Meet the contractor:
Wates
We work closely with trusted contractors to help keep your home safe, well maintained and running smoothly.
Wates supports us with repairs and maintenance, getting empty homes ready for their next household, electrical safety tests and larger projects to improve homes. They cover a wide area, including Dudley, Walsall, Birmingham, Coventry, Bedford, Milton Keynes, Luton, Northampton and Cambridge.
To make sure their work meets the standards you expect, Wates carries out:
- Quality checks on completed work
- Post-inspections (a second look to make sure repairs have been done properly)
- Joint handovers (where Stonewater and Wates teams meet to inspect work together, making sure that everyone agrees it meets the required standard)
- Customer satisfaction surveys to hear directly from you
Our Customer Liaison Officers (CLOs) work closely with some of our contractors, including Wates. They investigate concerns and complaints, helping us learn from customer feedback as quickly as possible. If something doesn’t go right, a CLO will collaborate with both Stonewater and Wates teams to resolve issues and look into trends, so we can prevent the same problems from happening again.
Complaints are handled in two stages. During the first stage, a CLO looks after the complaint from start to finish. If you’re not happy with the outcome and ask us to take another look, the second stage is done by a different CLO. This means a fresh pair of eyes reviews the complaint, so it’s fair and independent.
Most of the time, our CLOs will keep in touch by your preferred method, so they can share updates with you about what’s going on, every step of the way.
“Andrei was very patient and courteous and explained the details of the job. He was the example of expertise, customer service, professionalism and humanity.”
Here for you
When a repair is raised, Wates are told if there’s anything important that they need to know, such as health considerations or accessibility requirements. All Wates operatives receive regular safeguarding training.
Wates also offers flexible appointment options, including school-run friendly times, shorter appointment windows and Saturday visits, where needed. We try to book an appointment time that suits you best!
More than just repairs
Wates also invests in their communities, including through:
- Apprenticeships and training placements for local people, helping to create long-term careers in the trades
- Work experience opportunities to support young people entering the industry
- Local employment, wherever possible, so teams really know and understand the communities they work in
- Community projects, like volunteering and supporting local charities and schools
“We’ve been trying to get in forever to this home to do an EICR (electrical test) but the customers mum is quite poorly. We finally got in today and he is singing Glynn’s praises saying how punctual, polite and professional he was and how thorough he was. He loved how Glynn chatted to his mum as well. He was over the moon with his experience today.”
Meet the Contractor: Live!
We recently held a Facebook Live and Direct Q&A session with Wates. We shared more about how we work with Wates to deliver our repairs service, what we’re doing to improve communication and answered your questions live.
Thank you to everyone who joined and asked questions! Your feedback helps guide what we focus on next. If you missed it, we’ll be sharing the recording soon over on the customer hubb.
We have lots more Facebook Lives coming up soon – so keep an eye out!
How Wates have been doing this year...
“I’m very happy with the work that was carried out, both operatives went above and beyond and were very helpful, polite and kind.”
83% of customers said they felt satisfied with Wates' services so far this year.
Wates completed 91% of emergency repairs on time, and 85% of all repairs have been fixed on the first visit.
They’re investing in new technology to improve how they schedule repairs. This includes automatically restocking vans with the most commonly used parts, which helps their operatives complete more repairs during their first visit. Ongoing improvements to scheduling and appointment reminders have led to 97% of appointments being kept!
However, we know there’s always room to improve. So far this year, 60% of Wates’ routine (day-to-day) repairs were completed on time, which is below their 95% target. This is impacted by longer recruitment processes and some delays in onboarding new operatives. They’re working hard to close this gap - with new staff starting, ongoing training and better communication, performance is expected to improve over the coming months.
They’re also introducing a new, improved scheduling system to help operatives plan their day more efficiently, reach customers sooner and arrive better prepared.
“I had an emergency at home yesterday – water began coming through my living room light. I happened to see a Wates van nearby my home. I am a Stonewater customer and knew Wates do our repairs – a young gentleman came to my assistance and was so extremely helpful and polite in our hour of need.”
Reporting a repair to us
If you need a repair, just let us at Stonewater know. We’ll arrange for the right contractor to get in touch and book an appointment with you.
The easiest way to report your repair is via MyHome. MyHome is available on the web and in the MyHome app. You can also contact us at 01202 319119 or customers@stonewater.org
If you need emergency repairs outside of our normal opening hours, call us anytime, and our out-of-hours team can help.
In our handy customer repair guide, we cover how to report a repair, your responsibilities, what to expect when we carry out your repair, general home improvement and much more.
If you own all or part of your Stonewater home, please visit our information on repairs and maintenance for shared owners, leaseholders, and freeholders.