Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) has achieved record scores for customer satisfaction, following an independent survey by the UK’s customer service professional body.

Results of the survey completed by Kent and Medway residents, and conducted by The Institute of Customer Service, revealed KFRS is providing an exceptional level of customer service across the board - including emergency response, Safe and Well home visits and building fire safety inspections.

When benchmarked against other public services in the institute’s UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI), KFRS’ high scores stood out in all areas measured; experience, customer ethos, emotional connection, ethics and complaint handling.

The service also compared very well against the all-sector UKCSI average, which includes private sector organisations.  

For overall customer satisfaction, KFRS achieved a score of 95.3 out of 100 in the survey of its customers, compared to the public service UKCSI average of 75.3, and the all-sector average of 77.

Ann Millington, Chief Executive at Kent Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Where the private sector offers choice, we recognise that KFRS as a public sector organisation is the only fire and rescue service on offer, so it’s even more important we consider all the needs of our customers. 

“We have undertaken the Institute of Customer Service’s Business Benchmarking survey to help us understand how we can keep improving.

“We’re really pleased with the outcome of the survey as it shows that the hard work of our staff is paying off. This result does however only provide us with a snapshot of how we’re doing, so we will always keep striving to provide the best possible customer service across all areas of our organisation, which extends far beyond fighting fires. We are particularly focused on ensuring everyone in our community can access all our services.

“Our customers are at the centre of everything we do, and at KFRS we genuinely care about the people we serve, and believe every interaction matters, no matter how big or small it may be.”