Kent County Council (KCC) operates 18 Household Waste Recycling Centres. In a typical month, over 100,000 residents use these sites to dispose of their waste.
Due to COVID-19, the council needed a scalable booking system that could be implemented quickly to help staff safely manage capacity and reduce traffic build-up in the local area.
The new solution needed to be quick, simple and fully accessible so that residents could easily self-serve. It also needed to make it easy for staff to manage a high volume of bookings for multiple sites and services.
KCC needed a centralised system that would enable them to manage bookings for all of their 18 sites.
The booking system also needed to:
The booking system met all of the above requirements and more.
With just a few clicks, KCC can now manage bookings for all 18 sites in one place. Council staff can also use booking data to:
Importantly, this has helped staff to control the number of residents on-site, reduce traffic build-up, and improve the visitor experience.
"The cost of implementing a booking system was lower than the other alternatives that we were considering, including a traffic management system."
Kirsty Bareham, Business Development Officer, KCC.
In under 60 seconds, residents can book an appointment using their mobile, tablet, or desktop. They don't have to wait around to enter the site, and they receive regular communications informing them of the procedures they should follow before and during their site visit. Importantly, this has reduced confusion and minimised the time visitors spend on site, improving their experience.
But, the proof is in the feedback. A recent survey of over 9,000 visitors highlighted that 98% of people found it "extremely easy" to book an appointment. 96% said it was just as easy for them to amend their booking.
"We've found the working relationship with bookinglab to be professional and responsive. They met our timescales, and the solution is working well.”
Kirsty Bareham, Business Development Officer, KCC.
