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-   -   Council services - good service? (https://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/f66/council-services-good-service-33250.html)

hedman2003 01-09-2007 20:31

Council services - good service?
 
Public Services are always an easy target for criticism however I would welcome feedback on any positive experiences from members were they have received good service and from which department within local govt either Hyndburn BC or Lancs CC.

cashman 01-09-2007 21:17

Re: Council services - good service?
 
may i ask why? folk that ask for only 1 response always make me suspicious.

Speedy 01-09-2007 21:19

Re: Council services - good service?
 
I recently worked for hyndburn borough council. I was only there temporary but i can tell you that its not as easy as what everyone thinks. I was part of the recycling team, everyday we started at 7.30am, you never knew what job you were going to get put on, whilst i was working there i did everything from litter picking to trade waste to collecting unwanted fridges and waste that had been tipped illegally. It was a very demanding job with very few people giving any respect to you, but i must say some of the service we provided was really good, one lady in baxenden phoned in to have a fridge collected she was told on the phone it would be collected in between 2-3 weeks, but she was pleasantly suprised when we showed up to take it the same day. Sorry if this post is a little long but i just thought id let people know how difficult a job some people at the council have.

cashman 01-09-2007 21:22

Re: Council services - good service?
 
speedy mate i think people know most of the "workers" work hard n are ok, its the descision- makers that worry folk.;)

hedman2003 01-09-2007 21:38

Re: Council services - good service?
 
It was prompted because I was listening to a radio phone in about public services and the responses were often negative and it's sometimes the easy option to blame the Government or the Council. I work in the public sector and like in any workplace there are a whole range of employees some offering really exceptional service and others whose performance is questionable. I don't have a problem if members want to identify were they don't feel they get good service but alot of the threads on the site tend to already focus on poor experiences rather than positive ones and I was hoping for members to redress the balance

Lilly 01-09-2007 21:48

Re: Council services - good service?
 
I haven't had many dealings but, like the lady that Speedy referred to, I have found their collection service to be very good. I have used it on 4 occasions and been told the goods would be moved within 2 weeks. I have never waited that long though. They've always collected within 3 or 4 days.:)

Speedy 01-09-2007 21:57

Re: Council services - good service?
 
Yeah the people who make the lowest wage and have the hardest jobs are the ones working the hardest. There are people working for the council and their job is basically to drive round in a car and look for areas that look untidy and send someone to clean it (easy job and they get paid twice as much as what the REAL workers do).

garinda 01-09-2007 22:05

Re: Council services - good service?
 
I don't really have a lot of contact with our council, however on the few occasions when I have, this is my experience.

Council Tax. When I've needed to telephone, 50% of those times I've been told to call back as 'the computers are down'. The people in the actual office, front of house, have been professional, friendly, and on one occasion extremely kind and filled in some forms, something I can no longer do.

Recycling. Telephoned relevant number when I first bought my house and requested sacks and boxes. Telephoned again six months later telling them they hadn't arrived. Sixteen months after first calling, received recycling sacks/boxes.

Road sweeper who I see weekly in Oswaldtwistle, first rate.

Staff in Tourist Information office in the Town Hall, very friendly and helpful.

Arts in the borough, abysmal.

hedman2003 01-09-2007 22:15

Re: Council services - good service?
 
Lily

when you say you haen't used many of the services I wasn't just thinking about the services that you request but services that operate every day ie playing fields, social services, schools, street lighting, refuse collection, collection of council tax etc

Lilly 01-09-2007 22:18

Re: Council services - good service?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by hedman2003 (Post 466432)
Lily

when you say you haen't used many of the services I wasn't just thinking about the services that you request but services that operate every day ie playing fields, social services, schools, street lighting, refuse collection, collection of council tax etc

A very wide question then :D. I can't say I've got a particular problem where I live with any of the things you've mentioned. Quite a happy bunny, thanks.:D

hedman2003 01-09-2007 22:21

Re: Council services - good service?
 
glad to hear that

BERNADETTE 01-09-2007 22:29

Re: Council services - good service?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Speedy (Post 466420)
Yeah the people who make the lowest wage and have the hardest jobs are the ones working the hardest. There are people working for the council and their job is basically to drive round in a car and look for areas that look untidy and send someone to clean it (easy job and they get paid twice as much as what the REAL workers do).

My daughter was putting some stuff out(think it was a suite) and was told by two people in a car that she could be done for fly tipping, she had requested collection but they didn't know that and who in their right mind would fly tip outside their own back gate? Anyway these two people then dropped a pile of leaflets on the back alley, seems they thought they were above getting prosecuted because they were working for the council!!:confused:

hedman2003 01-09-2007 22:46

Re: Council services - good service?
 
when we moved house I requested a collection but was informed that the collection was limited to a maximum of 6 namec items and would be collected within the next 2 -3 weeks which I thought was a long time. I was reluctant to leave my back gate unlocked for that period of time and also informed them on the previous occaision they had collected items that had managed to break the hinges on the backgate however i would neatly store the items in the recess of the back street to which I was informed I could be prosecuted!!!

cashman 01-09-2007 23:35

Re: Council services - good service?
 
agree hedman about leaving the back gate 2/3 weeks is ridiculous, have used the service myself, and asked if we could be phoned the day they are collecting the items, and was told sorry cannot be done.:confused: must be too difficult a task i think.:rolleyes: for the service i can say the collection was in less than 1 week, wonder how you would stand though,if you were unfortunate enough to be burgaled n told yer insurance my back gate was unlocked??

Gayle 02-09-2007 15:37

Re: Council services - good service?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by garinda (Post 466425)


Arts in the borough, abysmal.

:DI couldn't agree more.

panther 02-09-2007 17:51

Re: Council services - good service?
 
what i want to know is, if you put your wheelie bin out for collection and a few black bags beside it, will you get fined for tipping??, because sometimes i have a clear-out, and usually have a few bags of rubbish i have managed to gather in the kids bedroom, they wont fit in a my wheelie bin so they have to go beside it, but its been in the paper recently that people have been fined for not having bags in there bin!

garinda 02-09-2007 17:55

Re: Council services - good service?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by panther (Post 466697)
what i want to know is, if you put your wheelie bin out for collection and a few black bags beside it, will you get fined for tipping??, because sometimes i have a clear-out, and usually have a few bags of rubbish i have managed to gather in the kids bedroom, they wont fit in a my wheelie bin so they have to go beside it, but its been in the paper recently that people have been fined for not having bags in there bin!

I'm not being nosey...okay, I am, but what did you throw out of your children's bedrooms that wouldn't fit in the wheelie bin?

MargaretR 02-09-2007 18:04

Re: Council services - good service?
 
I live near woods and open fields so I am keen to keep the street lamps in working order. When one goes out the reponse has varied -sometimes took days - sometimes took weeks - and once they 'repaired' the wrong one despite me providing the lamp number and location description.

panther 02-09-2007 18:05

Re: Council services - good service?
 
a lot of junk garinda...old toys...etc, my wheelie is nearly full, and id rather have waste in there than old toys, so cats dont rip through em;)

garinda 02-09-2007 18:08

Re: Council services - good service?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by panther (Post 466707)
a lot of junk garinda...old toys...etc, my wheelie is nearly full, and id rather have waste in there than old toys, so cats dont rip through em;)

Charity shop!

Plus old clothes that aren't fit for the charity shop, can go in the recycling textiles sack.

Result..no fine because you don't need to put out your black sack.:D

panther 02-09-2007 18:18

Re: Council services - good service?
 
believe me, even a tramp wont take half of this lot,.....not worth giving anyone!

BERNADETTE 02-09-2007 18:21

Re: Council services - good service?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by panther (Post 466707)
a lot of junk garinda...old toys...etc, my wheelie is nearly full, and id rather have waste in there than old toys, so cats dont rip through em;)

I thought you could get done if the lid on your wheelie bin was not closed, as crazy as it sounds I'm sure I heard it somewhere!!:eek:

panther 02-09-2007 18:34

Re: Council services - good service?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by BERNADETTE (Post 466727)
I thought you could get done if the lid on your wheelie bin was not closed, as crazy as it sounds I'm sure I heard it somewhere!!:eek:

iv heard that too, just bloody stupid, what do they expect us to do with excess rubbish, dump it!!??:rolleyes:
whats gonna happen at xmas when we have twice the rubbish??:(

grego 02-09-2007 18:40

Re: Council services - good service?
 
I phoned them 2 weeks ago to take a washer/dryer I was told 2-3 weeks they collected the next day, well a company who were going to use the parts did, I thought that was good service.

BERNADETTE 02-09-2007 18:46

Re: Council services - good service?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by panther (Post 466736)
iv heard that too, just bloody stupid, what do they expect us to do with excess rubbish, dump it!!??:rolleyes:
whats gonna happen at xmas when we have twice the rubbish??:(

I agree it is stupid, it isn't to bad here at christmas as there is only the two of us but when my kids were young there was always loads of extra rubbish so I do know where you are coming from!!;)

Speedy 03-09-2007 00:56

Re: Council services - good service?
 
I agree with what has been said about leaving back gate open for 2-3 weeks but as someone who has worked for the council i can tell you a way round this. When requesting collection tell them you have pets in the back yard and that they should knock on the front door so you can take the animals in before being able to look open the gate them. (I hope no one from the council reads this ill probably be sued for this lol).

hedman2003 03-09-2007 17:42

Re: Council services - good service?
 
Thanks Speedy for that suggestion however if somebody was in the house all day the problem of security wouldn't be such an issue. My fear was leaving the backgate open for 2-3 weeks and both of us out at work

we seem to have digressed a little from the original thread of good or bad public services

mallard 05-09-2007 23:03

Re: Council services - good service?
 
Some of them are alright but i reported the swinging harm on the main door they have been out to it three times and its broken a gain because the job was not done the first time ronnd.


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