At last, driver's services with a smile
When you are not looking forward to doing something, an old saying can come to mind:
"Well, this is going to be as pleasant as a visit to the dentist."
That could be unfair to dentists, who have done much to reduce the pain in dentistry.
And it also might be the wrong phrase to use, anymore, in describing a trip to one of the historically surly government agencies -- your local driver's services facility.
It has come a long way from the days when you could expect to spend hours in long lines for service you would hardly get with a smile. At least things are different at the driver's bureau we visited. As detailed in a Sunday Daily Herald story by Corrinne Hess, the patrons we talked to at the secretary of state's Driver Services Department in Schaumburg had positive things to say about the new and improved office.
It might have something to do with renewed emphasis on customer service. Or the self-service machines and expanded hours and staffing. And if you still have to wait to get served, at least you can sit in a chair instead of having to stand until you're ready to collapse.
It's all part of Secretary of State Jesse White's commitment to being more customer-friendly. In 2001, he launched a $9.3 million plan to improve services. It's working, at least in Schaumburg. And it's a credit not only to White but to the staff at the Schaumburg facility.
It also should serve as a model to managers of other government agencies who have yet to realize that customers -- particularly those who pay taxes that fund those agencies -- come first.
The problem is, government can choose to be rude to the people it serves. It's not like a private business, where continued poor service and lack of courtesy could find it losing customers to a better business down the street. Government has no competition. You can't go anywhere else for its specific services.
But that doesn't excuse shabby treatment of members of the public seeking those services. When that happens, it could be because an employee got his or her job as a reward for a political favor and could care less about anything but getting that next check. Or it could be employees don't have the skills, personality or training that qualifies them for a job that demands heavy contact with the public. Or they do care about their work, at least until they get burned out or the job just got too busy to spend a lot of time with patrons. Best to just move them along, as cold or indifferent as that can be.
Whatever the reason, there is a required reaction. It starts with making public service -- the reason government exists -- a top priority. And then, dedication to removing impediments to positive interaction with the public, whether it be changes in staff attitude, the office culture, or in the operations format.
"I have been here 31 years, and things have really, really changed," said Tom Bush, manager of the Schaumburg facility. "We have zero tolerance for employees being rude."
As it should be in every government agency.