Re

gio

n 5

(34

.3%

allo

cate

d a

vera

ge a

nd

dis

sati

sfie

d r

atin

gs)

Office facilities are old

Customer complaints not addressed immediately

Customers not served aptly

Electricity not reconnected despite being paid

High electricity rates

Slow RDP house allocation and maintenance

Incorrect accounts and inability to solve high accounts

People are placed in jobs for which they are not skilled

Poor road facilities

Public toilets are dirty

Water is not readily available

Unequal treatment of customers

Staff are not interested in assisting customers

Payment systems offline, which requires re-visit

Meter readings are ignored

Re

gio

n 7

(42

.8%

allo

cate

d a

vera

ge a

nd

dis

sati

sfie

d r

atin

gs)

Account problems not solved in reasonable time

Staff lack commitment by implementing closure times well before actual closure

Close offices before official closing times

No service at point-of-sale during lunch time

Computer system/machines often offline, slow and broken

Long queues

No follow-up on complaints about electricity meter box

Customer complaints not addressed immediately

Application forms for change in ownership are lost

Referred from pillar to post without being serviced

No library services

High municipal rates

Statements do not reflect payments

Some staff not equipped to do a good job/not trained

Point-of-sale staff are stressed

Meter readings are ignored

Water leakage/meter complaints not addressed or take too long to address

Staff are self-centered and focus on their own rather than customers’ concerns

Street lights not fixed

Restricted parking

Library services closed without reason

Offices are small and not in good condition

Take long to respond to service request

Often referred to other customer care walk-in centres/paypoints

No follow-up on promised service

When comparing the experience of customers who last interacted with the CoT personally with

those who last interacted with the CoT via telephone or e-mail, higher satisfaction is evident

among customers who interacted with the CoT personally. This finding is displayed in figure A3.

FIGURE A3

COMPARATIVE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION RATINGS BY FORM OF INTERACTION

Telephonic interaction Almost a third (29.3%) of the computer-aided telephone interview (CATI) survey population last

interacted with the CoT via the Contact/Call Centre (012 358 9999). The experience of these

customers during their telephonic interaction are summarised in figure A4.

1

2

3

4

5

Personal interactionTelephone interaction

e-Mail interaction

3.51

2.37 2.50

Ver

y d

issa

tisf

ied

V

ery

sati

sfie

d

FIGURE A4

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION RATINGS FOR TELEPHONIC INTERACTION

A closer analysis of the research findings shows that 55.6% of customers who interacted with

the CoT telephonically were dissatisfied with the service experienced. The major reasons

advanced for dissatisfaction include:

wait too long before being assisted

promptness in resolving service requests

efficiency of requests/complaints follow-up

promptness in resolving complaints

Other major concerns raised by customers included the following:

addressing of previous complaints long overdue and no follow-up actions

call agents difficult to reach

call agents are rude

call agents are not helpful

1

2

3

4

5

Call Centre agentsDealing with

queries/complaintsTotal

2.58

2.10 2.37

Extr

emel

y d

issa

tisf

ied

Extr

emel

y sa

tisf

ied

e-Mail interaction Almost one in every 10 (8.7%) of the CATI respondents last interacted with the CoT via e-mail.

The experiences of these customers through e-mail interaction are summarised in figure A5. It

is clear from the analysis that approximately 62.5% of customers were dissatisfied with the

CoT’s handling of e-mail requests/enquiries. When probed regarding the major reasons for

dissatisfaction, participating customers indicated that the CoT does not respond to e-mails nor

provide feedback on e-mail enquiries.

FIGURE A5

PERCENTAGE OF CUSTOMERS IN SATISFACTION RATING CATEGORIES

FOR CoT’s HANDLING OF e-MAIL REQUESTS/COMPLAINTS

Municipal account payment Besides measuring customer satisfaction, the survey also explored the current and preferred

methods of municipal account payments of participating customers. Although most customers

currently pay accounts at the cashier desk at customer care walk-in centres/paypoints (72.1%),

customers show keen interest in paying accounts at external paypoints and banks or

electronically via Internet banking in future.

0

25

50

Total

37.5

25.0 25.0

12.5

%

Very dissatisfied Dissatisfied Satisfied Very satisfied

Average score = 2.50

Customer rights The research model was also designed to measure customer views regarding the eight Batho

Pele principles aspired to by the CoT. These survey findings are presented in table A1. The

analysis shows that participating customers regard openness and transparency and value for

money as the most neglected principles. In turn, courtesy and access were identified as the

two best implemented principles.

TABLE A1

CUSTOMER RATINGS REGARDING CUSTOMER RIGHTS

Councillor perspective Table A2 shows that the perceived levels of customer care satisfaction of councillors of regions

5 and 7, that ranged from 2.2 (out of 5) for walk-in centres to 2.0 for Call Centre and written

communication, are slightly lower than those reported by customers themselves.

Statements

Total

Disagree Neither agree

Agree

The Tshwane Municipality makes attempts to consult citizens about the services they need (consultation).

42.3 21.4 36.2

Citizens are told what level and quality of public services they can expect to receive (service standards)

40.9 21.7 37.3

All citizens have equal access to the services to which they are entitled (access) 27.3 26.7 46.0

Citizens are treated with courtesy and consideration (courtesy) 27.6 25.6 46.8

Citizens are given full, accurate information about the public services they are entitled to receive (information)

40.1 23.4 36.5

Citizens are told how services/departments are run, how much they cost and who is in charge (openness and transparency)

44.6 23.7 31.8

It is easy for citizens to lodge a complaint/enquiry (redress) 35.4 23.1 41.5

Citizens who pay for services get value for their money/CoT spends wisely (value for money) 40.9 25.6 33.4

TABLE A2

AVERAGE OVERALL SATISFACTION RATINGS FOR CUSTOMER CARE SERVICES BY COUNCILLORS AND CUSTOMERS

Type of customer care interaction Councillors Customers

Walk-in centres/paypoints 2.20 3.56

Call Centre 2.00 2.37

Written communication 2.00 2.501)

1) Converted from percentage distribution to satisfaction rating score

Conclusion In summary, the study showed high levels of personal interaction and intra- and interregional

usage of customer care walk-in centres/paypoints. Customers who last visited CoT customer

care walk-in centres/paypoints in regions 5 and 7 in person regard the quality of service

delivery as ‘average‘. In fact, one in every five customers who last interacted with a CoT

customer care walk-in centre/paypoint in person, is dissatisfied with the quality of service

delivery. In this regard, customers are most disgruntled about the promptness of processing

municipal account payments. Specific concerns in this regard relate to promptness in providing

details on water leakages, resolving misallocations of payments, providing electricity/water

consumption readings and financial details and promptness in resolving complaints. In turn,

the proximity of customer care walk-in centres/paypoints as well as counter staff appearance,

friendliness, politeness, professionalism and ability to pay attention to customer details,

showed relatively higher customer satisfaction ratings. Despite these last-mentioned positive

personal observations, participating customers who interact with the CoT via the Call Centre

and e-mail, are largely dissatisfied with the quality of service delivery experienced via these

nonpersonal means of interaction. Of most concern are the lack of follow-up actions to

telephonic service requests. In similar vein, participating customers indicated that the CoT does

not respond to e-mails nor provide feedback on e-mail enquiries.

There is no doubt that the quality of customer services is a critical strategic issue for public

sector organisations. Especially those operating at local government level, should take note of

and act on pressure to improve customer service on a continuous basis. Some pressure in the

public sector arises internally from a genuine desire by managers to improve the quality of

services while further pressure is imposed through initiatives like the White Paper on

Transforming Public Service Delivery or the so-called ‘Batho Pele’ White Paper that requires

from government departments to improve service delivery in terms of the eight ‘Batho Pele’

service delivery principles. In aspiring to these principles and in demonstrating its resolve to

improve service quality, the Customer Relations Management Division of the City of Tshwane

(CoT) initiated a customer satisfaction survey that presented customers with an opportunity to

provide their perceptions of service delivery and to express their expectations regarding service

quality. The fact that customers typically assess service quality by comparing the service they

actually experience with the service they expect, makes the outcome of this survey of strategic

importance for the CoT. The core survey findings emerging from the 2012 study in regions 5

and 7, display average to below-average satisfaction relative to the type of customer

interaction. The survey revealed key strategic focus areas that the CoT needs to address to

improve future customer satisfaction. It is recommended that the CoT, in regions 5 and 7, focus

primarily on those service items that recorded below-average satisfaction ratings among

customers who participated in the 2012 study. However, the success of any strategies will

depend on management’s commitment as well as the degree to which management proactively

resolves customer complaints through the involvement of the customer. It is therefore

recommended that customers should be consulted and involved when determining service

quality standards and measurement.