Fairhive Homes

Fairhive Homes, formerly known as Vale of Aylesbury Housing Trust, provides nearly 8,500 affordable homes across Buckinghamshire and the surrounding areas.

Striving to provide excellent customer service, the not-for-profit landlord has invested in new technologies and systems to make it easier to get in touch or report repairs.

Today’s customers are used to getting deliveries and tracking the progress of their order, right up to their door. Fairhive wanted to provide a similar experience for responsive repair appointments.

“We wanted to provide the end customer with more leeway so that if they needed to, they could pop to the shops,” explains Andrew Rysdale, Assistant Director of Property at Fairhive Homes.

The team opted for Localz’ customer engagement solution. It was an easy decision, as Localz was already working with housing associations such as Clarion and Watford Community Housing.

Fairhive Homes uses the core Localz platform to provide automated notifications including “On My Way” messaging and real-time tracking. Once an appointment is complete, customers automatically receive a feedback request via SMS.

Fairhive Homes customers benefit from real-time updates, and can track their technician's arrival on a map.

Customers receive an SMS notification containing a 15-minute arrival window and a link to the web-based portal.

The portal includes an ETA countdown and a live map tracking the operative’s arrival. Customers know what to expect and can prepare for their appointment.

The benefits go beyond customer experience: In the first six months of using Localz, the no-access rate for repairs fell by 37% compared to the previous period.

Fairhive Homes benefits from more accurate, actionable and representative feedback.

In the past, feedback was collected by telephoning a small sample of customers after their repair appointment.

Since implementing Localz Rate My Experience, each customer receives a request for feedback as soon as their appointment is complete. The request is sent via SMS, with a link to a web-based feedback form. 

As a result, feedback is more representative and accurate. The response rate for feedback has increased, and customers can respond while the appointment is still top-of-mind.

To ensure that insights are actionable, office-based staff can view feedback within the operational dashboard. Real-time negative feedback alerts allow staff to identify issues and prioritise service recovery.

Since introducing the feedback form, the organisation has achieved an average customer rating of 4.5+ stars out of 5.

It was easy to get Localz up and running.

Implementation was straightforward, with the solution going from project kick-off to go live in six weeks. All the pieces fell into place as Localz integrated seamlessly with the organisation’s existing technology.

Mobile operatives can share their location via an unobtrusive background app, with no disruption to their day. In addition, Localz easily collects job data from the company’s housing management system. 

“If you’re looking to improve the customer experience, there’s no reason not to use Localz. We chose the platform to improve the customer experience and saw additional benefits such as a reduction in missed appointments and increased response to feedback,” says Andrew Rysdale, Assistant Director of Property at Fairhive Homes.