Meet David, one of our involved customers
I became an Accent customer in October 2024, and I now live in a one-bedroom ground-floor flat in Camberley. It’s part of a much bigger housing community managed by Accent, so it didn’t take long to realise that your home is only one piece of the picture. The wider community matters just as much.
When you move somewhere new, you notice the little things straight away. Whether people acknowledge each other. Whether shared spaces feel welcoming. Whether you feel safe when you come home. For me, that’s what matters most: good neighbourliness, and a community area that feels safe and tidy. It’s a simple wish, but it makes a real difference to day-to-day life.
I’ve also appreciated Accent’s support while settling in. A home is more than four walls, and that early help can set the tone for everything that follows. It’s one of the reasons I’m happy to be involved now, because I’ve seen first-hand how much the customer experience is shaped by communication, responsiveness, and the feeling that someone is listening.
My working life has taken me in a few different directions, and across a few different borders too. I lived and worked in foreign countries for many years, and during that time I took on a range of roles. I’ve been a marketing manager, an English language teacher and assessor, a national editor of a service club magazine, and a tourist guide. Across all of those jobs, I was often in contact with people whose first language was not English, and with people from a wide mix of cultural backgrounds.
That experience taught me something that sounds obvious, but is surprisingly easy to get wrong: communication only works if the other person can understand it. It’s not enough to be accurate, or formal, or thorough. You need to use language that’s clear and pitched appropriately, so the meaning lands the first time.
I’ve seen what happens when that doesn’t happen. People switch off. They misunderstand what’s being asked of them. They worry when they don’t need to. They delay action because a letter feels too complicated. Sometimes they simply stop engaging, because it feels like it takes too much energy to decode what’s in front of them.
That’s why I wanted to help with Accent’s customer communications. I’m part of the customer communications editorial team, supporting from time to time by reading drafts and making editorial suggestions on transcripts and documents that are going out to customers. The process is straightforward. The Engagement Team email a document over, and they usually want a response within two weeks. I find that a reasonable amount of time, because it means I can read carefully and come back with thoughts that are genuinely useful.
My approach is guided by one principle I’ve relied on for years: the KISS principle – keep it short and simple. I’ve always felt that English is one of the UK’s greatest products and exports, and with that comes a responsibility for anyone communicating in English to use it well. Good communication is not about sounding impressive. It’s about being understood.
When something is written in plain language, it respects people’s time. It makes services more accessible. It helps customers make decisions with confidence. It also builds trust, because clarity is a sign that you’re not hiding behind jargon or padding.
I don’t have one single issue I’m raising on behalf of customers right now, and I’m not involved because I’m chasing one particular outcome. I’m involved because the way an organisation communicates shapes the relationship it has with its customers. If the relationship is going to be strong, it needs to be two-way and it needs to be easy for customers to take part.
That brings me to something I feel strongly about. All Accent customer voices matter. The best Accent can do is to have as many routes as possible for customers to engage, in whatever way works for them. Not everyone wants to attend a meeting. Not everyone feels confident speaking in a group. Some people prefer to write, some prefer to talk, and some will only engage when something directly affects them. That’s normal.
So the answer is options, and making those options obvious. They should be brought to customers’ attention and displayed prominently, so people don’t have to hunt around or feel like involvement is only for a select few.
There’s an old saying: you can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. Even if you offer opportunities, not everyone will take them up. But if customers do engage, the most important thing is this: respond. Don’t ignore. When someone takes the time to share an experience or offer feedback, it deserves acknowledgement and action where possible. That’s how you build confidence that speaking up is worthwhile.
If you’re reading this and thinking you might like to get involved too, I’d encourage you to take a look. There are different roles depending on your interest and availability, including opportunities to help review and improve customer communications through the Editorial Panel, which typically needs around 1–2 hours a month and can include reviewing documents and helping create newsletters and reports.
If you’d like to register your interest as an involved customer, you can sign up here.