Council Customer Service Enquiries
Case reference FOI2026/02023
Received 22 September 2026
Published 20 October 2026
Request
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, could you please provide the following information:
Q1. Total enquiries. Please provide the total number of enquiries received by the council's Customer Services/Contact Centre function during the reporting period.
Q2. Channel breakdown. Where recorded, please provide the total number of enquiries received through each of the following channels:
* Telephone
* Online form or customer portal
* Webchat
* Virtual assistant or chatbot
* Social media
* SMS, WhatsApp, or another messaging service
* Other (please specify)
If the council records some of these channels together, please provide the information using the categories held.
Q3. Telephone performance. If held, please provide:
* Average speed to answer telephone calls
* Total number of abandoned calls
* Average call-handling time
Q4. Service hours. Please provide the standard operating hours of the central Customer Services/Contact Centre function, including whether staffed customer service support is routinely available during evenings or weekends.
Q5. Complaints. If held, please provide the total number of complaints specifically relating to performance, responsiveness, or accessibility of the central Customer Services/Contact Centre function.
Q6. Customer satisfaction. If held, please provide the average customer satisfaction score (CSAT) or equivalent customer service satisfaction measure for the reporting period.
Q7. First contact resolution. If first contact resolution is measured, please provide:
* The first contact resolution rate
* The number of enquiries resolved at the first point of contact, if recorded
Please also provide the council's definition of first contact resolution.
Q8. Use of artificial intelligence. Does the council currently use any AI-powered technology within its central Customer Services/Contact Centre function?
If yes, please briefly describe the technology and its purpose. This could include, but is not limited to, chatbots or virtual assistants, automated email handling, call summarisation, knowledge tools, or technology that assists customer service staff.
Q9. Customer service workforce. Please provide the average number of full-time equivalent staff working within the central Customer Services/Contact Centre function during the reporting period.
If an average is not held, please provide the number recorded at the nearest available data and specify that date.
Q10. Most common reasons for contact. If enquiries are categorised by reason for contact, please provide:
* The five most common recorded enquiry categories during the reporting period
* The number of enquiries recorded in each category, if held
Response
Thank you for your recent request under the Freedom of Information Act.
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, could you please provide the following information:
Q1. Total enquiries. Please provide the total number of enquiries received by the council's Customer Services/Contact Centre function during the reporting period.
We only record information relating to total calls received to the Customer Services Centre. This information is publicly available and can be found via the following link, under ‘Call Wait Times’:
As such, the information you require can be found from publicly available sources and consequentially under Section 21 of the Act, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible.
Q2. Channel breakdown. Where recorded, please provide the total number of enquiries received through each of the following channels:
* Telephone
* Online form or customer portal
* Webchat
* Virtual assistant or chatbot
* Social media
* SMS, WhatsApp, or another messaging service
* Other (please specify)
If the council records some of these channels together, please provide the information using the categories held.
As above, we only hold records relating to the number of telephone calls received. As such, we do not hold information related to other contact channels. However, I can confirm that the only other methods of contact are via emails and online form or customer portal.
Q3. Telephone performance. If held, please provide:
* Average speed to answer telephone calls:
This information can be found via the following link, under ‘Call Wait Times’:
As such, the information you require can be found from publicly available sources and consequentially under Section 21 of the Act, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible.
* Total number of abandoned calls:
This information is not held.
* Average call-handling time:
This information is not held.
Q4. Service hours. Please provide the standard operating hours of the central Customer Services/Contact Centre function, including whether staffed customer service support is routinely available during evenings or weekends.
This information is available on our website and can be found via the following link:
https://www.guildford.gov.uk/contact
As such, the information you require can be found from publicly available sources and consequentially under Section 21 of the Act, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible.
Q5. Complaints. If held, please provide the total number of complaints specifically relating to performance, responsiveness, or accessibility of the central Customer Services/Contact Centre function.
This information is not held.
Q6. Customer satisfaction. If held, please provide the average customer satisfaction score (CSAT) or equivalent customer service satisfaction measure for the reporting period.
This information is not held.
Q7. First contact resolution. If first contact resolution is measured, please provide:
* The first contact resolution rate
* The number of enquiries resolved at the first point of contact, if recorded
Please also provide the council's definition of first contact resolution.
This information is not held.
Q8. Use of artificial intelligence. Does the council currently use any AI-powered technology within its central Customer Services/Contact Centre function?
No.
If yes, please briefly describe the technology and its purpose. This could include, but is not limited to, chatbots or virtual assistants, automated email handling, call summarisation, knowledge tools, or technology that assists customer service staff.
N/A.
Q9. Customer service workforce. Please provide the average number of full-time equivalent staff working within the central Customer Services/Contact Centre function during the reporting period.
21 FTE.
If an average is not held, please provide the number recorded at the nearest available data and specify that date.
Q10. Most common reasons for contact. If enquiries are categorised by reason for contact, please provide:
* The five most common recorded enquiry categories during the reporting period
Housing
Waste Services
Council Tax
Planning
Benefits
* The number of enquiries recorded in each category, if held
This information is not held.
Yours sincerely
FOI Team
Guildford Borough Council
Documents
This is Guildford Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
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