State Agencies to Implement Customer Service Improvement Plans

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Contact: Office of Communications 404-651-7774

State Agencies to Implement Customer Service Improvement Plans

42 State Agencies to Launch Reforms in August

ATLANTA – Governor Sonny Perdue today challenged agency heads and customer service champions from 42 state agencies and offices to begin implementation of customer service improvement plans. Governor Perdue also announced the theme of the state’s customer service campaign – “Team Georgia. Ready To Serve.” The customer service improvement plans were due to the Office of Customer Service by June 30, 2006 and implementation is set to begin in August.

“Each Georgia citizen who walks through our door for a government service is an opportunity,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “It is my intention that Georgia government employees will take advantage of those opportunities, showing citizens that we respect and value their time.”

In January 2006 Governor Perdue signed an Executive Order creating the Office of Customer Service during the state’s first Customer Service Summit. The purpose of the office is to coordinate, manage and guide the implementation of agency plans to elevate the level of customer service experienced by Georgia citizens when working with agencies for state services. Governor Perdue appointed Joe Doyle as the director. Doyle also chairs the Commission for a New Georgia Task Force on Customer Service and is director of the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs.

The summit included agency heads and deputies from 42 state agencies, and focused on the theme “Fast, Friendly and Easy,” emphasizing Governor Perdue’s plan for the future of state government customer service. Following the summit, agency heads appointed customer service champions within each agency. Champions were appointed in 42 agencies, representing 90 percent of all state employees, including all 35 campuses of the University System of Georgia. The customer service champions were tasked with creating individual plans to highlight and improve customer service efforts in each respective agency. The plans will serve as blueprints for improving customer service in the next year.

Among its recommended change initiatives, the Commission for a New Georgia Task Force on Customer Service recommended easier access to government services, faster processes so customers can get business done quickly and friendlier service in a customer-oriented culture.

The meeting today spotlighted the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) as an example of an agency that has vastly improved customer service for citizens. According to DDS Commissioner Greg Dozier, the average wait time statewide for customers visiting a DDS customer service center in person improved from 22:24 minutes (July 2005) to 6:40 minutes (May 2006). The wait for a reservation for a road test decreased from 14 weeks (July 2005) to less than 4 weeks in most centers (May 2006). DDS continued its pledge to provide a regular driver’s license renewal in 30 minutes or the customer does not pay. Free licenses issued have decreased from 1,100 per week (July 2005) to 15 per week (May 2006) saving the state approximately one million dollars per year.

The 42 agencies initiating customer service improvement plans include:

 

Department of Administrative Services

Office of State Administrative Hearings

Department of Banking and Finance

Georgia Building Authority

Georgia Bureau of Investigation

Department of Community Affairs

Department of Community Health

Department of Community Health, State Board of Medical Examiners

Office of Consumer Affairs

Department of Corrections

Criminal Justice Coordinating Council

Department of Defense

Department of Driver Services

Department of Economic Development

Georgia Emergency Management Agency

Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority

Georgia State Financing & Investment Commission

Georgia Forestry Commission

Office of the Governor

Office of Highway Safety

Department of Human Resources

Department of Juvenile Justice

Jekyll Island State Park Authority

Georgia Merit System

Department of Natural Resources

Department of Natural Resources - Environmental Protection Division

State Board of Pardons and Paroles

Office of Planning & Budget

Georgia Public Broadcasting

Department of Public Safety

Georgia Public Safety Training Center

Regents, University System of Georgia

Employees Retirement System

Teachers Retirement System

Department of Revenue

State Road and Tollway Authority

Stone Mountain Memorial Association

Georgia Student Finance Commission

Department of Technical and Adult Education

Georgia Technology Authority

Department of Transportation

Georgia World Congress Center

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