We regularly work for local councils and Government agencies, and have looked after the London Borough Of Waltham Forest's Theatres for over three decades! Some of the early equipment we supplied to them is still in regular use!
Because of our long standing, dating back to the seventies, we are familiar with the problems facing public bodies. Budget is always tight, and, with the recent spotlight over hapless spending, value on investment is critical to receiving approval from the Tax Payer.
We try to build relationships with all our customers, and we only gain trust by continually providing value and service. An example of this is our relationship with TfL - London Buses. We have been working with London Buses for over ten years. To maintain our relationship, we work closely with all the various entities within London Buses, to help educate them as to what is available and what they need, tailored by feedback from the end users as to what is required from their PA systems. We also provide quick and efficient response to any maintainence issues that arise from the numerous systems we have supplied and fitted. By providing a feedback between end user experience, maintenance issues, and information on latest technologies, we can educate the specifiers to a level of system which is fitting for such large mass transit hubs, but at the appropriate level of cost, affordability and value, without sacrificing the ability of their staff to actually use the PA systems.
We have introduced a number of bespoke systems, such as automatic and site recordable messaging systems for London Buses. These have been simple and clear to use, which means that the frontline staff actually use them, to provide information to the public. We also pay particular attention to issues from the general publics point of view, such as the frequency and volume of messages, so as to be useful, but not intrusive. This avoids complaints and animosity to staff, but gets the messages across to the general public. This simple, but involved, approach maximises return on investment for London Buses, provides there staff with useful and useable tools to carry out their duties, and improves the general public's experience of the service.
We also work heavily with outsourced local government contractors. It is increasingly common for councils to have "privitised" there Buildings, Electrical and M&E services to a specialist contractor, who provides borough wide coverage. An example of this was a recent project to bring Waltham Forest's Primary Care Trust's venues in line with DDA regulations. As part of this we assisted in the evaluations of customer interaction points, regarding the requirements for counter induction loop systems.
At points of interaction between customers and staff, it is common to fit very local induction loops systems, to provide a improved means of communication with hearing impaired customers, with hearing aids, in a one to one conversation. Busy reception areas are often full of background noise, which makes using a hearing aid to hold a conversation with the receptionist very difficult. Over 30 sites were evaluated as would benefit from such a counter induction loop system, and these were fitted. By careful co-ordination with each venue, we were able to install these systems to maximum effect to hearing aid users, with only 10-15 minutes of disruption to the counters normal use. We also trained the front line staff in correct use of the loops to further enhance their value to hearing impaired customers.
We try to build relationships with all our customers, and we only gain trust by continually providing value and service. An example of this is our relationship with TfL - London Buses. We have been working with London Buses for over ten years. To maintain our relationship, we work closely with all the various entities within London Buses, to help educate them as to what is available and what they need, tailored by feedback from the end users as to what is required from their PA systems. We also provide quick and efficient response to any maintainence issues that arise from the numerous systems we have supplied and fitted. By providing a feedback between end user experience, maintenance issues, and information on latest technologies, we can educate the specifiers to a level of system which is fitting for such large mass transit hubs, but at the appropriate level of cost, affordability and value, without sacrificing the ability of their staff to actually use the PA systems.