TPAS Customer Feedback
In February 2025, we commissioned tenant engagement experts TPAS (Tenants Participation Advisory Service) to lead two focus groups so we could learn how you feel about your complaints experience with us.
These focus groups are part of a wider project focussed on improving your experience of raising a complaint. We know we have a lot of work to do to ensure you have no reason to complain. If you do want to complain, we need to make it easy and smooth sailing.
We created two focus groups – satisfied and dissatisfied complainants. Both discussions covered the following topics:
Awareness – How much did you know about what to expect before you made your complaint?
For participants that had contacted Wandle, they felt positive about the initial response from our customer service Contact Centre, with four tenants saying they hadn’t intended to make a formal complaint but did due to the helpfulness of the person they spoke to.
Only three of the participants knew about the complaint process (23%). The remaining participants did not know who to contact or where to find more information.
Customer Service – How well did the staff listen to you when first made your complaint?
In all cases, participants reported negative experiences or low confidence that the next steps would happen. We know we need to work to improve residents' faith and trust when you complain.
Part of our new corporate strategy focuses on ensuring better communication throughout the complaints process and keeping you informed.
Customer Care – How do you know that Wandle cares about you? What tells you that?
In both groups, every participant said they did not feel cared for by us. Eight participants specifically cited poor communication as evidence that Wandle do not care. However, one participant said,
“I feel they are thinking about the experiences of tenants by having this meeting.”
We are making changes to our services that ensure residents will feel cared for.
Trust – To what extent did you trust the staff you spoke to, to do what they said they would?
In both groups, initial trust was generally high. Every satisfied customer rated their trust at 6/10 or higher. In contrast, dissatisfied customers reported their initial trust score being 8/10 or higher, showing a bigger drop for them by the end of the complaints process.
We have overhauled our complaints procedure, which you can read more about on our website: www.wandle.com/say-it/improving-complaints/.
Quality – When you received your complaint response, how did it make you feel?
75% of satisfied participants felt positive about the response they received from us. Their satisfaction, however, came not from the quality of the response, but from conversations with a particular staff member, unexpected compensation, or the repair having been completed.
Expectations vs Experience – How did your expectations of making your complaint compare with your experience?
One participant commented, “my experience was much more frustrating and time-consuming than I had expected.”
We are committed to changing this and improving our communication with you throughout the complaint process.
Service Improvement – Name one thing Wandle could have done when handling your complaint, that would have made it better for you.
Both groups said that communication was a key factor in a positive experience. Because so many felt this was missing for them, this was one of the main things people said.
Suggestions included
- more consistency in responses
- call backs and updates as promised
- better sharing of information or better record keeping internally so people didn’t have to repeat themselves
- clearer responses with more detail of the next steps.
We know that being consistent when handling complaints is vital, and our commitment to residents is to learn from feedback and do more to exceed expectations. We are working to integrate our internal systems so that the complaints process is seamless for residents.
Finally, our new complaints process will go above and beyond the expectations in the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaints Handling Code so that residents can trust their complaints will be resolved to their satisfaction.
75% of satisfied participants felt positive about our response
Get involved and win £100
Our Resident Engagement team offers different opportunities for you to get involved and have your say.
We have a lot of different ways that you can provide us with feedback about our services and engage with us to improve how we work. Sometimes we bring our engagement service to you and your communities, in the form of local events. We want to hear from you about what you want. It could be anything from drop-in sessions, neighbourhood events, to youth projects.
Scan the QR code, or click the link below to fill in the survey to be entered into a prize draw and be in with the chance of winning £100 Love2Shop voucher.
Your feedback is invaluable in helping us engage with you in a manner that suits you best.
Respond by 30th April 2025 to enter.
