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LEARNING OBJECTIVES Understand why customer service is such a key component of municipal services Understand good customer service is a mindset; not a behavior change Know the four components of a customer service program

SO, YOUR BOSS TELLS YOU TO PROVIDE CUSTOMER SERVICE… What does customer service mean? Does that mean I cannot say “No”? Customer Service is time consuming and we do not have the resources! We should put all our resources in patching potholes. Customer service is a waste of money! There goes efficiency!

CUSTOMER SERVICE AS A BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION The Air Port Ride story The Curb Repair story The Hot Water story The Detour story The IHOP restaurant story That’s interesting – Tell me more, why would you say, do, and ask that.

FOUR COMPONENTS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE 1.Do your services/products meet the needs of your customers? 2.Do your customers know how to get the services/products? 3.Have you streamlined your internal processes and are your employees trained and empowered? 4.How often do you evaluate your customer service program?

BUT, BEFORE YOU START  Remember: customer service is a mindset!  Your organization should have mission/value/vision statements that every one in the organization shares.  Customer service should be one of your strategic goals with implementation plan and performance indicators that relates back to the strategic goals.

SERVICES/PRODUCTS  So what is your business?  Who are your customers?  What is the best time for them to do business with you?  How do they want to do business with you?  How far do they have to go to do business with you?

ACCESSING THE SERVICES  Small cities – only provide limited services, other agencies are providing the rest of the services. How do you partner with the other agencies?  Large organizations – several departments may be involved. How would an uninformed citizen get to the right person? How would you eliminate the run around?

INTERNAL PROCESSES How to pass the baton so that it doesn’t get dropped?

INTERNAL PROCESSES (CONT’D)  How would you empower employees and trust that they will make the right decision?  How often do you review your process? The drainage and the abandoned vehicle responses

EVALUATION  Do you know what your strategic goals are for your customer service program?  Do you have performance indicators to reflect these strategic goals?  How often do you review these as a team?

SUMMARY  Customer Service is a mindset  Customer Service should be part of your strategic goal implementation plan  The essential components of a Customer Service plan  Be aware of some of the pitfalls