Behind the scenes of our Customer Support Centre
The ‘hub’ of rehoming, handling 1036 enquiries per day in 2022 as the busiest year on record.
Nestled inside our Manchester rehoming centre is our Customer Support Centre, the heart behind the 21 rehoming centres across the UK.
Handling a breath-taking 1,036 average interactions per day in 2022, 31,272 per month and 375,266 over the year, the Customer Support Centre is where a dog's journey with Dogs Trust begins. This works out as 122 interactions per hour!
The Customer Support Centre helps with enquiries such as rehoming a dog, volunteering, fostering, handovers, behavioural support, as well as so much more. This vital service is supported by an award from Postcode Animal Trust thanks to funds raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery. As the number of dog owners being affected by the cost of living crisis continues to rise, the Customer Support Centre Advisors also signposts the support we provide. This includes behaviour and training advice, our pet food banks and other sources of support.
We have had one of our busiest years on record, and people need us more than ever, especially as the cost-of-living pressure continues. It is heart-breaking to know that so many people are struggling to afford to look after their pets, but we are doing all that we can to help and be there for the people who need us, whether it is for advice or to if they have made the decision to give up their dog.
Thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery, last year their support was able to help us fund the ever-growing need for our Customer Support Centre, by funding it for six months. Their support has made such a huge difference in helping us be there for dog owners in need.
Paul Roelake, Operations Customer Experience Manager
We received a record number of enquiries last year – more than 50,000 – from dog owners being forced to make tough decisions. There is a danger that this year could be even worse: by 10 January, we'd already received 1956 handover requests – shockingly, almost a 50% increase from the same period in 2022*.
The Customer Support Centre will continue to work endlessly with the rest of our team to help as many dogs and their owners as possible throughout 2023 and beyond.
We respond to all sorts of enquiries, not just handover requests, but we also support dog owners to get the help they need with all sorts of topics, for example behavioural advice, which can be found through our rehoming centres and behaviour team.
Contact our support team
Questions? Get in touch with the Dogs Trust behaviour team with any queries or technical issues.
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