Council reception changes 'haven't gone as planned'
The Council of the Isles of Scilly has acknowledged that the reception changes that took effect this week have "not gone as planned".
It was announced last week that the One Stop Shop in the Town Hall would no longer operate from March 5th, with reception services moving to the Library and Carn Gwaval Wellbeing Centre. There would also be a new phone number.
Islanders were told they would be able to "make all of the normal transactions and enquiries" from the new venues, while the current Town Hall reception would serve as a self-service meeting space equipped with a seating area and phone to contact staff.
However, at the start of the week the new phone line was not working and the old one was still active. Customers were also unable to make credit card payments at the new locations as the chip and pin machines were not yet installed.
The Council ended up returning a member of staff to the Town Hall, which could take card payments.
The Council told This is Scilly: “We’re in the process of improving our IT, finance and reception services. Unfortunately, due to the weather and other factors, the transition has not gone as smoothly as planned.
"Most of the issues have been identified and we’re working to rectify them. In the meantime we have ensured a presence in the Town Hall reception. We hope to have all of the new processes in place as soon as possible and certainly before 1 April 2018.”
The changes, a result of the modernisation of the Authority's finance and IT systems under a new collaboration with Cornwall Council, were aimed at bringing easier transactions, more secure payments and improved contact with the Council.
It had earlier advised that there "may be some issues with the lines over the next few days as the transfer to the new system is implemented", asking customers to "please bear with us".
The new Council telephone number is 0300 1234 105.