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Driver & Vehicle Agency maintains high levels of customer satisfaction

Headline figures from the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA) Customer Satisfaction Survey 2011, published today, show that the overall level of customer satisfaction with the services provided stands at almost 98%.
~ Thursday, 19 January 2012

This is similar to the 2010 level and exceeds the DVA target of at least 95% customer satisfaction.

In total, over 1,900 customers responded to the survey, giving feedback on how they felt DVA had performed across a range of services that they had accessed during the previous 12 months. These covered areas such as contact with the DVA, third party provision of DVA services, on-line access to DVA services, ways in which to improve DVA services, together with the overall level of satisfaction. Levels of satisfaction were consistently high at around 90% or above for virtually all of the customer transaction types. The notable exception to this was that more than one fifth of respondents (22%) expressed dissatisfaction with the amount of time spent queuing at DVA’s local offices.

The survey was carried out by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency via a postal questionnaire issued to around 6,500 DVA customers. A detailed report of the findings is due to be published in early February.

The headline figures from the 2011 survey are:

Overall Customer Satisfaction

· In total, 98% of customers who responded were either satisfied or very satisfied with the service they received from the DVA with the last year.

· This level exceeds the DVA target of 95% customer satisfaction.

Overall view of treatment by DVA

· Almost all respondents (98%) ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that they had been treated fairly by DVA.

Contact with DVA

· The overwhelming majority of respondents (95%) who had written to the DVA were satisfied* (*includes both ‘satisfied’ and ‘very satisfied’) with the way in which their query was handled.

· A similarly high proportion (95%) who had telephoned the DVA were satisfied* with the way their telephone call was handled.

· Nine out of every ten respondents (91%) who had visited DVA premises for a vehicle or driving test were satisfied* with the facilities available at the premises, and 98% were satisfied* with how their test was handled.

· Of those who had visited DVA premises for reasons other than a vehicle or driving test, over one fifth (22%) were ‘dissatisfied’ or ‘very dissatisfied’ with the length of time they spent queuing.

Third Party access to DVA services

· When considering the service provided for DVA by the Post Office, almost all respondents who had used this (98%) were satisfied* with how their visit was handled.

On-line access to DVA services

· The vast majority of respondents (96%) who had used it were satisfied* with the on-line booking system, and just over nine out of every ten respondents (93%) were satisfied* with the website.

Improving DVA services

· Respondents identified short waiting times, the use of issue letters/ reminder letters and a wider range of DVA services at Post Offices as methods to improve DVA services.

Notes to editors:

  1. This is the third Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA) Customer Satisfaction Survey. Prior to 2009, DVA Licensing and Testing Divisions issued separate customer satisfaction surveys. The survey is carried out by the Central Survey Unit (CSU) of the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency using a postal questionnaire issued in September 2011. The survey responses are collated and analysed by CSU, and the figures are produced and issued by Analytical Services Branch, DOE. Note that the figures have been rounded to the nearest percentage point.
  2. The findings are based on over 1,900 returns received from a stratified random sample of almost 6,500 DVA customers who had been identified as having completed transactions with the DVA within the three months prior to the survey being issued. This represents a response rate of just under thirty percent. The stratification was used to divide potential respondents into three customer groups; driver and vehicle licensing; driver testing, and; vehicle testing. Overall results were then weighted to properly reflect DVA’s customer base across these areas
  3. The main objective of the survey was to measure overall customer satisfaction against the key agency target of 95%.
  4. The results presented are based on sample survey data and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling error. In 2011, the overall customer satisfaction rate of 97.9% was subject to a sampling error of +/-0.6%. This result is not statistically different to the 97.3% overall satisfaction rate achieved in 2010.
  5. The full version of the report is due to be published on 9th February 2012 and will provide much more detailed breakdowns of the headline results, supported by charts and tabular data, and including additional information, such as premises visited, comments on reasons for dissatisfaction, and types of information being accessed via the internet.
  6. Copies of the detailed DVA Customer Satisfaction Report will be available from 9 February 2012 or in hard copy from:

    Analytical Service Branch (DVA), Room 1.2, Belfast Test Centre, Balmoral Road, Belfast, BT12 6QL

    Telephone: (028) 9068 5283 E-mail:asb@drdni.gov.uk Website: http://www.doeni.gov.uk/asb.htm
  7. For media queries please contact DOE Press Office on 028 9025 6058. Out of office hours, contact the EIS Duty Press Officer on pager 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.