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CC- Hello and welcome back to Chris’ Chats and todays special guest is Tracey.
CC- Tracey can you introduce yourself please?
TS- Yeah, my name’s Tracey Sowerby and I’ve worked for Aspire for about 23 years. I am the customer involvement co-ordinator (CIC for short) and I’m based at Potternewton but work citywide.
CC- Can you tell us a bit about the Customer Council role?
TS- Yeah I can. We haven’t always had a Customer Council, it was started in 2013 by our old CEO (Andy Rawnsley) and he requested that they start one with the customers because he wanted you- the customers of Aspire, to have a voice. And to air views and know what was going on. So he decided he wanted a Customer Council Representative and Deputy in all services.
CC- Can you also tell us a bit about what the Customer Council do?
TS- Yeah that’s great, so the customer council, if you get voted in you represent everybody in your service. You listen to their views and concerns- go around before meetings and ask if everyone’s okay, do they have any concerns, so you can come to the customer council meeting and bring forward the information. Then if you are elected to the customer council you stay on for a 3 year term.
CC- Why do you think it’s important to have a customer council?
TS- It’s very important Chris, so that the customers can have a voice. So people know what’s happening, being involved and getting across their views, instead of getting things from staff.
CC- I think the customer council make a difference because like Tracey says it gives us a voice and gives us that independence.
CC- What is the job of customer council member like?
TS- As a representative? It’s their job to attend every customer council meeting because we have local meetings and main city wide meetings. The representative attends all of those meetings. The deputy then is there to help you, so they attend the main meetings and help pass on the information, so it’s not all on you, and if ever you were off poorly they would attend any of the meetings, if you were unable to attend. So there is a little bit of a difference. So there is a little bit of a difference between a deputy and a main but the deputy is there to help you.
TS- So Chris, I know you as being a Customer Council representative, so what do you think about the role?
CC- What as the deputy?
TS- Oh are you the deputy? Yeah what do you think about the role?
CC- Well I feel like it’s important to have a deputy and a main. As a deputy you’re second- I won’t say in control, but in demand. Because without you being second in demand, you don’t have a customer council, you don’t have a team!
TS- And can I just say I think the deputy’s role is just as important as the representative as well.
CC- Agreed
TS- Yeah agreed.
CC- Being a member of the Customer council, as a deputy, makes me feel like I’ve got a voice, makes me feel like people are listening. To me, it’s just so important to get the information that you need, give it back to the main boss and then it goes out.
CC- Can you tell me about a time the Customer Council made a difference?
TS- I can yeah, at Pudsey, the representatives came to the council meeting and told us they had a real problem where the sun was constantly shining in the room and the temperature, because it was totally south facing glass, the temperature was unbearable. So, this customer came and asked for blinds to shut it out. So, Andy Rawnsley came to the main meeting, and they got blinds, and they also got aircon in the room. So that did make a big difference.
Also at Potternewton they were having trouble with the doors; so people in wheelchairs who self-propelled were finding it difficult to get through the doors from one room to another. So they couldn’t get anywhere and were getting frustrated constantly having to ask staff and wait for staff. So the representative invited Andy Rawnsley to come, and he did and he agreed it was a big problem. From that meeting all of the doors were changed to they stay open, but only close in a fire alarm so that people who self-propel in wheelchairs can get around. That has made such a big difference to Potternewton.
CC- So this year Aspire are changing how we run the elections- can you tell us a bit more about that please?
TS- Yeah I can Chris, we’re going to go round to every service. Me Ailsa and Felicia and Ian is going to help us. We’re going to go round to all services and help people making their statements. We’ll also be videoing people making their statements, those that want to. So they can stand and be videoed instead of just writing it down.
This year we’re also not going to be known as the West the South and the East, so this is a biggie that’s going to be changed. Aspire with the strategy we’re instead moving to hubs. So we said instead, to make it easier for the customers we’re going to group together with the colours of the strategy. So the south are going to be blue, so when the south people are filmed getting their statements and posters, they’ll be using blue rosettes, it’s going to be proper like the government. We’re going to have the east that will be the red, and they’ll have the red rosettes and the west will be the green.
CC- Yes- one of my favourite colours!
TS- You’re happy about that yeah?
CC- Yeah!
TS- So we’re going to go round and help everyone with the campaign statements and asked if you want to be filmed. Either we’ll film, or Jodie or Kirsty will film, we’re going to make a poster of you all with your photograph and statement underneath, and then it’s starting in the end of November. We’ll do the election then and by mid-December we should know who’s got through and we’ll be ready to start in January with a whole new council team.
CC- How will video statements help?
TS- That’s a good question Chris. Well times before when you just wrote the statements we cant get to all the services to let people know because there’s so many services, it’s so hard to get everybody around. We’ve also got a lot of people who can’t read, so they’re not going to get your statement and read it and know what’s going on. They’ll just see your picture and won’t know what your views are or how you’re going to represent them. But by videoing it that’s brilliant because we can send it out via zoom for people to watch in the bases. I think that’s perfect. So everyone can see why you want to be on the customer council and why you want to be voted in and what you’re going to do to represent everybody.
CC- So Aspire customers vote in the election; why is it important for customers to vote instead of staff?
TS- Well that’s easy really, the customer council is all about the customers, it isn’t about staff.
It’s not about staff having a say. We want customers to vote for their peers and who you want to represent you. It’s a fair way of doing it for customers to do it because staff have nothing to do with the customer council, nothing at all. It’s for you guys and you to have your say. Even me Ailsa and Felicia, when we’re on the customer council we’re working for you, it’s not ours. It’s yours.
CC- I agree yeah.
TS- So Chris, you’ve been on the customer council for a while now, and you’ve done a brilliant job I must say, would you be interested in reapplying?
CC- I think I want to say yes, but I just don’t know if it’s the right time. But then again, you know I would love to reapply.
TS- Thank you, cause we’d love to see you back.
CC- And to those people who are applying for the customer council, whether it’s my customer council or not, good luck to all of your peers, and to all who are considering going into the customer council, there are no winners or losers, so good luck to all of you.
And Tracey thank you again for being our special guest this morning and that’s it for Chris’ Chats today. Join us for more information on the customer council and um, good luck!
