We’re committed to putting our customers at the heart of what we do. Our journey to being truly customer driven means delivering our services through the best teams.
That’s why in October 2022, we launched Property Maintenance London (PML), our in-house repairs and maintenance team, taking over the service from Mears.
The service covers about 11,000 homes in the London boroughs of Greenwich, Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham, Camden, Islington, Harrow and Brent.
PML carries out water and roof leak repairs, structural repairs to walls, floors, ceilings, stairs and bannisters. Gutter clearage and pipework maintenance. PML also maintains electrical sockets, wiring and light fittings.
Mark Batchelor, Director of Property Services said: “Bringing our repairs services in- house across London is a testament to our commitment to providing improved services to our customers, putting them at the heart of everything we do. This project was very much customer led - we listened to our customers, found out more about what they wanted and have invested in our services.”
Customer feedback and involvement
Customer involvement was key. Our aim was to improve our services, so it was vital that we got our customers involved, bring them along this journey with us and listen to their concerns.
Robert Cooper, Head of Customer Involvement said: “It was crucial to involve customers when we introduced PML. Customers have a unique experience of how the service works and their feedback is very important, so we can get the service right. It won’t always be smooth, and we need to be honest about the good and bad and listen to customers’ feedback.
We asked a few of our customers what they wanted to see from the new service. Here’s what they had to say:
Lucy* said: “It’s about communication. It’s about saying to somebody they’ll be there between such and such a time, and if they can’t make it for whatever reason – traffic, they got held up on a previous job or whatever, that they can communicate that to the person that’s waiting. If they say that they’re going to turn up, that they do turn up.”
Ben* expressed: “Take accountability as well. If things get lost or aren’t delivered on time, take accountability, and don’t try to blame anyone else. And if you can, give tips and tricks to help maintained the thing that’s been repaired to prevent it from happening in the future.”
Staff consultation and onboarding
Though customers are receiving an improved service, they do still see some of the same faces as some of Mears’ staff transferred to Hyde.
In August 2022 we began an extensive consultation with Mears and the transferring staff. We held a three-day training session at Charlton Athletic Ground, where our new colleagues were trained on health and safety, complaints handling, safeguarding and customer service.
An enthusiastic Barry Bigham, Multi Skilled Operative, expressed: “I don’t work for Hyde, I don’t work for Mears, I work for the customer - though it’ll be nice to have a Hyde uniform on when we visit Hyde customers. I couldn’t have asked for a better employer.”
Digital Programme
Customers in this area can report, track and reschedule repairs via MyAccount, our free, safe online portal. Customers can also check their account balance, make payments and update their details.
*Not our customers’ real names.