Customer satisfaction
49. Customer satisfaction is an important performance
measure for any organisation providing a service to the public.
We commend the Agency for carrying out regular surveys of applicants
and their representatives, and we recognise that the attitudes
of applicants towards the service they have received may be coloured
by whether their claim for compensation has been successful or
has been rejected.[45]
50. We note that the customer satisfaction level
fell from 71% in 1999 to 65% in 2001. The Agency believes that
this drop in satisfaction levels was probably due to the number
of people who were unhappy in principle with the introduction
of the new Tariff Scheme.[46]
A further survey is currently underway and the Agency anticipates
that the level of general unhappiness about the introduction of
the Tariff Scheme may be further reflected in the outcome of that
survey. For this reason the Agency appears to have omitted a user
satisfaction target in its key performance targets for 2003-04.[47]
51. In the past the Agency has identified 'achieving
an improvement in its level of user satisfaction' as one of its
key performance targets but dropped the target in 2003-04. We
would urge the Agency to restore that target accompanied, if necessary,
by a more robust methodology for distinguishing between 'genuine'
dissatisfaction and irritation at refusal of a claim.
43 
