Our commitment to our customers:

  • We aim to provide the best possible service to our customers in an efficient, polite, professional and timely manner. 

  • We will treat you with respect, courteously and helpfully, and in return, we will expect to be treated in the same manner. 

  • We will treat all people fairly and equally regardless of age, gender, religion, political opinion, race, marital status, dependent status, sexual orientation, or ability/disability per our Equality duty under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. 

  • We will not ask you for personal information unless it is relevant to your enquiry. 

  • We will handle all information you provide confidentially and follow data protection laws and the General Data Protection Regulation.

Standards for Customer Contacts

We will:

  • Answer your call promptly (within 20 seconds).

  • Greet you appropriately (including providing a name).

  • Aim to provide with contact details of the staff member able to deal with your enquiry. We will provide the option to leave a message or to speak to another staff member if the person is unavailable.

  • Where unable to provide an immediate answer to a query, we will take all necessary details and call you back at the earliest opportunity. 

When you contact us by phone

Our working hours are 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday with a lunch break between 1 pm to 2 pm. Outside of these hours, calls will be forwarded to an answering machine.

We will:

  • Pick up messages daily and respond within 3 working days (or sooner if possible).

If you get the answering machine

When you write or email us

We will:

  • Respond to correspondence and emails within 5 working days and wherever possible, as soon as possible, upon receipt of your correspondence. 

  • Supply names and contact details in letters and emails.  

  • Correspondence via our website and info@supportingcommunities.org will be dealt with within 5 working days and wherever possible, as soon as possible upon receipt of your correspondence. 

  • Acknowledge queries on social media within 24 hours (during the working week) and fully respond to the query within 5 working days and wherever possible, as soon as possible upon receipt.   

  • In cases where it is not possible to respond fully within 5 working days, we will send an acknowledgement, explain the reason for the delay and respond in full within 15 working days from receipt of your correspondence. 

 All information you provide will be dealt with confidentially and in accordance with Data Protection law & GDPR. 

We will:

  • Provide relevant information that is up to date, timely and easy to read.  

  • Keep our website up to date and provide relevant online information that is easy to navigate presented in an accessible format. 

  • Publish hard copy information where applicable and ensure availability of all relevant material online. 

  • We will ensure our website is accessible and user friendly. The Browsealoud service is available. 

Our information

We will:

  • Provide a customer feedback form on our website and acknowledge comments and compliments within 5 working days and wherever possible, as soon as possible upon receipt.    

  • Produce, publish, and make available in print and online a clear and comprehensive Complaints Policy and Procedure. 

  • Acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days and aim to respond in full within 15 working days. (On occasion, additional response time may be necessary.  

  • Apologise where mistakes have been made and aim to put matters right as soon as possible. 

Complaints & Compliments

We will:

  • Aim for at least an 80% satisfaction rate from our customers on a regular survey of our service standards.

  • Publish our customer service standards performance annually within our annual report commencing with Annual Report 2021/22.

  • Use our customer base to monitor our standards and use the feedback to improve service delivery. 

Our Performance