While going through a pile of everyday dull admin, it struck me yet again how often things are organised for the convenience of organisations, and not for the customer.

I loathe having to navigate through hundreds of “press this button for” options (why do none of them ever match my particular issue?), it’s hard to ask a question (the FAQs are usually wide of the mark) and often impossible to speak to a human being.

Yet as soon as any minor transaction takes place, you’re bombarded with surveys asking how well your parcel was delivered or how delighted you are with your recent purchase of a mop.

Getting a nation to write down their problems using a tiny keyboard on a tiny screen is only ever going to scratch the surface of issues.

Advertising Tycoon David Ogilvy summed it up when he said consumers “don’t think what they feel, don’t say what they think and don’t do what they say.”

The approach of the majority of organisations relies on people being able to explain their problems, in writing, accurately and succinctly. It also assumes that organisations are asking the right questions.

Conscientious organisations follow this up with a phone call (thank you, my GP surgery).

Others just hazard a guess and answer an entirely different question (I’m looking at you, my phone provider) – and many more just don’t bother to reply (hard stare at my gym).

Sometimes problems are complex and messy.

Sometimes customers want to tell us about things that hadn’t even occurred to us.

Deprived of the opportunity to have a proper conversation, customers’ needs are often not met.

Housing associations and councils are now being measured on how well their landlord listens to and acts on tenant views, and on how well they handle tenants’ complaints.

This means landlords will need to buck the trend of business and enter into deeper and more meaningful conversations with tenants about the problem that needs solving. And more than that – they will need to have the skills to bring out exactly what the issue is, listening to tenants and asking the right questions to get to the bottom of issues.

I’ve spent a big chunk of my career working with ombudsmen. And ombudsmen (who handle complaints once the organisation’s own procedure has been exhausted) know that poor communication often lies at the heart of the problem.

Not listening in the first place, not addressing all the points the customer has made, and not keeping them informed of what’s being done to resolve the issue.

Understanding that we need to know customers and have a relationship with them has always been at the heart of what social landlords stand for. This new set of measures simply reminds us of the importance of that relationship.

It’s a lesson that other organisations could usefully learn.

Do you want to improve your customer communications? Contact us on hello@houghbellis.co.uk for a chat about what you could do. We promise we won’t ignore you!

Sue Fox is a senior communications consultant with Hough Bellis. She is also a qualified coach and mentor, and the author of the chapter on housing association communications in the book “Promoting Property”, published by Routledge.

Would you like some help with your communications? We’d love to hear from you. Contact us hello@houghbellis.co.uk.