How Being Respectful Helps Everyone

Today is Service With Respect Day. It’s all about making sure everyone, both customers and colleagues, are treated well and with kindness.

The day is part of this year’s National Customer Service Week. A recent study by the Institute of Customer Services found that more than one in three workers who deal with the public have faced some kind of rudeness or hostility in the past six months, while nearly one third have considered leaving their jobs and 20% have taken sick leave. This has had an impact on service delivery.

We are proud to offer services that have our customers at the centre. We want you to feel heard and involved so you can live happily in your home and community. It’s also important to us that our colleagues feel respected and are treated well while they do their jobs.

We do not tolerate any abuse towards our customers or colleagues. Our housing, maintenance and care teams are trained to handle difficult situations and conflicts. We regard these matters very seriously and take action if anyone is abusive.

We know your home is important to you. When we visit, we will always treat you and your belongings with respect. We also ask that you treat us in the same way.

Our Service Respect values are shared below.

We have a zero-tolerance policy for:

• Abusive and derogatory language,
• Sexual harassment, and
• Threats of violence.

For any customers who don’t respect that, we can:

• End your call,
• Stop any repair or visit that we’re carrying out to your home and leave,
• Only communicate with you via writing, and
• Report serious threats to the police.

If you need to contact us, or if you have experienced abuse or any other form of anti-social behaviour at your home, our trained advisers are here to help. You can call our Contact Centre at 0333 400 8222, send us a message, use the Live Chat on our MyAster portal, or email us at contactcentre@aster.co.uk.