Tauranga City Council is making it easier to get payments made and enquiries sorted with new service options now available in the community.
Council payment kiosks have been installed at He Puna Manawa and the Mount Hub, providing a user-friendly touchscreen to make payments for property and water rates, dog registration, parking fines, library fees and more.
The kiosks are designed with accessibility in mind with a height-adjustable screen, allowing users of different heights to comfortably interact with the kiosk and make payments with ease.
Payments can be made by Eftpos, debit or credit card, and with simple step-by-step instructions, the kiosks provide an efficient way to pay without having to wait in line.
Jan Lambert and Ross Palmer recently tried out the payment kiosk to pay their rates at He Puna Manawa. Ross said they’d be happy to use it again in the future.
“The kiosk is a great idea – we would like to see these in other places around town for the public to use. We were very happy with the experience and the help from the member of staff, Kelly, who showed us how to use it,” he said.
For technical enquiries, from building and planning to rates and environmental health, customers can book in to chat with specialist council staff via the customer connect booth at He Puna Manawa.
The booth allows customers to meet with council staff in different departments via video call, with the ability to share documents like building plans in real-time and see who they’re talking to.
Meetings can be booked via the Customer Service Centre at He Puna Manawa, 21 Devonport Road, or by phone on 07 577 7000.
Service Centre Team Leader, Brad Fuller says the team has received a lot of positive feedback on the booth.
“We often have customers looking into a home project that have building and planning enquiries, and the booth allows us to connect them with building officers or planners via video call.”
“It’s awesome to be able to continue the face-to-face interaction between our customers and various council departments in a day and age where everybody working in one office is becoming less common.”
Mr Fuller says the new options ensure customers can get their payments sorted and technical questions answered in a way that suits them best.
“The payment kiosks provide a handy alternative for those unable to make online payments at home or on their own devices. It’s also great for those already visiting or passing by our He Puna Manawa and Mount Hub sites who prefer a simple self-service option,” he said.
“For customers with technical enquires, the customer connect booth provides the ease of talking ‘in-person’ to a member of staff via video with greater scheduling flexibility. These new options make it easier for the community to manage their payments and enquiries in a way that is convenient for them.”
