Rural Payments and Inspections Division (RPID): customer satisfaction survey 2021
The RPID customer satisfaction survey was held throughout August and the first week of September and all RPID Single Application Form customers were included. The survey was entirely online and 2147 (14%) of customers completed the survey.
Impact of COVID-19 on RPID's services
Face-to-face support pre-COVID
Around one in three (35%) customers used area offices before COVID-19 for face-to-face support with their RPID applications.
Differences between customers reflected differences in the proportions that reported they had obtained information from their local RPID office in the last 12 months.
Tenants (36%) were more likely than business partners (29%) to have used area offices, as were crofters (48%) in comparison to both farmers (31%) and other businesses (25%).
Q16: Before COVID-19, did you use the area offices for face-to-face support with these applications? Base (all): 2,147
Customers were most likely to say that COVID-19 had no impact on RPID services (46%), but where they felt it had an impact, this was more likely to be negative (26%) than positive (2%).
Younger customers (5%) were more likely than older customers (1%) to feel that COVID-19 had improved RPID services.
There were also key differences by area office, with customers in Kirkwall (52%) and Portree (38%) more likely than average (26%) to say COVID-19 had negatively affected services. Customers in Stornoway, on the other hand, were more likely to say it had improved services (7%, compared with 2% on average).
Q17: In your view, to what extent has COVID-19 affected the overall quality of the services RPID offers? Base (all): 2,147 NB: only significant differences vs. average are shown on this chart.
How COVID-19 has affected RPID (summary)
Customers who felt COVID-19 had affected the overall quality of the services RPID offers were asked to explain why.
Among these customers, the negative impact of COVID-19 on communication with customers was most prominent (82%).
Communication encompassed a number of themes including slow response times via phone and email, difficulty contacting staff directly and the overall time it takes to get a response to a query.
Around one in 10 (9%) customers felt COVID-19 had had a negative impact on the role of RPID staff. Customers cited poor service from staff, and that they had no main point of contact during the pandemic.
A minority (4%) of customers were positive about the impact of COVID-19 on RPID's communication with customers. They either felt response times were quicker or that staff now had more time to help customers.
Please note, this chart only shows the overarching summary codes emerging from this open-ended question. The full analysis is provided on the next slides.
Q18. What makes you say that COVID-19 has improved/negatively affected RPID services? Base (all who gave a reason for COVID-19 impact on RPID): 513
| Negative reasons given | % |
|---|---|
| NET: Communication – negative | 82% |
| No face-to-face comms | 35% |
| Difficulty contacting staff/no call divert service | 25% |
| Long process/takes a long time to get a response | 14% |
| Slow response times on phone | 12% |
| Main phone line not answered | 7% |
| Slow response times on email | 5% |
| No call back | 3% |
| Don't like leaving answer machine messages | 3% |
| Would like appointment time for call-back | <1% |
| NET: Staff – negative | 9% |
| Lack of help/support from staff | 5% |
| Poor service from staff (e.g. rude) | 2% |
| No main point of contact at RPID | 2% |
| Inconsistent info from different staff | 1% |
| NET: Digital services – negative | 3% |
| Issues with broadband | 1% |
| Issues with mobile service/phone signal | 1% |
| Older people struggle with accessing digital services | <1% |
| IT issues | <1% |
| NET: Other – negative | 16% |
| Unreliable process/services | 9% |
| Using Covid-19 as an excuse to avoid doing work | 3% |
| Lack of inspections | 1% |
| Other negative comment | 4% |
| Base (all who commented) | 513 |
Q18. What makes you say that COVID-19 has improved/negatively affected RPID services? Base (all who gave a reason for COVID-19 impact on RPID): 513
| Positive reasons given | % |
|---|---|
| NET: Communication – positive | 5% |
| Staff have more time to help | 4% |
| Quicker response time | 2% |
| NET: Digital services – positive | 2% |
| Easy to use online system | 1% |
| Applications processed faster | <1% |
| Webinars are good | <1% |
| Digital communication is easier | <1% |
| Information more easily accessible online | <1% |
| NET: Other – positive | 2% |
| Fewer inspections is less stressful | <1% |
| Other positive comment | 2% |
| Base (all who commented) | 513 |
Q18. What makes you say that COVID-19 has improved/negatively affected RPID services? Base (all who gave a reason for COVID-19 impact on RPID): 513
Contact
Email: marcus.mackenzie@gov.scot
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