By Jenny Littlewood, Director, Client Strategy
Like many working parents with school age children, I’m busy organising various activities and holiday programs. This can be a challenge particularly when a certain organisation (which shall remain nameless) doesn’t respond to calls or emails.
As someone working in a service industry, it always astounds me when I encounter this lack of responsiveness. It leaves me not only feeling totally frustrated but with a distinct feeling they simply don’t care.
Unfortunately such is the lack of school-age care that we have limited choices as parents. (At least this has been acknowledged ‘Holiday care is not a black and white issue for working mums’ Sunday Age – 17.1.10 . So, for now at least, this organisation will continue in business. Would Currie? Certainly not.
At Currie we’d be appalled if clients had to leave messages on message banks and not receive a timely call back – in fact we don’t have message banks – we prefer our clients speak to someone each time they ring and have a policy that the phone shouldn’t ring more than four times before it’s answered.
Such is the importance we place on responsiveness that we include a question in our client survey to ensure our levels of responsiveness are meeting and, preferably exceeding, client expectations.
Not once have I been asked to fill in a survey about the service or programs provided by the holiday care organisations I’ve used, probably because demand is outstripping supply. But as parents should we be making them more accountable?
I, for one, certainly hope there’ll be a time when I can choose between holiday program providers based on the level of service they provide. Until then I’ll be paying through gritted teeth.
