CST customer charter
Cefas offers a wide range of commercial testing services and in
doing so we aim to benefit you, our customers, by putting in place
measures to improve our relations with you, giving you greater
consideration and attending to your needs.
Our commercial testing services are committed to delivering your
expectations. We aim to demonstrate that commitment by maintaining
best practice in service delivery and customer satisfaction,
adhering to the following standards.
Standards of service
- We will provide all of our customers with excellent
service.
- We will respond to telephone enquiries within two working days,
by return telephone call or in writing. Emails will be answered
within 24 hours.
- We will meet visitors within 10 minutes of the time of
appointment at our laboratories.
- We will be helpful, polite and fair in our dealings with you.
We will identify ourselves by name when we talk, write or meet with
you.
- You can expect to receive clear, complete and accurate
information, whether by telephone, email, online or in
person.
- We will fully discuss your requirements before and during the
delivery of your work.
- We will make sure that all our technical advisors receive full
training to ensure they are friendly, helpful, efficient and
knowledgeable.They will use plain English, wherever possible, and
explain any technical terms.
- We will explain clearly how our services are provided and how
long testing takes.
- We ensure that every member of staff is responsible and
accountable for the quality of their work. We aim to achieve this
by working to the requirements of our accredited, and compliant
quality systems such as, ISO/IEC 17025:2005, Good Laboratory
Practice (GLP) Regulations 1999, ISO/IEC 17020:1998, ISO 9001:2000
and ISO 14001:2004.
- Our fees reflect the cost of the work we do, and are reviewed
regularly. Our pricing structure is clearly defined and visible to
customers, including alternative payment options.
- We aim to continually improve our services and performance. We
regularly monitor our activities and review processes to ensure
that our high standards are being met.
- If we make a mistake we will inform you of our error and ensure
that it is resolved to your satifaction.
- We have a clear refund policy (see our terms and
conditions).
- We have a clear complaints procedure
and will document, analyse, investigate and respond to all
complaints.
What we ask of you
It will help us to provide the best service if you give us as
much information and notice of your requirements as possible, and
are responsive to our requests for feedback.
Complaints,
comments and suggestions
We encourage commercial services users to give both positive and
negative feedback on the way we operate or the services we provide
so that we can identify where improvements can be made.
If we are undertaking work for you and you are not entirely
satisfied with the service you receive, please raise the matter
with the Cefas staff contact that provided the service.
Alternatively, contact apegfeedback@cefas.co.uk.
We will do our best to put the matter right as quickly as
possible. This will include, where appropriate, an apology and an
explanation.
Any complaints, whether written or oral, will be investigated
thoroughly, fairly and in confidence.
All complaints will be acknowledged within three working days.
We aim to provide a substantive reply within ten working days and,
if this is not possible, we will explain how your complaint is
being handled and why it will take longer.
If you need assistance in using these procedures we are
available to help.
How to contact us
Our working hours are 08.30 to 17.00, Monday to Friday, when
your enquiry will be answered personally. Enquiries from customers
about ongoing work should be directed to the agreed Cefas
contact.
For general information, please telephone our reception team on
+44 (0)1305 206600; ask for the respective testing team, for
example CST, KHV or APEG.
For calls outside our normal working hours/days there
is a telephone-answering service available. By contacting us
through this route you will be put in touch with a relevant member
of staff.