Customer service standards
The British Council Customer Service team is committed to providing a high standard of service. We would like to share with you the standards of service you can expect from us. Please contact us if:
- We do not meet these standards,
- You are not satisfied with the way your enquiry was handled,
- We have done something particularly well.
Your feedback helps us to put things right if they have gone wrong and to improve our service.
We aim to help you with your enquiry
- If the Customer Services team can answer your enquiry, we will be happy to assist you.
- If your enquiry needs to be handled by a subject expert within the British Council we will route your enquiry to them directly and inform you. Alternatively we may give you details of an appropriate individual to contact.
- If your enquiry is not related to the British Council we will attempt to guide you to the appropriate source of information.
We aim to handle your enquiry in a professional manner – we promise to treat people fairly and with respect.
| Telephone Enquiries | Written Enquiries |
|---|---|
| Our customer service teams are trained and monitored closely in order handle telephone enquiries efficiently and effectively. | You will receive a written response (unless you request otherwise) from one of our designated staff member. |
| If you do not speak English, the member of staff will try to respond to you in a local language. Please note, this may take a little more time and may not always be possible. | The response should be clearly written in simple language, with good English grammar and spelling. |
| We will carefully listen to your query / comment & may need to ask you for further details to understand your enquiry better. | The contact details of the member of staff will be included in the email / letter. |
| If the required information is not readily available, we will ask you for contact details and agree a suitable response time. | If the nature of your enquiry is not clear we will reply to you explaining why we are unclear and will request clarification from you. |
| If we need to transfer a call to someone else, we will inform you, then speak to the other person on your behalf, we will transfer your call, if appropriate. If we cannot transfer your call, we will explain the reason. | If your enquiry requires extended research, we will respond to you informing you of this and give you an estimate of how long this will take. |
| We will adhere to the agreed action and committed timelines. |
We aim to answer your enquiry promptly
| Telephone Enquiries | Written Enquiries |
|---|---|
| During our operational hours, our customer service executives will be happy to assist you. We aspire to respond to all calls within 45 seconds. | We are committed to responding to all email enquiries within 48 hours of receipt of the mail. |
| But if the call volume is extremely high , we try to ensure your call is responded to within 2 minutes. Generally we are able to respond to about 85 % of enquiries within 45 seconds & 100 % within 2 minutes. | Enquiries received on a non-working day will be answered on the next working day. |
| Following a bank holiday weekend or other extended closure, we expect the reply times to be longer and aim to resume the standards above after 3 working days. |
We aim to answer your enquiry with relevant, up to date information.
- Our staffs are trained to provide accurate information, in a precise and simple manner. They have access to most systems that enable them to provide accurate information. However, for some detailed / complex enquiries they may need information from the subject experts. In that situation we may need to forward your enquiry which may take additional time. We will seek information internally and then respond to you.
- All reference information is checked frequently. However at times the information may change without our knowledge. Should you notice some inaccurate information, please do not hesitate to inform us. We will correct the information as soon as possible.
We aim to offer several different ways of providing you with information. We aim for staff to be fully trained prior to answering your enquiry.
- All our staffs are trained in enquiry handling techniques, customer service skills and how to respond to enquiries about our products & services.
- As an organisation we respect diversity and do not discriminate on the grounds of sex, marital status, race, colour, creed, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, age or disability. We are an equal opportunity employer.
- If a new member of staff answers your enquiry, they are closely monitored & supported by an experienced member of staff.
We value your feedback and have a clear complaints process.
If you wish to tell us about the experience that you have had with us, please feel free to share your feedback with us at the address below. Your complaint / feedback will be addressed by a Customer Services Manager or a Manager in the relevant unit.
| North India | Sujata Paul / Ritu Verma | Northindia.feedback@in.britishcouncil.org |
| East India | Priyanka Sinha | Eastindia.feedback@in.britishcouncil.org |
| West India | Pradeep Nambiar | Westindia.feedback@in.britishcouncil.org |
| South India | Glory Samuel / Sendhil Gajalakshmi | Southindia.feedback@in.britishcouncil.org |
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive and wish to escalate your complaint, you may write to Meetu Arora, Head Customer Services, South Asia.
In case you would like to address your concern to our office in the UK for an internal investigation, you may write to the British Council Information Centre
We will acknowledge the comment or complaint within three days and resolve the complaint within ten working days.
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