Vale of White Horse District Council
Abbey House, Abbey Close,
Abingdon, OX14 3JE
Email: comments@whitehorsedc.gov.uk
Telephone: 01235 520202

Vale of White Horse District Council

The Abingdon Guildhall and Wantage Civic Hall promise to customers

Whatever the service, whichever way they contact us, we promise our customers to:

• Deal with enquiries in a friendly, helpful and courteous manner;
• Treat everyone equally and without discrimination;
• Provide accurate and timely information;
• Treat any information given to us or held by us sensitively and discreetly, respecting any confidentiality;
• Meet the targets set out in our service standards;
• Treat any comments and complaints about our services seriously and to handle them in a positive way.

The services we provide

The Guildhall, located in the centre of Abingdon, has a number of rooms ranging in size which can be hired at very reasonable rates for a variety of functions. It can comfortably handle events with up to 350 people.

The Civic Hall is located in Wantage town centre, and is available to hire for a wide range of events. The building has been designed to be as flexible as possible and includes a state-of-the-art acoustic system and excellent disabled access.

Responding to Customers

Standards for responding to enquiries via letter, email, telephone or personal visit are set out in the Council’s Customer Service Charter.

Service Aims and Objectives

The halls have specific standards for their services, which are set out below.

Cleaning

We promise that:

• During open hours the toilets will be cleaned each morning and checked at regular intervals;
• The facility will be cleaned daily during opening hours;
• Upon receipt of a complaint regarding cleanliness the complainant will be informed immediately of what action will be taken.

Staff Appearance and Behaviour

We promise that:

• Duty managers and front of house staff will be clearly identifiable to customers at all times (uniforms/name badges);
• All staff will be clean and smart in appearance;
• Staff will be helpful, pleasant and courteous at all times.

Monitoring/Customer Satisfaction

We promise to:

• Hold annual customer focus groups with the Leisure Facilities Manager, Facilities Manager and staff in attendance to answer relevant queries or questions;
• Advise customers of the outcomes from the focus groups;
• Conduct annual customer surveys to highlight areas of concern and areas for improvement;
• Investigate any reasonable suggestions by customers to improve our service.

Repairs and Maintenance

We promise that:

• Should a fault occur in a room an alternative will be offered if appropriate subject to availability.
• Facilities and rooms will be maintained to a standard that will ensure due regard to health and safety.

Refreshments

We promise to:

• Offer a selection of refreshments as required by the customer if given reasonable notice and subject to availability.
• Ensure all crockery and utensils are hygienically clean;
• Serve refreshments at times requested and confirmed on the day with the customer;
• Should refreshments not be requested initially but on the day we will endeavour to provide them within 30 minutes.

Equipment

We promise to make sure that all equipment supplied will be:

• In safe working order and in a clean and presentable condition;
• Should equipment unavoidably breakdown we will endeavour to offer an alternative or replacement subject to availability.

Bookings

We promise that:

• Relevant booking information e.g. room availability/layout/price/equipment will be provided along with correct booking forms and terms and conditions;
• Confirmation of booking will be issued within seven days of receipt of completed booking forms;
• To keep the customer informed of all booking requirements prior to events either by post or telephone.

Help Us to Help You!  

Customers can help the Council to deliver the best possible service by:

• Being aware of any relevant service standards (for example, turnaround times on applications);
• Keeping us informed of any relevant changes in your circumstances;
• Responding to letters and any requests for further information or documentation in the timescales requested;
• Treating our staff with respect and courtesy.

Customer Behaviour

Our staff are committed to providing the best possible service for customers, and we believe that in return our staff have a right to be treated courteously and with respect.

The Council will not tolerate instances of verbal, written or physical harrassment or abuse of its staff. The Council will record such incidents and may report incidents to the police. We retain the right, where we consider customer actions to be unacceptable, to change, restrict or refuse access to our services.

Comments, Complaints and Suggestions  

The Council recognises that communication is a two-way process and operates a procedure that encourages comments, complaints and suggestions to enable service improvement. Whichever method you use to contact us with a complaint, it will be dealt with in the same way.

• A full written reply will be sent within seven working days or, if your complaint is complicated, you will be sent a reply or progress report within 28 days.
• If you are unhappy about our reply to your complaint, you can write to the Chief Executive at the Council using the Freepost address.
• If, after following the Council's procedure you are still not satisfied with the outcome, you can refer it to the Local Government Ombudsman. We can supply you with the contact details on request.