dhyatt
10-03-2005, 08:38 AM
Lifted from JohnB's blog...
<hr>
A thank you to a city employee - 7:03 AM, 10/3/2005
Subject: Fw: TTA
To: Jack.Smith@townofcary.org, Julie.Robison@townofcary.org, Jennifer.Robinson@townofcary.org
CC: venturecrew212@yahoo.com
From: Sue.Rowland@TownofCary.org
Date: Wed, 7 Sep 2005 11:00:59 -0400
Dear Jack, Julie & Jennifer,
See the public records request below from John Barbara. I will search
our correspondence files (including e-mails) that I have in my office and
will pull anything that I have. I will also provide him with any exhibits to
the minutes that he references. Please search your own files and forward
anything you have to me by end of day on Wed., Sept. 14. If you have
nothing, then please reply to me and let me know you have nothing. If I
don't hear from you by end of day on Sept. 14, then I'll let Mr.
Barbara work directly with you so that you can comply with his request.
Let me know if you have questions.
NOTE TO MR. BARBARA: I'll be in touch with you by end of day on Fri.,
Sept.16 to let you know the cost of the records you've requested (as
outlined in our fee schedule).
Sue Rowland
Cary Town Clerk
PO Box 8005
Cary, NC 27512-8005
sue.rowland@townofcary.org
Phone: (919)460-4941
Fax: (919)460-4910
Web site: www.townofcary.org
===================
Read Ms. Rowland's email carefully. What jumps out at you?
Anything?
Let me tip you off. IF you have dealt with a private company before, one that had standards for customer contacts, ie, how to acknowledge receipt of a customer inquiry, how soon to acknowledge that inquiry, how frequently to update the customer on the progress of his or her inquiry, etc...etc... you would see that what Ms Rowland did in her email was exemplary customer service. She cc'd me to show that she was working on my public records request. She gave the Councilors a date to complete their portion of the tasks by. She then gave me a date she would be ready to communicate more information back to me.
Let me answer your next question. She did everything she said she would. I went up to city hall the documents were ready.
Through every email exchange I've had with her she has operated like this. She doesn't lie to me. She doesn't ignore me thinking I'll go away. She doesn't drag her feet.
For some reason I doubt that the city of Cary has anything in the way of professional standards of conduct relative to customer service. Such that:
1- citizen contacts must be returned within X business hours or days.
2- if tasks take more than X days the citizen is given an expected completion date and updated during the task if there might be reasons it would conclude before or after that expected completion date.
3- updates to the citizen showing the progress of the work.
Things like that. Sue Rowland demonstrates what accountants would call 'Best Practices' in this department.
The fact that she does it is a testimony to her professionalism and courtesy. Doing that demonstrates a level of respect for the people that fund her paycheck that is not universal in government service. In civilian life when an employee angers a customer the customer goes elsewhere. We, unfortunately, have never broken the monopoly on government, as such, we can't choose our municipal goverment the way we choose long distance service. Monopolies, whether the cable company or city government, have horrid records of customer service and cost effectiveness. When you find someone or some department in either that rises above the general rule, you say thank you.
Thank you Sue Rowland.
<hr>
A thank you to a city employee - 7:03 AM, 10/3/2005
Subject: Fw: TTA
To: Jack.Smith@townofcary.org, Julie.Robison@townofcary.org, Jennifer.Robinson@townofcary.org
CC: venturecrew212@yahoo.com
From: Sue.Rowland@TownofCary.org
Date: Wed, 7 Sep 2005 11:00:59 -0400
Dear Jack, Julie & Jennifer,
See the public records request below from John Barbara. I will search
our correspondence files (including e-mails) that I have in my office and
will pull anything that I have. I will also provide him with any exhibits to
the minutes that he references. Please search your own files and forward
anything you have to me by end of day on Wed., Sept. 14. If you have
nothing, then please reply to me and let me know you have nothing. If I
don't hear from you by end of day on Sept. 14, then I'll let Mr.
Barbara work directly with you so that you can comply with his request.
Let me know if you have questions.
NOTE TO MR. BARBARA: I'll be in touch with you by end of day on Fri.,
Sept.16 to let you know the cost of the records you've requested (as
outlined in our fee schedule).
Sue Rowland
Cary Town Clerk
PO Box 8005
Cary, NC 27512-8005
sue.rowland@townofcary.org
Phone: (919)460-4941
Fax: (919)460-4910
Web site: www.townofcary.org
===================
Read Ms. Rowland's email carefully. What jumps out at you?
Anything?
Let me tip you off. IF you have dealt with a private company before, one that had standards for customer contacts, ie, how to acknowledge receipt of a customer inquiry, how soon to acknowledge that inquiry, how frequently to update the customer on the progress of his or her inquiry, etc...etc... you would see that what Ms Rowland did in her email was exemplary customer service. She cc'd me to show that she was working on my public records request. She gave the Councilors a date to complete their portion of the tasks by. She then gave me a date she would be ready to communicate more information back to me.
Let me answer your next question. She did everything she said she would. I went up to city hall the documents were ready.
Through every email exchange I've had with her she has operated like this. She doesn't lie to me. She doesn't ignore me thinking I'll go away. She doesn't drag her feet.
For some reason I doubt that the city of Cary has anything in the way of professional standards of conduct relative to customer service. Such that:
1- citizen contacts must be returned within X business hours or days.
2- if tasks take more than X days the citizen is given an expected completion date and updated during the task if there might be reasons it would conclude before or after that expected completion date.
3- updates to the citizen showing the progress of the work.
Things like that. Sue Rowland demonstrates what accountants would call 'Best Practices' in this department.
The fact that she does it is a testimony to her professionalism and courtesy. Doing that demonstrates a level of respect for the people that fund her paycheck that is not universal in government service. In civilian life when an employee angers a customer the customer goes elsewhere. We, unfortunately, have never broken the monopoly on government, as such, we can't choose our municipal goverment the way we choose long distance service. Monopolies, whether the cable company or city government, have horrid records of customer service and cost effectiveness. When you find someone or some department in either that rises above the general rule, you say thank you.
Thank you Sue Rowland.