Another small detail of the soon to be new liverpool.gov.uk I like is how we are trying to level with people about the realities of customer service for the council. On the contact pages we have a banner.
it’s cheaper online
It say’s “remember it’s cheaper to contact us online” - the aim is to nudge people into using the online methods of contact and save the council money. I know nudging is all a bit political at the moment, but it’s a harsh reality that the public sector has very little money, and if people who are already online contact online instead of by phone.
I worry for this little feature, i suspect politics will see it die, the fear of upsetting people or what “message it sends” will probably cause it to be removed. personally i don’t see anything wrong with a little honesty in the customer relationship, it does cost more to handle a phone call and there is only so much money.