Committee of the Whole endorses Customer Code of Conduct Policy

BRANTFORD, ON: The City of Brantford is dedicated to providing an accessible, welcoming and comfortable environment that respects all customers, visitors and staff.  The City’s primary goal and approach to customer service is to explore and understand our customers’ requests and inquiries with the objective of providing responses and/or resolutions in a timely manner. All City of Brantford staff and representatives are expected to comply with the City’s Employee Code of Conduct when interacting with other staff and the public at large.

At their meeting held September 27, 2022 the City’s Committee of the Whole endorsed a new Customer Code of Conduct Policy developed in an effort to encourage more respectful interactions between the public and City staff/representatives.

The Policy will guide staff in identifying situations with members of the public that meet the criteria of vexatious, frivolous and/or unreasonably persistent behaviour, as well as the associated actions that may be undertaken in such circumstances. The Policy is the first step in a series of customer service policies, processes and standards to be developed or updated as part of the development of a new City Customer Service Strategy that is currently underway. The final report of the Customer Experience Strategy is expected to be delivered to Council in January 2023.

While the need to deescalate unwanted behaviours by customers towards City staff has been an issue in the past, in the wake of COVID-19, the City’s Customer Service staff, other frontline staff across the organization and Members of Council all reported a rise in the number of instances whereby customers have demonstrated unacceptable behaviour(s) that have a direct and negative impact on staff.

“Vexatious, frivolous and/or unreasonably persistent requests/complaints put staff in a very difficult position and compromise the City’s ability to deliver quality customer service effectively,” says Maria Visocchi, the City’s Director of Communications, Community Engagement and Customer Service. “The intended result of the new Policy is to mitigate instances of unacceptable behaviour(s) by making customers aware that they too are responsible for behaving in a respectful manner to promote a productive and safe environment.”

The Policy also establishes a process detailing how incidents are to be reported and how the City will manage unacceptable conduct by customers. The City recognizes that determining whether an interaction or request is vexatious or frivolous is a flexible balancing exercise, and should take into account all the circumstances of each unique case. The key determining factor is whether the request is likely to cause unreasonable distress or disruption to a member of City staff or a City representative, without proper or justified cause.

The Policy is expected to be ratified at the October 4, 2022 City Council meeting, followed by immediate implementation.

-30-

Media Contact: 

Maria Visocchi Director, Communications, Community Engagement and Customer Service
City of Brantford | Office: 519.759.4150 Ext. 5754 | mvisocchi@brantford.ca

The City of Brantford Newsroom
Subscribe to News Alerts | City of Brantford Website | Privacy Policy
© City of Brantford, 58 Dalhousie Street, Brantford.