bpha residents need never miss an appointment again thanks to a new text messaging system.

Residents will now receive a text message sent to their mobile two days before an appointment to check that the meeting is still convenient. They can then respond (by phone or text message) to either confirm or reschedule the appointment as necessary.

Judith Pokora, Executive Director for Customer Services at bpha said: “We often receive calls from residents who have missed appointments or have not been at home when Resident Services Officers have arrived. In most cases, the appointment had been made some time in advance so it was easy enough for residents to forget.

“With the new system, residents have enough time to contact us to reschedule the appointment if they need to, and this can be done quickly and easily through text. In addition, Resident Services Officers know in advance if they still need to make the journey which saves them time.”

Judith added that the new system is one of several ways that bpha is enhancing communications based on customer feedback:

“In April last year, we introduced our contact centre that gives customers a central point of contact, as well as a choice of ways to get in touch – phone, email, text message or webchat.  More recently, a new feature on our website lets customers see when we are ‘busy’, ‘average’ or ‘quiet’ so that they know beforehand how quickly their call will be answered.

“We are committed to providing the best possible customer service, and one that is truly crafted around the needs of our residents.”