Foreword

We have built and maintained our infrastructure well for decades and are constantly challenging ourselves to do better. Our roads play a vital role in providing connectivity to communities, supporting jobs and businesses, social interaction, tourism and much more. In recent years, the nature of use of our roads has changed, with an increasing number of longer journeys on the Trunk Road Network. The rise of the 24-hour society and social media has created more opportunities and a variety of platforms for us to interact with our customers and take our customer care to the next level. As the Roads Directorate responsible for operating and maintaining the Network we already have good processes in place to care for our customers, however, to provide the best customer care possible, we need to build on these successes and move towards excellence.

Within the Roads Directorate, the vision is to have a strategic, joined-up approach to Customer Care, with a strong focus on communication to ensure we are best placed to understand and respond to the needs of our customers. We will develop an approach to Customer Care which expands on and improves our current interactions; both directly and through our supply chain, resulting in an improved customer experience and consistently positive perception of our service.

Our range of customers is extensive, including road users, Ministers, MSPs, and many businesses and organisations. Listening and responding appropriately to these customers is central to us achieving our objective and continuing to provide an effective service. We must understand and meet our customer’s differing needs and manage issues effectively, both proactively and reactively. To achieve this, we have produced this Customer Care strategy using learning and good practice from within our sector and beyond, along with our customer and operational knowledge.

Getting Customer Care right means an honest and credible approach to Customer Care now and for the future.

Hugh Gillies
Director of Roads
October 2023