Title: Putting Customers First: Standards for Serving the American People Author: Vice President Al Gore's National Performance Review Date: September, 1994 ***************************************** Putting Customers First: Standards for Serving the American People ***************************************** ******** Contents ******** Introduction 1 Customer-Driven Government 5 Standards for Our Customers *************************** Customer Group: Beneficiaries 13 Customer Group: Business 17 Customer Group: The General Public 23 Customer Group: Law Enforcement 31 Customer Group: Natural Resource Management 35 Customer Group: The Research and Academic Community 39 Customer Group: States, Localities, and Other Partners 43 Customer Group: Travelers, Tourists, and Outdoor Enthusiasts 49 Customer Group: The U.S. Government and Federal Employees 53 Customer Group: Veterans 57 Appendices ********** Appendix A: Executive Order 12862 63 Appendix B: Text of Customer Service Standards 65 Beneficiaries 67 Business 73 The General Public 93 Law Enforcement 113 Natural Resource Management 117 The Research and Academic Community 123 States, Localities, and Other Partners 133 Travelers, Tourists, and Outdoor Enthusiasts 143 The U.S. Government and Federal Employees 149 Veterans 157 ************ Introduction ************ The Federal Government must be customer-driven. --President Clinton When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight, Americans think of Federal Express. FedEx's customer service standard is well- known to its customers: priority delivery by 10:30 a.m. the next business day; regular delivery by 3 p.m. That famous customer service standard from the private sector is different in two important ways from most government service standards of the past. One, the company wrote it down in plain language and publicized it so that customers will know exactly what to expect and employees will know their mission and the measure of success. Two, it responds to customer needs. FedEx is not just trying to do a little better than its competition; it found out what aspects of service were most important to its customers and set standards in those terms. For contrast, consider the customer service standard of the now defunct Military Traffic Management Terminal Service, an organization that was roughly in the same business as FedEx. Unlike FedEx, MTMTS never publicized its customer service standard. But the standard was nonetheless well-known to its customers, who captured its essence by referring to MTMTS as "Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow, Someday." Unlike FedEx, MTMTS did not respond to customer needs. Executive Order *************** Last September's report of the National Performance Review recommended that all agencies develop customer service standards and that the standards be published. Within days, President Clinton issued an Executive Order calling for a customer service "revolution within the Federal Government to change the way it does business." (The complete text of the Executive Order is in Appendix A.) Agencies assembled teams of people from headquarters and the front lines, people who believed that government can and must provide top-notch service. The teams began surveying customers and preparing to publish their service standards. This document, Putting Customers First: Standards for Serving the American People, is the result: the U.S. Government's first comprehensive set of published customer service standards. We will keep track of our performance against these standards and publish the results. We are prepared for our customers to judge us on our performance. 1,500 Standards *************** This report presents more than 1,500 customer service standards, representing commitments from more than 100 federal agencies. This is the first time most of these agencies have set standards. It is a major step toward the kind of results-driven government that Congress described when it passed the Government Performance and Results Act to promote "a new focus on results, service quality, and customer satisfaction" in government. More standards will be set out in coming months to cover still more services that the government provides. Highlights of the standards being published now appear in the main body of this report, which is organized according to groups of customers. For example, a section on business customers describes federal agency interaction with businesses and gives highlights of the standards that businesses can now count on. Appendix B lists all of the detailed service standards according to customer group. If standards apply to more than one group of customers, we repeated them under each group to make them easy to find. In addition to this document, federal agencies are publishing their complete customer service plans, which will include their standards. Many agencies will hand out brochures or put up posters in their public offices advertising their service standards. The Best in Business ******************** Our ultimate goal for customer service is to be "equal to the best in business." We chose that goal for two reasons. First, it is the level of quality Americans enjoy every day in the private marketplace; they deserve and have every right to expect the same from the government they are paying for. Second, equating the goal for government services with the best in business lets federal workers draw on their own experience in deciding how to treat customers. As in the golden rule, they should treat their government customers just as they themselves like to be treated when they are customers of private business. Of course, good customer service standards must be far more specific than the golden rule. Such specific standards appear in this report. For example, the Social Security Administration promises to mail a new social security card within five days of receiving an application; if you need to know the number even sooner, they will tell it to you in just one working day. Similarly, the Economics and Statistics Administration, which sells international trade information on compact disks, promises to get your order into the mail within 24 hours, or you get a free CD. There is a lot more to delivering top-notch service than just wanting to and promising to. You have to organize for responsiveness and flexibility; most of the government was organized for top-down control and risk avoidance. We are changing that. You have to train and empower employees so they can deliver the results customers want; most federal employees have been trained to follow rigid rules. We are changing that. You have to design systems to please customers; most government systems were designed to please the boss, or headquarters, or some management committee. We are changing that, too. But these changes go to the very core of government. They take time. And one of the cardinal rules of customer service is never to make a promise you can't keep; if anything, promise less, then give your customer a pleasant surprise. That is why some of the standards in this report are pretty modest compared with the best in business. For example, the Department of Veterans Affairs promises that veterans will have to wait no more than 30 minutes to see a benefits counselor. We know that is still too long, and changes are in the works that will virtually eliminate waiting when you stop by a VA office. But until VA has finished the extensive reorganization and training needed to shorten the wait, it is telling its customers what to expect. That's the way Disney does it; signs posted along the waiting lines tell you how long it will take to reach Space Mountain or Pirates of the Caribbean. Some of the standards in this report are being phased in office-by- office across the country as the new organization, training, and systems are completed. For example, the U.S. Postal Service has already started guaranteeing lobby service within five minutes in many regions (the director of one successful region recently became the Chief Operating Officer of the entire USPS). Other post offices will be ready to make that service commitment soon. The goal is eventually to have all of them delivering service up to this standard. Starting Out ************ We are just getting started, and we have a long way to go. But we are building on a strong foundation: the desire of federal workers to serve America. What we need are redesigned systems that will let federal workers give America their best. Ultimately, we are determined to equal or exceed the best in business. Until then, we promise you that we will continue to sharpen our focus on customer service. We will continue to ask our customers what to improve. We will publish increasingly high standards. And we will measure success in terms of customer satisfaction. ************************** Customer-Driven Government ************************** Restoring Faith One Customer at a Time ************************************** The concept of "government customers" is a bit new and controversial. The National Performance Review has received letters and phone calls from a few taxpayers who objected to being referred to as the government's customers. These people correctly pointed out that they are the government's owners or, at the very least, stockholders. But it is possible to be an owner and a customer too. For example, if you own stock in Ford Motors, your relationship to the company is something like a taxpayer's to the government; you own a piece of it. A Ford stockholder can enter another relationship with the company by buying a Taurus and becoming a valued customer. When taxpayers call the Social Security Administration or stop by the post office, they are customers too. One big reason government must begin treating people the way top businesses treat their customers is to restore America's faith in our system of self-government. The terrible truth is that most Americans don't trust government to do the right thing. They used to. In surveys 30 years ago, 76 percent of Americans believed that they could solve problems together through self- government. They believed that government would do the right thing. Not anymore. In recent surveys, only 20 percent of Americans believed in the ability of their government to do the right thing. From a solid majority to a small minority in a single generation. That is the crisis we are responding to. That lack of faith in the American people's ability to solve national problems through the American system of self-government threatens the fabric of our nation and the future of our next generation. It threatens to leave a legacy of helplessness and chaos for our grandchildren. That is the crisis that calls for dramatic changes. And the dramatic changes we are making are designed to convince our customers -- one customer at a time -- that government can work better, that it is working better, that Americans might once again believe that we can solve national problems like unemployment, crime, health care, and homelessness -- together, through self- government. The Businesslike Approach to Government *************************************** Applying the customer service concept to government has clear management advantages. It actually can make government work better and cost less. It focuses attention on results the customers want. It highlights the expenditures that yield those results and, by contrast, eliminates the expenditures that don't contribute to good service. Here are some examples. The staff of the New York Regional Benefits Office of Veterans Affairs focused on customer service when they reengineered the system for processing benefit applications. The result is much happier customers and a process that costs much less. They eliminated all but eight of the 25 steps in the old process and are now able to do the work quicker with fewer overhead jobs. In another example -- this one focused on internal customers -- a small team at the Defense Department has developed a simplified and speeded-up administrative process for employees who travel on business. By eliminating unnecessary red tape and the associated jobs, the new procedure has the potential to save $1 billion over the next five years. All across government, eliminating excessive overhead and red tape will save tens of billions of dollars each year and free up people to serve customers. The customer service approach to government can even cause an agency to rethink the way it does its basic mission and get much better results. Enforcement and regulatory agencies like the Customs Service are good examples. The Customs Service has adopted a customer service approach toward the shippers that it regulates and is getting excellent results at major ports. Miami is one of the nation's highest volume ports for both cargo and passengers. It used to take hours, sometimes days, to get cargo through customs. That was a serious problem for shippers, especially if the cargo was flowers or fresh fruit or some other perishable. Passenger delays were also big headaches for airlines and, of course, for the passengers. But the Customs Office had to enforce the laws governing what comes into the country; delays and angry customers seemed to come with the territory. The customer service approach changed everything. Instead of viewing the trade community as the adversary -- people who might be caught breaking the rules -- the Miami Customs team began viewing shippers as customers of government's services and partners who would voluntarily help enforce the rules. Customs built partnerships with other federal agencies, like Immigration, Food and Drug, Fish and Wildlife, and Agriculture, and with the shippers and the airlines -- with everyone in the community. People representing all these interests began meeting -- and they met often. They listened to one another's ideas about quicker clearance. Together, they figured out how the best in business would do it. Together, they built new facilities and money-saving electronic data systems. Together, they set customer service standards, like getting airline passengers through customs in five minutes and through the entire airport within 45 minutes. Customs taught shippers how to help with enforcement so that most of the cargo is cleared before it even reaches port. Now, the shippers and passengers are pleased. The flowers and fruit stay fresh. And compliance rates have actually improved. All that came from a new customer service approach applied to an enforcement mission. Satisfying Customers -- First, You Have to Find Them ********************************************************* The customer service approach is so new to some agencies that the very first step was to figure out who the customer is. Since the customer is the one you try to satisfy, it was natural for many government workers to think that the customer must be the boss, or headquarters, or Congress; in the past, our systems have certainly been designed to satisfy these people. But, while they are all important -- even crucial -- to our success, they are not the customers. The customers are the people who use the national parks, forests, and waterways; people who are eligible for social security and veterans benefits; people whose lives are diminished by unemployment, illiteracy, crime, pollution, and the problems of our major cities. The customer service approach refocuses government on the people. It puts people first. Some federal agencies, like Social Security and Veterans Affairs, deal directly with the people. Others work through partners. For example, Head Start, the successful preschool program, is administered nationally by the Department of Health and Human Services. But as the diagram above shows, HHS does not deal directly with all of its customers -- for example, the Head Start families. It deals with its partners, state and local government agencies. The situation is similar to auto manufacturers and retail dealers: Ultimately, the quality of service to the car buyer depends on the dealer's practices as well as the service provided by the manufacturer to the dealer. There are, in effect, two customer service opportunities. In cases like these, we set standards that apply to the relationship between the federal agency and its partners, most often state and local governments. Then, working with our partners, we can set standards for serving the ultimate customers. Customer Service is Surprising Business *************************************** Good customer service standards come from the customers. One of the basic rules in developing standards is to start by asking your customers what they want. When you ask them, you'll almost always get a surprise. The Oregon State Division of Motor Vehicles got a big surprise when it talked to its customers. The DMV had set out to improve service in issuing driver's licenses. It assumed that what people wanted most was shorter waiting lines. So it planned to add clerks and automate the process. Then, before putting all this in place, the DMV asked its customers what was most important to them.The No. 1 complaint -- by a wide margin -- was not the long lines, but the unflattering pictures on the licenses. Even though the DMV saw people waiting in line every day, each individual customer only had to wait in line once every five years. But the customers were aggravated every time they had to show someone the bad picture on their license. Now Oregon uses a video system that takes a little more time but allows the driver to select the best of a variety of pictures. That's good service from the customer's point of view. In developing the customer service standards listed in this report, federal agencies have been asking their customers what they want -- and they've gotten some surprises. For example, imagine you are driving through Death Valley and your car breaks down. You are about to panic when you spot a National Park Service sign with emergency instructions -- but in a language you don't understand. Not much help, eh? Well, that is just what the Park Service had been doing to its customers until it surveyed them and found out that 75 percent of the visitors to Death Valley are tourists from Europe. Now emergency instructions are translated into German, French, and Italian. Surveys by the IRS produce surprises as well. Most taxpayers don't put a priority on getting tax booklets right after January 1. Your real priority is to minimize contact with the IRS. To help, the IRS has set a goal of answering your questions with one call. Customer surveys are clearly crucial to improving service, and the Office of Management and Budget has made it easier for agencies to conduct surveys. OMB, which by law must approve any public questionnaire, has cut its clearance time for customer surveys from 12 weeks to two. This permits agencies to find out what customers want and to keep up with their changing needs. Front-line Work -- A Daily Dose of Reality ****************************************** Front-line workers who deal with customers daily often know a lot about how to improve service. Day in and day out, they hear the complaints and the reasonable requests, and they see first-hand the satisfaction when customers' expectations are met. Certainly, once we have learned from the customers what they want, the front-line employees are most likely to know how to deliver it. Successful businesses pay close attention to what front-line workers have to say, and they give them a great deal of authority and responsibility in taking care of customers. Federal agencies are doing the same. For example, the Social Security Administration surveyed all 65,000 of its employees to get their ideas on how to improve service. Some of the good ideas they came up with include offering drive-through service like banks, and relocating offices to shopping malls so that customers can take advantage of free parking, public transportation, and mall security. The front-line workers also know how to simplify paperwork in the back office so they can spend more of their time actually helping customers. You Be the Judge **************** If, in the past year, the government had been totally reinvented into a customer- driven, world-class service organization, you'd know it. The U.S. Postal Service would be neck-and-neck with FedEx for dependable, on-time delivery; ordering a map from the U.S. Geological Survey would be as simple as ordering a wool shirt from L.L. Bean; and checking on your social security benefits would be like checking on your Visa account. You know we are not there yet. But we've made progress to be proud of. Veterans in New York and Waltham, Massachusetts, know it. Shippers in Miami and Seattle know it. Business owners and exporters in Baltimore, Miami, Chicago, and Long Beach know it. Some of them have become ardent fans of the government people who serve customers in those cities. Groups here and there around the nation are beginning to see the change that a customer-focused government can achieve. They are beginning to believe again that government can work for them, that we can solve our problems together through government. This is the first time most agencies have published standards. Agencies are changing the way they do things in order to meet the standards. They are also prepared to change the standards in order to focus on the things that customers say are most important. So you can make the government change faster. Look for the posted service standards and hold us to them; this is how to measure us. When you get poor service from a government agency, or if you think the standards miss the mark, tell the agency about it; let the front- line workers and the head of the agency know what you think should be done better. When you get good service from a government agency, let them know that too. Use the phone numbers and addresses that agencies are publishing in their plans. We will learn from the mistakes and use the successes as models for others to emulate. Together, we can and will bring the government back to its customers -- back to you, the American people, who deserve nothing short of the best. *************************** Standards for Our Customers *************************** ***************************** CUSTOMER GROUP: Beneficiaries ***************************** You worked hard and paid into Social Security for years to become eligible for benefits. The Social Security Administration believes you shouldn't have to work hard get those benefits. The same goes for other retirement programs and for the wide variety of assistance that Americans in need are entitled to under law. Your application for benefits shouldn't disappear into a bureaucratic maze for months. You shouldn't get shuttled from office to office, each time having to explain your problem from the beginning. You shouldn't repeatedly get a busy signal or be put on hold when you call. You want and deserve better service from your government. We're determined that you will get it. Each year the Treasury makes 660 million benefit payments directly to American citizens. For many Americans, these payments are the difference between a retirement of hard-earned, well-deserved security and an old age filled with worry, between a home and homelessness, between food and hunger. This chapter describes what the federal agencies in direct contact with these Americans are doing to improve service. The Promise of Social Security ****************************** The federal agency that directly touches the lives of more Americans than any other is the Social Security Administration. Each year, Social Security employees handle payments going to nearly 50 million clients. They answer 60 million telephone calls and serve more than 24 million visitors to Social Security offices across the United States. Not long ago, Jackie Collins-Miller, the branch manager of Baltimore's Social Security office, got a call from a woman who had received someone else's check in the envelope along with her own. Collins-Miller jumped in her car, picked up the check, mailed it to the rightful owner, and called a few days later to make sure it had arrived. That simple story illustrates both the basic obstacle and the great hope for improving service to customers of the government. Many of our systems, like the one that misrouted the check, need to be redesigned to please customers. On the other hand, most federal workers, like Collins-Miller, are just as dedicated to providing good service as employees of Nordstrom or any other of America's best companies. This is the foundation we're building on. The Social Security Administration has started redesigning its systems to make them as customer-oriented as its employees themselves are. First, they surveyed 40,000 customers and found lots of complaints about the long and bewildering process of applying for disability benefits. A person filing a disability claim is faced with a Model-T kind of assembly line. A claim trundles along for over five months and is handled by about 26 workers just to get to an initial decision. If the claim is initially disapproved and appealed -- and many are -- it is handled by 43 workers, and the total waiting time could be two and a half years. No wonder the customers complained. The agency has designed a new disability system, with far fewer steps and fewer handlers. This new system, which was created with the customer in mind, promises to cut the total waiting time by nearly 20 months. Social Security Commissioner Shirley Chater has announced that the agency is beginning to implement the reengineered disability process. The new system will eventually save hundreds of millions of dollars and will let the customer meet the worker who decides the case. Commissioner Chater and the Social Security Administration's managers and employees made a commitment to give their customers not just good service or first-class service, but "world-class" service. Last year, they posted signs with their customer service standards in their offices across the country. They pledged to provide courteous and prompt service and full information on Social Security and other programs. This year, they've added some new standards and clarified others. ****************************************************************** Highlights from Customer Service Standards: Social Security Administration --- If you request a new or replacement Social Security card from one of our offices, we will mail it to you within five work days of receiving all information we need. If you have an urgent need for the Social Security number, we will tell you the number within one work day. --- When you make an appointment, we'll serve you within 10 minutes of the scheduled time. --- We'll provide you with our best estimate of the time we need to complete your request, and we'll fully explain any delays. --- We'll clearly explain our decisions so you can understand why and how we made them and what to do if you disagree. ****************************************************************** SSA knows that you expect world-class service in all your dealings with us. Today we are unable to meet your expectations in all areas, but we are working to change that. When we redesign our processes, you can expect that when you call our 800 number, you will get through to it within five minutes of your first try. Today we often are not able to meet this pledge. During our busiest days, you will get a busy signal much of the time. Pensions -- Guaranteed ********************** Sometimes the hardest part of pleasing customers is finding them. The job of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is to make sure everybody who's owed a pension gets one. With that kind of clear result in mind, the agency started a campaign to find Americans who had a pension coming but didn't know it. These include people who had worked for companies that later went bankrupt. The company records of former employees were lost. Many of these people didn't know the government guarantees their pensions; they just figured they were out of luck. And until last year, they were. But a dedicated team from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation managed to find thousands of them and restore their pensions. Making Faster, Safer Payments ***************************** Whether your benefits come from Social Security, the Veterans Administration, or some other federal agency, the Treasury Department writes the checks and makes the electronic deposits. Treasury's Financial Management Service is improving service in two important ways: first, by replacing lost checks faster, and second, by offering a quicker and safer way to get benefits via plastic ATM cards. Suppose the social security check that you need to pay your rent doesn't come the day you expect it. As things stand now, you call the Social Security Administration and set in motion one of those systems that was designed to please somebody other than the customer. First, the agency notifies Treasury to stop payment on the first check. You begin waiting. Meanwhile, Treasury searches its records to see whether the check has been cashed. You keep waiting. If you're lucky, and it has not been cashed, Treasury mails you another check. Total waiting time for you and your landlord: two to three weeks. If you're unlucky, and the missing check has been cashed, you'll wait an additional six weeks. Treasury is redesigning the system with customers in mind. It has cut four days off the time to reissue an uncashed check. In cases where checks have been cashed, Treasury is working to get the added six weeks pared down to one week. Ultimately, the best way for customers to avoid all the problems associated with paper checks is to get benefit payments electronically; it's much faster and more secure. Treasury already makes payments electronically to many individuals' bank accounts. But 10 million federal benefit recipients don't have bank accounts. So the government has begun issuing plastic cards to these beneficiaries so they can enjoy the same convenience and security. The cards let people get their benefits directly from bank machines or terminals in grocery stores. More than 10,000 recipients of Social Security, Veterans, and Civil Service Retirement benefits have government benefit cards already in a pilot program. More people will soon be using the cards to get food stamps, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, and other federal benefits. ****************************************************************** Highlights from Customer Service Standards: Department of Agriculture Food Stamp Program Whether you get paper food stamps or use the new electronic benefits card system, you can expect the same high standards from the government: --- We promise to let you know if you're eligible for food stamps as soon as possible but no later than 30 days after you file your application. You'll need to fill out your application as soon as possible, but you can start counting the days as soon as you contact the food stamp office and give us your name, address, and signature. --- If you qualify for immediate assistance, we promise to give you your food stamp benefits within five work days. --- We promise to let you know at least one month before your food stamp benefits are due to stop. If you apply to continue your food stamps by the 15th of your last month -- and you still qualify -- we'll make sure your benefits are not interrupted. --- If we say you don't qualify and you don't agree with our decision, just ask and we promise to give you a fair hearing. We also promise to let you know the results of your appeaL within 60 days. --- We promise to treat you fairly and equally regardless of your age, race, color, sex, handicap, religion, national origin, or political beliefs. ****************************************************************** "Partnerships" -- Cooperating to Improve Customer Service ********************************************************* In addition to all the payments the government makes directly to beneficiaries, there are lots of other benefits paid for by the federal government that don't go directly from the feds into individual mailboxes or bank accounts. Many people get federal benefits, grants, loans, or aid through state or local governments or other partners of the federal government. Federal agencies are setting standards for service that our partners can expect from us. These standards are described in the section on "States, Localities, and Other Partners." Veterans ******** The Department of Veterans Affairs and other agencies exist specifically to serve veterans, and their standards are described in the section on "Veterans." ****************************************************************** Your Standards These agencies and offices are publishing customer service standards for beneficiaries. The standards appear in the "Beneficiaries" section of Appendix B. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service Department of Defense Defense Logistics Agency Department of Health and Human Services Health Care Financing Administration Public Health Service Social Security Administration Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Housing/Federal Housing Authority Department of Labor Pension Welfare Benefits Administration Department of the Treasury Financial Management Service Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Railroad Retirement Board ****************************************************************** ************************* CUSTOMER GROUP: Business ************************* Peter Rogers, Vice President of Marketing for Micro Systems, Inc., thinks he can increase sales in South America. He needs data on retail markets in Venezuela; qualified overseas agents and distributors; financing; and maybe even references from influential people. Who does he ask? Believe it or not, all these services are available from the government's Export Assistance Center in Baltimore. The Center houses people from several federal and state programs at one location so that the export community can get one-stop service. "Steve Hall of the Export Assistance Center has been to my office a number of times, providing a menu of excellent services, now including export-import financing," says Rogers. "We may have the best product in the world, but if the customer can't pay for it, it could stop the sale." Is this really the government? Yes. Steve Hall works for the Department of Commerce. The Commerce programs he represents, and the other federal and state programs involved, are meant to assist exporters. So that makes business the customer. Export Assistance Centers like the one in Baltimore are planned for many locations around the country. Right now there are three others, in Chicago, Miami, and Long Beach. And 11 more are planned for 1995. Help for business -- that's great. But it is only one of government's roles. Regulatory agencies have a big effect on business. The same businessperson who gets assistance from some government agencies is spending a lot of time preparing taxes and dealing with inspectors from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. There are also the Customs Service, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and more. The truth is, much of what government does is tax, audit, inspect, and regulate business. These activities naturally produce some friction. Viewing businesses as customers is more complicated for agencies with these roles, but they, too, are working to include customer service ideas and business input in their approach. Regulatory Compliance ********************* Many agencies are finding ways to combine strong enforcement of laws and regulations with encouraging proactive compliance by business. For example, to protect the health and safety of workers, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is helping employers find and fix workplace hazards. In its Maine 200 and Wisconsin 100 pilot projects, OSHA gives help to employers that are considered high-risk because of their injury rates. OSHA sends information packages that help employers and employees work together to improve health and safety conditions. Companies can also get technical advice from OSHA through state agencies. The programs offer free consultation services, including no-penalty inspections. These services to business don't change OSHA's commitment to protect workers. In fact, they increase the chance that businesses will eliminate dangers before accidents occur. OSHA's customer service standards cover both business and workers. ****************************************************************** Highlights from Customer Service Standards: Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA is making these commitments to business: --- Focus OSHA inspections on the most serious hazards. --- Be respectful and professional during inspections. --- Help them identify and control workplace hazards. ****************************************************************** There are other examples of regulators taking a more supportive stance. Commerce's Bureau of Export Administration, which enforces export controls on sensitive products like military equipment, conducted about 250 seminars for about 13,000 participants last year. Its goal was to ensure that exporters know how to comply with export licensing requirements. Three hundred executives of thrift institutions got to say what they thought in face-to-face interviews with Treasury's Office of Thrift Supervision. OTS, which supervises and regulates these institutions, heard feedback about confusion and frustration resulting from some aspects of its bank examination process. Its customer service plan pledges to take both the mystery and obstacles out of the examinations. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol Browner announced the "Common Sense Initiative" on July 20, 1994. Her idea is to create pollution prevention strategies on an industry-by-industry basis, instead of the current piecemeal, pollutant-by-pollutant approach. Federal, state, and local government officials, working with both environmentalists and industry, will begin by developing strategies for six industries: auto manufacturing, computers and electronics, iron and steel, metal finishing and plating, petroleum refining, and printing. EPA also plans to improve its processing of environmental permits, which EPA uses to regulate activities like waste disposal and discharges into the air and water. Permits are issued by federal and state agencies. EPA recognizes that it has two customers for its environmental permit programs: citizens and business. Citizens are the beneficiaries of safe air and drinking water. But it's business, through its compliance or positive action, that protects or improves the environment. A new permits improvement team is seeking help from state agencies, community groups, environmental organizations, and those regulated by environmental permits. The goal is to reduce the red tape while ensuring that the environment is protected. The Small Business Administration convened a Small Business Forum on Regulatory Reform with representatives from five industries and six regulatory agencies to look at ways to improve federal regulation. Among other things, the group wanted uniform and cost-effective strategies that facilitate voluntary compliance, better coordination among federal agencies, and more small business input in the formulation of regulations. In July, the group issued its first report. Highlighting the industry input, it recommended specific actions that the agencies are now reviewing. For advocates of customer-driven government, these increases in industry input are good news -- and a good start. ****************************************************************** Highlights from Customer Service Standards: U.S. Customs Service The U.S. Customs Service is absolutely certain that treating business as a customer increases compliance. So Commissioner George Weise takes a customer service point of view when he talks about business. "We must keep in mind the customer's perspective in the way we perform our mission," he explains. "Their impression defines the quality of the service we provide." The following are examples of the customer service standards for businesses Customs is publishing. --- Customs field offices will respond to your request for binding rulings within 30 days unless the issue must be referred to a Customs attorney, in which case rulings will be issued within 120 days of receipt. --- Customs will notify the importer and/or the broker of cargo detentions within five working days. --- Customs will respond to any inquiry made of our Entry Specialist Teams within four business hours. --- If the quota or quota/visa entry is electronically transmitted, Customs will review these documents and grant quota acceptance status, if appropriate, within six business hours of presentation. --- On-line import transactions will be completed in less than seven seconds. --- Batch transactions will be turned around to the user's terminal in no more than 15 minutes for the Automated Broker interface; five minutes for the Air Manifest Interface; and 15 minutes for the Sea Manifest Interface. ****************************************************************** Business Assistance ******************* Fifteen years ago, when Mama Jo's and Zeno's Pizza in Wichita Falls, Texas, was getting started, it took the owners four weeks to work with a bank loan officer to fill out the application for a Small Business Administration loan, gather all the relevant documents, and wait for the government to respond. This year, when they wanted money to expand, the whole process took only three days, start to finish. The agency has cut the red tape for small business financing. The old piles of paper have been eliminated and the remaining application is only one sheet -- two sides. It requires so little documentation that it is building a name as "Low Doc." The Small Business Administration is one of several agencies providing financial assistance and publishing customer service standards. ***************************************************************** Highlights from Customer Service Standards: Financial Assistance for business Financial assistance has been available from government for many years in the form of loans, loan guarantees, insurance, and even grants. Customers of these parts of government have said it's the paperwork and the lengthy process that deters them from applying. Many federal agencies are addressing these issues with customer service standards like these. Small Business Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ --- 7(a) Guaranteed Loan Program: As an applicant for financial assistance, you can expect to have an answer from SBA within two weeks of our receipt of your completed application. If the application is processed through the Preferred Lender Program or the Certified Lender Program, an answer can be expected within 24 hours or three working days respectively. --- Low Documentation Loan Program: As an applicant for financial assistance of $100,000 or less, you can expect to have an answer from SBA within three business days from receipt of your completed application. --- Greenline Program: As an applicant for financial assistance to finance short-term, cyclical, working capital needs, you can expect an answer from SBA within two weeks of receipt of your completed application from your lender. Export-Import Bank ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ --- Ex-Im Bank will not keep its customers waiting. We promise that we will respond to your queries or complaints within two business days. --- Ex-Im Bank's Insurance staff will process 85 percent of Short- term applications within two weeks and 90 percent of the Multibuyer policies before the anniversary date, and inform the customer bi- weekly of the status of the additional 15/10 percent until resolved. --- Ex-Im Bank's United States Division will process 100 percent of all Preferred Lender Program transactions within 10 days of receipt of a completed application. --- Ex-Im Bank's Claim and Recovery Division will process at least 90 percent of all cash receipt collections for existing claims within 20 business days of receipts and acknowledge claims filed under all programs in writing to the claimant within two business days of receipt. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development Administration, Business Loan Guarantees ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ --- We will conduct a review of your loan application to verify completeness and compliance with applicable requirements within 10 working days after receiving the application. --- We will issue the loan guarantee for your loan within two working days from the time the lending institution holds the final loan closing. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, Federal Ship Financing ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ --- We will evaluate the completeness of your application and provide you with an initial response within 10 to 14 days. --- We will respond to your phone calls within 24 hours. --- We will respond to your information requests within one to three days. --- We will process a complete application within 60 days. --- We will treat you with courtesy and respect at all times. ***************************************************************** The State Department is helping businesses operating overseas. One of its satisfied customers wrote: "I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate the positive stance the American Consulate has taken toward U.S. companies doing business in Japan. I have always thought that if American organizations don't help each other out in Japan, then who will?" The State Department is looking to expand its services to businesses operating overseas. According to Deputy Secretary Strobe Talbott, "We plan to include not only a case-by-case business facilitation, but also the broader area of creating through negotiations and agreements a friendly business climate for American firms -- one that will enable medium and small firms as well as larger ones to conduct business overseas." If you need help from various agencies of the Department of Agriculture, put your walking shoes on. Your nearest field offices of the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, the Farmers Home Administration, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, the Rural Development Administration, and the Soil Conservation Service may each have a different location. Agriculture recently surveyed its customers; they said: "We want services in one location. We want to deal with one person or one team who understands us." Agriculture is taking its customers' advice and is creating one-stop Field Service Centers throughout the nation. Some are already in place; most will be running by 1998. Technological transfer to assist business is a growing priority for some federal agencies. National Aeronautics and Space Administration programs actively promote the commercial potential of the agency's technologies, while three of the Department of Energy's five goals are focused on business: help industry shift from waste management to pollution prevention; partner with the private sector for a two-way technological exchange; and accelerate national use of emerging technologies. DOE is putting numbers with its promises to do more work with business. Effective immediately, it is devoting at least 15 percent of the department's research and development budget to partnerships with the private sector. The department is also aggressive about setting up more partnerships with business. Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) are a primary tool for defining joint work between the national labs, managed by DOE, and the private sector. DOE has promised to process the paperwork for new CRADAs in less than 16 weeks on average. The federal government is also on the information superhighway, providing business and others with information quickly. FedWorld, a service of the Department of Commerce, is an on-line information network serving as a gateway to 130 other government systems and still growing. Access to FedWorld is provided at no charge, and calls to the Help Desk are answered by a person, not a recording, 24 hours a day. Downloadable products ordered by credit card are delivered within 30 seconds. Also provided by Commerce, STAT-USA has the most extensive government-sponsored business, economic, and trade database system in the world. One of STAT-USA's standards commits to posting all information within 30 minutes of receipt and promises, "If we do not ship your order within 24 hours, we will send you one CD-ROM free." Research Support **************** Many of the federal government's research and scientific activities support the needs and interests of business. See the "Research and Academic Community" section for more on these standards. *********************************** CUSTOMER GROUP: The General Public *********************************** Bureaucracy. Red tape. Rigmarole. The runaround. Paperwork. Administrivia. There are a lot of names for the cumbersome way government does business, a way that seems designed to drive people crazy. How many times have you needed a simple piece of information on a government product or service and not known who to call, where to begin? If interacting with the federal government leaves you muttering to yourself, you're not alone: 80 percent of Americans don't trust the federal government to do the right thing most of the time. A lot of people in Los Angeles, California, are part of the other 20 percent. On January 17, 1994, an earthquake that measured 6.7 on the Richter Scale rocked Northridge and the rest of the Los Angeles area. Total damage was calculated in billions of dollars. The devastation of the quake closed the Santa Monica Freeway, L.A.'s busiest. Thousands of families were forced out of their homes. When President Clinton declared the earthquake a federal emergency, the people of Los Angeles became customers of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Working together with the Department of Transportation, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Highway Administration, and state and local officials, FEMA responded not with hoops to jump through but with aid. A central processing office was set up at Redwood City to process applications for assistance. When the office opened on January 22, the paper flooded in. Chal Overdorff and his staff dealt with it. With the help of new technology to estimate damage and determine payments, and by working around the clock, Overdorff and his staff have cut almost 400,000 checks -- the most in the history of FEMA for a single disaster. Much of FEMA's work couldn't be done in an office. Outreach leader Tim Richardson and his partner discovered an 80-year-old woman still living in her mobile home, even though it had been shaken off its blocks and was teetering on its hitch. She was frightened by aftershocks and was out of water. Richardson's team helped get her to safety, registered her for assistance, got her in touch with crisis counselors, and found a contractor to repair her home. She's back in her house now and doing fine. **************************************************************** FEMA's work produced thousands of thank-you's like this one: The earthquake on January 17, 1994, shook everyone in the city badly. Emotionally, I was in very bad shape for about two weeks. It took my family and myself about three months to get our home back into pre- quake condition although we have lost many irreplaceable items. I still suffer from occasional nightmares. FEMA, the SBA, everyone we dealt with from the government was extremely helpful, understanding, and I have never seen bureaucracy move this fast and this efficiently. Thank you very much for all your help. **************************************************************** This is quite a comeback from the shots that FEMA took after hurricane Andrew in 1992. The agency is publishing standards that try to build on its success in Los Angeles. No Bigger Job ************* Think about the job of the U.S. Postal Service: collect, sort, and cancel 177 billion pieces of mail each year. Deliver to over 122 million homes, stores, post office boxes, and businesses every day. Operate 40,000 post offices across the country. It's hard to think of an organization that has more contact with the public. In last September's report of the National Performance Review, the Postal Service presented standards based on its customers' input about what is important. It set standards of overnight delivery of local First Class Mail and three-day delivery of cross-country mail. It committed to a program to cut the wait in offices to "five minutes or less." It also pledged to provide a postal information phone system, operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. So how are things going? To date 81 cities have the 24-hour information phone service. Three-quarters of the 40,000 post offices across the country now offer counter service in five minutes or less. And on-time delivery is at 82 percent across the country and exceeds 90 percent in some cities -- Des Moines, Long Beach, Spokane, and others. But the Postal Service reported that in tests in the Washington area this spring and summer, only 50 to 60 percent of deliveries were on time. Similar problems surfaced in Chicago and Tennessee. Worse, postal inspectors acting on Postmaster General Runyon's orders to check things out found millions of pieces of delayed mail at two Washington, D.C., post offices. The Postal Service clearly wasn't meeting its standards in these places. The leaders took action. They brought in proven managers and added employees on the street and in the front line. Hundreds of people worked overtime to reduce the backlog. At the top, the Postal Service has a new chief operating officer -- Bill Henderson, who had met customer service standards in his job as Division Manager for North Carolina. Is the problem fixed? No; clearly there's more to do. Service has improved, but not to the level that the Postal Service wants. So what's the lesson? Did the Postal Service make a mistake setting standards in the first place? Absolutely not. In the old days, before standards and performance measurements, the Postal Service might not have even known where to look for problems. If it heard complaints, the brouhaha would likely have resulted in more rules for workers to follow. Now it has regular measurement of both customer satisfaction and on-time delivery by Opinion Research and Price Waterhouse. Today it knows where to look for problems and is working to solve them. This is exactly the point of setting standards -- to get agencies to focus on what their customers want and take action when they come up short. For the future, the Postal Service has reaffirmed its commitment to the standards in last year's report of the National Performance Review. **************************************************************** Highlights from Customer Service Standards: U.S. Postal Service --- Your First Class Mail will be delivered anywhere in the United States within three days. --- Your local First Class Mail will be delivered overnight. --- You will receive service at post office counters within five minutes. --- You can get postal information 24 hours a day by calling a local number. **************************************************************** Good Afternoon -- Here's Your Stuffed Fish and Telephone Bill ************************************************************* The August 31, 1994, Washington Post reported on a test of the mail delivery system that the National Enquirer had carried out -- and on the subsequent reaction of Postmaster General Marvin Runyon: To test the mail system, the tabloid newspaper put addresses on a coconut, false teeth, boxer shorts, a rubber snake, a soda can and a stuffed fish. All were delivered, Runyon said. "It was a crazy test, one we don't recommend others replicate," he said. "But I do agree with the Enquirer's verdict: The Postal Service really delivers." Protecting the Public ********************* Much of the government has as its job protecting the public -- its seat belts, its food, its children's toys, its drinking water -- the list goes on. Many agencies whose role is protecting the general public have already signed up to improve customer service. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has many programs with a single life-saving aim: to give us all a better chance to get where we need to go safely. To make safety information widely available, the agency operates an Auto Safety Hotline, a toll-free telephone service. Hotline callers get information on motor vehicle recalls and safety defect investigations. Hotline operators are trained to answer vehicle and traffic safety questions. They take consumer complaints about possible safety defects and assist callers who are having difficulty obtaining repair work for existing recalls. Callers can also request safety literature. The service is available to the hearing impaired through teleprinter (TDD) connections. **************************************************************** Highlights from Customer Service Standards: National Highway Traffic safety administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ --- Your calls are important and will be answered promptly. If you have trouble reaching one of our operators, call after 6 p.m. and leave a message on the answering machine. We will call you back the next business day. You will not be put on hold for longer than two minutes. --- You will be given the most complete and accurate information possible. --- By December 1994, NHTSA will use its fax-on-demand service to provide you with fact sheets and information within 24 hours. Consumer Product safety commission ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Call the CPSC Hotline at 1-800-638-2772 to report an unsafe product, report a product-related injury, receive information on product recalls and repairs/replacements, and learn what to look for in purchases. Customer service standards are: --- Answer your call 7 days a week/24 hours a day. --- Provide easy-to-follow instructions in English or Spanish, or in another language during working hours. --- Take information quickly, accurately, and courteously. Occupational Safety and Health Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ OSHA receives many complaints from employees about unsafe working conditions and has established these customer service standards for employees: --- OSHA currently schedules inspections, on average, within 18 days of an employee's complaint of a serious hazard and 26 days of an other than serious hazard. . . . We will reduce the average time. --- OSHA will ensure that employees have the opportunity to participate in inspections. --- We will complete investigations for those employees who believe they are being discriminated against for exercising their rights to request or participate in investigations within 90 days. **************************************************************** The Consumer Product Safety Commission's mission is also to protect the public -- against unreasonable risk of injury from consumer products. Commission Chair Ann Brown has stepped up media efforts to get the word out quickly about dangerous products. She appears regularly on shows like "Good Morning America" to announce product recalls and inform the public. The commission also operates a hotline as a service to its customers and is setting standards for the hotline. If you aren't sure what to do with frozen food when your power fails, you can get help from the Food Safety and Inspection Service's toll- free hotline (1-800-535-4555). This 24-hour hotline is part of the service's commitment to open communications and develop more productive working relation-ships with the public, industry, academia, state and local governments, and the media. The service also inspects over 6,000 meat and poultry plants to ensure that their products are safe, wholesome, and accurately labeled. The mission of the Environmental Protection Agency is to protect the environment today and for future generations. EPA is reinventing itself to communicate better with customers and get customer inputs to EPA decisions. As EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner says, "An informed and involved local community will make better environmental decisions than a distant bureaucracy." EPA is publishing standards that include responding to letters within five working days, and it has set up a hotline (1-800-535-0202) to respond to questions about waste management, underground storage tanks, chemical accident prevention, and Superfund sites. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration takes care of its job -- protecting the health and safety of American workers -- through partnerships with employees, employers, and state and local governments. OSHA's customers number more than 100 million workers and over 6 million employers. In OSHA's customer surveys, workers expressed a need for better hazard information and training. Employers asked for better information on what they had to do to comply with OSHA requirements. OSHA has developed aggressive programs to get more information out, involve workers more in the inspection process, and assist employers. Talking to Your Government ************************** You call a toll-free number and you get the help you need. That's not too much to expect in 1994. You get it from American Express. You get it from American Airlines. You should get no less from American government. The Social Security Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and other federal agencies are finding out that Americans increasingly let their fingers do the walking. As a result, these agencies are studying how corporate America serves its customers over the phone. Agencies are learning the most efficient ways to deal with surges in calling, like when Social Security checks go out each month or when April 15 rolls around. Top businesses also have a lot to teach about giving the people who answer the phones quick access to information and the authority to make decisions so that they can solve customers' problems and really be of service. Reinventing government means equaling the best in business; phone service is no exception. WE PROMISE . . . **************** Dear President Clinton: We are establishing standards for telephone service that include promptness, courtesy, and accuracy. With industry leaders as a model, we are making progress. But we still have much to do. We believe we can give the American people the telephone service they deserve. We promise to work hard to achieve this goal and report progress to you in September 1995. Hon. Shirley Chater, Comissioner, Social Security Administration Hon. Roger Johnson, Administrator, General Services Administration Hon. James B. King, Director, Office of Personnel Management Hon. Margaret M. Richardson, Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service Hon. Doris Meissner, Commissioner, Immigration and Naturalization Service Hon. Mary A. Ryan, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Department of State Dr. Harry A. Scarr, Acting Director, Bureau of the Census Paying Taxes ************ Most people would just as soon not be customers of the Internal Revenue Service. Like it or not, we need the IRS to collect revenue. The good news is that the IRS believes it can do a better job collecting taxes by viewing us all as customers. The idea is that better customer service will increase voluntary compliance. Thinking of us all as customers is changing things at the IRS. For over a decade, the IRS put top priority on getting tax booklets to us right after January 1. But a customer survey showed that minimizing contact with the IRS was the true priority of taxpayers. Taking this input to heart, the IRS is finding ways to cut down on contact. One project is developing a system that gives citizens one tax interface with all levels of government. The Social Security Administration and the IRS are working together so businesses and individuals need to supply wage data only once for all tax collection agencies -- federal, state, and local. Twelve states will participate in the program this year and 11 more in 1995. **************************************************************** Highlights from Customer Service Standards: Internal Revenue Service These are samples of the customer service standards from the IRS. Expect to see these and other standards in your tax booklets for 1994 taxes. --- If you file a complete and accurate tax return and you are due a refund, your refund will be issued within 40 days if you file a paper return or within 21 days if you file electronically. --- Our goal is to resolve your account inquiries with one contact. To reach that goal, we will make improvements yearly. --- If you have a problem that has not been resolved through normal processes, you may contact our Problem Resolution Office. A caseworker will contact you within one week and will work with you to resolve the problem. --- If you provide sufficient and accurate information to our tax assistors but are given and reasonably rely on an incorrect answer, we will cancel related penalties. --- We will make tax forms and instructions easier and simpler for you to use. We made some good changes this year, but we want your ideas for future improvements. Please call us at 1-800-829-3676 -- available nine hours each business day -- or you can write us at Internal Revenue Service, Attention: Tax Forms Committee, PC:FP, Washington, D.C. 20224. **************************************************************** Paying taxes can never be painless, but it can be less painful. In some states, taxpayers will be able to file by phone this year through a program called Telefile. Residents of Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina, and West Virginia that are filing a 1040 EZ and have a touch-tone phone will have the Telefile option for 1994 taxes. Service through Telefile is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. With Telefile, filing your tax return may end up as easy as calling Domino's. Buying Money ************ Unlike the Internal Revenue Service, everyone would like to be a customer of the U.S. Mint -- a repeat customer, in fact. And, directly or indirectly, almost every American is already a U.S. Mint customer. The mint produces the nation's supply of coins for trade and commerce, plus special issues and investment coins. In addition, the mint sees 600,000 tourists a year at its Philadelphia and Denver sites and has a customer mailing list of 2 million coin collectors. **************************************************************** Highlights from Customer Service Standards: U.S. Mint --- Your orders will be shipped within four weeks of receipt. --- Your inquiries will be answered with one-stop service. --- Your calls will be returned within one working day. **************************************************************** You may cancel your order anytime prior to shipment. **************************************************** The mint has taken customer service principles to heart. First, it is listening to its front-line employees' ideas on how to improve service. As a result of an employee suggestion, mint employees now call coin collectors and other customers directly if an expiration date is missing from a credit card order. In the past, such an order would have been rejected and returned to the customer for correction, causing further delay. The mint is also one of a few government agencies that have customer service reps. At the mint, the reps alert customers of sellouts and take credit card orders by phone. In addition, the mint is examining the best in business -- companies such as Black & Decker, T. Rowe Price, Lenox China and Crystal, the Royal Mint of Great Britain, and Vanguard Mutual Funds -- for ideas that it can apply to its own operations. Helping Americans Invest ************************ Peter Lynch may be telling you to "beat the street," but the Securities and Exchange Commission wants to make sure you have a level playing field. The SEC protects investors by enforcing federal securities laws and regulating securities markets. Individual and institutional investors have trillions invested in securities and mutual funds in the United States and abroad. While the SEC does not approve or guarantee any investments, it does make sure that securities issuers fully disclose material information to investors and markets adhere to fair standards. As part of its commitment to service, the Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting customer surveys throughout the country covering a wide range of topics; the results have proven surprising in some cases. Misconceptions about mutual funds purchased through banks are especially worrisome. Most mutual funds sold through banks are not federally insured, yet 28 percent of the respondents to a recent SEC survey thought they were. Similarly, money market mutual funds bought through a bank are not federally insured, yet 66 percent of the survey's respondents who have bought these funds through banks thought otherwise. Since many people don't understand these risks, the SEC is mounting a campaign to get the word out. A new series of educational brochures titled Invest Wisely are part of this. One brochure will focus on mutual funds, covering investment basics and warning of pitfalls. The SEC is also using focus groups to find out more about what its customers value. ******************************** CUSTOMER GROUP: Law Enforcement ******************************** Protecting the public is one of the most fundamental and important jobs of government. Many federal agencies directly enforce laws, but they also help state and local law enforce-ment agencies in their efforts. State and local law enforcement agencies are the front line for combating crime on the street. These law enforcement agencies, in turn, are the customers for many federal law enforcement organizations. Consider, for example, the Community Relations Service of the Department of Justice, which helps communities reduce ethnic tension and prevent racial conflict. When Senior Conciliation Specialist Vermont McKinney saw the videotape of the Rodney King beating, he called the Los Angeles Police Department and community leaders and offered his help. McKinney spent the next few weeks opening the lines of communication among the key players. He and Regional Director Julian Klugman later convened a three-day summit with 40 community leaders and 40 law enforcement agents. Los Angeles Police Chief Willie L. Williams says that as bad as the riots were, they would have been a lot worse without Justice's help. The Community Relations Service was especially helpful, Williams adds, in bringing together police and local gang leaders to negotiate a truce. "The truce and other efforts have reduced street-related gang killings and violence significantly," says Williams. "At the time, clearly this was not a very popular event among police officers. . . . We couldn't have done it without the Justice Department. . . . There are still a lot of problems with gangs in Los Angeles, but we've cut down on the violence, and now we can work on other issues." Davis L. Rodgers, Sr., President of the Watts Branch of the NAACP, notes that Justice did a good job at working at the grass-roots community level. "They were continually asking if we thought there was going to be more trouble and asked what could be done to prevent it," he says. "They listened to everything we had to say." In the words of Eleanor R. Montano, President of Mothers and Men Against Gangs, who has been working for decades to prevent violence: "Sometimes you just need an outside party to help. Someone who is seen as objective, that people will listen to." State and Local Support *********************** Many other Department of Justice agencies also have customers at the state and local level. Justice manages about $1 billion in annual funding that goes to state and local organizations. Under the provisions of the recently enacted crime bill, Congress authorized over $30 billion for law enforcement efforts mostly at the state and local level. The money is to be paid from a special fund in fiscal years 1995 through 2000. Justice also provides assistance in day-to-day police work. For example, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Crime Information Center, a computerized information system that has data on wanted persons and stolen property, provides information for more than 74,000 federal, state, and local police officers in all 50 states. The FBI also analyzes fingerprints. Police departments nationwide depend on these services; each day the FBI receives 100,000 electronic requests for information, 35,000 fingerprint card requests, and 14,000 written updates to criminal history files. In focus groups conducted by Justice, state and local law enforcement officials asked for better coordination and faster response to requests for information on suspects. Right now, the FBI can't respond to requests as fast as its customers want. But the bureau is telling customers what they can expect. Current response time for name searches against criminal histories is five seconds. Fingerprint identification takes about 21 days. A new FBI rapid response system, which is scheduled to be on-line by early 1997, will receive and process electronic fingerprint images, criminal histories, and related data within the response times local agencies need. The FBI also interviewed 485 criminal justice administrators and sent questionnaires to 2,670 criminal justice agencies nationwide to get feedback on how to improve its database system; it plans to have improvements in place by 1996. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms runs the National Tracing Center, which tracks information about firearms used in crimes. The center handled more than 50,000 requests in fiscal year 1993 and expects over 70,000 for fiscal year 1994. The center helps law enforcement agencies by developing leads on suspicious characters who may be involved in firearms trafficking. The center is researching new computer software that will provide information more quickly. The bureau's customer service standards call for completing urgent firearms traces within 24 hours and routine traces within four weeks. **************************************************************** Highlights from Customer Service Standards: FBI's National Crime Information Center FBI expects to provide better service in 1996 when its new NCIC system is available. Current and future customer service standards for NCIC are: --- Customers will be able to access the system 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (currently available). --- The system will process NCIC inquiries in one second or less. Current NCIC processing is two seconds. --- Users will be able to conduct on-line queries for information that is now available only through special computer programming. --- Users will be able to receive photograph and fingerprint images on-line in police cruisers (currently not available). **************************************************************** Direct Enforcement ****************** Besides supporting state and local authorities, federal agencies directly enforce a wide range of statutes. The FBI combats organized crime, narcotics, terrorism, white-collar crime, foreign counterintelligence, and violent crime. The Drug Enforcement Administration handles international and major narcotics cases. Other agencies have law enforcement components -- for example, the Internal Revenue Service for tax evasion, the Customs Service for smuggling, the Secret Service for counterfeiting, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for guns, and the Department of Health and Human Services for Medicare fraud. In addition, the Justice Department has an extensive network of prosecuting attorneys in Washington, D.C., and throughout the country with a U.S. Attorney in every judicial district. And Justice manages federal prisons throughout the nation. Customer service is a complicated concept for these direct law enforcement activites. Federal law enforcement agencies bring criminals to justice, save the taxpayers billions of dollars, and work to prevent crime. In these roles, they see the general public as their primary customer. The contributions they make are clear. Health care fraud, for example, is costing taxpayers about $10 billion a year, according to the 1992 U.S. General Accounting Office study Health Insurance: Vulnerable Payers Lose Billions to Fraud and Abuse (HRD-92-96). Not only are unscrupulous people charging bogus fees, they are using substandard medical equipment in delicate medical procedures. The Justice Department and the Inspector General of Health and Human Services are aggressively pursuing these cases. In one case, a well-known laboratory purposely induced doctors to order unnecessary lab work. The company president was convicted of fraud, and the company paid the government $110 million for restitution. But the job is more than simply chasing crooks. Justice has received feedback on the need for more assistance for victims and witnesses. Obviously, the victims are a special subset of the general public that these organizations exist to serve. Witnesses are essential to bring criminals to justice. Both victims and witnesses are customers -- and they have a right to protection and other assistance. The U.S. Marshals Service runs the Federal Witness Security Program, which protects witnesses before, during, and after trials. In very serious cases, a witness and his or her family can be given a new identity, home, and job, but this kind of dramatic action is rare. **************************************************************** Highlights from Customer Service Standards: U.S. Attorneys' Offices If you are a victim or a witness -- --- To the extent possible, a separate waiting area will be provided for you separate from the offender and defense witnesses during court proceedings. --- Emotional support and assistance will be provided to you during court appearances. --- Upon your request, you will be assisted in talking with your employer if your cooperation in the investigation or prosecution of the crime causes you to be absent from work; likewise, if the crime prohibits your ability to make timely payments to creditors, assistance will be provided to you in dealing with those creditors. --- You will routinely be provided with information or assistance concerning transportation, parking, lodging, translator, and related services. --- When needed, you will be provided referrals to existing agencies for shelter, counseling, compensation, and other types of assistance. **************************************************************** The U.S. Attorneys throughout the nation have established a Victim- Witness Assistance Program. Justice has published an extensive handbook to educate victims and witnesses, and each U.S. Attorney has a Victim-Witness Coordinator who answers questions, provides emotional support, sees to special needs, and advises of changes in offender status. The Justice Department is currently reviewing customer service standards in this area and expects to have them published by December 1994. Applying customer service principles to its direct enforcement work is the challenge that faces Justice and agencies like it. For her part, Attorney General Janet Reno has committed to expanding law enforcement customer service standards in investigations as well as in other areas over the next year. **************************************************************** Your Standards ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ These agencies and offices are publishing customer service standards for law enforcement. The standards appear in the "Law Enforcement" section of Appendix B. Department of Justice Community Relations Service Federal Bureau of Investigation U.S. Attorneys' Offices Department of the Treasury Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Federal Law Enforcement Training Center U.S. Secret Service **************************************************************** ******************************************** CUSTOMER GROUP: Natural Resource Management ******************************************** The Snake River flows through a broad lava plain in a sinuous canyon, 200 feet deep. The surrounding lands have expansive panoramas typical of the basin and range province of southeastern Idaho. The landscape at the American Falls Reservoir is dominated by water and sky, and most views extend for miles in all directions. The bottomlands at the northeast end of the reservoir are covered with a rich mosaic of wetland grasses, shrubs, and trees, where masses of waterfowl and shorebirds can be seen at certain times of the year. But the demands of man and his machines are eroding this idyllic tableau. Areas of disturbance are visible at several locations around the reservoir. Uncontrolled access by off-road recreational vehicles has caused random and pervasive scarring of the ground cover. Some upland areas have been disturbed, and invasive weeds have replaced native vegetation. About half of the reservoir shoreline is within the Fort Hall Indian Reservation of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. The area contains traditional tribal cultural sites and other archaeological and historic sites, some dating back as far as 10,000 years. These sites are also being damaged by off-road vehicles. The Interior Department's Bureau of Reclamation, which built American Falls Dam in 1927, recognized the need to develop a resource management plan for American Falls that protected the environ-ment from further damage but took into account the interests of the disparate groups of people who use the land. Bureau officials called together a focus group of representatives from farms, irrigation districts, environmental groups, state and local governments, Shoshone-Bannock tribes, state universities, and private organizations. In September 1994, this group will present its plan for using the dam in a responsible manner. Resolving conflicts, reconciling compet-ing interests, and making the most of finite resources -- these are the guiding words of the new Bureau of Reclamation, an organization that is reinventing itself in the face of rapid change. The American Falls example illustrates the bureau's shift from the role of dam-builder to that of resource manager. Reclamation has a big job to do; it is the largest wholesale supplier of water in the 17 western states, delivering 10 trillion gallons of water annually for agricultural, municipal, industrial, and domestic uses. Reclamation is the nation's sixth largest electric utility with 52 power plants in operation. In addition, its multi-purpose projects control floods, promote recreational use, and protect fish and wildlife. After consulting with front-line employees and customers, the bureau has developed a set of guiding principles that reflect its new mission. These principles, in turn, will lead to a published set of customer service standards in fiscal year 1995. Stewardship of Natural Resources ******************************** Besides the Bureau of Reclamation, other departments and agencies have major roles in managing and conserving the nation's lands and natural resources. Key agencies are the Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture; the Bureau of Land Manage-ment, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Minerals Manage-ment Service, all in the Department of the Interior; and the Army Corps of Engineers. **************************************************************** Highlights from Customer Service Standards: Bureau of Reclamation Reclamation has not yet completed a set of customer service standards. However, it has developed a set of guiding principles that will lead to published standards in fiscal year 1995. The Bureau of Reclamation's principles of customer service are as follows: --- We will always treat our customers with courtesy and respect. --- We will promptly answer our customers' questions with accurate, objective information. --- We will resolve our customers' needs through single-point contact whenever possible -- our customers will not receive the runaround. --- We will provide educational information to our customers about the resources we manage, their use, and the laws and regulations governing their use. --- We will use language that our customers can easily understand. --- We will ask for and consider our customers' ideas about agency plans, programs, and services. --- We will promptly respond to our customers' suggestions, concerns, and complaints. **************************************************************** Stewardship means managing the nation's resources to benefit the common good. In this context, agencies' definition of their customers certainly includes the people who visit and use the national forests, public lands, and water recreation areas (see section on "Travelers, Tourists, and Outdoor Enthusiasts"). Relevant customer service standards include clean facilities and courteous service. But the agencies also recognize that they must define customers in broader terms, to include all Americans as the customer-owners of the resources. The American people want more of a say in what gets done with public lands and bodies of water. The issues are complex when all the customers' views are put on the table. The Forest Service faces the issues head-on. The agency's basic promise is to keep the national forests and grasslands healthy, diverse, and productive for all Americans. This year, the Forest Service has held town hall meetings across the United States and conducted focus groups, local forest planning meetings, and panel discussions. It even created customer group networks of all interested parties and conducted a national public opinion poll. The agency is committed to letting all its customers help build a better Forest Service for the future. The Bureau of Land Management controls 270 million acres -- about an eighth of all the land in the United States. It also looks after another 570 million acres of federal mineral resources. Most of the land administered by the Bureau of Land Management is located in the western United States and are dominated by extensive grasslands, high mountains, and deserts. The agency's concern for the environment is apparent in its mission statement: "It is the mission of the Bureau of Land Management to sustain the health of the public lands for present and future generations. In carrying out our mission, our aim is to serve you." **************************************************************** Highlights from Customer Service Standards: Bureau of Land Management BLM's complete set of standards for all its business areas is in Appendix B. Among other things, the agency promises always to: --- Give you an answer within five work days if you write or call for a permit. --- Give you an answer within 30 minutes if you stop by for information or for permission to camp or use the trails and other facilities. --- Tell you if we can't give you an answer right away and tell you who will respond to your request and when. **************************************************************** The bureau is finding out what its customers want, setting standards of service delivery that meet customer needs, and establishing benchmarks equal to the best in business. It is using a variety of techniques to gauge customer desires: questionnaires, focus groups, comment cards, complaint systems, and suggestions from front-line employees. The bureau's principles of public service include accuracy, courtesy, promptness, and choice. Reinvention Closes a Gap ************************ Last year, the Bonneville Power Adminis-tration, the largest power distributor in the Northwest, looked at the future and found a problem. The combination of new competitors in the wholesale power market, along with Bonneville's growing costs, revealed a half- billion dollar gap between projected revenues and expenses. Bonneville is determined not to raise rates; if it does, utility companies may stop buying electricity from Bonneville, and its other main customers, aluminum smelters (with their 10,000 jobs), may go out of business. Bonneville joined forces with its customers and is well on the way to success. Together they have developed and are implementing a business plan that gives customers new choices, like buying cheaper but less dependable power; encourages conservation by charging more for increased usage; and streamlines the Bonneville organization by nearly 800 jobs. **************************************************************** Your Standards These agencies and offices are publishing customer service standards for natural resource management. The standards appear in the "Natural Resource Management" section of Appendix B. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Department of Defense U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Department of Energy Energy Resources Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs Bureau of Land Management Bureau of Reclamation Minerals Management Service National Park Service **************************************************************** **************************************************** CUSTOMER GROUP: The Research and Academic Community **************************************************** David Emmit's students have a new tool for studying the earth. In fact, they helped develop a sophisticated computer system that allows researchers to get images of the earth via the information superhighway. Years of data are available from several satellites, and the system can even generate composite images. Researchers who want a specific image can mark it on the computer for order. These on-line data are a powerful tool in earth science research -- and in education, Emmit notes: "Students sign on to Internet and get the same information that scientists are using." Emmit is a research professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia. He is also a businessman -- a senior scientist at Simpson-Wether Associates in Charlottesville, Virginia. Michael Keeler teaches earth sciences at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. They both serve as customer advisers for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's project to develop an information system that will make earth science data widely available. The goal is one-stop shopping for earth science information for anyone in the world. Says Keeler, "The people who manage the databases have been incredibly responsive to what we need and what our students need." Today, NASA system designers are totally committed to consulting users. "We've actually had users slog through the design process with early mock-up screens," says Gail McConnehy, senior earth scientist at NASA. "The rule was always ask the users first how it looks, feels, and works. It's gratifying to see that our process is working; a lot of users seem comfortable with it and have responded very positively." NASA has a presence in every state through the NASA Teacher Research Center Network, which is designed to help science teachers. NASA Television offers a front-row seat for launches and missions, informa-tional and educational programming, historical documentaries, and updates on the latest developments. The NASA Education Satellite Videoconference Series provides educational programs and allows interaction with astronauts and scientists. NASA Spacelink electronically sends educational material, NASA news, reference data on aeronautics and space exploration, and announcements on activities and programs available at NASA field centers. U.S. R&D -- The Best, Bar None ****************************** The federal budget for research and development was over $70 billion for FY 1994. Over $11 billion was earmarked for supporting university researchers. Civilian research efforts totaled about $30 billion, with the balance for defense research. Research is funded in diverse areas: promising new energy sources, environmental cleanup, housing technology, weather, space, medicine, mental health, transportation, information technology, and military needs. In fields such as high- energy physics, biomedical science, and aeronautics, the national laboratories provide facilities for researchers from universities, industry, and government. **************************************************************** Highlights from Customer Service Standards: NASA's Earth Observing System The Earth Observing System Distributed Information System will collect, process, validate, and make available data on upper atmospheric chemistry and dynamics, ocean circulation and productivity, ozone change, land surface characteristics, sea ice dynamics, and polar ice sheet mapping. Customer service standards are: --- In July, 1994, the prototype of the EOSDIS, Version 0, became available with some operational elements. --- When fully operational, EOSDIS will fill 95 percent of user requests to the system within 72 hours. --- Provide for continuous production of geophysical and biophysical data products flowing from EOS by the year 2004. **************************************************************** The National Science Foundation, a major source of funding for university and nonprofit research activities, supports education and development of human resources in science, mathematics, and engineering. It initiates and supports fundamental, long-term, merit- selected research through grants, contracts, and other agreements awarded to universities, university consortia, and other research organizations. The agency's customer service standards focus on the research funding process and involve commitments to clarity, fairness, timing and openness. The Department of Energy manages the system of national laboratories, sites of some of the most sophisticated research and development capabilities in the world. The labs conduct a world-class program in basic and applied science that supports energy, environmental, national security, and industrial competitive missions. Recent breakthroughs from the laboratories include the world's record in photovoltaic energy conversion efficiency at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the world's record for fusion power levels produced at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and the world's most powerful "soft" x-rays at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. In the past few years, the national labs turned up the heat on transferring their technology to the private sector. The result is a big increase in joint projects with the private sector. The Department of Education serves the academic community in a variety of ways. The department worked with state governors and lawmakers, school adminis-trators, teachers, and parents to develop and enact the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. Goals 2000 sets challenging standards of academic and occupational achievement that will benefit the department's ultimate customer, learners of all ages. (Examples of Education's customer service standards appear in the section on "States, Localities, and Other Partners.") **************************************************************** Highlights from Customer Service Standards: National Science Foundation ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Some of the NSF standards being published for customers seeking research funding are: --- Disseminate timely information about programs. --- State clear guidelines for proposals, criteria, and selection. --- Conduct fair reviews of proposals, including reconsideration, if requested. --- Inform applicants of decisions within six months of the NSF's receipt of the proposal. --- Provide information that explains the final funding decision for the proposal. National Technical Information Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ FedWorld, an on-line information network established by the National Technical Information Service, offers a user-friendly, central resource for government information in electronic formats. FedWorld provides dial-up and Internet access and serves as a gateway to 130 other government systems, provides on-line order taking using major credit cards, and provides for subscription services. FedWorld has established the following customer service standards: --- Access to FedWorld will continue to be provided at no charge. --- Downloadable products ordered by credit card will be delivered within 30 seconds. --- Calls to the Help Desk will be answered by a person, not a recording, 24 hours a day. --- Information will continue to be made accessible in whatever electronic formats meet our customers' needs. National Archives and Records Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The National Archives and Records Administration keeps the historically valuable records of the U.S. Government, dating from the Revolutionary War era to the recent past. Most records of nationwide significance are kept in Washington, D.C., but holdings of regional and local interest are maintained in 12 regional centers. Some of the National Archives customer service standards are: --- If you write to us about our holdings, you will receive a response within 10 work days. --- If you visit our Exhibition Hall in Washington, D.C., you will find us open to serve you with knowledgeable staff or volunteers 364 days per year (closed only on December 25). --- If you visit one of our Presidential Library Museums, you will find us open 362 days (closed only on Thanksgiving Day, December 25, and January 1). --- If you need information about the National Archives, you can obtain timely and up-to-date information through Internet and other on-line services, our fax-on-demand service, through printed publications, or by contacting one of our offices. **************************************************************** The Federal Information Exchange, or FEDIX -- a customer service funded by user agencies such as Energy, Defense, Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Agency for International Development -- delivers on-line information on research and educa-tional opportunities, program contacts, scholarships, research equipment, and minority opportunities. An electronic mail feature lets users go directly to systems operators with ideas and questions. FEDIX is free and easy to use. The federal government also has a major responsibility to share research and other records held in trust for the nation. Across the board, agencies are using information technology to make records and data more accessible. Libraries and research centers, like the Library of Congress and the Library of Medicine, also continue to serve their customers with more traditional formats. The National Archives and Records Administration serves over 2 million customers looking for historical information each year. Its standards reflect the variety of ways that customers contact them. One of Archives' customer service stars is the 30-person Federal Research Center in Waltham, Massachusetts. The center surveyed its customers, hosted open houses to get to know them, and redesigned its systems to please them -- and it's working. As one customer wrote: "I never receive anything but outstanding service. Paul, Bob -- all have been great. Marvin goes out of his way to accommodate our crazy demands. Thank you all." **************************************************************** Your Standards These agencies and offices are publishing customer service standards for researchers. The standards appear in the "Research and Academic Community" section of Appendix B. Department of Agriculture Economic Agencies Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis Bureau of the Census Economics and Statistics Administration National Institute of Standards and Technology National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Technical Information Service Patent and Trademark Office Department of Education Goals 2000: Educate America Act Impact Aid Office for Civil Rights Student Financial Assistance Program Department of Energy Industrial Competitiveness Science and Technology Department of Housing and Urban Development Policy Development and Research Department of the Interior Bureau of Mines National Biological Survey U.S. Geological Survey National Aeronautics and Space Administration Education and Materials Services Mission to Planet Earth National Archives and Records Administration National Science Foundation **************************************************************** ******************************************************* CUSTOMER GROUP: States, Localities, and Other Partners ******************************************************* Improving our service to state and local government offices is good for us, good for you, and good for the public we both serve. -- Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala John Dryer of Boeing, charged with helping 19,000 laid-off workers find new jobs, was apprehensive about working with the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor in Seattle, Washington. He expected "a lot of bureau-cratic paperwork and red tape." But his experience turned out to be quite different. "From our first meeting with Region Ten, it was clear that things had changed," he said. "They demonstrated their first priority was customer service. . . . It's just been fantastic to see the partnership that has been established between the union, the company, the state government, the federal government." Partnership? Partners as customers? These are new and difficult ideas in the federal government, but they are central to the customer service revolution. In areas as diverse as Medicaid and highways, the federal government provides dollars -- an estimated $217 billion in grants to states and localities in the last 12 months. However, it is non-federal and even non-governmental organizations that actually deliver these services to the millions of individuals and families who benefit. In other cases, as with Boeing's dislocated workers, there are multiple sources of funding and resources for related services. The numbers of people receiving benefits through such partnerships are enormous. Last year: --- 34 million people received Medicaid benefits. --- 27 million people received food stamps. --- 25 million children were fed school lunches. --- 14 million children and families received financial assistance. --- 11 million students got college loans or grants. --- 8 million workers received unemployment benefits. --- 7.5 million elderly were given support through such programs as Meals on Wheels. --- 6 million children were fed school breakfasts. The customer-driven approach to such programs paid off in Seattle. The partners are delighted. They have worked together, broken down barriers, solved problems, and established a pair of one-stop reemployment service centers. The affected workers are even more pleased. Karen Ayers, who had been laid off after 13 years with Boeing, likened the services offered at the one-stop centers to a shopping mall for unemploy-ment services: "It took the pain out of being unemployed." While progress is real in Seattle, most of the time state, local, and tribal governments and other nongovernmental entities don't feel much like partners of the federal government, much less customers. As one state official observed, the intergovernmental system for delivering services has "broken down in a tangle of good intentions. . . . [It] stifles initiative and squanders resources without achieving sufficient results." The National Performance Review concluded, "The failure to see the intergovernmental system from the perspective of the citizen-customer . . . perpetuates inefficiency and wastes time, effort, and money." Things Are Starting To Change ***************************** Federal agencies are starting to rethink their relationships with their partners. They are starting to listen to them. They are starting to work together to set standards for their mutual customers. And they are starting to cut through the red tape that can be so frustrating and costly to their partners. The Department of Health and Human Services relies on its partners -- state, local, and tribal governments, a range of grantees and contractors, and many others -- to deliver services as diverse as Head Start and Medicaid. Alan Rivlin, a member of the department's customer service team, describes its approach to reinventing its relationship with its partners: "First, we improve service to our partners -- listening to their views, giving them timely accurate information, and so on. Second, we work with our partners to get input from the ultimate customers we serve jointly, so that together we can deliver the quality service they deserve." The same approach can work for other agencies. The Employment Training Administration is building on its experience in Seattle and elsewhere. It is developing customer service plans and standards for dislocated workers with its state and local partners in 100 "pioneer sites." The Department of Education sees state and local government, educational institutions, teachers, parents, and businesses as its partners in a common mission: ensuring excellence in and access to education for their customers -- learners of all ages. The department is listening to its partners. Two messages come through loud and clear: reduce overly burdensome paperwork and give partners more timely responses. Change is coming: States can use a two-page application for funding under the new Goals 2000: Educate America Act, and they can expect written responses within 15 days of applying. The Department of Housing and Urban Development also works primarily through partners -- in its case, states, local governments, public housing authorities, and nonprofit organizations. The Office of Community Planning and Development looks to its front-line employees to work with communities to prepare community development plans. The office encourages giving local partners all possible flexibility. It also set a standard for timeliness that should please its partners who submit plans for approval: "The plan will be deemed approved 60 days after the department receives the plan, unless before that date, the department has notified the jurisdiction otherwise." The Environmental Protection Agency is working with one of its partners, the State of Massachusetts, to combine three different federally mandated inspections into one. Instead of three inspectors and three inspections -- one each for air, water and waste -- the new flexible plan lets Massachusetts use a single inspector. This saves time, paper-work, and money for the state and reduces aggravation for the site owners. Although these individual agencies are making important efforts, partners and their customers often don't deal just with a single federal agency or program. Taking the perspective of the customer in these cases means involving several agencies to simplify the way the customer interacts with the federal government overall. Reducing Red Tape ***************** Cutting across bureaucratic lines to slash red tape and get the job done is hard work. Nevertheless, this must happen to make customer service a reality. There are some promising starts. As in most big cities, many people in Atlanta, Georgia, are eligible for several benefits, such as Medicaid, food stamps, and housing. To apply for the various benefits, they had to travel around the city from one agency to another, wait in long lines, and puzzle through a different application form for each program. But now, Atlanta's Common Access Project team has created a single, all-purpose application covering six programs. The team, composed of federal and state people from these programs, reduced 64 pages of forms to eight; they're working to get it even shorter. They trained counselors to help people fill out the forms. The counselors even go out to the neighborhoods so that people can apply right in their homes. The Common Access Project is just starting, but customers have already been surprised and pleased to learn they only need to fill out a single form to apply for several programs. In South Dakota, an intergovernmental panel is working with the Ogalala Sioux Tribe to try to reinvent service delivery. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has asked all federal agencies to explore one-stop shopping for the tribal governments that deal with them. Although it is still early, the idea of one-stop shopping could lead to a single application and funding package for more than 28 federal programs that provide services to 2 million American Indian people through their tribal governments. Congress is also beginning to recognize the need to reduce the burden that separate federal funding streams, with their separate reporting and administrative requirements, can impose on states, local, and tribal governments. The School to Work Opportunities Act is an innovative effort to work with states to give kids the skills they need to go on in school, get jobs, and start careers. The act lets states combine funds from several federal programs in the Departments of Education and Labor under some conditions. It also lets the secretaries of those departments waive certain statutory and regulatory requirements to achieve the purposes of the act. Forming New Partnerships ************************ Some states are taking the initiative to make the state/federal relationship work better. Indiana and West Virginia have made plans to consolidate services to children and families. Indiana wants, for example, to coordinate nearly 200 federal programs in six different federal departments. Both states have sought and obtained endorsement from President Clinton for their plans. In Oregon, state, county, and local governments have been working as partners for several years to agree on and work to achieve such urgent statewide goals as child immunization, educational achievement, and teenage pregnancy prevention. Now, Oregon has asked federal agencies to be partners to achieve these goals. State, local, and federal officials are looking for ways to cut through unnecessary red tape, use existing resources more effectively, and improve the performance of programs aimed at achieving these results. These cases are only examples. However, they are examples to build on, and as they succeed, extend to other partners. The key to their success will lie in keeping the focus on the ultimate customers. President Clinton said as much when he endorsed the Indiana and West Virginia plans: "Govern-ments don't raise children; families do." **************************************************************** Highlights from Customer Service Standards Department of Defense The Department of Defense has set standards that communities whose bases are closed can count on. For example: --- An expert from the Office of Economic Adjustment will contact your community within 24 hours of the community's request for help. --- If your community needs a planning grant, OEA will help them fill out the application and then get them an answer within seven days. --- Your correspondence is answered within two weeks, and all Base Closure Status Report issues get resolved within one month. Defense is continuing to refine its standards and to cover additional areas, including property transfer and environmental cleanup. It will gather information from all available sources to design a customer- driven system that produces the fastest, fullest recovery possible. **************************************************************** Working with Communities to Solve Problems ****************************************** Sometimes it is the need to face a common problem that links the federal government with its partners. The Conflict Prevention and Resolution Program of the Department of Justice helps communities prevent and deal with racial, ethnic and other tension, such as possible conflict associated with the influx of immigrants or ethnic or racial tensions in schools. Time is of the essence when tension is mounting or a community is already dealing with a crisis. The program has set standards that promise communities on-site services in major racial or ethnic crises within 24 hours of notification, and at least a contact within three days in non-crisis situations. (The section on "Law Enforcement" describes this program more fully.) Similarly, the Department of Defense is working with communities affected by Defense downsizing. Military bases drive the economy of nearby communities; they are often the biggest employers in the entire state. When a base closes, the local community needs economic recovery fast. Planned base closings could affect as many as 70 million Americans in communities across the country. The President and the Defense Department have made economic recovery a top priority. Their plan for revitalizing base closure communities consists of five parts: job-centered property disposal, easy access to transition and redevelopment help, fast-track environmental cleanup, transition coordinators to cut red tape, and larger economic development planning grants. **************************************************************** Your Standards These agencies and offices are publishing customer service standards for intergovernmental and other partners. The standards appear in the "States, Localities, and Other Partners" section of Appendix B. Department of Defense Economic Adjustment Assistance Economic Security U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Department of Energy Energy Resources Department of Health and Human Services Health Care Financing Administration Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Planning and Development Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Office of Housing/Federal Housing Authority Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Territorial and International Affairs Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration Mine Safety and Health Administration Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration Agency for International Development Environmental Protection Agency EPA Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Pollution Prevention and Toxics Solid Waste and Emergency Response Water Grants Management (States and Tribes) **************************************************************** ************************************************************* CUSTOMER GROUP: Travelers, Tourists, and Outdoor Enthusiasts ************************************************************* Sometimes having a customer's perspective requires that you literally take his or her point of view. That's what happened when the National Park Service surveyed the customers who take tours of the White House. They found that the signs were a real problem. One third of the visitors were children, many of whom couldn't see the exhibit signs. And adults couldn't figure out where to go to get tickets or gain entrance. As a result, the Park Service and the Executive Office of the President lowered some exhibit signs to a child's eye level and posted a map and directions near the White House gates. The White House tour is one of the best-known services that the federal government offers, but it is only one of the thousands of services that are used every day by Americans on the move -- millions of travelers, tourists, campers, boaters and others. Visitors go to National Parks 273 million times a year. Twenty-six million hunters, hikers, and other outdoor people use Forest Service land every year. Americans take 45 million trips abroad annually, and the State Department issues more than 4 million passports a year. Eighty-two thousand boaters use the Coast Guard's search and rescue services annually -- a small but grateful percentage of the 55 million people who benefit in other, less direct ways from the Coast Guard's services. Tourists and Outdoor Enthusiasts ******************************** The federal government manages millions of acres of land, thousands of forests and lakes, and a vast network of traveling exhibits, museums and historic sites. Just think of Grand Canyon National Park. The Washington Monument. Mesa Verde. The Outer Banks. Lincoln's home. Muir Woods. Yellowstone. Across the country, vacationers and weekenders, hikers and campers enjoy the beauty and history of our nation. The National Park Service has a long tradition of hosting visitors at such sites. Trails, visitor centers, educational programs, and guides have made many a vacation and weekend enjoyable and memorable. Now the Park Service is going further -- talking to its customers, setting standards, and improving service. The Park Service is proving the wisdom that only the customer knows what the customer wants. "After 20,000 interviews, I am convinced there is no way to know what park visitors want except to ask them," says Gary Machlis, who is expanding the visitor survey program begun in 1988. As a result of what its customers have said, the Park Service is offering special programs for children in many parks. It also changed the planned location of an information center in Grand Teton National Park. And it is working to make sure that every visitor who wants one gets a brochure. One of the biggest surprises the Park Service got was from surveying visitors at Death Valley. It found that 75 percent of all visitors are foreign -- primarily Germans, French, and Italians. The Park Service quickly translated the posted directions for emergency car breakdowns -- potentially saving lives as well as serving customers. The Death Valley survey results underline an additional reason for federal facilities to be customer-driven. Parks and other sites are significant tourist attractions with clear benefits to local hotels, motels, restaurants, and other businesses. They also draw foreign visitors and revenues to the United States. Other federal agencies are surveying their customers and setting service standards. The Forest Service manages 191 million acres of national forests and grasslands on behalf of the American people. In the past year, the Forest Service has conducted a national public opinion poll and held town hall meetings, focus groups, and local forest planning meetings to listen to its diverse customers, including boaters, campers, and other recreational users of 156 national forests and 19 national grasslands from Maine to Alaska. The Forest Service is responding to what its customers said. It is changing the way it does business and setting service standards. For example, Americans told the Forest Service that they "want to be fully informed and advised as owners of the public land. Communities want to participate in local decisions that affect their well-being." The Forest Service is publishing its commitment to open decisionmaking, involving its partners, its customers, and diverse communities across the nation. **************************************************************** Highlights from Customer Service Standards: National Park Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The National Park Service has developed individualized brochures for each of the 360 areas it manages. It is also posting customer service standards in 323 visitor centers. Some nationwide standards are: --- To keep the centers open during peak hours and seasons and provide alternative sources of information when the center is closed. --- To maintain the facility in a clean and safe condition. --- To provide and maintain exhibits and audiovisual programs that impart understanding and stimulate appreciation of the park and its significant natural, historical, cultural, and recreational values. --- To display schedules of programs and activities available throughout the park. --- To offer a wide variety of quality, park-related educational items at fair market value sold in well-maintained outlets. U.S. Coast Guard ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The Coast Guard has set standards for the services it provides to recreational boaters. It will provide customers with: --- 24 hours/day, 7 days/week search and rescue services on demand. --- 24 hours/day, 7 days/week radionavigation service. --- Toll-free, 24 hours/day, 7 days/week Boating Safety Hotline. --- Boating safety classes and courtesy inspections. **************************************************************** Americans also told the Forest Service that they want customer service "equal to the best in business -- simple rules, reasonable choices, flexibility, and less red tape." So the Forest Service is setting service standards for its customers that respond to their concerns and has promised to ask its customers, regularly for ways to improve services and business practices. The Coast Guard has joined in, too, setting standards to help keep recreational boaters safe along its coasts. For its part, the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis-tration is taking a second look at its educational exhibits and is setting standards that pay attention to the needs of people with a variety of physical and intellectual capabilities. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers first opened locks in 1839 on American waterways. Since then, the Corps has played a major role in the development of the nation's water resources and infrastructure. Today, one out of 10 Americans visits a Corps project at least once a year. A large part of the Corps' job today is managing and maintaining those projects and keeping them open to boaters, fishermen, and other recreational users. The Corps is stepping up to the customer service initiative. It is committed to surveying its customers, setting standards, and increasing customer satisfaction. International Travelers *********************** People cross the borders of the United States 450 million times a year -- most of them Americans on vacations, business- people, and foreign visitors. Border guards have to perform a balancing act: treat all travelers with courtesy and respect as they enter and leave the country, but also identify and stop terrorists, drug smugglers, illegal aliens, and illegal and dangerous merchandise. Not an easy trick. A traveler may encounter several federal agencies at the nation's airports: --- The Immigration and Naturalization Service ensures that only those people who should be in the country enter. --- The U.S. Customs Service combats smuggling and ensures that merchandise brought into the country complies with laws. --- The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service looks for fruit and vegetables that carry diseases or insects, like medflies, which could threaten America's agriculture. --- The Fish and Wildlife Service looks for wildlife that is brought into the country illegally. Federal agencies are introducing new technology and shared electronic systems to speed passenger processing without sacrificing enforcement. But the bottom line is still interactions with people. For example, Customs has set a standard to speed the clearance of international air travelers. At airports, Immigration and Naturalization Service has dedicated lines specifically to accelerate clearance of U.S. citizens into the country. This is great, but from a traveler's point of view what matters is the total time spent waiting. It is the sum of time spent by Customs, Immigration, and other federal agencies, plus the time standing at the baggage carousel waiting for their suitcases. **************************************************************** Highlights from Customer Service Standards: Department of State The Department of State issues passports for U.S. citizens and provides information and guidance to U.S. travelers. The State Department offers these services for international travelers: --- You will receive timely and accurate information on travel safety and conditions in foreign countries 24 hours a day, seven days a week. --- You will receive your passport within 25 days after receipt of your application. Service will be provided in a courteous manner and, whenever possible, we will try to meet your travel needs. --- You will receive timely and courteous responses to requests for American citizen services, and services will be provided by knowledgeable and professional personnel. --- Service to persons seeking visas to legally visit or reside in the United States will be provided by knowledgeable, professional, and courteous personnel. **************************************************************** Things are on the right track in Miami. Customs and other federal agencies have committed to work with the Miami Chamber of Commerce, the Dade County Aviation Division, the airlines, baggage handlers, skycaps, and food servers in a partnership to cut total passenger processing time to 45 minutes -- counting from the time the plane is at the gate to the time passengers leave the Customs area with their luggage. Although times are monitored for each part of the process, it's the total time that counts. The partners are working closely to iron out problems, and passenger clearance times have already improved dramatically. The State Department also provides services to international travelers. It offers information on travel conditions and safety overseas. It also provides the documents that you can't leave home without -- visas for visitors and passports for the Americans who make 45 million trips abroad each year. Now, the State Department is taking steps to improve its customer service. It is setting standards, designating customer service managers and teams at regional offices, training passport employees, and expanding the number of places where Americans can obtain passports -- from sites in the Navajo nation to the Recorder of Deeds in Iowa. **************************************************************** Your Standards These agencies and offices are publishing customer service standards for travelers, tourists, and outdoor enthusiasts. The standards appear in the "Travelers, Tourists, and Outdoor Enthusiasts" section of Appendix B. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Department of Defense U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Bureau of Reclamation Fish and Wildlife Service National Park Service Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs Department of Transportation U.S. Coast Guard Department of the Treasury Bureau of Engraving and Printing U.S. Customs Service Executive Office of the President Old Executive Office Building-Preservation Office White House Visitors National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA Exhibit Program National Archives and Records Administration **************************************************************** ********************************************************** CUSTOMER GROUP: The U.S. Government and Federal Employees ********************************************************** When Vice President Gore visited federal employees in a series of town hall meetings, he asked them, "Where is the red tape? Where are the processes the slowest?" They gave him a list: personnel, procurement, office space, and travel. The internal management functions of the federal government are known to be bureaucratic, cumbersome, and slow. Not only does this frustrate everyone, it costs money. Federal employees are finding out for themselves that they can build systems that work better, cost less, and better serve the customer -- even if the customer is themselves. Agencies that serve federal employees and organizations include the Office of Personnel Management, which oversees regulations for employees and employee benefits, and the General Services Administra- tion, which oversees regulations for buying goods and services. Each federal agency also has administrative functions and is pursuing its own internal customer service focus. Filling a Job, Getting a Job **************************** Hiring federal employees has always been a slow, painful process. You have to prepare position descriptions, evaluation criteria, crediting plans, and vacancy announce-ments. Then you review them all. Then you screen applications (sometimes as long as 50 pages) for basic qualifications. Then a panel of experts evaluates applications and ranks them according to qualifications. Then you conduct interviews. Depending on the number of applicants, the process can take six months or more. This is a bad deal if you're trying to hire. It's even worse if you're trying to get hired. Now, there is a better way. It was developed by the Office of Personnel Management, which has taken great strides in the past year in using cutting-edge technology to keep job seekers informed and to screen applicants. Having a high-tech approach to the federal job search not only speeds up the process, it improves the quantity and quality of the applicant pool by projecting a more dynamic, modern image for the government. Job seekers also win because looking for a federal job doesn't mean doing a platform dive into a pool of red tape. Now anyone with a touch-tone phone or a personal computer and a modem can find out about nearly any job available in the entire government and learn how to apply for it -- seven days a week, around the clock. A job seeker can even apply for some of these jobs by phone. It's simple to find and apply for any nursing job in the federal government, for example; just dial 1-800-800-USRN. It's one of the most intelligently designed, customer-friendly automated phone systems to be found anywhere, public or private. Applications for other jobs are done electronically with a simple multiple-choice form. These applications are then screened by computer, eliminating the need for specialists to spend hours and hours plowing through piles of SF-171 job application forms, looking for basic qualifications. The Interior Department's Mineral Management Service recently took advantage of the new system. "Not only is the system faster, but we also receive more candidates from sources that we had not previously considered," says Robert E. Brown, associate director for administration and budget. He estimates that the system will save $9 million a year in staffing and processing costs when used departmentwide. **************************************************************** Highlights from Customer Service Standards: OPM's Federal Employment Information System ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ OPM has established the following service standards for job seekers using the Federal Employment Information System: --- We will provide you with courteous and timely service. --- We will update our nationwide job listings every business day. --- We will have Employment Information Specialists available to answer your questions. --- We will provide 24 hours a day, seven days a week access to nationwide job information and application request services through a variety of electronic media. --- We will respond to your requests for applications and/or routine information within one business day. --- We will use your suggestions and complaints to improve our service continually. We will always remember we work for you, the American public. General Services Administration's FTS2000 program ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ GSA manages the federal government's FTS2000 program for long- distance voice, data, and video telecommunications services. There are 1.7 million federal telecommunications customers in the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Some of the program's customer service standards are as follows: --- Overhead rates will not exceed 8 percent. --- Prices paid by customers will remain below the average of the lowest commercial rates. --- Agency requests for exceptions to FTS2000 will be responded to within 15 days. --- Monthly statements of accounts will be issued to customers by the 16th of the month. --- Customer satisfaction with overall handling of trouble reports by the FTS service providers will be maintained at a 95 percent level. --- Ninety-five percent of the issues raised during our annual Users Forums will be resolved as scheduled. **************************************************************** The travel system in the Department of Defense was also filled with useless rules. Department of Defense employees fill out 11.7 million travel vouchers a year; that's 45,000 a day. The traditional process includes 17 steps and takes about three weeks. "It seems sometimes they do more traveling getting their orders done than they do when they actually get on a plane," says Air Force Captain Rod Berk, who was tasked with reducing the red tape for the Defense travel system. Berk's new process requires only four steps and cuts processing time from three weeks to one day. The new electronic system even sends checks out in one day. "It makes life easier for us," says Joan Diamond, chief of the travel division says. "Everything is automated, so we don't have to shuffle papers around." Best of all are the savings to the taxpayer. The project is currently in a pilot stage; the Defense Department estimates that once the system is up and running departmentwide, it will save about $1 billion in processing costs over a five-year period. When you buy something for your home or family, you want to spend as little money as possible, but you also need to think about value. If you work for the federal government, on the other hand, and you want to make a small purchase, you don't have time to look for bargains. You have to fill out a stack of forms and go through lots of time- consuming drivel. Processing costs for small purchases are about $50 each. Few individuals would consider paying a $50 service charge for every purchase they made. Now, to make small purchases easier, GSA has introduced purchase cards for most government purchases under $2,500. Not only are the purchase cards more convenient, they're cost-effective: GSA has signed a contract with Visa that gives rebates on many purchases, and federal agencies can save billions of dollars in paperwork, processing time, and administrative costs. Also, federal employees will finally be able to buy the basic goods and services that are essential to day-to-day operations. GSA is also working hard to improve the services it provides governmentwide, like office space, rental cars, and long-distance phone service. In the past, GSA rates have not always worked out to be cheaper. Now, in many instances, GSA has adopted a stance of competing against private sector firms to provide the best deal. So GSA must be competitive, or it loses the business. **************************************************************** Your Standards These agencies and offices are publishing customer service standards for federal employees and other federal agencies. The standards appear in the "U.S. Government and Federal Employees" section of Appendix B. Department of Commerce Bureau of the Census Governments Division Reimbursable Surveys Department of Defense Defense Commissary Agency Legislative Affairs Personnel and Readiness Department of State Office of Foreign Missions Department of the Treasury Bureau of Engraving and Printing Federal Law Enforcement Training Center U.S. Mint U.S. Secret Service Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Executive Office of the President Admittance to White House Complex EOP Libraries White House Conference Rooms General Services Administration Fleet Management System Fleet Management Services, Region 2 Office of FTS2000 Office of Personnel Management Federal Employment Information System Office of Insurance Programs Retirement and Insurance Group U.S. International Trade Commission **************************************************************** ************************* CUSTOMER GROUP: Veterans ************************* Therese Aprile works in the Veterans Affairs benefits office in New York City. The way she does her work represents what could be one of the best things that ever happened to U.S. veterans. At the very least, it is one of the best things that ever happened to Len Davis. Davis was wounded during his first tour in Vietnam. He finished his second tour toward the end of 1969. In the years that followed, he contacted Veterans Affairs in a number of locations, starting with the medical center in Washington, D.C. Later, it was benefits offices around the country. Wherever he went, VA promised to help, but Davis says there were always problems. "I never dealt with the same person twice, and every time I got transferred on the phone or had to call back the second or third time, I had to start all over again explaining the situation, the story, and it was frustrating." Then he moved to New York City, expecting the same or worse. But when Davis called to get an update on a hospitalization claim, he noticed a difference right away. "She introduced herself over the phone. . . . Therese Aprile told me that she'd be my contact person, I could get back in touch with her with any questions I had. I thought, something strange and different's going on here." With time, Davis became a big fan of VA. He says, "Therese always got back in touch with me. When she told me she'd get an answer, she got an answer. When I left a message . . . she called me back, and it was a very big difference." The New York office is a VA reinvention lab -- a place to try out new ideas. One of those ideas is putting customers first, reorganizing how the office works so that employees focus on what veterans want, not on old rules for how to do things. The idea is working. Veterans are happy, employees are happy, and the work gets done faster. But New York is only one office in one part of VA. There are thousands of other places where VA contacts its customers. Some of these places have already established their own brand of customer service reinvention. Others are sorting out what their customers want and how to make changes. There is also an agencywide rallying cry, "Putting Veterans First." And all of VA's major service organizations are publishing standards that veterans can use to judge how the part of VA that they need measures up. The Veterans Benefits Administration provides compensation and pension benefits to over 2.5 million veterans. It also provides death benefits to nearly three-quarters of a million veterans' survivors. The agency is looking at the lessons from its New York office and combining that experience with other reinvention ideas. It is getting customer input from surveys and focus groups. One thing it learned is that its internal performance measures don't cover all the areas that matter to veterans -- such as being treated with courtesy and respect. This and other customer needs are reflected in the agency's new service standards. The National Cemetery System maintains all 114 national cemeteries, as well as providing burial services, headstones, markers, and burial flags. Affording veterans dignity and honor in their final resting place is the solemn promise of the National Cemetery System. Its customer service standards focus on that promise. The Veterans Health Administration is one of the nation's largest providers of health care. Last year it treated over 1 million inpatients and provided 24 million episodes of outpatient care in its 172 medical centers, 357 outpatient clinics, 130 nursing homes, and 200 veterans centers. **************************************************************** Highlights from Customer Service Standards: Veterans Benefits Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ These are examples of veterans service standards being published by the Veterans Benefits Administration: --- We will treat customers with courtesy, compassion, and respect at all times. --- We will communicate with customers accurately, completely, and clearly by keeping the customer informed on the status of the claim or request and clearly explaining all reasons for decisions. --- We will answer or acknowledge benefit inquiries within 10 work days. --- We will interview customers at our offices within 30 minutes of arrival. National Cemetery System ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ These are examples of the customer service standards of the National Cemetery System: --- We will deliver service in a manner reflecting compassion and respect for you and your family in a time of need. --- We will maintain the appearance of individual gravesites, headstones, markers, and monuments in a manner befitting these national shrines. Veterans Health Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The Veterans Health Administration's customer service standards spring directly from what customers in focus groups said matter most. --- We will treat you with courtesy and dignity. --- We will provide you with timely access to health care. --- We will involve you in decisions about your care. --- We will take responsibility for coordination of your care. --- We will provide opportunities to involve your family in your care. --- We will provide smooth transition between your inpatient and outpatient care. **************************************************************** As VHA puts more effort into listening to customers, it is learning more and more about what is important to veterans and their families. For example, VHA had pretty much assumed that hospitalized veterans cared a lot about hotel-type amenities, like food quality. Focus groups of recently discharged patients said that these things matter, but only up to a point; how well patients are treated matters more. Some officials had also believed that veterans didn't mind time spent waiting to see doctors because it gave them a chance to swap stories with other veterans. However, the focus groups revealed that veterans, like most Americans, don't want to wait for service. The Veterans Health Administration is putting this customer input to work. It has established a National Customer Feedback Center and has developed ongoing surveys to track how it is doing. To compare results with customers receiving care in the community, VHA is using the same survey questions as the Harvard Community Health Plan and others. **************************************************************** Your Standards These agencies and offices are publishing customer service standards for veterans. The standards appear in the "Veterans" section of Appendix B. Department of Defense Defense Finance and Accounting Service Personnel and Readiness Department of Labor Veterans' Employment and Training Service Department of Veterans Affairs Board of Veterans' Appeals National Cemetery System Veterans Benefits Administration Veterans Canteen Service Veterans Health Administration **************************************************************** *********** Appendix A: *********** Executive Order 12862 ********************* Executive Order 12862 Setting Customer Service Standards September 11, 1993 Putting people first means ensuring that the Federal Government provides the highest quality service possible to the American people. Public officials must embark upon a revolution within the Federal Government to change the way it does business. This will require continual reform of the executive branch's management practices and operations to provide service to the public that matches or exceeds the best service available in the private sector. Now, Therefore, to establish and implement customer service standards to guide the operations of the executive branch, and by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, it is hereby ordered: Section 1. Customer Service Standards. In order to carry out the principles of the National Performance Review, the Federal Government must be customer-driven. The standard of quality for service provided to the public shall be: Customer service equal to the best in business. For the purposes of this order, "customer" shall mean an individual or entity who is directly served by a department or agency. "Best in business" shall mean the highest quality of service delivered to customers by private organizations providing a comparable or analogous service. All executive departments and agencies (hereinafter referred to collectively as "agency" or "agencies") that provide significant services directly to the public shall provide those services in a manner that seeks to meet the customer service standard established herein and shall take the following actions: (a) identify the customers who are, or should be, served by the agency; (b) survey customers to determine the kind and quality of services they want and their level of satisfaction with existing services; (c) post service standards and measure results against them; (d) benchmark customer service performance against the best in business; (e) survey front-line employees on barriers to, and ideas for, matching the best in business; (f) provide customers with choices in both the sources of service and the means of delivery; (g) make information, services, and complaint systems easily accessible; and (h) provide means to address customer complaints. Section 2. Report on Customer Service Surveys. By March 8, 1994, each agency subject to this order shall report on its customer surveys to the President. As information about customer satisfaction becomes available, each agency shall use that information in judging the performance of agency management and in making resource allocations. Section 3. Customer Service Plans. By September 8, 1994, each agency subject to this order shall publish a customer service plan that can be readily understood by its customers. The plan shall include customer service standards and describe future plans for customer surveys. It also shall identify the private and public sector standards that the agency used to benchmark its performance against the best in business. In connection with the plan, each agency is encouraged to provide training resources for programs needed by employees who directly serve customers and by managers making use of customer survey information to promote the principles and objectives contained herein. Section 4. Independent Agencies. Independent agencies are requested to adhere to the order. Section 5. Judicial Review. This order is for the internal management of the executive branch and does not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable by a party against the United States, its agencies or instrumentalities, its officers or employees, or any other person. The White House September 11, 1993 ********************************************** Appendix B: Text of Customer Service Standards ********************************************** ************* Beneficiaries ************* Department of Agriculture ************************* Food and Nutrition Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Manages the food stamp program. --- We promise to let you know if you're eligible for food stamps as soon as possible, but no later than 30 days after you file your application. You'll need to fill out your application as soon as possible, but you can start counting the days as soon as you contact the food stamp office and give us your name, address, and signature. --- If you qualify for immediate assistance, we promise to give you your food stamp benefits within five days. --- We promise to let you know at least one month before your food stamp benefits are due to stop. If you apply to continue your food by the 15th of your last month -- and you still qualify -- we'll make sure your benefits are not interrupted. --- If we say you don't qualify and you don't agree with our decision, just ask and we promise to give you a fair hearing. We also promise to let you know the results of your appeal within 60 days. --- We promise to treat you fairly and equally regardless of your age, race, color, sex, handicap, religion, national origin, or political beliefs. Department of Defense ********************* Defense Logistics Agency ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Defense Personnel Support Center Homeless Support Initiative Provides clothing and bedding to organizations housing the homeless. --- The standard we have set is that we respond to the need indicated. Normal delivery time is two weeks; however, overnight delivery is accomplished if necessary. Department of Health and Human Services *************************************** Health Care Financing Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Manages the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Written responses: --- We will answer your written inquiries within 30 days of receipt. If getting you an accurate answer will take longer, we will keep you informed. Telephone standards: --- We will respond to your telephone inquiries in a pleasant and helpful manner. We will provide an immediate answer whenever possible. If we cannot provide an immediate answer, we will give you a firm commitment as to when an answer can be provided. --- Nobody likes to be put on hold. Our standard is that callers will be "on hold" for no more than two minutes. --- Calls made in off hours will be returned the next business day. Information needs: --- We are asking our customers to help us improve all of our publications and notices so they can be understood by our customers. We will begin using new publications and notices beginning early next year. Claims processing (Medicare): --- We are currently working hard to simplify our claims processing system to provide you with more consistent determinations. --- We will process your claims for service accurately and within the times provided for in the law. --- If you are not satisfied with the action we take on your claim, you can appeal and we will process your appeal fairly, accurately, and within established timeframes. We are working to reduce the paperwork burden associated with appeals. Customer satisfaction: --- We will measure your satisfaction with Medicare and Medicaid through the use of customer surveys, focus groups, public comments, and meetings with customer representatives. --- We are setting up groups of customers who volunteer to give us assistance in setting standards and evaluating our performance. --- We will identify customers who have special needs related to vision, hearing, mobility, health status, literacy, language, and other factors. We will make a special effort to help these customers with access to services and information. Health care choices: --- We will provide clear, understandable information about the options our customers have in choosing a managed health care plan, including information about individual plans, to assist them in making health care decisions. Medicaid special standard: --- We will encourage all states to establish customer service standards for Medicaid, and we will work with them to assure a goal of continuous improvement in customer service and program administration. Health care quality: --- We will provide doctors and hospitals with information they can use to give better care to our beneficiaries, and we will monitor the effect of those activities. --- We will expedite our investigative and case review process as much as the law will permit when a complaint involves quality issues. --- We will respond to verbal or written complaints from beneficiaries or their representatives by mailing a complaint form to them within two working days of the telephone contact or responding in writing to written beneficiary complaints within 10 working days. Program administration: --- We will fully investigate all leads about potential program fraud and abuse in order to protect against unnecessary expenditures. --- We will work with our partners, our agents, states, other interested parties, and our customers to identify and implement creative and effective approaches to improving our programs and our performance. Public Health Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Indian Health Service Provides health care services to American Indians and Alaskan Natives. --- Your right: You deserve to know who is treating you and what services are available to help maintain your health. Our standard: Our staff will verbally identify themselves to you upon contact, will wear name tags, and will provide information on the types of services available to you. --- Your right: You deserve respectful care and consideration for your emotional, social, cultural, and spiritual values and comfort. Our standard: Our staff will be oriented through in-service training to be sensitive to your emotional, social, cultural and spiritual values and comfort. --- Your right: You deserve to have all the information you need to help you and your family make treatment decisions in partnership with your health care providers. Our standard: Our staff will inform you and answer your questions about your treatment. The information provided to you will be documented in your medical record. --- Your right: You have a choice to accept or refuse medical care to the extent permitted by law, and to be informed of the medical consequences of such refusal. Our standard: Our staff will discuss with you our recommended treatment and document your decision in your medical record. --- Your right: You deserve to be assured of your personal privacy and the confidentiality of your medical records. Our standard: We will take full responsibility for protecting your personal privacy and the confidentiality of your medical records. Except as authorized by law, any use of your record outside of your personal health care will be undertaken only with your written permission. --- Your right: You have the right to expect that within our capacity we will be responsive to your requests for services. Our standard: Our staff will respond to your requests for services as quickly as possible. For services not available locally, you and your family will be informed how and where you can obtain these services and whether transportation will be provided. Social Security Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Manages the Social Security programs. We will administer our programs effectively and efficiently to protect and maintain the Social Security trust funds and to ensure public confidence in the value of Social Security. We are committed to fair and equitable service to our customers. We promise to respect your privacy and safeguard the information in your Social Security record. We are equally committed to providing you with world-class public service. When you conduct business with us, you can expect: --- We will provide service through knowledgeable employees who will treat you with courtesy, dignity, and respect every time you do business with us. --- We will provide you with our best estimate of the time needed to complete your request and fully explain any delays. --- We will clearly explain our decisions so you can understand why and how we made them and what to do if you disagree. --- We will make sure our offices are safe and pleasant and our services are accessible. --- When you make an appointment we will serve you within 10 minutes of the scheduled time. --- If you request a new or replacement Social Security card from one of our offices, we will mail it to you within five working days of our receiving all the information we need. If you have an urgent need for the Social Security number, we will tell you the number within one working day. We know that you expect world-class service in all of your dealings with us. Today, we are unable to meet your expectations in some areas, but we are working to change that. We are revising all our critical work processes to make them simpler, quicker, and more customer friendly. When we redesign our processes, you can expect: --- When you call our 800 number, you will get through to it within five minutes of your first try. (Today we often are not able to meet this pledge. During our busiest days you will get a busy signal much of the time.) --- When you apply for disability benefits, you will get a decision within 60 days. (Today we often are not able to meet your expectations, but we are getting better. In 1994, we made disability decisions two weeks faster then we did in 1992. We will give you our best estimate of how long it should take to get your disability decision at the time you apply.) Department of Housing and Urban Development ******************************************* Office of Housing/Federal Housing Authority ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Stimulates housing through direct financing, loan guarantees, interest rate subsidies, mortgage insurance, etc. You can expect our employees to meet the following standards: Respect: --- Every customer is entitled to courteous treatment. --- Every employee represents the Office of Housing. --- Display name plates or wear name tags as appropriate. --- Identify yourself and your organization every time you have a customer. --- Don't drop the ball -- direct correspondence and telephone calls to the correct party. --- When transferring a customer, take time to reassure the customer that assistance can be obtained by speaking with another party in the office and that they are not being shuffled around. --- After assisting a customer, offer to provide additional assistance at a later time should the need arise. --- Provide a "real person" alternative to all voice-mail messages. --- Strive to provide foreign-language alternatives and alternatives for the deaf and blind, when necessary. Quality products: --- Provide all available information to a customer on the first call or letter; ensure that all questions are answered. --- Write in plain English, not technical or government jargon. --- Follow-up regularly to ensure that quality products are provided. --- Advise customers/partners in writing when new policies or changes are being considered; involve them in the development phase. --- Consider the needs of customers/partners when developing products and procedures. --- Apprise customers/partners of operational problems, e.g., don't wait for the customer to call only to be told the system they need is down. --- Reach out to customers -- go to their place of business when possible; conduct regular conference calls. --- Include a contact name, organization, telephone number, and effective date on every document, e.g., handbook, Mortgagee Letter, congressional and general correspondence. Timely service: --- Ensure adequate telephone coverage throughout the business day; answer all phone calls by the third ring. --- Respond to all telephone inquiries within 24 hours. --- Respond to written correspondence within 10 working days. --- Provide an interim response when a complete response requires extra time for research or there is a heavy workload. --- Provide "1-800" customer service numbers when possible and economically feasible. Results: --- Establish quantitative customer service goals and incorporate them into performance standards and Housing's Plan where possible. --- Establish quantitative processing standards for each program or function. --- Solicit feedback and react to customer comments. --- Train all employees regularly on customer service initiatives. --- Institute random supervisory quality control checks to ensure that appropriate and adequate customer service is provided. --- Encourage teamwork so all staff are thoroughly informed. --- Provide basic program training to clerical staff, particularly those who deal with the public. --- Include in the headquarters telephone directory and each field office telephone directory a contact name and telephone number for each program area, e.g., Single Family Mortgage Servicing, John Doe, 708-0000. --- Always conduct oneself as a representative of the organization. Mortgage Assignment Program Provides an alternative to mortgagors (customers) who are on the verge of losing their home to foreclosure. The following customer service standard is used by field office staff in handling customers who are seeking relief: --- Customer receives written notice from the mortgagee that their mortgage is in default. The letter outlines the eligibility requirements for the Mortgage Assignment Program and gives the Customer 15 calendar days to contact the HUD field office. --- Customer contacts field office staff and requests acceptance into the Mortgage Assignment Program. --- Staff identifies documents needed to make eligibility determination and schedules a conference with the customer. --- Staff completes analyses of documents prior to conference. --- Decision on acceptance into the Mortgage Assignment Program is made within 90 calendar days from the date of the customer's initial telephone call to the date of final decision. Mortgage Approval Process --- Processing time from the date of receipt of the application package to date of final approval/rejection is 45 calendar days. Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance, Section 203(k) Provides mortgage insurance for the purchase or refinance and rehabilitation of single-family properties. Mortgagees (partners) make Section 203(k) loans available because HUD insures the mortgage before rehabilitation work is completed. If you are the mortgagee, you can expect us to meet this standard: --- Processing is competed and a mortgage insurance certificate is issued to the mortgagee within 10 days of HUD's receipt of the closed loan. ******************* Department of Labor ******************* Pension Welfare Benefits Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Administers and enforces standards to protect assets in private pension and benefit plans worth $2 trillion. What you can expect -- if you telephone: --- A friendly courteous voice. --- A representative who will listen to your questions and be sensitive to your request. --- A return call no later than the end of the next business day. What you can expect -- if you write: --- A reply within 30 days of our receiving your letter. --- A clear, easy-to-read response. What you can expect -- anytime: --- Straightforward information on how the law applies to your circumstances. --- Information on options that may be available. --- Respect for your privacy. --- The name of the employee assisting you. ************************** Department of the Treasury ************************** Financial Management Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Check Claims Handles claims for lost or missing checks. --- We are reinventing our process so that it will take less time to process claims by reducing our average processing time by 40 days! --- We are also reinventing our process to reduce the Federal Program Agency Check Claims cycle time by five days. ************************************ Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation ************************************ Protects the benefits of participants in private sector pension plans and provides timely payment of benefits for those pension plans that have been terminated. We pledge that: --- In all communications with you, we will acknowledge your inquiry within one week. If we cannot give you an immediate answer, we will tell you when to expect it and we will give you a specific point of contact. --- If it will take us longer than expected to answer your question, we will give you a status report and tell you a new date when to expect an answer. --- If you are receiving a pension check, changes you request (such as address change, direct deposit, tax change) will be made within 30 days, if the request is received by the first of the month. It will take another month if the request is received after the first of the month. ************************* Railroad Retirement Board ************************* An independent agency administering retirement, disability, and unemployment/sickness for railroad employees. Standards: --- We will be courteous and treat you with respect every time you contact us. --- The information you provide us is protected under the provisions of the Privacy Act. --- We will reply within 10 working days of receiving your letter. If for any reason we cannot, we will acknowledge your letter and tell you how long it will be before we can answer your questions fully. --- If you filed for your railroad retirement employee or spouse annuity in advance, you will receive your first payment, or a decision, within 45 days of your date of retirement. --- If you filed for a railroad retirement survivor annuity or lump sum benefit, you will receive your first payment, or a decision, within 75 days from the date you filed your application, or became entitled to benefits, if later. --- If you filed an application for unemployment or sickness insurance benefits, you will receive a claim form, or a decision, within 15 days of the date we receive your application. --- If you filed a claim for unemployment or sickness insurance benefits, you will receive your payments, or a decision, within 15 days of the date we receive your claim form. --- If you filed for a railroad retirement disability annuity, you will receive your first payment, or a decision, within 120 days from the date you filed your application. --- If you think we made the wrong decision about your benefits, you have the right to ask for review and to appeal. We will tell you about these rights each time we make an unfavorable decision about your benefits. --- Claims for some benefits may take longer to handle than others if they are more complex, or if we have to get information from other people or organizations. If this happens, we will give you an explanation and an estimate of the time required to make a decision. Openness: --- We will display in each office how well we are meeting the established standards. --- When you visit our offices, the staff will identify themselves by name. --- When you telephone us, we will identify ourselves by name. --- Our letters will be easy to understand, and, unless the letter is a computer notice, the person writing to you will give you his/her name. Accessibility: --- When you telephone us, you should be able to reach us on the first try. --- When visiting us, you will be helped within five minutes of your scheduled appointment. --- You will not have to wait more than 30 minutes if you do not have an appointment. --- If you cannot come to our office, we may be able to visit you at home or at one of our regularly scheduled service locations. Accountability: --- If things go wrong, at the very least you are entitled to a good explanation and an apology. --- A Customer Assessment Survey form is available in every office for you to tell us how we did and how we can improve our services. --- If you are not satisfied with our service, you may contact the manger of the office with which you have been dealing, or the Regional Director who is responsible for that office. Their names and addresses are available in each office. ******** Business ******** ************************* Department of Agriculture ************************* Economic Agencies ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Economic Research Service, World Agricultural Outlook Board, and National Agricultural Statistics Service Provide information and analyses for improving the performance of agriculture and the well-being of rural America. We will: --- Respond to each customer in a courteous and helpful manner. --- Accurately direct you to the person or agency with the information you need. --- Provide complete, accurate information about our programs, products, and services in plain language. --- Make it easy to find and order reports. --- Deliver promised information promptly. --- Explain why, when we cannot meet your request. --- Deliver services without discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, and marital or family status. Service you can expect from the ERS-NASS sales desk: --- Your call will be answered promptly and courteously by a knowledgeable operator. Occasionally, the volume of calls may require that your call be placed on hold for a short time, but we won't forget you! --- If you are calling for the first time, the operator will ask for your name and address and will give you a customer ID number to expedite your next order. --- Orders for monographs, electronic data products, and single copies of periodicals will be mailed first-class within five working days. --- Payment choices include MasterCard or Visa, or check or money order (U.S. funds only). --- You will receive two renewal notices before subscriptions expire. --- ERS-NASS operators can answer your questions regarding the current status of your account, including payment, issues due, billing, and other questions. Errors will be corrected promptly. --- You can request expedited shipment of your order via Federal Express at your expense. Field Service Centers ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, Farmers Home Administration, Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, Rural Development Administration, and Soil Conservation Service Provide one-stop shopping for USDA assistance. --- You will be treated with courtesy and respect. --- You will be assisted by a polite, responsive, and knowledgeable staff. If we get things wrong, we will explain what happened and will make them right. --- You will be given prompt and reliable service. --- We want to respond quickly and accurately to your requests for information, loans, payments, and technical assistance. We will put you in touch with the person on our staff who can best handle your request. If we cannot handle your request quickly, we will tell you how long it will take. We are working on more specific standards for each of our services and will have these to you by June 1995. --- You will be given information that is clear, reliable, and easy to understand. --- We will explain to you how our programs work, what benefits you can receive, whether you are eligible, and how you can apply. We are committed to making sure the information we give you meets your needs. We want to work with you to continually improve the information we give you and the way you receive it. --- You will be given forms that are easy to understand and complete. Our forms are an important way of getting information from you. We want to continually improve them so that they are easy for you to fill out and provide us with the information we need to serve you. When we revise our forms or create new ones, we will consider to your suggestions. --- We will work closely with other government agencies such as the Cooperative Extension Service and state and local agencies to ensure that our work is mutually supportive and our policies and regulations are consistent. Food Safety and Inspection Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Ensures that meat and poultry products that cross state borders are safe, wholesome, and accurately labeled. You can expect FSIS to: --- Be innovative, forward-thinking, and continue to look for ways to improve how we inspect meat and poultry products and protect the public health. --- Provide you with up-to-date information on food safety issues through the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline (1-800-535-4555). --- Solicit and consider your ideas to assist us in making policy and program improvements. --- Provide uniform inspection in meat and poultry plants across the United States and hold them all to the same high standards. --- Ensure that the meat and poultry products you buy have safe- handling instructions on them. --- Investigate and prosecute people and businesses that violate meat and poultry laws. --- Continue working with industry to improve our current inspection system using new science and technological advances. National Biological Control Institute ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Promotes, facilitates, and provides leadership to reduce populations of pest species below natural levels in rural and urban areas. When you contact us, we will be: --- Courteous and respectful. Your views and needs are important to us, and you can expect professional treatment, objectivity and confidentiality when appropriate. --- Clear. We will explain to you what we do, how our programs work, and how you can apply. If our information is hard to understand, tell us and we will try to make it easier to understand. --- Accessible. We are available to talk to individuals, organizations, school groups about our services. Contact us by letter, phone, fax, or through our bulletin board system. --- Fair. Our services will be objective, irrespective of your race, sex, age, religion, or disability. --- Ethical. We strive to meet the highest scientific and ethical standards. --- Entrepreneurial. We will help you solve pest problems through building partnerships, averaging resources, and focusing efforts. We will help you identify your pest management needs and obtain information. If we cannot meet your needs, we will try to put you in touch with someone who can. --- Efficient. Information will normally be provided on the same day of your request. If research is needed to help with your need, we will try to estimate accurately how long it will take. If obstacles are met that delay our response, we will tell you, and try to offer alternatives. --- Open. We work for you, and continually seek your views, listen to your needs, and take appropriate action based on them. If you are not satisfied with any aspect of our service, tell us so we can correct the problem. If we make a mistake, we will tell you and correct it. Rural Development Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Guarantees quality loans to help improve the economic and environmental conditions in rural communities. We will: --- Provide you with all the necessary advice, guidance, and referral to other credit when appropriate along with our values and beliefs in the preparation of your loan application. --- Ensure that you are promptly provided, within seven working days, copies of relevant materials when you notify our State Director that you are considering an application. --- Conduct a review of your loan application to verify completeness and compliance with applicable requirements within 10 working days after receiving the application. --- Discuss all issues concerning your application with you and the lender within five working days after completion of our review. --- Forward all appropriate documents to the national office when required within seven working days upon completion of the review. --- Issue the loan guarantee for your loan within two working days from the time the lending institution holds the final loan closing. Rural Electrification Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Provides direct and guaranteed loans for electrification, telecommunications, and rural economic development programs. The REA field representative will: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ --- Provide advice and guidance to distribution borrowers to help them prepare their loan applications. --- Ensure that the borrower is promptly provided with copies of relevant materials when a borrower notifies the REA that it is considering an application. --- Conduct a review of loan applications received to verify completeness and compliance with requirements. --- Discuss issues concerning the borrower's application. --- Seek to complete the review within 15 working days after the application is received. --- Forward all completed applications promptly to the Washington office. Acknowledgment to Borrower: Within seven working days after the Washington office receives your application, REA will send you a letter which includes or sets forth the following: --- The application received date (APR). --- That REA will notify the borrower no later than 90 calendar days after the APR regarding the application's status (does not apply to discretionary loans). --- That updated information may be required at the time of loan approval. --- That final determination of the interest rate category cannot be made until the time of loan approval. --- That the borrower is required to notify REA promptly of any changes in circumstances that may materially affect information in the application. --- Any additional information. Second Notification to Borrower, Complete Applications: Within 90 days of the APR, if the application is complete, REA will send a letter to the borrower with a copy to any supplemental lender to: --- Advise that the application appears complete. --- Verify the amount of the REA loan requested and the amount of any supplemental loans. --- Verify the interest rate category for which the loan appears to qualify. --- Confirm the borrower's election of the call provision for municipal rate loans (prepayment option). --- Set forth any special conditions that may be placed on the loan, and afford the borrower an opportunity to rectify the cause of the condition. --- Remind the borrower of its responsibility to notify REA immediately of any changes in circumstances that might affect its eligibility for a loan, or the interest rate category for the loan. --- Provide the APR of loans currently being approved in the interest rate category applicable to the loan. Second Notification to Borrower, Materially Incomplete Applications: --- Within 90 days of the APR, if the application is incomplete, or if there are other problems, a letter will be sent informing the borrower of the specific deficiencies, and requesting that the borrower respond within 60 days. (Note: if the application is for a discretionary loan, the second notification will not be sent until the Administrator so directs.) Final Review and Approval: Not later than 45 calendar days before anticipated loan approval, REA will notify the borrower and GFR by telephone to: --- Give the approximate date when a decision about approval can be expected. --- Verify and, if necessary, update information previously submitted by the borrower. --- Inform the borrower of any change in the interest rate category for which it qualifies. If applicable, request a board resolution to reflect the new terms. --- Request that the borrower submit certain updated information that will be no older than 60 days at the expected time of loan approval. --- Remind the borrower of its responsibility to submit information about any changes in its circumstances that might affect its eligibility for a loan, or its eligibility for the interest rate category elected in its original board resolution. --- Remind the borrower that REA reserves the right to request additional information necessary to verify eligibility. Deficient Applications: Prior to loan approval, if it is determined that the requirements for approval cannot be met based on information submitted by the borrower and other information known to REA, if the borrower cannot or will not comply with REA regulation, or if the borrower withdraws an application, REA will return one copy of the application to the borrower accompanied by a cover letter. ********************** Department of Commerce ********************** Bureau of the Census ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Data Users Services Division Provides a variety of products and services based on Census data. --- Phone calls. We will answer phone calls to the standard Customer Services telephone number (301-763-4100) within one minute after the introductory message ends. --- Shipping orders. We will ship items for off-the-shelf orders within one working day. --- Custom orders. We will ship orders for custom products as stated by the customer service representative. --- Courtesy. Our telephone reference staff will be courteous, knowledgeable, and businesslike. --- Guarantee. We guarantee that you will be happy with our product or you can return it for a full refund within 30 days. --- Complaints and questions. Customers phoning or faxing a complaint or inquiry will receive an initial response within three hours. All problems will be resolved within one working day. Foreign Trade Data Service Provides accurate and current information about U.S. foreign trade activity. Telephone inquiries: --- We will answer every phone call (responses may be delayed on the day statistics are released). --- We will be courteous. --- We will provide the most current information on U.S. foreign trade to meet customer needs. Customized tabulations: --- We will process most orders for customized tabulations and provide the results within 48 hours after we receive them. (During press release times results will be provided within seven days). --- We will thoroughly explain the content of available databases and the cost of report options. --- We will charge you no more than the cost of doing the customized work. Standard subscriptions: --- We will offer you a standard subscription if it is appropriate to your request for foreign trade information. --- We will thoroughly explain the content of the subscription products and the cost of report options. --- We will mail your subscription each month as soon as the foreign trade statistics are released: -- user-selected commodity reports on the day of release -- press release and supplemental data (FT-900) on the day after release -- detailed CD-ROMs and other standard tabulations within seven days. Bureau of Economic Analysis ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Provides economic data on the U.S. economy and its position in the global market. --- BEA will meet its published annual calendar of news release dates. Any changes in these dates will be announced as far in advance as possible. --- BEA will provide access to news releases on the EBB (Economic Bulletin Board), EBB FAX, and recorded telephone messages at the time of release. --- BEA staff will respond to customer correspondence within five business days. --- BEA staff will return customer phone calls within one business day. --- BEA will ship off-the-shelf products within three business days. Economics and Statistics Administration *************************************** STAT-USA Provides business, trade, and economic information. Files on the Economic Bulletin Board (EBB): --- We will post all files on the EBB within 30 minutes of receipt from the originating agency. Order fulfillment: --- We will ship CD-ROM orders by first-class mail the next business day after we accept the order. --- If we do not ship your order on the next business day, we will send you one CD-ROM free. Technical assistance: --- All technical assistance calls will be resolved within 24 hours. If the problem requires more time to resolve, we will keep you posted of our progress. --- If you forgot your EBB password, please give us 24 hours to identify it. We will call the owner of the account back with the information. --- We will do our best answer your questions. If we do not know the answer, we will direct you to someone who does. Billing: --- For our CD-ROM subscription services, you will receive a reminder to renew the subscription 45 days in advance of the subscription expiration date. If we do not receive payment from you, we will stop the subscription. --- For our EBB subscription service, we will include renewal charges in your trimesterly bill. We will also send you additional reminder notices. You will have 90 days after the date of the first bill to return payment to us. If you cannot return payment to us within this time period, we reserve the right to deactivate your account. However, please contact us if you need additional time and we will extend the grace period. You can expect us to: --- Give you our name when we answer the phone or write to you. --- Be polite, considerate, open, and honest. --- Give you accurate information about our products and services. --- Apologize if we get things wrong, explain what happened, and make things right. --- Deliver our services fairly and to the same high standards to all our clients regardless of sex, race, disability, religion, and age. Person to person: --- We will regularly ask our clients what they think of our services -- and we will share those results with you. --- STAT-USA wants to hear from you, whether it's good news or bad. All of our managers can be reached by mail, telephone, or e-mail. International Trade Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Helps U.S. businesses compete in the global marketplace. Agency pledge: --- When you contact ITA, we will provide prompt and courteous service. --- We will seek to understand what is important to you and to meet your needs. --- We will strive to make our products and services equal to the best in business. Import Administration Ensures that U.S. firms receive fair treatment on import and relief from unfair trading practices. We will: --- Provide you with simple guidance for filing a petition or a zone application. --- Provide a point of contact when you file an Anti- Dumping/Countervailing Duties (AD/CVD) petition or a zone application. You can receive status on your filing during our business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.). --- Make available public case records on any AD/CVD proceeding in our Central Records Unit or provide a copy of the record at cost when you call (202) 482-1780. --- Provide you with a preliminary determination on an AD/CVD petition within 120 days, barring extraordinary circumstances. Trade Information Center Serves as an information clearinghouse for international trade and export promotion programs. We will: --- Provide a 24-hour toll-free number, 1-800-USA-TRADE, for your use in requesting information. --- Provide the information you seek the first time you call. If we can't provide the information you seek at the time of your call, we will let you know when to expect our response. --- Offer a choice, whenever possible, of your preferred information format and method of delivery. Options may include hard copy publication, electronic format (e.g., NTDB on CD-ROM or Internet) and FAX-ON-DEMAND. --- We will use your feedback to tailor our information to your needs. Trade Promotion and Exporter Services Offers a variety of specialized products and services to U.S. businesses to help them enter foreign markets. We will: --- Refer you to the appropriate specialist promptly and accurately. --- Inform you when to expect delivery of a product or a service that you request. --- Tell you immediately about any fees relating to a product or service that you request. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ National Marine Fisheries Service Responsible for the stewardship of the nation's living marine life. We will provide service by: --- Developing, evaluating through client testing, and implementing more efficient and easy-to-use data access technologies such as menu- driven computer interfaces and facsimile transmissions of perishable data. --- Development of new statistical databases and reports driven by analyses of customer requests obtained through symposiums and workshops. --- Including stakeholders in the development of new statistical data collection systems, including long-range strategic planning efforts for fisheries statistics in partnership with our state and federal counterparts. --- Regularly polling user needs and customer satisfaction through customer surveys; participation in or conduct of workshops, advisory panels, or committees on statistics. --- Maintaining multiple oral and written, in-person and electronic means of communication to our users, such as newsletters, electronic mail forums, and face-to-face meetings to promote a healthy dialogue and hear the voice of our customer. National Technical Information Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ FedWorldTM On-line System Acts as an information clearinghouse. --- Your access to FedWorld will continue to be provided at no charge. --- Products you order by credit card for download will be delivered within 30 seconds. --- Your calls to the Help Desk will be answered by a person, not a recording, 24 hours a day. --- We will continue to make information accessible in whatever electronic formats meet your needs and expectations. Patent and Trademark Office Examines and issues patents and trademarks. --- We will treat our customers with courtesy each time they contact us and, if appropriate, will direct them promptly to the proper office or person. --- If an employee being called is not available, they will return the call by the next business day or, if requested by the caller, an alternate point of contact will be provided. --- We will ensure that our written communications clearly set forth the technical, procedural, and legal position of patent examiners and trademark examining attorneys. --- Our correspondence with customers will be legible and of good print quality. --- We will widely disseminate information about changes in practice and procedures to ensure that both employees and our customers know about changes prior to their effective date. --- We will respond to status letters within 30 days from the date received. Patent standards: --- We will deliver facsimile transmission of properly addressed papers marked "Informal" or "Draft" to the examiner within one business day. Facsimile transmissions of properly addressed formal amendments after final rejection will be matched with the appropriate files and delivered to the examiner within three business days of receipt. --- We will correctly generate and mail a notice indicating the application number, date of filing, and the title of invention for complete, standard applications. These notices will be mailed within 19 calendar days of receipt of the application. --- We will conduct a thorough search of relevant U.S. patents, foreign patent literature, and non-patent literature contained in our search files and, where appropriate, a reasonable search of other non-patent literature during the patent examination process. Trademark standards: --- We will correctly generate and mail filing notices within 30 days of receipt with a goal of reducing the processing time to 14 days by September 30, 1995. --- We will examine new applications and provide a written first communication regarding registration within three months of the filing date. --- We will make a determination of the registrability of trademarks within 13 months of receipt of the application in the PTO. --- We will issue correct Notices of Abandonment within 45 days of the date the file was abandoned. --- We will issue correct Notices of Publishment within 30 days of the date the file is approved. --- We will mail correct certificates of registration within seven days of the date of registration. ********************* Department of Defense ********************* Defense Finance and Accounting Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ We will provide prompt and accurate service for contractors/vendors: --- Commercial invoices will be paid between 23 to 30 days. --- Progress payments will be paid between five to seven days. --- Cost vouchers will be paid between 12 to 14 days. --- Interest penalty will be between 0 and .02 percent. Defense Logistics Agency ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Defense National Stockpile Center Sales --- Customer telephone inquiries will be answered quickly and efficiently. The goal is to answer them no later than the next business day. --- Mail inquiries will be answered within three business days. --- Depots will be notified the same day that an award is made. This enables the depot to immediately prepare goods for shipment with a goal to have material ready for shipment within two business days of the award. ******************************************* Department of Housing and Urban Development ******************************************* Government National Mortgage Association ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Issues securities backed by Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Administration guaranteed mortgages to increase the supply of capital available to finance housing. --- 95 percent of requests for commitment authority shall be processed within 48 hours of receipt for issuers of good standing. --- All investor telephone calls returned within 24 hours. --- All investors' written correspondence will have a response prepared for signature within 15 working days of receipt. Office of Housing/Federal Housing Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Mortgagee Approval Process Serves partners wishing to participate in the FHA mortgage insurance programs. A mortgagee submits an application with supporting documentation and processing fee to the field staff. --- Professional staff analyzes the materials submitted and makes acceptability determination. --- Staff makes an on-site visit assuming availability of staffing and travel funds. --- Field office submits recommendation for approval/disapproval to headquarters. Final decision is made by headquarters. --- Standard: Processing time from the date of receipt of the application package to date of final approval/rejection is 45 calendar days. Section 203(k) Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance Program provides mortgage insurance for the purchase (or refinance) and rehabilitation of single family properties. --- Provides mortgage insurance after loan is closed by the mortgagee and it is submitted to HUD. --- Standard: Processing is completed and a mortgage certificate is issued to the mortgagee within 10 days of HUD's receipt of the closed loan. Note: The Office of Housing is presently reviewing the possibility of centralizing the mortgagee approval process in headquarters. Centralizing the process is expected to improve service to our partners. ************************** Department of the Interior ************************** Bureau of Land Management ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Manages all aspects of 270 million acres of federal land and 570 million acres of federal mineral resources. We will always: --- Treat you in a courteous, efficient, and professional manner every time you contact us. --- Work with you to meet your needs while complying with laws and regulations. --- Advise you if your request cannot be filled in your initial contact with us, and tell you who will respond to your request and when you can expect that response. Compliance and Enforcement Enforcement of requirements, regulations, and laws governing leases, permits, grants, and other uses of lands and resources. --- You will be advised of the requirements for the proper use of public lands and resources. --- You will be given the information you need regarding the applicable BLM compliance and enforcement process, expected time frames, and reporting requirements and responsibilities. --- You will be treated fairly under laws and regulations. Information Access Centers Provide information and products at central locations. --- You will be greeted and your request will be acknowledged within five minutes of your arrival. --- You will receive the most current and accurate information about the public land that we have available to the public. --- You will receive available information within 30 minutes of your in-person request. We will respond to your telephone or written inquiries within five business days. Public Policy Involvement Opportunities Opportunities for you to be involved in our planning process and our management of resources. --- You will be provided with the opportunity to tell us how you think publicly owned resources should be managed. --- As we develop plans, rules, and regulations for use of public resources, you will be asked for your ideas. --- You will be afforded adequate time to make your comments and suggestions. Uses Requiring Authorization Grazing permits, mineral leases, and rights of way that require prior written approval. --- You will receive a response to your phone messages and letters, usually within five business days. --- You will be informed of what the transaction is, how your request will be handled, who will respond to your request, and the date by which we expect to address your request. Bureau of Mines ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Provides information on minerals for use in assessing U.S. economic and defense needs. --- You will be treated with courtesy every time you contact us. --- We will provide you with all the information you need, or obtain the information for you, with a minimum number of referrals to other organizations. --- When you call our public inquiries number for service, you will reach us on the first call. --- We will answer your requests as quickly as possible. If we cannot give you the information you need at the time you call, we will do so within one working day or call you back to let you know the progress we are making on your request. --- When you write to us requesting general information materials, we will mail them to you within one working day. When you write and ask for more specific technical information, we will respond within five working days with either the information you need or a postcard acknowledging receipt of your request and reporting the status of our response. --- We will provide you easy access to our information. You can talk to us from 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. --- We will make our information available electronically (INTERNET, CD-ROM, Mines FAXBACK) and give you the instructions and information you need to take advantage of these sources. Minerals Management Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Offshore Minerals Management Alaska Regional Public Information Office -- Pilot Project: --- The buck stops here when it comes to assisting people lost and wandering in the bureaucratic maze of government. --- Walk-in customers have priority and will be promptly acknowledged and assisted as soon as possible. --- All information will be current and correct. Staff will find the answer or find a more knowledgeable person to assist. We will never guess. --- Not all questions have answers. If the answer can't be found, that fact will be reported to the customer. --- Customers are never sent to another office or agency cold. Staff will check to ensure the office is the correct one and also that the contact person is available. --- Before leaving, all customers will be asked, "Does this completely answer your question?" The Gulf of Mexico Public Information Office -- Pilot Project: --- When you enter our office you will be promptly acknowledged. --- We will be sensitive to your information needs. --- You can expect to be treated with courtesy at all times. --- We will make a sincere effort to provide you with information in a timely manner. --- We will strive to accurately respond to your request. Pacific Regional Public Information Office -- Pilot Project: --- First class is our game and you will be treated the same. Customers visiting the Pacific Region are our number one priority. --- We will greet you with a smile and give you prompt assistance. Your needs are important to us. --- We are as time-conscious as you are. We will try to get you what you need as quickly as possible. Royalty Management Program Farmington, New Mexico -- Pilot Project: Our aim is to continually improve service to you. If you would like to make a comment or complaint, please feel free to use the comment card available from any of our employees. --- Prompt, personal attention (an interpreter will be provided if necessary). You will be treated with courtesy and respect. --- Accurate information. Your questions will be answered before you leave, or you will receive periodic status reports until the issues are resolved. --- You will not be sent to another office unless absolutely necessary. --- Easy access to us. You can come to our office; you can call our free telephone number (1-800-238-2839); or we will meet with you at a more convenient location at your request. Oklahoma City -- Pilot Project: --- Assist our customers with the same high standards we expect as customers. --- Listen to your royalty issues and assume responsibility for coordinating the resolution of your concerns. --- Meet you elsewhere to help you understand the royalty process as it affects you if you cannot come to our office. --- Seek your ideas to help us improve our services by routinely requesting your input on our performance and professionalism. National Biological Survey ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Provides biological and ecological information to both the public and private sectors. --- Research Information Bulletins edited and prepared for distribution within 60 days of submission of the draft manuscript. --- Immediate electronic access to Research Information Bulletins that have already been edited and prepared for distribution. --- Literature searches completed and sent to clients within five days of receipt of their request. --- Research findings are tested for scientific quality through peer review by other qualified scientists before publication. --- 80 percent or more of our products rated by clients at or above level three on the following satisfaction scale: 4. Very satisfied 3. Satisfied 2. Dissatisfied 1. Very dissatisfied --- These products will be accompanied by "Client Response" sheets inviting clients to voluntarily rate and comment on them. Results will be monitored and used in pursuit of constant improvement. --- Our long-term goal is to achieve an average client satisfaction rating very near level 4 -- "very satisfied." Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Ensures that coal mines are operated in a manner that protects citizens and the environment. For outreach to coal field citizens and the coal industry: --- A meeting will be held in at least one site in each state to solicit comments regarding the oversight process and recommendations for review topics in the first quarter of evaluation year 1995. For abandoned mine land emergency complaints: --- The initial site visit and determination of emergency will be addressed within 48 hours of complaint. --- The method to be used to abate the emergency will be determined within 30 days after the initial complaint. --- Emergency declarations will be finalized by us within eight hours of receipt of the state submittal in states which administer the emergency program. For abandoned mine land fee collections: --- OSM-1 forms will be mailed out 30 days prior to the due date. --- Fee Collections correspondence will be responded to within seven days. --- Telephone calls will be responded to within one day. --- Refunds will be processed within one month after receipt. For state program amendments: --- The availability of state program amendments will be announced in the Federal Register within 20 business days after receipt. For OSM's mine map repository offices in Wilkes-Barre and Pittsburgh: --- Each scheduled visitor will be provided prompt and courteous service. --- Letter and telefax requests will be answered within one working day, except for a request requiring extensive research and mass reproduction of mine maps. --- Requested site locations will be provided within 90 minutes of your inquiry. --- Materials will be available to help you identify and easily locate the underground mine site. When responding to inquiries, OSM personnel: --- Will be courteous and helpful when dealing with people in person, by telephone, and in writing. --- Will be timely with courteous explanation of contents of files, state program documents, etc. --- Will respond to telephone calls within two business days. Where OSM is the regulatory authority we will provide: --- Timely and efficient access to public files. --- Inspection reports to permittees within 15 business days. --- The opportunity to meet and confer with citizens regarding problems and issues relating to environmental protection and surface coal mining operations. For the OSM Applicant Violator System we will provide: --- Permit Recommendation Evaluations to the states within three business days of request. --- Abandoned Mine Land Emergency Contract Award Evaluations within 4 hours of request. --- Respond to outside industry requests for information within three business days of request. --- Respond to OSM, state and industry requests for ad hoc computer reports within three business days of request. U.S. Geological Survey ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Minerals Information Offices --- Each customer will be treated with dignity, respect, and courtesy. --- Each request will be researched using all means available to provide the highest quality response. --- Each request will be analyzed to determine what data are available that best suits each customer's needs. A plan will be developed to deliver the response in the format that best suits those needs. --- Requests will be filled immediately, if possible; if not possible, a time for the reply will be established. --- Opportunities for additional service will be explored with each customer, as needed. Reston Earth Science Information Center --- We will treat each customer with courtesy and respect. --- We will provide quick, thorough, and responsive access to product information and ordering including the 1-800 number and electronic ordering. --- We will eliminate processes, procedures, and rules that are roadblocks to success. --- There will be no unreconcilable mistakes allowed in the handling of the customers' accounts or money. ******************* Department of Labor ******************* Bureau of Labor Statistics ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The principal federal data-gathering agency for labor economics. --- We will let you know in advance when we will release our data. --- We will be available when you need us. --- We will distribute data in the form that fits your needs as resources allow. --- We will provide you with the name and phone number of a person who can meet your data needs. --- We will help you understand the uses and limits of our products. --- We want to meet your needs. Employment Standards Administration, Wage and Hour Division ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Enforces labor standards laws protecting workers. If you contact us with a question, you can expect: --- A clear, concise and knowledgeable response to your inquiry within 10 business days. --- Straightforward information on how the law applies to your circumstances and, when appropriate, publications or posters will be provided. If you are an employer contacted by Wage and Hour you can expect us to provide: --- Understandable explanations of our enforcement process and our findings, whether there are violations of the law, and requirements for coming into compliance. --- Cooperation in completing our investigation as quickly as possible. --- Cooperation in minimizing interruptions of your business operations. --- Answers to your questions. Mine Safety and Health Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Mandatory complete mine inspections: --- We will conduct complete inspections at all available underground mines four times a year and at all available surface mines two times a year. --- We will examine our mandatory regular inspection process to insure the quality, flexibility, and consistency of our enforcement process. Other mandatory inspections and investigations: --- We will complete other mandatory inspections and investigations as provided for in the Mine Act including: initiating investigations of all miners' complaints of safety or health hazards normally within 24 hours; and initiating investigations of written complaints of discrimination within 15 days of receipt. If you believe that a safety or health hazard exists at your mine, you can call MSHA toll- free at 1-800-746-1554 -- you do not need to give your name. Quality and delivery of training products and materials to the customer: --- We will emphasize mine-specific and on-site miner training when we evaluate proposals to provide training to miners from state mining departments and others (MSHA State Grants Program). Communication between MSHA and the customer: --- We will hold rulemaking hearings and topical health and safety conferences to provide forums for open discussion of health and safety concerns. We will consistently hold these events in the mining regions. --- We will work with state and local institutions and associations to provide miners with useful, understandable information about mining health and safety. Occupational Safety and Health Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Established to help make the American workplace as safe and healthful as possible. Employers can expect OSHA to: --- Focus OSHA inspections on the most serious hazards. --- Be respectful and professional during inspections. --- Help them identify and control workplace hazards. ******************* Department of State ******************* Bureau of Political-Military Affairs ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ We will assist by: --- Providing timely, professional, knowledgeable, and courteous service to customers seeking guidance on registration, making applications for a defense export license or other approvals, requesting the status of specific licensing cases, or seeking guidance regarding compliance with export law and regulations. --- Taking action on all license applications (approve, disapprove, return without action, or coordinate with other offices) within 10 working days of receipt. --- Informing each registered individual and company with timely information on the status of their license application. For persons who do not have electronic access to the DTC (system), timely telephone responses are provided. Telephone inquiries are responded to by a responsible officer within 24 hours of receipt. --- Providing timely and authoritative guidance to the U.S. defense industry regarding export policies, procedures, and practices, based on interpretation of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and other pertinent laws, national interests, and multinational agreements or arrangements. This includes the presentation of and participation in organized seminars, in-house training, and other public outreach efforts, such as the Defense Trade News. --- Enhancing automated data processing to facilitate the electronic handling of requests for licenses and other approvals and increasing responsiveness to U.S. government requests for assistance. --- Ensuring proposer compliance with U.S. regulations, effective investigative and prosecutorial enforcement actions, as well as administrative procedural follow-up against violators of the AECA and the ITAR. --- Surveying customer satisfaction periodically to solicit suggestions for improving DTC services. **************************** Department of Transportation **************************** Federal Highway Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Motor Carriers Ensures safety on America's highways and the safety of the vehicles using the highways. --- We will inform you on every major change in motor carrier regulations by providing you with a copy of, or information describing, the new regulations, or by conducting industry briefings. --- We will provide information about regulatory changes to trade associations, trade press, and other motor carrier publications. --- You will receive information regarding changes in motor carrier regulations during our on-site reviews of your operations. You will also receive the specific information and materials needed to help you comply with the safety regulations. --- When you call or write to us requesting information, we will provide the information to you within five working days of receiving your request. --- We will work with state motor carrier safety enforcement agencies to ensure no duplication in the scheduling of on-site reviews. --- We will review your accident records and provide an accident prevention package to motor carriers that are experiencing accidents regardless of your safety compliance. --- If you are a hazardous materials or passenger carrier and receive an unsatisfactory safety rating as a result of our review, we will conduct a follow-up review within 45 days, as requested, to ensure you the opportunity to remain in business. --- We will periodically collect information from the entire motor carrier industry which will allow us to better serve you. The information request will ask if you are still in the motor carrier business, whether the nature of your business has changed, and how we can improve the information and technical assistance we provide to you. --- We will work with state motor carrier regulatory agencies, insurance companies, trade associations, and other industry groups to identify motor carriers who may not know that they are subject to safety regulations. We will provide these newly identified motor carriers with the information they need to comply with safety regulations. Federal Maritime Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Federal Ship Financing --- We will evaluate the completeness of your application and provide you with an initial response within 10 to 14 days. --- We will return your phone calls within 24 hours. --- We will respond to your information requests within one to three days. --- We will provide you with status reports of your application progress on request. --- We will process a complete application within 60 days. --- We will treat you with respect and courtesy at all times. Federal Railroad Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Railroad Safety --- Install toll-free lines to FRA Office of Safety headquarters and regional offices. --- Implement negotiated rulemakings -- such as on trackside worker safety -- in place of customary, cumbersome arm's-length procedures. --- Educate labor and management on inspection and enforcement procedures and use opportunity as listening post to seek feedback and suggestions. --- Conduct inspection demonstrations and briefings, including training videos, in partnership with labor and management customers. --- Conduct in-depth surveys of all major customers to improve customer services. --- Voluntary compliance: Develop safety profile for all Class I railroads and work with three railroads to develop systemwide safety management plans. --- Train small railroads on safety rule compliance and provide assistance to resolve safety issues. --- Reduce average time from receipt to resolution of safety complaints to 60 days. --- Use mentoring techniques to model best practices in safety performance: Bring together an exceptionally safe railroad with a railroad that needs improvement. --- Work with states to prepare inspection schedules; meet with states annually to minimize the disruption caused by duplicate scheduling. --- Investigate inspection complaints from railroads within 10 working days. U.S. Coast Guard ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Commercial Fishing Our standards call for: --- Protecting critical spawning and nursery grounds annually. --- Reducing the adverse impacts of By-Catch annually. --- Maintaining 24 hours/day, seven days/week search and rescue services on demand. --- Providing 24 hours/day, seven days/week Radionavigation services and operation of the VHF-FM national distress system, Channel 16. --- Providing 24 hours a day, seven days a week navigation information services at 703-313-5900. --- Maintaining surveillance of our nation's Exclusive Economic Zone to prevent poaching. ************************** Department of the Treasury ************************** Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Nonbeverage Section Examines formulas and analyzes samples to determine if products qualify for tax refunds. We will: --- Approve, disapprove or identify deficiencies of submissions within 10 working days. Unusually complex products may require additional time, but these account for less than 10 percent of submissions. --- Respond to your telephone requests for information and assistance by the end of the following business day. --- Hold in the strictest confidence all information you provide us about your product formulas and manufacturing processes. --- Apply the same criteria to the evaluation of formula submissions from all our customers. Product Compliance Labeling Section Issues label certificates to the alcoholic beverage industry. We will: --- Approve or reject your formal label application within nine calendar days of receipt. You will be notified by phone, fax, or in writing if the processing will exceed nine calendar days. --- Comment on proposed (informal) labels within 15 calendar days. You will be notified by phone, fax, or in writing if our review will exceed 15 calendar days. --- Respond to your correspondence within 21 days. You will be notified by phone, fax, or in writing if, for any reason, we can send only a partial reply. We will tell you how long it will be before we can answer your questions fully. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Supervises and examines federally chartered national banks. We've set the following standards to let you know what to expect of us and what we can expect of you. Before examination: --- Telephone contact -- The examiner-in-charge (EIC) will normally contact the bank's chief executive officer (CEO) by telephone before the examination begins to outline the scope and objectives of the upcoming examination. The EIC will provide information about examiners' schedules, staffing levels and projected on-site time. The EIC will also identify bank needs and areas the bank wants OCC to review. --- Written contact -- At least three weeks before the examination, the EIC will normally notify the bank, in writing, of the: -- examination start date, -- scope and objectives of review, -- advance information the bank must provide to the examination team, with due dates, -- information the bank must have available for the examiners at the onset of the examination, and -- name and telephone number of the OCC contact. --- Team preparation -- Before the start of the examination, the examination team will review: -- information provided by the bank, -- prior examinations, -- pertinent consumer or fair lending complaint information, and -- the office's Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) file. --- Community contact -- The EIC or the OCC's appropriate CRA Officer will contact a sample of locally based customer, community, small business, and government groups for information before or during a CRA examination to give them the opportunity to provide input into the examination. Starting in 1995, OCC will publish a list of the CRA examinations scheduled for the upcoming quarter, at least 30 days before the beginning of each calendar quarter. During examination: --- Entrance meeting -- At the start of the examination, the EIC will hold an entrance meeting with the bank's CEO and appropriate members of senior management and/or board of directors. At this meeting, the EIC will: -- explain how the examination team will conduct the examination, -- establish the way examiners will communicate with bank, management and employees during the examination, -- explain the role of each examiner, and -- answer any questions. --- Examiner conduct -- Examiners will: -- ensure confidentiality of records, -- conduct meetings and gather information efficiently to minimize disruption, -- adhere to schedules for meetings, appointments, and providing updates to bank management during the examination, -- discuss needs for timely information, -- be respectful of the opinions of bankers and locally based groups, -- handle any conflicts in a tactful and professional manner. --- Examination management -- The EIC usually will be present throughout the examination. Field managers, or their designees, will visit or call during on-site examinations. After the examination: --- Exit meetings -- At the completion of the examination, the EIC will meet with the bank's management. This meeting will rank the issues identified in the examination and help management understand which areas present the most risk to the bank. At this meeting, bankers may respond to OCC concerns, provide clarification, or ask questions. The examiners will ask for bank managements's commitment to correct weaknesses noted during the examination. Before the report of examination is finalized, the examiner will provide a draft of the portions of the report of examination titled Examination Conclusions and Matters Requiring Board Attention so that bank management may review them for accuracy. The Examination Conclusions section will explain why OCC cited the deficiencies. Examiners will offer examples of acceptable solutions. In preparing those conclusions, the examiners will consider the importance of their recommendations and their impact, such as in cost, on the bank's operations. --- Board of Directors meeting -- OCC will conduct the meeting after the board has reviewed the draft report of examination or a synopsis of examination findings. At the board meeting, the examiners will describe: -- any major concerns, -- what the bank is doing well, -- what OCC expects the bank to do and when, and -- industry issues affecting the bank. At the board meeting, OCC will provide an opportunity for the board members to provide comments and to ask questions. --- Report of examination -- The final report of examination will be consistent with findings and conclusions communicated to the bank during the examination. --- Follow-up activities -- Examiners with ongoing responsibility for supervising banks will: -- respond to information received from the bank within 30 days of receipt, and -- document follow-up activities in OCC's supervisory monitoring system. Office of Thrift Supervision ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Responsible for regulating thrift institutions and auditing the financial soundness of these institutions. --- A member of your OTS supervisory team will contact you at least semi-annually between examinations and will be available to meet as needed. --- We will provide you with the names and phone numbers of your supervisory team members. Pre-examination process: --- We will mail the Preliminary Examiner Response Kit (PERK) at least four weeks before an examination begins, and it will include an approximate examination start date. It will also include a point of contact at OTS. --- We will focus our PERK request on only that information necessary to facilitate the examination. --- We will ensure staff continuity from one examination to the next. --- We will provide an estimate of the staffing levels and time required to conduct the examination at least four weeks before an examination. --- We will conduct concurrent examinations, but will consider requests to conduct non-concurrent examinations. Examination fieldwork: --- On the first day of the examination, the Examiner-in-Charge will schedule a meeting with the Chief Executive Officer or a representative. --- We will meet at least weekly with appropriate institution personnel to convey issues, concerns and examination findings to date. --- We will conduct an exit meeting to summarize key findings, make recommendations, and receive and consider management's responses. Post-examination process: --- We will deliver the report of examination within 30 days after completion of fieldwork to institutions rated 1 or 2, and within 45 days for those rated 3, 4, or 5. --- We will entertain requests from healthy, well-run thrifts that wish to forgo a board meeting from time to time. --- When a board meeting is conducted, we will make every reasonable effort to schedule it in connection with a regularly scheduled board meeting. U.S. Customs Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Enforces over 500 laws regarding importation of merchandise. Informed compliance: --- Customs field offices will respond to your request for a binding ruling within 30 days unless the issue must be referred to a Customs attorney, in which case rulings will be issued within 120 days of receipt. --- Customs will make all rulings available on diskettes by subscription at a nominal fee. --- Customs will provide at least two weeks advance legal notice of all changes to its regulatory procedures. Transaction processing: --- Customs will notify the importer and/or the broker of any detention within five working days. --- Customs will issue an administrative decision regarding the detention within 30 days of the detention. --- Customs will respond to any inquiry made of those teams within four business hours. --- If that entry is electronically transmitted, Customs will review these documents and grant quota acceptance status, if appropriate, within six business hours of presentation. --- Customs will reject unacceptable records that do not involve antidumping or countervailing duties within 30 days of receipt. --- Customs will liquidate entry summaries involving antidumping or countervailing duties within six months from Customs receipt of liquidation instructions from the Department of Commerce. Fines, penalties, and forfeitures: --- Customs may allege that imported goods are being entered or introduced in a manner contrary to law. Some of these laws permit the assessment of fines or penalties, while others authorize seizure of the merchandise. In either case, you will be notified in writing of the allegations, your right to request an oral presentation, and your right to submit a written petition seeking remission or mitigation of any such penalties or forfeitures. Automated Commercial System (ACS) availability: --- The Automated Commercial System (ACS) will be available for use 99 percent of scheduled operating hours. --- On-line transactions will be completed in less than seven seconds. --- Batch transactions will be turned-around to the user's terminal in no more than 15 minutes for the Automated Broker Interface; five minutes for the Air Manifest Interface; and 15 minutes for the Sea Manifest Interface. --- There will never be a phone wait of more than 60 seconds before a caller is connected with a Help Desk technician. ******************************* Environmental Protection Agency ******************************* Environmental Permitting ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Regulates waste disposal and discharges into the air and water. We are: --- Obtaining favorable community reaction to the permitting process as determined by surveys conducted after a permit has been issued. --- Defining the estimated time frame to issue various permits. This may require the use of state/EPA grant requirements. --- Establishing the number of resubmittals it will take to get a complete application. If all deficiencies are clearly identified it should only take one resubmittal. More that indicates a problem that needs to be addressed. --- Establishing a goal to measure the level of understanding of permit conditions, possibly by counting the number of facilities out of compliance. --- Establishing an unacceptable number of permits that are appealed, and by whom. A large number of citizen appeals may indicate a problem with the public participation process. *************************************** Equal Employment Opportunity Commission *************************************** Investigates and litigates charges of employment discrimination in private and public (including federal) sectors; conducts training and informational activities for employers, unions, and community organizations. Businesses can expect us to: --- Treat you with respect and dignity. --- Look at the way we do business and the way we relate to you and others using our procedures; we want to find ways to improve the quality and speed of our services. --- Involve respondents like you to help us understand what you want, what you need, and what you think about the way we serve you. --- Support our front-line employees by giving them the tools and knowledge they need to provide the best possible service to you. --- Strengthen our commitment to customer service. *************************************** Export-Import Bank of the United States *************************************** Helps with financing exports of U.S. goods and services. --- The Buyer Underwriting staff will: -- process 85 percent of short-term applications within two weeks of receipt of a complete application, and inform the customer biweekly of the status of the additional 15 percent until resolved. --- The Exporter Underwriting staff will: -- renew 90 percent of the multibuyer policies before the anniversary date and inform the customer biweekly of the status of the additional 10 percent until resolved. --- The United States Division will: -- process 80 percent and an additional 5 percent of all Preliminary Commitment and Final Commitment transactions within four and six weeks, respectively, or receipt of a complete application, and -- process 100 percent of all Preferred Lender Program transactions within 10 business days of receipt of a complete application. --- The Business Development Group staff will: -- respond to all telephone inquiries within six business hours with 85 percent handled without a call back. -- respond to all fax/letters within two business days of receipt. -- screen incoming working capital, medium/long-term loan and guarantee applications for completeness for processing by program divisions, 85 percent within two business days, and 100 percent within three business days. -- process 100 percent on Letters of Interest for medium-term transactions within seven business days of receipt of a complete application. --- The Export Finance Group staff will achieve action on complete applications for Preliminary Commitments and Final Commitments under the direct loan or guarantee programs on: -- 90 percent of Loan Committee cases within four weeks, and inform the customer biweekly of the status on the additional 10 percent, until resolved. -- 75 percent of the Board cases within six weeks, and inform the customer biweekly of the status on the additional 25 percent, until resolved. --- The Claims and Recovery Division will: -- process at least 90 percent of all cash receipt collections for existing claims within 20 business days of receipts. -- acknowledge claims field under all programs in writing to the claimant within two business days of receipt. -- correspond with any claimant whose claim is incomplete within five business days from documentation or information must be submitted. -- present to the Loan Committee or Board of Directors or resolve under delegated authority 100 percent of claims submitted under the Insurance and Working Capital Guarantee programs within 30 business days of receipt of a complete application. --- The Public Affairs and Publications staff will: -- respond to 100 percent of public inquiries within 24 hours. --- The staff will provide the customer with clear reasons on 100 percent of final decisions, both approvals and denials, within two business days. --- The staff will address customers' concerns within two business days of contact. ********************************************* National Aeronautics and Space Administration ********************************************* Aeronautics Enterprise ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Aggressively pursues the identification, developments, validation, transfer, application, and commercialization of aeronautics technologies. We commit: --- To meet all major milestones on schedule and cost, more than 95 percent of the time. --- To ensure that we are managing our aeronautics program to accomplish our vision and mission. Human Exploration and Development of Space Enterprise (HEDS) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ --- NASA will provide its current and prospective customers with credible, reliable, responsible information and services. --- NASA will communicate clearly how our customers can participate in the HEDS enterprise so that the customers understand the processes and can communicate their requirements and expectations back to NASA. --- NASA will increase the number of research and development partnerships with industry and academic institutions. --- NASA will use the latest computer and information systems technology to improve public awareness of NASA technologies, expertise, and facilities. --- NASA will encourage multicultural participation in all aspects of NASA and HEDS activities. --- NASA will emphasize opportunities for small and disadvantaged businesses and historically black colleges and universities to participate in HEDS-related initiatives. In the near term, NASA and the HEDS enterprise are committed to: --- Safely fly an average of six to eight shuttle flights a year. --- Conduct six robotic solar system missions supporting HEDS prior to 2000. --- Provide approximately 500 cubic feet per year of on-orbit experiment volume for crew-tended space research and development. --- Provide approximately 120 cubic feet per year of on-orbit experiment volume for commercial initiatives. --- Develop and maintain a space station with continuous human presence by 1998. --- Provide approximately 1,800 cubic feet of experiment volume for space research, development, and commercialization after the space station is completed in 2002. --- Accelerate the timetable to conduct space research by a factor of two in the space station timeframe. Space Technology Enterprise ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Pioneers, with industry, the development and use of space technologies to secure national economic competitiveness and to support space missions. We will: --- Conduct periodic workshops with industry participants to discuss the issues and implications of commercial technology policy. --- Implement new commercial technology practices related to: -- contractor-developed technology commercialization, -- industry-technology development partnerships, -- dual-use technology development, -- commercial technology acquisition, -- small business technology development and commercialization, -- regional alliances, and -- post-technology development diffusion. --- Intensify commercial technology efforts by implementing an integrated industry-focused marketing plan emphasizing the commercial potential of NASA-supported technology. --- Establish metrics to manage all of NASA's collaboration with industry. --- Provide training to employees, contractors, and grantees to enhance their understanding of the national context of technology commercialization and equip them the skills needed to support the mission. --- Use an electronic network to connect and manage all field and headquarters technology professionals and to take advantage of the benefits of electronic commerce. ************************ National Mediation Board ************************ Assists in maintaining a free flow of commerce in the railroad and airline industries by resolving disputes that could disrupt travel or imperil the economy. You can expect our staff to meet the following standards: --- At least 90 percent of representation cases not involving a participant's request for Board-level action will be completed within 90 calendar days of docketing. --- In at least 90 percent of representation cases involving a participant's request for Board-level action, the NMB staff will submit a recommendation to the Board within 180 calendar days of docketing and the Board will respond within an additional 30 calendar days. --- An updated NMB Representation Manual will be made available to the public during fiscal year 1995. --- An NMB investigator will be assigned to investigate representation cases within five business days of docketing. --- Representation and mediation applications will be responded to within three business days following their receipt by the NMB. --- All NMB mediators will have received training on innovative/enhanced mediation approaches by the end of fiscal year 1995. --- At least two training/orientation opportunities will be made available to the parties by the end of fiscal year 1995 regarding methods to reduce the volume of railroad grievance cases pending resolution. --- Arbitrators compensated by the NMB will be sent their payment within 14 days following the NMB's receipt of an appropriate voucher. ***************************** Small Business Administration ***************************** Provides direct or indirect financing to small or disadvantaged business to promote small business formation and growth. 7(a) Guaranty Loan Program: --- As an applicant for financial assistance, you can expect to have an answer from SBA within two weeks of our receipt of your completed application from your lender. If the application is processed through either the Preferred Lender Program (PLP) or the Certified Lender Program (CLP) an answer can be expected within 24 hours or three working days respectively. Compliance with this standard is measured and monitored by random computer validation. SBA representatives from the Loan Policy and Procedures Branch, Central Office, the PLP Processing Center, or the applicable district office will be available to receive customer feedback. Low Documentation Loan Program (LowDoc): --- As an applicant for financial assistance of $100,000 or less you can expect to have an answer from SBA within three business days from receipt of your completed application. Compliance with this standard will be measured and monitored by routine monthly management reports. SBA representatives from the Loan Policy and Procedures Branch, Central Office, or the applicable district office will be available to receive customer feedback. GreenLine Program: --- As an applicant for financial assistance to finance short-term, cyclical, working capital needs, you can expect to have an answer from SBA within two weeks of receipt of your completed application from your lender. Compliance with this standard is measured and monitored by random computer validation. SBA representatives from the Loan Policy and Procedures Branch, Central Office, the PLP Processing Center, or the applicable district office will be available to receive customer feedback. Secondary Market: --- As a lender who holds business loans guaranteed by the agency and decides to sell the guaranteed portion of these loans in the secondary market, you can expect to have all sales settled within 48 hours of receipt of adequate documentation. Compliance with this standard is measured and monitored by weekly verification of program activity. The SBA Director of Secondary Market Sales will be available to receive customer feedback. 502 Local Development Company Program: --- As an applicant for financial assistance for long-term fixed asset financing in a rural area, you can expect to have an answer from SBA within 10 days of receipt of your completed application from your lender. Compliance with this standard is measured and monitored by routine monthly reports. SBA program representatives from the Office of Rural Affairs and Economic Development, Central Office, or the applicable district office will be available to receive customer feedback. 504 Certified Development Company Program: --- As an applicant for financial assistance for long-term fixed asset financing through a certified development company (CDC), you can expect to have an answer from SBA within 10 days of receipt of your completed application from the CDC. If the application is processed through one of the CDCs participating in the pilot initiative, Accredited Lender Program (ALP), an answer can be expected within five days. Compliance with this standard is measured and monitored through routine monthly reports. SBA program representatives from the Office of Rural Affairs and Economic Development, Central Office, or the applicable district office will be available to receive customer feedback. Minority Enterprise Development Program: --- You may expect to have an answer on your application for 8(a) certification within a 90-day period after receipt of your completed application. We will measure and track all processing of 8(a) applications to ensure compliance with the 90-calendar day processing time frame. --- As an 8(a) certified firm you can expect to have a full nine-year term in the 8(a) program. During that period, you will benefit from specialized training in management, marketing, procurement processes, and access to federal contracting using the 8(a) process. Compliance with this standard will be measured through periodic review of the district office by regional staff. Customer feedback will be received and evaluated through written surveys and informal, periodic town hall meetings. Women's Business Ownership: --- As a potential loan applicant, you can expect to receive loan information from OWBO within two weeks after we receive your request. Loan information packets will include the names of certified and preferred SBA lenders in your area, a listing of microloan sites, alternative financing possibilities, LowDoc and GreenLine brochures, and in certain locations, information on the Women's Prequalification Pilot Loan Program. Feedback can be directed to OWBO by calling (202) 205-6673. --- You can expect to receive information about the Women's Network for Entrepreneurial Training (WNET) mentor program within two weeks of our receipt of your request. --- Your local SBA district office will provide you with information on the availability of long-term training and counseling through one of our 39 Demonstration Program sites that serve 20 states. You will receive information within two weeks of your request. Programs are monitored continually, and quarterly reports on operations and activities are made to OWBO. Please direct your comments and suggestions to OWBO at (202) 205-6673. Disaster Loan Program: --- As a disaster loan applicant, you can expect to have an answer on your application within seven days to three weeks of our receipt of your completed application. This time frame will be met in 95 percent of the applications. Timeliness will be tracked through internal records of the Office of Disaster Assistance. SBA representatives will be available at temporary offices set up in disaster areas and through a 1-800 telephone number that will be advertised in the disaster area. Complaints and other feedback can be made to the local SBA representatives, the Disaster Area Office, or the Office of the Associate Administrator for Disaster Assistance, SBA, 409 Third Street S.W., Washington, DC 20416. ****************** The General Public ****************** ************************* Department of Agriculture ************************* Economic Agencies ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Economic Research Service, World Agricultural Outlook Board, and National Agricultural Statistics Service Provide information and analyses for improving the performance of agriculture and the well-being of rural America. We will: --- Respond to each customer in a courteous and helpful manner. --- Accurately direct you to the person or agency with the information you need. --- Provide complete, accurate information about our programs, products, and services in plain language. --- Make it easy to find and order reports. --- Deliver promised information promptly. --- Explain why, when we cannot meet your request. --- Deliver services without discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, and marital or family status. Service you can expect from the ERS-NASS sales desk: --- Your call will be answered promptly and courteously by a knowledgeable operator. Occasionally, the volume of calls may require that your call be placed on hold for a short time, but we won't forget you! --- If you are calling for the first time, the operator will ask for your name and address and will give you a customer ID number to expedite your next order. --- Orders for monographs, electronic data products, and single copies of periodicals will be mailed first-class within five working days. --- Payment choices include MasterCard or Visa, or check or money order (U.S. funds only). --- You will receive two renewal notices before subscriptions expire. --- ERS-NASS operators can answer your questions regarding the current status of your account, including payment, issues due, billing, and other questions. Errors will be corrected promptly. --- You can request expedited shipment of your order via Federal Express at your expense. Field Service Centers ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, Farmers Home Administration, Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, Rural Development Administration, and Soil Conservation Service Provide one-stop shopping for USDA assistance. --- You will be treated with courtesy and respect. --- You will be assisted by a polite, responsive, and knowledgeable staff. If we get things wrong, we will explain what happened and will make them right. --- You will be given prompt and reliable service. --- We want to respond quickly and accurately to your requests for information, loans, payments, and technical assistance. We will put you in touch with the person on our staff who can best handle your request. If we cannot handle your request quickly, we will tell you how long it will take. We are working on more specific standards for each of our services and will have these to you by June 1995. --- You will be given information that is clear, reliable, and easy to understand. --- We will explain to you how our programs work, what benefits you can receive, whether you are eligible, and how you can apply. We are committed to making sure the information we give you meets your needs. We want to work with you to continually improve the information we give you and the way you receive it. --- You will be given forms that are easy to understand and complete. Our forms are an important way of getting information from you. We want to continually improve them so that they are easy for you to fill out and provide us with the information we need to serve you. When we revise our forms or create new ones, we will consider to your suggestions. --- We will work closely with other government agencies such as the Cooperative Extension Service and state and local agencies to ensure that our work is mutually supportive and our policies and regulations are consistent. Food Safety and Inspection Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Ensures that meat and poultry products that cross state borders are safe, wholesome, and accurately labeled. You can expect FSIS to: --- Be innovative, forward-thinking, and continue to look for ways to improve how we inspect meat and poultry products and protect the public health. --- Provide you with up-to-date information on food safety issues through the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline (1-800-535-4555). --- Solicit and consider your ideas to assist us in making policy and program improvements. --- Provide uniform inspection in meat and poultry plants across the United States and hold them all to the same high standards. --- Ensure that the meat and poultry products you buy have safe- handling instructions on them. --- Investigate and prosecute people and businesses that violate meat and poultry laws. --- Continue working with industry to improve our current inspection system using new science and technological advances. ********************** Department of Commerce ********************** National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ National Weather Service If you're using our forecasts or warnings of emergencies, you are our customers and this is what we'll provide to you: --- State-of-the-art equipment and technologies allow NWS to operate the most advanced weather and water forecast and warning system in the world. --- We continue to increase advance warning times for severe weather. Currently, warnings of less than 10 minutes are typical for thunderstorms and tornadoes. With new technologies and increasing numbers of better-trained hazardous weather spotters, as much as 30 minutes warning may be possible before the severe weather occurs. --- We issue routine forecasts every four to six hours, but we continuously update and amend our forecasts and warnings during changing weather. --- Our goal is to work with the private sector to make NOAA Weather Radios as common as smoke detectors -- to place NOAA Weather Radios wherever people congregate, including all schools, hospitals, and nursing homes to provide weather warnings which can save lives. --- New technologies are being developed for persons with disabilities such as the hearing-impaired. --- Development of new products and services based on user requests and requirements is a top priority. --- We have improved long-range forecasts, better serving the general population, and America's agricultural, transportation, and other economic interests. Office of the Secretary ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Office of Consumer Affairs Whenever you contact our office: --- We will always treat you fairly and courteously. --- We will answer the telephone on or before the third ring. You will speak to one of our staff. On the rare occasion when no one is available, you may leave a message on our answering machine and we will return your call on the same day or the next working day. --- Our letters to you will always be written in plain language. --- If for some reason we can't meet the standards given below, we will send you an interim response explaining when you can expect our full reply. If you contact us about a consumer complaint: --- We will respond to your complaint letter within 10 working days. --- As appropriate, our written responses to complaint letters will provide you with additional sources of information and redress, and will include a complaint-handling fact sheet. --- If you telephone us with a complaint, we will advise you on the telephone. If a complaint specialist is not available, we will return your call by the next business day. If you contact us with an inquiry about the Department of Commerce or ask for other information: --- We will answer your written inquiry within 10 working days. --- If you telephone us, you will speak to a knowledgeable person who will answer your question. If we don't know the answer, we will find someone who does. If we need to refer you to another office, our referrals will be prompt and accurate. If you request one of our publications: --- Publications will be sent out within five days of receiving your request. --- They will be written in plain language, and will be easily understood and appropriate for our audiences. --- Consumer publications will be available in large type, on request. Office of Public Affairs --- We will provide prompt responses to telephone requests for information. We will be pleasant and courteous in helping our calling customers locate information, publications, and services. Anytime we are unable to supply information immediately or refer the caller appropriately, we promise to find answers and return the telephone call within 24 hours. --- We will respond to your letters within five working days. Our replies will be clearly written and will address specific concerns or requests for information. --- Our external publications will be written clearly in easily understood language and in an informative manner. --- We will strive to identify you, our customers, so we can improve the department information available to you not only by mail, but also via electronic media. --- We guarantee accountability to our customers. We will use customer suggestions, complaints, and other feedback to improve our services. ********************* Department of Defense ********************* The American public will be assured that the Department of Defense will do everything possible to defend Americans and American interests. American confidence in those running the military will be at a high level. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service Handles sales of excess material to the public. --- Courteous relations --- Understanding needs --- Satisfaction --- Timeliness of actions --- Open to suggestions --- Maximum assistance --- Environment that is businesslike --- Reliability of information --- Service Office of Public Affairs ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ --- Information will be made fully and readily available, consistent with statutory requirements, unless its release is precluded by current and valid security classification. The provisions of the Freedom of Information Act will be supported in both letter and spirit. --- A free flow of general and military information will be made available, without censorship or propaganda, to the men and women of the Armed Forces and their dependents. --- Information will not be classified or otherwise withheld to protect the government from criticism or embarrassment. --- Information will be withheld only when disclosure would adversely affect national security or threaten the safety or privacy of the men and women of the Armed Forces. --- The department's obligation to provide the public with information on its major programs may require detailed public affairs planning and coordination within the department and with other government agencies. The sole purpose of such activity is to expedite the flow of information to the public: Propaganda has no place in Department of Defense public affairs programs. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Disaster Response and Recovery Supplements state and local efforts to save human life, prevent immediate human suffering, or mitigate property damage. --- We will inform state and local officials of our policies and authorities, and participate in their emergency seminars and exercises when asked. --- We will provide emergency operations assistance (such as providing sandbags, pumps, technical assistance, etc.), when requested and in compliance with Public Law 84-99. --- We will provide post-flood assistance to include technical advice and assistance, debris clearance, debris removal, and temporary restoration of critical public facilities or services, and identify hazard mitigation opportunities as part of our interagency team. --- We will provide temporary assistance for emergency water supply as a result of a drought or contaminated source for up to 30 days or until the Federal Emergency Management Agency undertakes the provision of emergency water under its own authorities, whichever is earlier. *********************** Department of Education *********************** Ensures equal access to education and promotes educational excellence nationally. Anyone we deal with can expect: --- You will receive individual attention and prompt, professional service. You will be valued. --- We will seek to meet your needs and expectations. We will build a relationship with you. --- We will provide information that is timely, dependable, and accurate. We will serve you. --- You will have easy access to services and information. We will use the latest technology to enhance your access. --- We will provide you every opportunity to give input and feedback. We will listen to you. Goals 2000: Educate America Act ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The Goals 2000 Act, which focuses the nation's attention on challenging academic and occupational standards, was passed with input from a wide range of bipartisan supporters including state governors and legislators, educators, researchers, policy makers, and parents. To be considered for funding, states complete only a short, simple grant application. We respond in writing to all applications within 15 days. This act is a cornerstone of the department's improvement agenda. The Act establishes the National Education Goals for the year 2000. They are as follows: --- School readiness: All children in America will start school ready to learn. --- School completion: The high school graduation rate will increase to at least 90 percent. --- Student achievement and citizenship: All students will leave grades 4, 8, and 12 having demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter, including English, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography; and every school in America will ensure that all students learn to use their minds well, so they may be prepared for responsible citizenship, further learning, and productive employment in our nation's economy. --- Mathematics and science: The nation's students will be first in the world in mathematics and science achievement. --- Adult literacy and lifelong learning: Every adult American will be literate and will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy and exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. --- Safe, disciplined, and drug-free schools: Every school in the United States will be free of drugs, violence, and the unauthorized presence of firearms and alcohol, and will offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning. --- Teacher education and professional development: The nation's teaching force will have access to programs for the continued improvement of its professional skills and the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to instruct and prepare all American students for the next century. --- Parental participation: Every school will promote partnerships that will increase parental involvement and participation in promoting the social, emotional, and academic growth of children. Impact Aid ^^^^^^^^^^ Grants available to local school systems whose resources are affected by federal operations. Based on a customer survey indicating that more than half of our customers were dissatisfied with the timeliness of their payments, we instituted a new standard: --- All applicants that submit a problem-free application receive their payments within 45 days of receipt. Office for Civil Rights ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Responding promptly to complaints, we revised our complaint resolution procedures to provide better service and faster resolution of civil rights complaints filed against educational institutions: --- Within five days of receipt, we respond to all complaints and provide information on complaint resolution procedures. --- We offer all parties a range of options, such as mediation, early complaint resolution, and fact-finding conferences. Student Financial Assistance Program ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The Student Financial Assistance Program has established a Customer Support Inquiry Service that provides a single point of contact for answers to policy questions and resolves issues that cut across postsecondary programs. This service is provided to postsecondary institutions, lenders, guaranty agencies, and other financial providers. --- Once a question is posed and forwarded to the appropriate person, we respond within three days. ******************** Department of Energy ******************** Energy Resources ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The number one goal of the Department's Energy Resources Business Line in fiscal year 1995 will be to advance the nation's capability to deliver clean, efficient, reliable, equitable, and cost-effective energy services to the American people. With this goal in mind, we will: --- Expand the Clean Cities Program to 25 cities by December 1994. --- Add 12,250 alternative fuel vehicles to the federal fleet and promote the opening of over 60 private sector refueling stations for these vehicles by October 1995. --- Establish 12 new Cooperative Research and Development Agreements with the automotive industry to develop cleaner cars, with the goal of increasing transportation energy efficiency, lowering air pollution levels, and reducing the nation's dependence on imported oil, by October 1995. --- Implement climate change programs to reduce domestic greenhouse gases by 4 percent by the year 2000. --- Provide funds for weatherizing 126,000 homes, and upgrading 1,350 schools and hospitals by October 1995. --- By the year 2000, increase the use of clean domestic natural gas to an estimated 22 trillion cubic feet, an increase of approximately 18 percent. --- Create 20,000 new jobs through the implementation of energy efficiency programs that promote private sector investment by October 1995. Environmental Quality ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ We pledge to our customers that we will: --- Maintain safe facilities that will minimize risks to our employees, contractors, and others who come in contact with our facilities. This includes providing a safe work environment as well as diligent waste management activities. --- Respond to requests for information, such as Freedom of Information Act requests, in a more complete and timely manner. This commitment has already resulted in a 40 percent increase in the completion of these cases. --- Demonstrate openness and take responsibility for our actions so that we can gain credibility from our stakeholders and the public's trust. --- Share our environmental technology advancements with other federal agencies and with the private sector so they can also benefit from our investments. Our standards: --- Improve the cost performance of environmental quality projects by 20 percent over the next two years. --- Increase our sensitivity to cultural and social values in key environmental decisions by doubling the number of citizen advisory boards from four to eight by June 1995. The purpose of the citizen advisory boards is to provide citizen input into environmental restoration, waste management, and technical development. --- Improve the distribution of programmatic information by filling orders for publications at the Center for Environmental Management within two business days from the time they reach the center. --- Realize a 5 percent per year productivity savings on environmental cleanups by instituting contract reform to increase competitiveness. National Security ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ We pledge to make decisions and initiate actions that are responsive to our customers' needs. We seek to create a participatory atmosphere in which the customer's opinions are integrated into our decision process. We will: --- Maintain or exceed the confidence and reliability standards as defined by the military characteristics for weapons, as measured by technical analysis by the National Laboratories, resulting in the continued maintenance of a safe and reliable stockpile. --- Dismantle weapons in accordance with the annual Presidential Directive, resulting in a reduction of over 6,000 nuclear weapons between 1994 and 1998. --- Continue our program to build public confidence by classifying fewer documents; declassifying more documents; and establishing, in November 1994, an on-line bibliography of declassified documents available on request. Since 1993, classified documents have decreased by 70,000; 791 percent improvement in declassification actions. ******************************************* Department of Housing and Urban Development ******************************************* Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Public Housing Management Assessment Program Work orders: --- 99 percent of emergency work items are to be corrected within 24 hours. --- The number of non-emergency work orders outstanding at the end of the last fiscal year did not exceed 4 percent of the total number of work orders received during the year (excluding cyclical work orders). Inspections: --- 99 percent of emergency items are to be corrected within 24 hours. --- All other unit deficiencies are to be corrected within an average of 25 days. Protected Classes Under the Civil Rights Laws Assistance: --- You are entitled to respect and courteous treatment. --- If you have a need for a sign language or non-English speaking interpreter or other special needs, we will make these services available to you. --- Information will be provided to you without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, handicap, or familial status. --- Information given by you will be kept confidential. --- You will be told what information you are being given and how it responds to your request. --- After assisting you, we will offer to provide additional assistance at a later time should you need it. --- If you are not satisfied with the assistance given, we will put you in touch with a supervisor. Appointments/walk-ins: --- You will meet with the most knowledgeable staff person available within five minutes of arrival in office. Written: --- Your letter will be acknowledged within 10 working days of receipt and we will address fully in clear and concise language all concerns and include a contact name/telephone number. If we need more time to respond to you, you will be sent an interim reply explaining why the delay and when to expect a complete response. Telephone: --- Your call will be responded to within 24 hours by the most knowledgeable staff person available. We will make every effort to provide a "live voice" to take your messages instead of by voice mail. --- If you use our hotline telephone, your call will be responded to within 24 hours. Accessibility: --- The office and its services are accessible to persons with disabilities. Complaint processing: --- Your complaint will be treated without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, handicap, or familial status. --- Your complaint will be acknowledged within 10 working days of receipt and will explain in clear and concise language the complaint process, including time frames and choices. --- You will be offered conciliation opportunities throughout the complaint process. --- You will be updated on the status of your complaint within 100 days with a projected completion date. --- Once we make a determination, we will provide you with the Final Investigative Report. Vindication of public interest: --- Remedies will be appropriate for the violation and will address public interest groups. Public and Indian Housing ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ A partnership between federal, state, and local governments, with the federal government providing subsidies and regulations on project operations. Standards for our PIH partners include the following: --- PIH offices should be open to the public and available to do business during conventional work hours as that concept is defined locally. --- Any PIH staff person receiving an incoming inquiry -- by telephone, letter, or personal contact -- "owns" that inquiry until the substance of the inquiry has been conveyed to the office or individual responsible for a substantive response. --- During business hours, customers inquiring in person should wait no more than two minutes to be greeted and given an idea of when a technical person will be available to respond. --- During business hours, all telephone calls should be answered by a person within three rings. --- To the maximum extent possible, PIH field offices and headquarters offices will have a live person responsible for answering the telephone, promptly, every minute of the business day, including "flex-time" hours. --- Each office will establish a procedure whereby the principal receptionist or other telephone-answerer has a regular back-up, and a mechanism by which the regular lets the back-up know that he or she is "on call," so to speak. --- Messages left by phone or in person should be returned by the time promised by the message taker or within a half-day of the respondent's return to the office. ************************** Department of the Interior ************************** Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Ensures that coal mines are operated in a manner that protects citizens and the environment. For outreach to coal field citizens and the coal industry: --- A meeting will be held in at least one site in each state to solicit comments regarding the oversight process and recommendations for review topics in the first quarter of evaluation year 1995. For abandoned mine land emergency complaints: --- The initial site visit and determination of emergency will be addressed within 48 hours of complaint. --- The method to be used to abate the emergency will be determined within 30 days after the initial complaint. --- Emergency declarations will be finalized by us within eight hours of receipt of the state submittal in states which administer the emergency program. For OSM's mine map repository offices in Wilkes-Barre and Pittsburgh: --- Each scheduled visitor will be provided prompt and courteous service. --- Letter and telefax requests will be answered within one working day, except for a request requiring extensive research and mass reproduction of mine maps. --- Requested site locations will be provided within 90 minutes of your inquiry. --- Materials will be available to help you identify and easily locate the underground mine site. When responding to inquiries, OSM personnel: --- Will be courteous and helpful when dealing with people in person, by telephone, and in writing. --- Will be timely with courteous explanation of contents of files, state program documents, etc. --- Will respond to telephone calls within two business days. U.S. Geological Survey ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ National Earthquake Information Center --- We will provide information 24 hours a day on the location and magnitude of significant earthquakes in the United States and around the world. --- Rapid reports will be issued for earthquakes that register at least magnitude 4.5 or greater in the United States, any felt and damaging earthquakes, or earthquakes of magnitude 6.5 elsewhere or when damage has occurred. This information will be provided within 20 to 30 minutes of the time of the event. --- You will be treated with courtesy every time you contact us. --- We will provide you with information about other USGS products, services, and other sources of information if possible. --- Orders for CD-ROMs, software products, publications, maps, and posters will be processed within five working days of receipt. Under special circumstances, such as after a major, damaging earthquake, a time for the reply will be established. ********************* Department of Justice ********************* Freedom of Information Act ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ To provide quality customer service: --- We will be courteous and friendly. --- We will acknowledge requests within two weeks. --- We will give a FOIA/Privacy Act number to each request, for use as a reference on all future correspondence. --- We will process requests on a "first-come-first-served" basis, and inform you of any backlog. --- We will work with you to ensure that your request is complete and properly understood, so an appropriate search for records can be made. --- We will return your phone calls within three working days. --- We will make our responses as clear as possible, including an explanation of fees, exemptions, and the appeals process. --- We will provide you with the best possible copies of records. --- We will conduct regular customer surveys to ensure that we are meeting our standards. Immigration and Naturalization Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ --- We will treat you with courtesy and respect. --- If you are a United States citizen entering the country at an airport, you will find citizen inspection lines dedicated specifically for rapid clearance back into the country. --- If you are a frequent business traveler being inspected in an airport using the INSPASS Program, and being inspected at the Newark, New Jersey; New York City; or Toronto, Canada, airports using the INSPASS System, you will be processed in less than a minute. This service is available 24 hours a day. INS is exploring the possibility of expanding this service to other airports. --- At most land border ports of entry, we will complete our entry inspection within 20 minutes. --- At the busiest southwest border ports, which experience heavy volumes of commuter traffic, we will strive, through the application of innovative inspection techniques and technology, to reduce waiting time to 30 minutes. --- If you use the recently instituted Dedicated Commuter Lanes in Blaine, Washington, you will experience virtually no delay in entering the country. We are working with local authorities to establish similar lanes in other land border locations. --- After January 1, 1995, if you request information through the "Ask Immigration" telephone number, (202) 514-4316, we will provide improved service by reducing the message format from 58 items to 10 and the length of the menu time from 9 minutes to 1. The message system is available 24 hours a day, with staff available to assist with follow-up questions during normal business hours. --- If you apply for naturalization, we will schedule your case for interview within four months of receipt. You will have the opportunity to take the oath of allegiance and become a citizen no later than 60 days after approval of your application. --- If you apply for adjustment of status to lawful permanent residence (Form I-485), your case will be reviewed within 90 days of filing and may be approved without an interview if it is properly filed and: -- it is based on an approved petition classifying you as the parent or unmarried minor child of a United States citizen; or -- it is based on an approved employment-based preference petition (Form I-140) and you will continue to work for the same employer as when you were lawfully employed as a nonimmigrant; or -- you are applying under the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966. --- If you apply for immigration benefits from one of our Service Centers and are notified that we have received your application, you may inquire about the status of your application by calling the phone number on your receipt and entering your receipt number in a touch- tone telephone. ******************* Department of Labor ******************* Bureau of Labor Statistics ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Develops and provides labor statistical data. BLS pledges the following to our customers: --- We will let you know in advance when we will release our data. --- We will be available when you need us. 24-hour recorded messages and electronic access are available for your most requested information. Information specialists are available during business hours. --- We will distribute data in the form that fits your needs as resources allow. Available formats include telephone; recorded message; microfiche; fax; diskette and magnetic tape; Internet; TDD; and news releases, reports, bulletins, brochures, and flyers. --- We will provide you with the name and phone number of a person who can meet your data needs. Our brochure includes the names of BLS subject matter specialists. If you ask something we can't answer, we'll refer you to someone who can. We want to make your information search as fast and direct as possible. --- We will help you understand the uses and limits of our products. Call us with any questions you have. --- We want to meet your needs. If you have comments on our specific products, please call with your suggestions. Employment Standards Administration, Wage and Hour Division ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Enforces labor standards laws protecting workers. If you contact us with a question, you can expect: --- A clear, concise and knowledgeable response to your inquiry within 10 business days. --- Straightforward information on how the law applies to your circumstances and, when appropriate, publications or posters will be provided. --- Respect for your privacy. If you are an employee who comes to us with a complaint, you can expect: --- Confidentiality, to the extent you desire as permissible by law. --- That we will tell you whether we have the authority and will be able to take action to resolve the problem. --- Acknowledgment of your complaint within five business days. --- Our best estimate of how long it will take us to begin and complete action on the matter. --- Regular communication about the status and progress of our action. --- An understandable explanation of the outcome of your complaint. Mine Safety and Health Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Mandatory complete mine inspections: --- We will conduct complete inspections at all available underground mines four times a year and at all available surface mines two times a year. --- We will examine our mandatory regular inspection process to insure the quality, flexibility, and consistency of our enforcement process. Other mandatory inspections and investigations: --- We will complete other mandatory inspections and investigations as provided for in the Mine Act including: initiating investigations of all miners' complaints of safety or health hazards normally within 24 hours; and initiating investigations of written complaints of discrimination within 15 days of receipt. If you believe that a safety or health hazard exists at your mine, you can call MSHA toll- free at 1-800-746-1554 -- you do not need to give your name. Quality and delivery of training products and materials to the customer: --- We will emphasize mine-specific and on-site miner training when we evaluate proposals to provide training to miners from state mining departments and others (MSHA State Grants Program). Communication between MSHA and the customer: --- We will hold rulemaking hearings and topical health and safety conferences to provide forums for open discussion of health and safety concerns. We will consistently hold these events in the mining regions. --- We will work with state and local institutions and associations to provide miners with useful, understandable information about mining health and safety. Occupational Safety and Health Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Established to help make the American workplace as safe and healthful as possible. Employees can expect OSHA to: --- Ensure their participation in inspections. --- Respond in a timely fashion to requests for inspections of hazards at their workplace. --- Investigate charges of employer discrimination. The general public can expect OSHA to: --- Provide better access to OSHA information. --- Expand training opportunities for private sector employees. ******************* Department of State ******************* Bureau of Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Authentication of Documents --- Experienced and knowledgeable employees serve customers in a timely and courteous manner. --- The Authentications Branch provides responses to mailed requests within five working days of receipt. --- The Authentications Branch provides over-the-counter service on a same-day basis (with a daily limit of no more than 15 documents and one visit per customer). Freedom of Information Act ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ --- The Bureau of Administration strives to maximize responsiveness to requesters while safeguarding information concerning the national security, individual privacy, and other governmental privileges. --- The Office of Freedom of Information, Privacy and Classification Review delivers services that are informative, timely, and customer- friendly. --- The Office of Freedom of Information, Privacy and Classification Review mails an acknowledgment to the customer within five working days of receiving each request for service. The acknowledgment letter includes an estimated date of completion for the request. Requests are handled on a first-in, first-out basis, with the exception of those customers whose requests receive expeditious handling for demonstrated reasons involving health, safety, or due process. --- Officers are courteous and knowledgeable in all interactions with requesters. **************************** Department of Transportation **************************** Federal Aviation Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Responsible for testing and certification of airplane pilots. --- We will process your application for certification within 21 working days. --- We will provide written test results within 20 working days. --- We will respond to your correspondence and requests for duplicates within three working days. --- We will be polite, considerate, and helpful. Federal Railroad Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Railroad Safety --- Install toll-free lines to FRA Office of Safety headquarters and regional offices. --- Implement negotiated rulemakings -- such as on trackside worker safety -- in place of customary, cumbersome arm's-length procedures. --- Educate labor and management on inspection and enforcement procedures and use opportunity as listening post to seek feedback and suggestions. --- Conduct inspection demonstrations and briefings, including training videos, in partnership with labor and management customers. --- Conduct in-depth surveys of all major customers to improve customer services. --- Voluntary compliance: Develop safety profile for all Class I railroads and work with three railroads to develop systemwide safety management plans. --- Train small railroads on safety rule compliance and provide assistance to resolve safety issues. --- Reduce average time from receipt to resolution of safety complaints to 60 days. --- Use mentoring techniques to model best practices in safety performance: Bring together an exceptionally safe railroad with a railroad that needs improvement. --- Work with states to prepare inspection schedules; meet with states annually to minimize the disruption caused by duplicate scheduling. --- Investigate inspection complaints from railroads within 10 working days. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Auto Safety Hotline For the Public Promotes auto safety. --- We will handle your call promptly. --- If you have trouble reaching one of our operators, call after 6 p.m. Eastern time and leave a message on the answering machine. We will call you back the next business day. --- If we need to get information for you after answering your call, we will not keep you on hold for longer than two minutes. --- We will treat you with courtesy. --- We will provide you with the most accurate and complete information we have on the subject of your request. If we cannot answer your question completely, we will give you the name and telephone number of someone who can and ask that person to return your call the next business day. --- By December 1994, we will provide you with our most popular fact sheets and information within 24 hours by using our new fax-on-demand service. --- By March 1996, we will provide you with our most popular publications in your choice of Spanish or English. Motor Vehicle and Traffic Safety Program ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Provides technical assistance and outreach services for highway safety to national organizations. Program planning -- We will: --- Invite your organization to participate in the strategic and tactical planning stages of major new motor vehicle and traffic safety program initiatives. Technical assistance -- We will: --- Facilitate communication with your organization and others interested in becoming involved in priority motor vehicle safety and traffic safety programs. --- Provide current and accurate information and data within 10 business days after we receive your request. --- Provide technical experts as panelists and speakers, whenever possible. --- Participate in your key meetings and events, and assist national coalitions of organizations interested in motor vehicle and traffic safety. Program information and materials -- We will: --- At least annually, publish a traffic safety program and publication update, including projects and materials planned for completion within the coming year. --- Every April and October, publish an update of our motor vehicle safety program activities in the Federal Register. --- Ship program materials for major traffic safety program initiatives 90 days before they will be needed. --- Provide at least a 30-day advance notice of when national media campaign materials will be distributed to media outlets. --- Each January, publish a catalog of traffic safety program materials that includes ordering instructions and a contact for the status of orders. Training -- We will: --- Develop training and assist National Organizations in planning and/or conducting training for their own members and their constituencies. ************************** Department of the Treasury ************************** Bureau of Engraving and Printing ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Redemption of Mutilated Paper Currency We will work with the public to redeem partially destroyed or badly damaged currency. These are our standards when you file a claim: --- After you are notified that we have received your claim, you may contact us by telephone for information on your claim's estimated processing time and status. You can usually expect this information within one hour after your call. --- You can always expect polite and courteous service and that we will identify ourselves by name. --- If your claim is denied, you can expect a full explanation of our actions. --- Depending on the type of damage to the currency submitted in your claim you can expect notification of status or payment within 14 days of the BEP's receipt. Bureau of the Public Debt ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Savings Bond Sales If you purchase a savings bond, you can expect: --- The savings bond you ordered will be mailed to you within 15 days from the date of purchase. --- We will accurately inscribe your savings bond and promptly correct errors. --- Whenever you contact us, we will treat you courteously. Treasury Direct Serves investors in marketable government securities. --- We will accurately establish your account and process your transactions. --- When you write to your servicing office, we will respond within five business days after receiving your letter. --- When you visit your servicing office, we will assist you within 15 minutes. --- When you call your servicing office, we will answer routine inquiries during the call, and we will respond to complex inquiries within five business days. --- Whenever and however you contact your servicing office, we will treat you courteously. --- We will update the information on the telephone recordings within one hour after a new offering is announced or auction results are released. --- Your servicing office will process routine transaction requests no later than five business days after receipt of the request. --- If you wish to transfer securities out of Treasury Direct, your servicing office will complete the transfer within one business day of receipt of your request. --- We will mail you a statement of account no later than five business days after the date your security was issued or your transaction request was processed. Internal Revenue Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Tax Collection Our customers are the taxpayers of the United States. --- We will make tax forms and instructions simpler and easier for you to use. We made some good changes this year, but we want your ideas for future improvements. Please call us at 1-800-829-3676, available 9 hours each business day, or you may write to us at Internal Revenue Service, Attention: Tax Forms Committee, PC:FP, Washington, D.C. 20224. --- To make it easier for you to meet your tax obligations, we will expand your opportunity for simplified return filing and payment of your taxes through our electronic filing, joint federal/state filing, touch-tone phone, and electronic payment programs. --- You will have more convenient access to tax law and account information. Our pre-recorded tax information will continue to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and access to refund status information will be extended. We will also extend the time that you will be able to contact our tax assistors to 10 hours each business day. --- Our goal is to answer your questions and process your tax returns accurately. To reach that goal, we will continue to make improvements yearly. --- If you file a complete and accurate tax return and you are due a refund, your refund will be issued within 40 days if you file a paper return or within 21 days if you file electronically. --- Our goal is to resolve your account inquiries with one contact. To reach that goal, we will make improvements yearly. --- If you provide sufficient and accurate information to our tax assistors but are given and reasonably rely on an incorrect answer, we will cancel related penalties. --- If you have a problem that has not been resolved through normal processes, you may contact our Problem Resolution Office. A caseworker will contact you within one week and will work with you to resolve the problem. U.S. Mint ^^^^^^^^^ Numismatics Manufactures and sells coin sets, commemorative coins, and medals to 2 million coin collectors and distributors through mail order or in five sales centers. If you're a mail-order customer: --- Your orders will be shipped within four weeks of receipt. --- Your calls will be returned within one working day. --- Your inquiries will be answered with one-stop service. Precious Metals Sells gold and silver bullion to investors worldwide through a network of wholesale authorized purchasers. --- Orders may be placed by fax 24 hours per day, seven days per week. --- Orders will be processed by 2 p.m. daily, five days per week (excluding holidays). --- Order confirmation fax: to be sent out to you by 4:00 p.m. on the day the order is placed Monday through Friday. --- Pricing fax: to be sent out to you by noon the following day. (The Gold Fax normally comes in around 10 to 10:30 a.m.) --- Remittance fax: sent out immediately upon receipt of funds from you. --- Order pickup: Upon receipt of the payment, we fax a release document to the appropriate facility, where the coins are then picked up by your armored carrier. ********************************** Consumer Product Safety Commission ********************************** Protects the public against unreasonable risks of injury from consumer products and promotes research and investigation into the causes and prevention of product-related deaths, illnesses, and injuries. When you call our Hotline you can expect: --- To be given easy-to-follow instructions in English, or, if you choose, Spanish, on how to use the Hotline. --- To have your call answered immediately, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. --- To speak to a Hotline staff person who will always be available between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern time Monday through Friday except holidays. --- To be given courteous service. A Hotline staff person will listen carefully to your request or complaint and provide you the most up- to-date information available. --- To have your complaint of an unsafe product or product-related injury taken accurately and a copy sent to you so that you may confirm the information you provided. --- To leave a message at night and on weekends and holidays if you want to report an unsafe product or product-related injury. Your call will be returned the next business day or, if you do not want a return call, you will receive a letter confirming receipt of your complaint message. --- To hear the most up-to-date and easy to understand information on product safety recalls. ******************************* Environmental Protection Agency ******************************* EPA Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Pollution Prevention and Toxics ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Helps state and local governments prevent and prepare for chemical emergencies and informs the public about community hazards. We will: --- Make Toxic Release Inventory information available through county libraries nationwide and through electronic systems and published reports. --- Work with Local Emergency Planning Committees to make the information about chemicals and chemical releases easy for you to obtain and use. --- Assure that the information in the Toxic Release Inventory about hazardous chemicals and routine release of toxic chemicals is updated annually and made available to you every spring. --- Provide you with the most accurate data about chemicals in your community. Responses to Inquiries ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Office of Communication, Education, and Public Affairs This office responds to requests for information on all aspects of EPA activity. Its standards are as follows: --- We will answer your questions with courtesy and accuracy. --- Every employee will listen to your questions and help you find the information you seek. --- Your inquiry will get an immediate response. If you write to us, we'll send you either an answer or an acknowledgment within five working days. If you call us, we will either answer your question right away, or take your information and do the homework for you. --- Our answer to you will always include the name and phone number of an employee you can call for more information, or to check on our progress. --- If we need more time to research the answer you need, we'll let you know within five days. We'll ask you for your deadline, and we'll let you know how long it will take to provide an answer. --- We will check back with you to ensure that you received the information you need. --- Your call will never be transferred more than once, so your time won't be wasted. --- We will provide ways for you to query us or find EPA information electronically and for us to respond to you electronically, to save time and paper. Region 3 Office, Philadelphia This office is testing standards for handling all incoming correspondence and customer service lines. Its standards are as follows: --- Region 3 will provide prompt, courteous, accurate and understandable responses to all inquiries. If you write to us: --- Your written inquiry will get an immediate response. If you include you telephone number, we will contact you immediately to determine how we can best meet your needs and expectations. We'll mail you the response to your inquiry within three business days. If we need more time to research the answer, we'll call or write you (also within three days) to tell you when we will respond and the telephone number and fax number of the individual working on your response. --- We will also include with every response a survey postcard asking whether or not the information was received promptly, with courtesy, and was understandable. If you contact us by telephone: --- Your call to our customer service Hotline will be answered promptly and with courtesy. We will listen to your questions and help you find the information you seek. --- We will make every effort to answer your question immediately, and we will always respond by the next business day. --- Our answer will always include the name and telephone number of an employee who will be able to assist you if you desire additional information. --- If your call is received during non-business hours (business hours are Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.), your questions will be taken by an automated voice system, and we will get back to you on the next business day. --- On a random basis we will ask you a few brief questions concerning our performance in meeting our standards of promptness, accuracy, and courtesy. This information will be used to improve our performance. Solid Waste and Emergency Response ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Promotes public awareness and involvement on solid waste issues and responds to requests for documents, including regulations. --- Your questions will be answered courteously, accurately, and as promptly as possible, in either English or Spanish, or via a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD). --- Every Information Specialist will listen to your questions and help you find the information you seek. Hotline staff will provide you the most current and accurate information. --- Your inquiry will get an immediate response. --- If we cannot answer your question immediately, we will let you know within five days how long it will take to get an answer. In addition, the Information Specialist will give you his/her name so that you can call for more information or to check on progress. --- If your call needs to be addressed by another agency, state, or local program, we will tell you whom to call to obtain your answers. --- If your information is available electronically, we will tell you how to access it through EPA databases, Internet, or other sources. *************************************** Equal Employment Opportunity Commission *************************************** Investigates and litigates charges of employment discrimination in private and public (including federal) sectors; conducts training and informational activities for employers, unions, and community organizations. People with complaints of employment discrimination can expect us to: --- Treat you with respect and dignity. --- Look at the way we do business and the way we relate to you and others using our procedures; we want to find ways to improve the quality and speed of our services. --- Involve charging parties like you to help us understand what you want, what you need, and what you think about the way we serve you. --- Support our front-line employees by giving them the tools and knowledge they need to provide the best possible service to you. --- Strengthen our commitment to customer service. ********************************* Federal Communications Commission ********************************* Private Land Mobile Radio Services ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Regulates the use of the radio spectrum to fulfill the needs of businesses, state and local governments, aircraft, ships, and individuals. When you telephone: --- You will receive a response to your inquiry within one business day. --- You will be transferred no more than twice; if the issue remains unresolved at the second contact point, we will obtain the required information and return your call. --- If you are transferred during your call, we will explain your issue to the recipient of the transfer so you do not have to repeat the reason for the call. --- You will receive accurate and consistent information on FCC policy and rules. When you request license application forms: --- You will receive your form order within 10 days after we receive your mail or phone request. You have immediate access to forms through "fax-on-demand" and the Internet. --- You will receive, along with the application, material that clearly describes the licensing process. When you apply for a license: --- You will be able to determine the status of your license application and where it is in the process. --- If your non-specialized mobile radio systems application is error-free, you will receive your license within 70 days of receipt. --- If your application contains errors that can be resolved by telephone, we will telephone you. If all errors cannot be resolved, your application will be returned, but only after a complete review. Errors or omissions will be clearly indicated. --- Every five years, when your license needs renewal, we will send you your renewal notice 90 days prior to the expiration date. *********************************** Federal Emergency Management Agency *********************************** Provides leadership and support to reduce loss of life and property through a risk-based emergency management program. For individual disaster applicants, FEMA will: --- Provide you with an opportunity to tell your story to a responsive FEMA representative. --- Treat you with respect and caring. --- Give you clear, accurate information on disaster assistance and how to apply for it. --- Explain clearly what you need to do after application, what you can expect from the government, and how long the process should take. --- Provide eligible individuals disaster housing assistance checks with all possible promptness and give them an estimate of the length of time it will take. --- Provide equal access to disaster assistance for all individuals. --- Use your suggestions and complaints to improve our service continually. ******************************* General Services Administration ******************************* Consumer Information Center ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Helps the public know about and get consumer information from the federal government. Value: --- Identify useful federal information of help to consumers. --- Offer federal publications free or at the lowest possible cost in the free Consumer Information Catalog. --- Ensure that sales booklets offered through the CIC program provide information that the public finds to be worth the price. Quality: --- Make available publications that cover a wide variety of topics of importance to the public. --- Ensure accurate processing of customer orders. Timeliness: --- The average time to fulfill an order by the GPO facility in Pueblo, Colorado, will be four to six weeks, including delivery time. Ease of accessibility and convenience of service process: --- The Pueblo, Colorado, facility will be maintained as a single point for consumers to obtain copies of the Catalog or other federal publications. Consumers can obtain a free copy of the Consumer Information Catalog by writing to Catalog, Pueblo, CO 81009, or by calling 719-948-4000. --- An efficient means will be provided for nonprofit groups, such as libraries and schools that are able to distribute 25 copies or more of the Catalog on a quarterly basis, to be placed on CIC's bulk mailing list. --- The CIC Bulletin Board System and other new technology initiatives will increase customer access to the Catalog and other important consumer information. ****************************** Interstate Commerce Commission ****************************** Regulates interstate surface transportation, including trains, trucks, buses, water carriers, household goods transporters, freight forwarders, transportation brokers, and pipelines. We will: --- Accurately update information contained on the Automated Response Capability at the end of each working day to reflect decisions served by the Commission that day. --- Treat you courteously and be responsive to your questions. When we make a mistake, we will correct it as quickly as possible. --- Provide an up-to-date telephone number which allows you to contact the ARC Coordinator directly if you have a problem with the ARC system. You can reach the ARC Project Coordinator by telephone at 202-927-5979. --- Encourage you to let us know how well we are serving you and ask you to suggest ways we can improve our service to you. ***************************************** Japan-United States Friendship Commission ***************************************** Promotes mutual understanding and cooperation between the United States and Japan; administers grant programs for Japanese studies in the United States, American studies in Japan, policy research, public affairs and education, and the arts. Our standards are as follows: --- You will be treated with courtesy every time you contact us. --- We will provide you with all the information you need in order to understand our programs. --- We will also provide you with information about other existing grant programs that may help you. --- When you call our office for information or help, you will reach us on the first call. --- You can expect us to deliver our services fairly and to the same high standards to all our clients regardless of race, color, age, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, political preference, labor organization or non-affiliation, marital status, or non-disqualifying handicap. ******************************************** National Archives and Records Administration ******************************************** Accesses, arranges, describes, preserves, and makes available to the public the historically valuable records of the three branches of government. --- We will treat all of our customers with courtesy. --- We will meet or beat our established deadlines for providing customer service. --- We will provide to our customers competent service by knowledgeable staff. --- We will provide informational products to meet our customers' needs. If you call or visit one of our facilities: --- You will find Archives staff and volunteers available in all offices to assist you during posted business hours. Our business hours will be prominently posted at all sites and noted in our brochures and through other information sources. If you write to us about our holdings: --- You will be sent a response to your written request about our holdings within 10 work days after we receive your letter. If we cannot provide a full response within that time, we will tell you that we have received your request and tell you how long we expect it will take before we can provide a full reply. If you need information about the National Archives: --- You can obtain timely and up-to-date information about the Archives, its services, and holdings through the Internet and other on-line services, our fax-on-demand service, through printed publications, or by contacting one of our offices. If you need information about government rules and announcements: --- You will be provided with timely information on a daily basis through the Federal Register on the following: -- presidential proclamations and executive orders -- proposed rules and final regulations -- public meetings -- federal grants This information is published in print and in electronic form by the Government Printing Office. If things go wrong: --- If our service has not matched our values and standards for customer service, we want to know so that we can do something about it and get it right the next time. Our local complaints and suggestions procedures are as follows. You may: -- Ask to speak to the person you dealt with. -- Use our Suggestion/Complaint comment form (NA Form 14045). You can mail it or drop it in the box provided. Or, you can simply write us a letter. If you request a reply, we will provide a response within seven working days. -- Speak or write to the supervisor in charge. If we cannot solve your problem immediately, we will provide a response within seven working days. If you are still not satisfied that we have handled your complaint or provided the service we promised, you can write to the Assistant Archivist for the office with which you have been dealing. ************************************************ National Commission on Libraries and Information ************************************************ Initiative: --- NCLIS will seek out individuals and groups representing the U.S. public and offer advice or assistance in developing or carrying out policies that affect library and information service nationally. --- NCLIS will respond to requests for comment and take advantage of other opportunities for providing advice and assistance, whether that advice is asked specifically of NCLIS, of federal agencies generally, or of the general public. Customization: --- NCLIS will provide assistance in the form of data, appraisals, plans, studies, statistics, surveys, analyses, research, or policy advice tailored to the needs of the individual or group in each situation. Timeliness: --- NCLIS will provide assistance on a schedule that is timely, usable and useful to the entity to which the information's being provided. Monitoring: --- NCLIS will track the provision of information to determine if it was useful/used, if it had an effect, what were the factors affecting the use/lack of use of the information, what could/should have been done differently, etc. Evaluation: --- NCLIS will assess (with the group or individual to whom the assistance was provided) what were the factors affecting the use/lack of use of the information, what could/should have been done differently, etc. New or changed services: --- NCLIS will revise our offering/provision of future services as determined by the evaluations. ************************************* National Endowment for the Humanities ************************************* An independent, grant-making agency established by Congress to support research, education, and public programs in the humanities. In assisting you as a prospective applicant, you can expect us to: --- Respond courteously and quickly to your requests for information about our grant programs. --- Be able to describe the programs that best suit your needs. --- Provide application instructions and forms that are clear and easy for you to use. --- Offer prompt and thoughtful advice and guidance in preparing your application. --- Explain accurately the procedures that would be used to evaluate your application and tell you when you could expect a decision. In assisting you as an applicant, you can expect us to: --- Ensure that the evaluation of your application is fair, expeditious, and informed by the expert judgments of your peers. --- Notify you promptly of the decision on your application. --- Provide substantive reasons for the decision reached on your application. --- Give you helpful advice, if you are unsuccessful, on revising or resubmitting your application. In assisting you as a grantee, you can expect us to: --- Provide you with an award document that is clear and easy to understand and that sets forth sensible reporting requirements. --- Provide the names of our staff members who will serve as contacts for your reports and for any assistance you may need. --- Answer promptly and satisfactorily all requests for information on NEH policies and procedures. --- Read and acknowledge promptly your reports on grant activities. --- Maintain a professional, helpful relationship with you as you carry your project to completion. ****************************** National Labor Relations Board ****************************** Administers the National Labor Relations Act; prevents and remedies unfair labor practices committed by private sector employers and unions. Our customer service standards include the following: --- We will treat you courteously. --- We will attempt to answer your questions about the case, consistent with the confidentiality rights of other persons and the Privacy Act. --- If necessary, we will provide bilingual services if we are given sufficient notice of that need. --- We will provide the same treatment to all persons regardless of race, sex, religion, national origin, age, political affiliation, sexual orientation, or disability. --- Our facilities are accessible to persons with disabilities. We will attempt to accommodate persons with disabilities. Please let us know if you will need accommodation. --- If you wish, you may be represented by an attorney or other representative of your own choice. Examples of the types of customer service standards you can expect in representative cases are: --- We will send all parties to the case a copy of the petition. Most petitions seek to have the NLRB conduct a secret-ballot representation election. --- We will investigate any issues which are necessary to resolve before an election can be conducted. Where appropriate, we will explain the issues raised in the case. We may ask the parties to submit their legal arguments. --- Some petitions may be dismissed. However, where an election is appropriate, we attempt to get all parties to agree to a voluntary election. We have been successful in achieving election agreements 80 percent of the time. --- Where an election is appropriate, we attempt to schedule the election as soon as practicable, normally within six to eight weeks after the petition has been filed. --- If all parties do not agree to an election, we will issue a Notice of Hearing in order to resolve necessary issues. --- The hearing will be before an NLRB Hearing Officer. All parties may present relevant evidence relating to issues which must be resolved before an election can be conducted. --- After the hearing, the NLRB Regional Director will issue a written decision as promptly as possible allowing for thorough and complete consideration of all the evidence and issues. The time it takes to issue a written decision may depend upon the length of the hearing, complexity of the issues, and office workload. From the time a petition is first filed, you should expect a regional decision after hearing normally within 45 days. A party may request review of the Regional Directors decision after the hearing normally within 45 days. A party may request review of the Regional Director's decision by the board in Washington, D.C. --- From the time a regional decision after hearing issues, the parties should expect that an election normally will be conducted. If appropriate, within 25 to 30 days. --- Where an election is appropriate, we will conduct a secret ballot in such a manner so as to provide the eligible employees in the appropriate collective bargaining unit an opportunity to cast their ballot. --- If there are determinative challenged ballots or election objections, we will investigate, and/or conduct a hearing on, the challenges and objections and issue a written report. We may ask the parties to produce witnesses, evidence, and legal arguments. --- From time that challenges and/or objections to the election are filed, if no hearing is held, the parties should expect a regional report of supplemental decision normally within 35 days. If a hearing is held, the parties should expect a regional report or supplemental decision normally within 95 days. --- Following an election and the resolution of any determinative challenged ballots and/or objections, we will certify that a union is, or is not, the collective-bargaining representative of the employees in the voting unit. ************************ National Mediation Board ************************ Assists in maintaining a free flow of commerce in the railroad and airline industries by resolving disputes that could disrupt travel or imperil the economy. You can expect our staff to meet the following standards: --- At least 90 percent of representation cases not involving a participant's request for board-level action will be completed within 90 calendar days of docketing. --- In at least 90 percent of representation cases involving a participant's request for board-level action, the NMB staff will submit a recommendation to the board within 180 calendar days of docketing and the board will respond within an additional 30 calendar days. --- An updated NMB Representation Manual will be made available to the public during fiscal year 1995. --- An NMB investigator will be assigned to investigate representation cases within five business days of docketing. --- Representation and mediation applications will be responded to within three business days following their receipt by the NMB. --- All NMB mediators will have received training on innovative/enhanced mediation approaches by the end of fiscal year 1995. --- At least two training/orientation opportunities will be made available to the parties by the end of fiscal year 1995 regarding methods to reduce the volume of railroad grievance cases pending resolution. --- Arbitrators compensated by the NMB will be sent their payment within 14 days following the NMB's receipt of an appropriate voucher. ****************************** Office of Personnel Management ****************************** Federal Employment Information System ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Serves job seekers by providing information on federal employment. To assist you as a federal job seeker: --- We will provide you with courteous and timely service. --- We will update our nationwide job listings every business day. --- We will have Employment Information Specialists available to answer your questions. --- We will provide 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week access to nationwide job information and application request services through a variety of electronic media. --- We will respond to your requests for applications and/or routine information within one business day. --- We will use your suggestions and complaints to improve our service continually. We will always remember we work for you, the American public. ************************************ Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation ************************************ Protects the benefits of participants in private sector pension plans and provides timely payment of benefits for those pension plans that have been terminated. We pledge that: --- In all communications with you, we will acknowledge your inquiry within one week. If we cannot give you an immediate answer, we will tell you when to expect it and we will give you a specific point of contact. --- If it will take us longer than expected to answer your question, we will give you a status report and tell you a new date when to expect an answer. --- If you are receiving a pension check, changes you request (such as address change, direct deposit, tax change) will be made within 30 days, if the request is received by the first of the month. It will take another month if the request is received after the first of the month. **************************** United States Postal Service **************************** These are the continuing standards of the USPS: --- Your First Class Mail will be delivered anywhere in the United States within three days. --- Your local First Class Mail will be delivered overnight. --- You will receive service at post office counters within five minutes. --- You can get postal information 24 hours a day by calling a local number. *************** Law Enforcement *************** ********************* Department of Justice ********************* Community Relations Service (CRS) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Conflict Prevention and Resolution Program --- We will clearly explain the process that CRS uses to address racial and ethnic conflicts, and our role in that process. --- We will provide opportunities for all parties involved to contribute to, and work toward, a solution to the racial or ethnic conflict. --- If you are a participant in a CRS training session or conference, we will provide useful information and materials that will assist you in preventing or minimizing racial and ethnic tensions. If you would like more information, we will work with you to identify additional materials to meet your needs, within three weeks of learning of your need. --- We will be prepared to provide on-site services in major racial or ethnic crisis situations within 24 hours of when your community notifies CRS or CRS becomes aware of the crisis. --- In non-crisis situations, we will contact you within three days of when your community notifies CRS or CRS becomes aware of the situation, to discuss your request for CRS services. Federal Bureau of Investigation ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) Supports law enforcement agencies. Name checks: --- Response time for name searches against criminal histories is and will be five seconds. Fingerprint checks using current manual process: --- We now process fingerprint identification of arrestees in an average of 21 days from the time we receive the fingerprint card. --- We now process fingerprint identification for employment and licensing purposes in an average of 21 days from the time we receive the fingerprint card. Fingerprint checks in the future using IAFIS: --- IAFIS will process fingerprint identification of arrestees in an average of two hours from the time of receipt of the fingerprint data. --- IAFIS will process fingerprint identification for employment and licensing purposes in an average of 24 hours from the time of receipt of the fingerprint data. National Crime Information Center (NCIC) NCIC 2000 will first become available for users in late 1995, with all improvements projected to be completed in 1996. When the NCIC 2000 System is fully operational it will meet the following standards: --- Customers will be able to access the system 24 hours a day, seven days a week (currently available). --- System will process NCIC inquiries in one second or less. Current NCIC processing time is two seconds. --- Users will be able to conduct on-line inquiries for information that is now available only through special computer programming. --- Users will be able to receive photograph and fingerprint images on-line in police cruisers (currently not available) Uniform Crime Reports Program --- The annual Crime in the U.S. report will be published in October of each year. --- Semi-annual report updates will be published in September and March of each year. --- If you are with a criminal justice agency and wish to be put on our mailing list for these reports, you may contact a member of our staff. --- If you are a member of the public, you may obtain these reports for a fee by contacting the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office. --- To receive customized reports, you may contact our program staff, which will facilitate a response to your inquiry as soon as possible in written or electronic form. When fully operational, the National Incident-Based Reporting System program will provide the following services: --- Data on 22 crime categories made up of 46 specific crimes will be collected (current system collects data on only eight crime categories). --- Information on every crime will be collected separately (current system uses a summary report, which reports only the worst crime in a multiple offense situation). --- Age, sex, race, ethnicity, etc. will be reported for victims and witnesses of all crimes, which will allow for better analysis (current system reports this information only on certain crimes). --- System will provide the ability to quantify drug seizures in relationship to drug arrest (currently not available). --- Information will address such issues as hate crimes, white-collar crime, domestic violence, abuse of the elderly, etc. (currently not available in summary system). U.S. Attorneys' Offices ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Victim-Witness Program Notifications -- If you request it, we will provide the following notifications to you within two weeks or less: --- When there's been a change in the detention status of an offender. --- When charges have been filed against a suspected offender, or if any or all charges are dismissed. --- When court schedules are changed. --- When there's been a plea agreement and the terms of the agreement. If the defendant either pleads guilty or is found guilty, you have the right to submit an "impact statement" detailing the emotional effects of this crime on your life and the lives of members of you family. --- The date set for sentencing if the offender is found guilty, and the sentence imposed. If there is a conviction, you may be notified of changes in the prisoner's status by the Bureau of Prisons. Other assistance services: --- To the extent possible, a separate waiting area will be provided for you separate from the offender and defense witnesses during court proceedings. --- Emotional support and assistance will be provided to you during court appearances. --- Upon your request, you will be assisted in talking with your employer if your cooperation in the investigation or prosecution of the crime causes you to be absent from work; likewise, if the crime prohibits your ability to make timely payments to creditors, assistance will be provided to you in dealing with those creditors. --- You will routinely be provided with information or assistance concerning transportation, parking, lodging, translator, and related services. --- When needed, you will be provided referrals to existing agencies for shelter, counseling, compensation, and other types of assistance services. ************************** Department of the Treasury ************************** Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms The National Tracing Center Helps federal, state, local, or international law enforcement agencies identify criminal suspects by tracking firearms from manufacturer to purchaser. If you request a trace from us, you can expect that: --- "Urgent" traces will be completed within 24 hours. An urgent trace involves a firearm used in a crime of violence or involves information that is essential to apprehend or hold a suspect, or to obtain a search warrant. Time is essential. --- We will contact you daily if your urgent trace cannot be completed within the established timeframe. --- "Routine" traces will be completed within four weeks. A routine trace involves crimes such as carrying a firearm without a permit, burglary, and firearms trafficking. This category also includes identifying the purchaser of recovered firearms when time is not an essential factor. Please note that we depend on the cooperation of licensed firearms dealers and others to complete traces. The response times of dealers affects the times it takes us to respond to your requests. Federal Law Enforcement Training Center ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Trains federal, state, and local law officials. --- We will maintain Administrative Services at a level 4, as measured by the Student Feedback System. --- We will maintain Program Services at a level 5, as measured by the Student Feedback System. --- We will maintain a rating of 90 percent for customer services in the 1994 Customer Satisfaction Survey. --- We will train 100 percent of your Basic Students. U.S. Secret Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Conducts investigations to assist U.S. Attorneys with their prosecutions of crimes involving counterfeiting, forgery, and other kinds of fraud. Because we want to provide the U.S. Attorneys with completed investigations consistent with their prosecution priorities, the Secret Service has set the following standards for this relationship: --- A minimum of 25 percent of all U.S. Attorneys or their designees will be interviewed each year by a representative of the Director of the Secret Service. These interviews will ensure that the needs and priorities of the U.S. Attorney's Office are being met by the local Secret Service Office. --- Special Agents in Charge will maintain ongoing and frequent liaison with U.S. Attorneys in their districts. --- Specific service standards agreements will be determined after consultations between the Secret Service and each U.S. Attorney. These standards will be tailored to reflect the unique needs of each U.S. Attorney and the respective judicial district. *************************** Natural Resource Management *************************** ************************* Department of Agriculture ************************* Forest Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Manages 191 million acres of forest and rangeland and regulates use. --- Our offices, work sites, and visitor centers will be open at times convenient to our customers. --- Knowledgeable employees will be available at times convenient to our customers. --- Our facilities will be safe, clean, attractive, and informative. --- Our facilities will be accessible to persons of all ages and abilities. --- Visitors will always be welcomed with prompt, courteous service. --- Customers will be asked regularly to help us improve our services and business practices. --- Customers will promptly receive the service and information they request, or we will explain we cannot meet the request. ********************* Department of Defense ********************* U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Environmental Management Incorporates ecosystem management considerations in all aspects of its water resource projects, including those for navigation, flood control, storm damage reduction, hydroelectric, and recreation. --- We will work hand-in-hand with states, cities, and municipalities to fund, plan, and implement needed water and environmental projects that meet federal criteria. --- When recommending projects, we will carefully weigh costs and benefits to the environment with economic costs nd benefits, reconciling society's demands with the vital need to sustain the our natural environment. --- When requested by EPA or other federal agency, we will quickly apply our know-how in environmental engineering and management to investigate hazardous and toxic waste on defense sites, and clean them promptly and thoroughly as funding allows. --- We will continue to work with the public and industry through our four research laboratories to develop new technological solutions to environmental concerns and to make them available quickly. Regulatory Program Regulates the development/use of any work or structure in or affecting a navigable waterway of the United States and the discharge of dredged or fill material in all waters of the United States; authorizes 90,000 activities annually. --- We will complete action on 70 percent of all applications in less than 120 days. Water Resources Operation and Maintenance Operates 234 locks, dredges over 900 harbors, operates and maintains 383 major lakes and reservoirs for flood control, maintains 2,500 recreation sites, and provides hydropower at 75 sites. --- We will publish all scheduled lock outages and maintain procedures for notification of unscheduled outages. --- We will coordinate and share information with federal, state, and local officials of potential flood conditions. --- We will maintain the harbors and rivers of America's waterways so that they are open to traffic. --- We will maintain all recreation facilities in a clean and safe condition, and we will treat all of our visitors courteously. Water Resources Planning, Engineering, and Construction Provides developmental capabilities for water resources projects affecting the United States, in partnership with state and local communities. --- We will work closely with other federal government, state, and local officials to complete a definition of the problem with a goal of completing this activity for large projects within two years. These studies will be federally funded. --- We will work to develop a feasibility report of potential solution(s) for large projects within four years, for referral for action to Congress. These studies will be cost-shared. --- For those projects authorized, we will complete preconstruction engineering and design within two years. The design is federally funded up-front. The local sponsor will be asked to share design and construction costs when the project is under construction. --- We will provide the sponsor with an estimate of the construction costs and schedule prior to construction, and we will meet regularly with the sponsor to manage risks. ******************** Department of Energy ******************** Energy Resources ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The number one goal of the Department's Energy Resources Business Line in fiscal year 1995 will be to advance the nation's capability to deliver clean, efficient, reliable, equitable, and cost-effective energy services to the American people. With this goal in mind, we will: --- Expand the Clean Cities Program to 25 cities by December 1994. --- Add 12,250 alternative fuel vehicles to the federal fleet and promote the opening of over 60 private sector refueling stations for these vehicles by October 1995. --- Establish 12 new Cooperative Research and Development Agreements with the automotive industry to develop cleaner cars, with the goal of increasing transportation energy efficiency, lowering air pollution levels, and reducing the nation's dependence on imported oil, by October 1995. --- Implement climate change programs to reduce domestic greenhouse gases by 4 percent by the year 2000. --- Provide funds for weatherizing 126,000 homes, and upgrading 1,350 schools and hospitals by October 1995. --- By the year 2000, increase the use of clean domestic natural gas to an estimated 22 trillion cubic feet, an increase of approximately 18 percent. --- Create 20,000 new jobs through the implementation of energy efficiency programs that promote private sector investment by October 1995. ************************** Department of the Interior ************************** Bureau of Indian Affairs ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Serves as the steward for Indian and Alaska Native lands and monies held in trust by the United States. By the end of fiscal year 1995: --- We will provide you with up-to-date information about the status of your claim, application, case or inquiry on the day of your visit to our office. --- We will answer your telephone call in a pleasant, courteous manner and be responsive to your questions. We will return your phone call by close of business the next work day. If we are not able to assist you, we will direct you to the necessary office that will help you. --- We will response to your written inquiries within five days of receipt of your letter and we will seek resolution of your problems within 30 days. --- We will consult with and provide feedback to you regarding education issues under consideration through regularly held regional education consultation meetings. --- We will develop all new rules and regulations in partnership with tribes. --- We will establish a formal consultation process through which comments and concerns by tribal governments will be sought. --- We will deliver portable classrooms within one year of funding. Bureau of Land Management ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Manages all aspects of 270 million acres of federal land and 570 million acres of federal mineral resources. We will always: --- Treat you in a courteous, efficient, and professional manner every time you contact us. --- Work with you to meet your needs while complying with laws and regulations. --- Advise you if your request cannot be filled in your initial contact with us, and tell you who will respond to your request and when you can expect that response. Casual Uses of Lands, Facilities, and Developed Sites Use of campgrounds, visitor centers, developed trails, and other facilities. --- You will be provided with well-designed and maintained facilities. --- You will receive complete and up-to-date information on the requested site. --- If you need an authorization to use lands, facilities, or sites, we will complete action on your in-person request within 30 minutes. We will respond to telephone or written requests within five business days Compliance and Enforcement Enforcement of requirements, regulations, and laws governing leases, permits, grants, and other uses of lands and resources. --- You will be advised of the requirements for the proper use of public lands and resources. --- You will be given the information you need regarding the applicable BLM compliance and enforcement process, expected time frames, and reporting requirements and responsibilities. --- You will be treated fairly under laws and regulations. Information Access Centers Provide information and products at central locations. --- You will be greeted and your request will be acknowledged within five minutes of your arrival. --- You will receive the most current and accurate information about the public land that we have available to the public. --- You will receive available information within 30 minutes of your in-person request. We will respond to your telephone or written inquiries within five business days. Public Policy Involvement Opportunities Opportunities for you to be involved in our planning process and our management of resources. --- You will be provided with the opportunity to tell us how you think publicly owned resources should be managed. --- As we develop plans, rules, and regulations for use of public resources, you will be asked for your ideas. --- You will be afforded adequate time to make your comments and suggestions. Uses Requiring Authorization Grazing permits, mineral leases, and rights of way that require prior written approval. --- You will receive a response to your phone messages and letters, usually within five business days. --- You will be informed of what the transaction is, how your request will be handled, who will respond to your request, and the date by which we expect to address your request. Bureau of Reclamation ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Hydropower and Water Deliveries --- We will always treat our customers with courtesy and respect. --- We will promptly answer our customers' questions with accurate, objective information. --- We will resolve our customers' needs through single-point contact whenever possible -- our customers will not receive the "runaround." --- We will provide educational information to our customers about the resources we manage, their use, and the laws and regulations governing their use. --- We will use language that our customers can easily understand. --- We will ask for and consider our customers' ideas about agency plans, programs, and services. --- We will promptly respond to our customers' suggestions, concerns, and complaints. Minerals Management Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Offshore Minerals Management Alaska Regional Public Information Office -- Pilot Project: --- The buck stops here when it comes to assisting people lost and wandering in the bureaucratic maze of government. --- Walk-in customers have priority and will be promptly acknowledged and assisted as soon as possible. --- All information will be current and correct. Staff will find the answer or find a more knowledgeable person to assist. We will never guess. --- Not all questions have answers. If the answer can't be found, that fact will be reported to the customer. --- Customers are never sent to another office or agency cold. Staff will check to ensure the office is the correct one and also that the contact person is available. --- Before leaving, all customers will be asked, "Does this completely answer your question?" The Gulf of Mexico Public Information Office -- Pilot Project: --- When you enter our office you will be promptly acknowledged. --- We will be sensitive to your information needs. --- You can expect to be treated with courtesy at all times. --- We will make a sincere effort to provide you with information in a timely manner. --- We will strive to accurately respond to your request. Pacific Regional Public Information Office -- Pilot Project: --- First class is our game and you will be treated the same. Customers visiting the Pacific Region are our number one priority. --- We will greet you with a smile and give you prompt assistance. Your needs are important to us. --- We are as time-conscious as you are. We will try to get you what you need as quickly as possible. Royalty Management Program Farmington, New Mexico -- Pilot Project: Our aim is to continually improve service to you. If you would like to make a comment or complaint, please feel free to use the comment card available from any of our employees. --- Prompt, personal attention (an interpreter will be provided if necessary). You will be treated with courtesy and respect. --- Accurate information. Your questions will be answered before you leave, or you will receive periodic status reports until the issues are resolved. --- You will not be sent to another office unless absolutely necessary. --- Easy access to us. You can come to our office; you can call our free telephone number (1-800-238-2839); or we will meet with you at a more convenient location at your request. Oklahoma City -- Pilot Project: --- Assist our customers with the same high standards we expect as customers. --- Listen to your royalty issues and assume responsibility for coordinating the resolution of your concerns. --- Meet you elsewhere to help you understand the royalty process as it affects you if you cannot come to our office. --- Seek your ideas to help us improve our services by routinely requesting your input on our performance and professionalism. National Park Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Promotes and regulates the use of national parks, monuments, and reservations. We pledge to: --- Protect your right to experience superlative wilderness and scenic grandeur. --- Communicate an understanding of the people, places, and events that shaped these United States. --- Provide opportunities for quality outdoor recreation while conserving exceptional natural, cultural, and historical resources. --- Make the beauty and history of our nation's parklands a more meaningful part of the life of all Americans. --- Manage the National Park System so that everyone, now and in the future, may be assured the right of enjoying the parks. --- Seek out and protect the finest of what remains unprotected of the nation's natural, cultural, historical, and recreational resources. --- Join in partnerships throughout this and other nations in conserving and maintaining a quality world environment. Visitor Centers --- We will keep the center open during peak hours and seasons and provide alternative sources of information when the center is closed. --- We will maintain the facility in a clean, safe condition. --- We will answer your questions or refer you to additional sources of assistance. --- We will make special efforts to inform you of hazards and situations that may adversely affect your visit. --- We will provide and maintain exhibits and audio-visual programs that impart understanding and stimulate appreciation of the park and its significant natural, historical, cultural, and recreational values. --- We will display schedules of programs and activities available throughout the park. --- We will offer a wide range of quality, park-related educational items at fair market value sold in well-maintained outlets. *********************************** The Research and Academic Community *********************************** ************************* Department of Agriculture ************************* Economic Agencies ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Economic Research Service, World Agricultural Outlook Board, and National Agricultural Statistics Service Provide information and analyses for improving the performance of agriculture and the well-being of rural America. We will: --- Respond to each customer in a courteous and helpful manner. --- Accurately direct you to the person or agency with the information you need. --- Provide complete, accurate information about our programs, products, and services in plain language. --- Make it easy to find and order reports. --- Deliver promised information promptly. --- Explain why, when we cannot meet your request. --- Deliver services without discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, and marital or family status. Service you can expect from the ERS-NASS sales desk: --- Your call will be answered promptly and courteously by a knowledgeable operator. Occasionally, the volume of calls may require that your call be placed on hold for a short time, but we won't forget you! --- If you are calling for the first time, the operator will ask for your name and address and will give you a customer ID number to expedite your next order. --- Orders for monographs, electronic data products, and single copies of periodicals will be mailed first-class within five working days. --- Payment choices include MasterCard or Visa, or check or money order (U.S. funds only). --- You will receive two renewal notices before subscriptions expire. --- ERS-NASS operators can answer your questions regarding the current status of your account, including payment, issues due, billing, and other questions. Errors will be corrected promptly. --- You can request expedited shipment of your order via Federal Express at your expense. ********************** Department of Commerce ********************** Bureau of Economic Analysis ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Provides economic data on the U.S. economy and its position in the global market. --- BEA will meet its published annual calendar of news release dates. Any changes in these dates will be announced as far in advance as possible. --- BEA will provide access to news releases on the EBB (Economic Bulletin Board), EBB FAX, and recorded telephone messages at the time of release. --- BEA staff will respond to customer correspondence within five business days. --- BEA staff will return customer phone calls within one business day. --- BEA will ship off-the-shelf products within three business days. Bureau of the Census ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Data Users Services Division Provides a variety of products and services based on Census data. --- Phone calls. We will answer phone calls to the standard Customer Services telephone number (301-763-4100) within one minute after the introductory message ends. --- Shipping orders. We will ship items for off-the-shelf orders within one working day. --- Custom orders. We will ship orders for custom products as stated by the customer service representative. --- Courtesy. Our telephone reference staff will be courteous, knowledgeable, and businesslike. --- Guarantee. We guarantee that you will be happy with our product or you can return it for a full refund within 30 days. --- Complaints and questions. Customers phoning or faxing a complaint or inquiry will receive an initial response within three hours. All problems will be resolved within one working day. Economics and Statistics Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ STAT-USA Provides business, trade, and economic information. Files on the Economic Bulletin Board (EBB): --- We will post all files on the EBB within 30 minutes of receipt from the originating agency. Order fulfillment: --- We will ship CD-ROM orders by first-class mail the next business day after we accept the order. --- If we do not ship your order on the next business day, we will send you one CD-ROM free. Technical assistance: --- All technical assistance calls will be resolved within 24 hours. If the problem requires more time to resolve, we will keep you posted of our progress. --- If you forgot your EBB password, please give us 24 hours to identify it. We will call the owner of the account back with the information. --- We will do our best answer your questions. If we do not know the answer, we will direct you to someone who does. Billing: --- For our CD-ROM subscription services, you will receive a reminder to renew the subscription 45 days in advance of the subscription expiration date. If we do not receive payment from you, we will stop the subscription. --- For our EBB subscription service, we will include renewal charges in your trimesterly bill. We will also send you additional reminder notices. You will have 90 days after the date of the first bill to return payment to us. If you cannot return payment to us within this time period, we reserve the right to deactivate your account. However, please contact us if you need additional time and we will extend the grace period. You can expect us to: --- Give you our name when we answer the phone or write to you. --- Be polite, considerate, open, and honest. --- Give you accurate information about our products and services. --- Apologize if we get things wrong, explain what happened, and make things right. --- Deliver our services fairly and to the same high standards to all our clients regardless of sex, race, disability, religion, and age. Person to person: --- We will regularly ask our clients what they think of our services -- and we will share those results with you. --- STAT-USA wants to hear from you, whether it's good news or bad. All of our managers can be reached by mail, telephone, or e-mail. National Institute of Standards and Technology ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Develops and distributes Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) for use in the control of production processes and in measurement assurance programs. --- We will deliver SRMs to you within 24 hours of order upon request. --- Your call to order SRMs will be answered within 30 seconds. --- We will work with our customers to ensure that SRMs permit you to attain more accurate measures; serve as an industrywide standard for commerce; and are highly characterized materials useful to science, industry, and government. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Aeronautical Charts and Related Data Provides aeronautical chart products and services. We promise: --- To provide you products with no defects. --- To work closely with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Defense Mapping Agency, through the Interagency Air Cartographic Committee, to maintain and develop aeronautical chart specifications for your existing and emerging charting needs. --- To preserve our perfect record of meeting all print cycles and to continue to meet our high-quality, printed image standards of +.003 accuracy. --- To deliver aeronautical and nautical products to you who are our domestic customers within two weeks of receiving your order. --- To ensure we have appropriate stock quantities of products, while minimizing costly condemnation of obsolete products. --- To reply to your inquiries in a timely manner by: -- responding, the same business day, to your telephone inquiries about obtaining our products; -- responding to your recorded messages on our 24-hour toll-free customer service lines within three working days; and -- responding to written correspondence (other than orders for products) within three weeks. --- To promote our understanding of your needs and your awareness of our products and services by: -- continuing to hold a workshop for NOS Chart Agents approximately every 18 months; -- actively participating in a wide variety of conferences, committees and workshops; -- marketing our products and services at air shows and technical conferences; -- conducting professional surveys as needed; and -- continuing our outreach program to aviation schools, flying clubs, and the general public. --- To always be polite, considerate, and honest, and to ensure our products and services meet or exceed your expectations. --- To apologize to you when things go wrong, explain what happened, and do our very best to correct the problem promptly. Geodetic Data and Related Products Provides geodectic data, aerial photographs, applications software, and related publications and services. We will be: --- Working closely with the Federal Geodetic Control Subcommittee of the Federal Geographic Data Committee to develop standards and specifications to guide you in conducting geodetic and photogrammetric surveys. --- Using the highest standards of quality, service, and integrity to improve our responsiveness to user requests. We will investigate, evaluate, and pursue, where feasible, the newest developments in surveying technology, database systems, and telecommunications, as well as programs for the transfer of technology, to enable our customers to accomplish their missions in a more efficient and cost- effective manner. --- Delivering geodetic data products to our domestic customers within one week of receiving your order. --- Ensuring we have appropriate stock quantities of products. --- Responding the same business day to your telephone requests for our products. --- Responding to your telephone messages within one working day. --- Supporting professional workshops on geodetic surveying and related activities nationwide through cooperative arrangements with universities, professional societies, and state license boards. --- Participating in a wide variety of conferences, committees, and technical workshops. --- Continuing our outreach program to schools, professional societies, and the general public. --- Being polite, considerate, and honest, and ensuring our products and services meet or exceed your expectations. --- Doing our best to correct a problem promptly if things go wrong. Grants Management Awards grants and cooperative agreements for a variety of scientific and environmental projects. --- Applicant notification: Applicants for NOAA grants and cooperative agreements will be notified within two weeks after receipt of the application by the Grants Management Division. --- Application processing: Complete fundable applications approved by program offices with funds available will be processed and awarded within 60 days after receipt by the Grants Management Division. --- Simplified requirements: Application paperwork and budget justification requirements will be kept to a minimum. --- Responsive communications: Responses to written communications from grantees requesting approval for budget revisions, etc., will be mailed within one month after receipt. Requests for information by telephone or by electronic mail will be answered within 24 hours. --- Recipient training: Annual workshops will be conducted, providing opportunities for NOAA program staff, applicants, and recipients to exchange information and upgrade grants and cooperative agreement administration skills. --- Timely close-out: Within 90 days after an award expires and unexpended funds are returned to NOAA, a close-out letter will be issued. National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service Gathers and distributes the nation's environmental satellite and oceanographic data. We will serve you in the area of data quality by: --- Addressing the accuracy of measurements and the probability that any observation is consistent with this accuracy. We will serve you in the area of data continuity by: --- Addressing the compatibility between past and present data relative to a homogeneous and continuous record. --- Improving climate and ocean prediction through access to NOAA's quality databases. --- Improving business decisions using NOAA's national and international data holdings. We will serve you in the area of customer service by: --- Hosting workshops and data advisory groups twice a year. --- Hosting user-based demonstrations and validations twice a year. --- Improving access to data and information via on-line services, as opposed to telephone requests; will improve response time by one day to two weeks. --- Providing response to standard customer orders in fewer than 14 working days and rush orders in fewer than five working days. Space Environment Laboratory Reduce adverse effects of solar-terrestrial disturbances on human activities. We continually strive to improve our forecasts by constantly assimilating data to: --- Continuously monitor, analyze and forecast the environment between Sun and Earth providing forecasts once a day, updated every three hours, and continuous real-time data and nowcasts. --- Conduct research in solar-terrestrial physics, developing techniques for forecasting solar and geophysical disturbances. On average 30 new techniques per year have been implemented. --- Improve the timeliness and accuracy of SEL's data by using new instruments and observing techniques. Incremental increases are marked every solar cycle. --- Take a leading role in advocating and designing new data systems that will fly on government satellites, including three types of sensors on GOES, one on TIROS, the future Solar X-ray Imager on GOES, and vital satellite instrumentation at the L1 position. --- For every manned space flight, provide mission support to protect astronauts from changes in the solar environment. National Technical Information Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ FedWorldTM On-line System Acts as an information clearinghouse. --- Your access to FedWorld will continue to be provided at no charge. --- Products you order by credit card for download will be delivered within 30 seconds. --- Your calls to the Help Desk will be answered by a person, not a recording, 24 hours a day. --- We will continue to make information accessible in whatever electronic formats meet your needs and expectations. Patent and Trademark Office ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Examines and issues patents and trademarks. --- We will treat our customers with courtesy each time they contact us and, if appropriate, will direct them promptly to the proper office or person. --- If an employee being called is not available, they will return the call by the next business day or, if requested by the caller, an alternate point of contact will be provided. --- We will ensure that our written communications clearly set forth the technical, procedural, and legal position of patent examiners and trademark examining attorneys. --- Our correspondence with customers will be legible and of good print quality. --- We will widely disseminate information about changes in practice and procedures to ensure that both employees and our customers know about changes prior to their effective date. --- We will respond to status letters within 30 days from the date received. Patent standards: --- We will deliver facsimile transmission of properly addressed papers marked "Informal" or "Draft" to the examiner within one business day. Facsimile transmissions of properly addressed formal amendments after final rejection will be matched with the appropriate files and delivered to the examiner within three business days of receipt. --- We will correctly generate and mail a notice indicating the application number, date of filing, and the title of invention for complete, standard applications. These notices will be mailed within 19 calendar days of receipt of the application. --- We will conduct a thorough search of relevant U.S. patents, foreign patent literature, and non-patent literature contained in our search files and, where appropriate, a reasonable search of other non-patent literature during the patent examination process. Trademark standards: --- We will correctly generate and mail filing notices within 30 days of receipt with a goal of reducing the processing time to 14 days by September 30, 1995. --- We will examine new applications and provide a written first communication regarding registration within three months of the filing date. --- We will make a determination of the registrability of trademarks within 13 months of receipt of the application in the PTO. --- We will issue correct Notices of Abandonment within 45 days of the date the file was abandoned. --- We will issue correct Notices of Publishment within 30 days of the date the file is approved. --- We will mail correct certificates of registration within seven days of the date of registration. *********************** Department of Education *********************** Ensures equal access to education and promotes education excellence nationally. Anyone we deal with can expect: --- You will receive individual attention and prompt, professional service. You will be valued. --- We will seek to meet your needs and expectations. We will build a relationship with you. --- We will provide information that is timely, dependable, and accurate. We will serve you. --- You will have easy access to services and information. We will use the latest technology to enhance your access. --- We will provide you every opportunity to give input and feedback. We will listen to you. Goals 2000: Educate America Act ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The Goals 2000 Act, which focuses the nation's attention on challenging academic and occupational standards, was passed with input from a wide range of bipartisan supporters including state governors and legislators, educators, researchers, policy makers, and parents. To be considered for funding, states complete only a short, simple grant application. We respond in writing to all applications within 15 days. This act is a cornerstone of the department's improvement agenda. The Act establishes the National Education Goals for the year 2000. They are as follows: --- School readiness: All children in America will start school ready to learn. --- School completion: The high school graduation rate will increase to at least 90 percent. --- Student achievement and citizenship: All students will leave grades 4, 8, and 12 having demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter, including English, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography; and every school in America will ensure that all students learn to use their minds well, so they may be prepared for responsible citizenship, further learning, and productive employment in our nation's economy. --- Mathematics and science: The nation's students will be first in the world in mathematics and science achievement. --- Adult literacy and lifelong learning: Every adult American will be literate and will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy and exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. --- Safe, disciplined, and drug-free schools: Every school in the United States will be free of drugs, violence, and the unauthorized presence of firearms and alcohol, and will offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning. --- Teacher education and professional development: The nation's teaching force will have access to programs for the continued improvement of its professional skills and the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to instruct and prepare all American students for the next century. --- Parental participation: Every school will promote partnerships that will increase parental involvement and participation in promoting the social, emotional, and academic growth of children. Impact Aid ^^^^^^^^^^ Grants available to local school systems whose resources are affected by federal operations. Based on a customer survey indicating that more than half of our customers were dissatisfied with the timeliness of their payments, we instituted a new standard: --- All applicants that submit a problem-free application receive their payments within 45 days of receipt. Office for Civil Rights ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Responding promptly to complaints, we revised our complaint resolution procedures to provide better service and faster resolution of civil rights complaints filed against educational institutions: --- Within five days of receipt, we respond to all complaints and provide information on complaint resolution procedures. --- We offer all parties a range of options, such as mediation, early complaint resolution, and fact-finding conferences. Student Financial Assistance Program ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The Student Financial Assistance Program has established a Customer Support Inquiry Service that provides a single point of contact for answers to policy questions and resolves issues that cut across postsecondary programs. This service is provided to postsecondary institutions, lenders, guaranty agencies, and other financial providers. --- Once a question is posed and forwarded to the appropriate person, we respond within three days. ******************** Department of Energy ******************** Industrial Competitiveness ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ By partnering with our customers, we will develop integrated program plans that improve partnerships in a measurable way; we'll work with public and private business networks to reach small businesses, which create 80 percent of the new jobs in the United States. We will streamline our partnership process by reducing cycle time, cutting red tape, and being more responsive to our customers' needs and expectations. --- Effective immediately, Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) will be processed in less than 16 weeks on average. --- Effective immediately, we will devote no less than 15 percent of the department's research and development resources toward partnerships with the private sector. --- We will increase grants to minority education from $24 million in 1993 to $75 million in 1995. We will increase contracts with small, minority, and women-owned businesses from $3.3 billion in 1993 to $4.5 billion by October 1994, resulting in equal opportunities to form partnerships will the department's programs, laboratories, and facilities. Science and Technology ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Financial Assistance Basic and applied research supported by the Science and Technology business line will ensure the development of new technologies that advance fundamental research capabilities and reduce costs, as indicated by the high quality and relevance to mission applications that emerge from the research. This quality and relevance is assured through the use of peer/merit review process that selects awardees that supplement and complement the work of the DOE National Laboratories. This process is being streamlined and is addressed by the following standards: --- By June 1995, improve response to customer applications by acknowledgment in writing within 30 days of receipt. --- By June 1995, extend utilization of scientific/technical merit review for all accepted proposals. Each proposal will be reviewed by at least three qualified reviewers. --- Reduce the time for determination of awards by October 1996. Solicited applications will be decided within one year; unsolicited applications will be decided within six months. ******************************************* Department of Housing and Urban Development ******************************************* Policy Development and Research ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Researches and evaluates how HUD programs function and how they can be improved. --- PD&R will publish and mail to all organizations on the PD&R database a list of topics and research issues that constitute the current research agenda. --- PD&R will utilize the full range of contracting mechanisms to allow participation by all types of organizations in HUD research. PD&R will target a portion of its contracting to organizations that have not traditionally participated in HUD research, including small and minority- and women-owned businesses. --- PD&R will continue to clarify and simplify its Requests for Proposals and hold pre-proposal conferences whenever necessary. --- PD&R staff will keep abreast of the latest analytical techniques and research methodologies. ************************** Department of the Interior ************************** Bureau of Mines ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Provides information on minerals for use in assessing U.S. economic and defense needs. --- You will be treated with courtesy every time you contact us. --- We will provide you with all the information you need, or obtain the information for you, with a minimum number of referrals to other organizations. --- When you call our public inquiries number for service, you will reach us on the first call. --- We will answer your requests as quickly as possible. If we cannot give you the information you need at the time you call, we will do so within one working day or call you back to let you know the progress we are making on your request. --- When you write to us requesting general information materials, we will mail them to you within one working day. When you write and ask for more specific technical information, we will respond within five working days with either the information you need or a postcard acknowledging receipt of your request and reporting the status of our response. --- We will provide you easy access to our information. You can talk to us from 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. --- We will make our information available electronically (INTERNET, CD-ROM, Mines FAXBACK) and give you the instructions and information you need to take advantage of these sources. National Biological Survey ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Provides biological and ecological information to both the public and private sectors. --- Research Information Bulletins edited and prepared for distribution within 60 days of submission of the draft manuscript. --- Immediate electronic access to Research Information Bulletins that have already been edited and prepared for distribution. --- Literature searches completed and sent to clients within five days of receipt of their request. --- Research findings are tested for scientific quality through peer review by other qualified scientists before publication. --- 80 percent or more of our products rated by clients at or above level three on the following satisfaction scale: 4. Very satisfied 3. Satisfied 2. Dissatisfied 1. Very dissatisfied --- These products will be accompanied by "Client Response" sheets inviting clients to voluntarily rate and comment on them. Results will be monitored and used in pursuit of constant improvement. --- Our long-term goal is to achieve an average client satisfaction rating very near level 4 -- "very satisfied." U.S. Geological Survey ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Minerals Information Offices --- Each customer will be treated with dignity, respect, and courtesy. --- Each request will be researched using all means available to provide the highest quality response. --- Each request will be analyzed to determine what data are available that best suits each customer's needs. A plan will be developed to deliver the response in the format that best suits those needs. --- Requests will be filled immediately, if possible; if not possible, a time for the reply will be established. --- Opportunities for additional service will be explored with each customer, as needed. National Earthquake Information Center --- We will provide information 24 hours a day on the location and magnitude of significant earthquakes in the United States and around the world. --- Rapid reports will be issued for earthquakes that register at least magnitude 4.5 or greater in the United States, any felt and damaging earthquakes, or earthquakes of magnitude 6.5 elsewhere or when damage has occurred. This information will be provided within 20 to 30 minutes of the time of the event. --- You will be treated with courtesy every time you contact us. --- We will provide you with information about other USGS products, services, and other sources of information if possible. --- Orders for CD-ROMs, software products, publications, maps, and posters will be processed within five working days of receipt. Under special circumstances, such as after a major, damaging earthquake, a time for the reply will be established. Reston Earth Science Information Center --- We will treat each customer with courtesy and respect. --- We will provide quick, thorough, and responsive access to product information and ordering including the 1-800 number and electronic ordering. --- We will eliminate processes, procedures, and rules that are roadblocks to success. --- There will be no unreconcilable mistakes allowed in the handling of the customers' accounts or money. Technology Information Center and Microcomputer Training Center in Denver, Colorado Offers classes in how to use the USGS databases. Before class: --- Between 9:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. we will take your registration information by phone and immediately register you in the first available class. --- You may leave a message at any other time and you will be called back within one working day. --- You will be sent a confirmation letter within one day of your registration listing class prerequisites, date, time, and location. During class: --- Classes will begin on time. --- The latest version of the software will be loaded and ready to go, and all sample files will be loaded. --- You will receive either comprehensive notes for the class or a textbook to take with you. After class: --- We will answer questions on the subjects we teach. Our commitment to you: --- We will help you as soon as possible. --- We will not keep you waiting unnecessarily. --- If a staff person cannot answer the phone personally, your call will be returned the same day. Washington Administrative Service Center The lead Interior organization for supporting the information systems needs of other Interior bureaus and other federal agencies. We will: --- Provide fully integrated systems to process the administrative workload and to attain the maximum effectiveness from our staff. --- Implement a Customer Service Level Agreement (CSLA) between the WASC and its customers. --- CSLAs will be customized to meet the technical support services required by each customer. --- CSLAs will measure, monitor, analyze, and project current and future hardware, software, telecommunications, and user assistance. --- Annual reviews of each CSLA will be scheduled between both parties to discuss and modify the document. --- A complaint process will be established to resolve problems. --- The WASC will advise the customer of the status of their problem within 24 hours of initial contact. --- The WASC will maintain a hot-line number for emergency situations. --- WASC technical staff will be on call "around the clock." ********************************************* National Aeronautics and Space Administration ********************************************* Education and Materials Services ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Advances the nation's education goals through expanding and enhancing the scientific technological competence of all students and educators. We will provide: --- A physical presence in each state (through the NASA Teacher Resource Center Network, precollege outreach programs, and the Space Grant College and Fellowship Program). --- Electronic information systems (NASA television, NASA Spacelink, and FEDIX). Mission to Planet Earth ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Provides the foundation for long-term environment and climatic monitoring and prediction. In July 1994, the prototype of the EOSDIS, Version 0, became available with some operational elements. The fully operational EOSDIS will: --- Fill 95 percent of all user requests to the system within 72 hours. --- Provide for continuous production of geophysical and biophysical data products flowing from the Earth Observing System by the year 2004. ******************************************** National Archives and Records Administration ******************************************** Accesses, arranges, describes, preserves, and makes available to the public the historically valuable records of the three branches of government. --- We will treat all of our customers with courtesy. --- We will meet or beat our established deadlines for providing customer service. --- We will provide to our customers competent service by knowledgeable staff. --- We will provide informational products to meet our customers' needs. If you call or visit one of our facilities: --- You will find Archives staff and volunteers available in all offices to assist you during posted business hours. Our business hours will be prominently posted at all sites and noted in our brochures and through other information sources. If you visit one of our facilities for research: --- You will receive the records you request for use in our research rooms within one hour of your request or, in research rooms that have pull schedules, within one hour of the next pull time. If a delay is encountered, you will be notified of the problem and given an indication of when the records will be available. --- You will receive the information or assistance you need on how to use our self-service holdings within 15 minutes of signing into a research room. --- In Federal Records Centers, the records you requested will be waiting for you at your appointed time. If you write to us about our holdings: --- You will be sent a response to your written request about our holdings within 10 work days after we receive your letter. If we cannot provide a full response within that time, we will tell you that we have received your request and tell you how long we expect it will take before we can provide a full reply. If you need information about the National Archives: --- You can obtain timely and up-to-date information about NARA, its services, and holdings through the Internet and other on-line services, our fax-on-demand service, through printed publications, or by contacting one of our offices. If you need information about government rules and announcements: --- You will be provided with timely information on a daily basis through the Federal Register on the following: -- presidential proclamations and executive orders -- proposed rules and final regulations -- public meetings -- federal grants This information is published in print and in electronic form by the Government Printing Office. If things go wrong: --- If our service has not matched our values and standards for customer service, we want to know so that we can do something about it and get it right the next time. Our local complaints and suggestions procedures are as follows. You may: -- Ask to speak to the person you dealt with. -- Use our Suggestion/Complaint comment form (NA Form 14045). You can mail it or drop it in the box provided. Or, you can simply write us a letter. If you request a reply, we will provide a response within seven working days. -- Speak or write to the supervisor in charge. If we cannot solve your problem immediately, we will provide a response within seven working days. If you are still not satisfied that we have handled your complaint or provided the service we promised, you can write to the Assistant Archivist for the office with which you have been dealing. *************************** National Science Foundation *************************** In implementing the services for funding the most meritorious projects in its research and science, mathematics and engineering education programs, NSF is committed to: --- Disseminate information about NSF practices and policies widely among grantees and potential grantees. Make program announcements and solicitations available to relevant individuals and organizations at least two months prior to any deadline for proposals. --- Specify clearly the guidelines for content/preparation of proposals, criteria, and process for selecting award recipients, and reporting and other special award requirements. --- Conduct a fair and reasonable review of all proposals. --- Make a final decision on proposals and inform the applicants of the decisions within six months of the NSF's receipt of the proposal. --- Provide information that explains the final funding decision regarding the proposal. For services to award recipients in the post-award period, NSF is committed to: --- Allow for page charges and related publication costs on awards. --- Normally not restrict, or take any part of income from, publications of writings produced under research, education, or training awards. --- Permit inventing organizations usually to retain patent rights. --- Reference in award documents the terms and conditions necessary for the recipient organization to administer the awards. --- Provide timely, clear, and appropriate responses to requests by grantees of clarification of award terms and conditions, for approvals and requests for additional funding, and for administrative or technical advice related to the award or award activity. For the service of providing information and analyses on the status and needs of the sciences and fields of engineering and on scientific and engineering resources to the policy and research communities, NSF commits itself to: --- Publish data that accurately represent survey results and are free of subjective commentary. --- Document the presentation of the data so that readers can assess readily the limitations of the data. ************************************** States, Localities, and Other Partners ************************************** ********************* Department of Defense ********************* Economic Adjustment Assistance ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ --- When a request for assistance is received from a local official, an Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) staff person responds within one working day. The Defense Economic Adjustment Program is explained and preliminary arrangements are made for a community visit. --- A meeting is scheduled in the community where the OEA Director explains the economic adjustment process, emphasizes the importance of the adjustment organization, and details the services to be provided by OEA and the Economic Adjustment Committee agencies. The OEA project manager then works with the community until the appropriate group is in place. --- The OEA Project Manager's extensive experience is a major factor in providing this service. Once agreement is reached on what the requirements are and the paperwork finalized, OEA can process a request for financial assistance within seven days. --- OEA hosts federal team visits to communities so that community and federal representatives can develop an action plan for assistance. OEA meets regularly with federal representatives to review OEA customer requirements, and to ensure requests are afforded priority consideration. Economic Security ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Base Realignment and Closure Activities --- We will respond to correspondence within 14 days. --- We will resolve Base Closure Status Report (BCSR) issues within 30 days. --- Upon publication of the BCSR, fewer than 25 percent of the issues identified will be outstanding. --- We will do such a good job that we will receive complaints from fewer than 10 percent of Base Realignment and Closure sites. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Disaster Response and Recovery Supplements state and local efforts to save human life, prevent immediate human suffering, or mitigate property damage. --- We will inform state and local officials of our policies and authorities, and participate in their emergency seminars and exercises when asked. --- We will provide emergency operations assistance (such as providing sandbags, pumps, technical assistance, etc.), when requested and in compliance with Public Law 84-99. --- We will provide post-flood assistance to include technical advice and assistance, debris clearance, debris removal, and temporary restoration of critical public facilities or services, and identify hazard mitigation opportunities as part of our interagency team. --- We will provide temporary assistance for emergency water supply as a result of a drought or contaminated source for up to 30 days or until the Federal Emergency Management Agency undertakes the provision of emergency water under its own authorities, whichever is earlier. Environmental Management Incorporates ecosystem management considerations in all aspects of its water resource projects, including those for navigation, flood control, storm damage reduction, hydroelectric, and recreation. --- We will work hand-in-hand with states, cities, and municipalities to fund, plan, and implement needed water and environmental projects that meet federal criteria. --- When recommending projects, we will carefully weigh costs and benefits to the environment with economic costs nd benefits, reconciling society's demands with the vital need to sustain the our natural environment. --- When requested by EPA or other federal agency, we will quickly apply our know-how in environmental engineering and management to investigate hazardous and toxic waste on defense sites, and clean them promptly and thoroughly as funding allows. --- We will continue to work with the public and industry through our four research laboratories to develop new technological solutions to environmental concerns and to make them available quickly. Water Resources Operation and Maintenance Operates 234 locks, dredges over 900 harbors, operates and maintains 383 major lakes and reservoirs for flood control, maintains 2,500 recreation sites, and provides hydropower at 75 sites. --- We will publish all scheduled lock outages and maintain procedures for notification of unscheduled outages. --- We will coordinate and share information with federal, state, and local officials of potential flood conditions. --- We will maintain the harbors and rivers of America's waterways so that they are open to traffic. --- We will maintain all recreation facilities in a clean and safe condition, and we will treat all of our visitors courteously. Water Resources Planning, Engineering, and Construction Provides developmental capabilities for water resources projects affecting the United States, in partnership with state and local communities. --- We will work closely with other federal government, state, and local officials to complete a definition of the problem with a goal of completing this activity for large projects within two years. These studies will be federally funded. --- We will work to develop a feasibility report of potential solution(s) for large projects within four years, for referral for action to Congress. These studies will be cost-shared. --- For those projects authorized, we will complete preconstruction engineering and design within two years. The design is federally funded up-front. The local sponsor will be asked to share design and construction costs when the project is under construction. --- We will provide the sponsor with an estimate of the construction costs and schedule prior to construction, and we will meet regularly with the sponsor to manage risks. ******************** Department of Energy ******************** Energy Resources ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The number one goal of the Department's Energy Resources Business Line in fiscal year 1995 will be to advance the nation's capability to deliver clean, efficient, reliable, equitable, and cost-effective energy services to the American people. With this goal in mind, we will: --- Expand the Clean Cities Program to 25 cities by December 1994. --- Add 12,250 alternative fuel vehicles to the federal fleet and promote the opening of over 60 private sector refueling stations for these vehicles by October 1995. --- Establish 12 new Cooperative Research and Development Agreements with the automotive industry to develop cleaner cars, with the goal of increasing transportation energy efficiency, lowering air pollution levels, and reducing the nation's dependence on imported oil, by October 1995. --- Implement climate change programs to reduce domestic greenhouse gases by 4 percent by the year 2000. --- Provide funds for weatherizing 126,000 homes, and upgrading 1,350 schools and hospitals by October 1995. --- By the year 2000, increase the use of clean domestic natural gas to an estimated 22 trillion cubic feet, an increase of approximately 18 percent. --- Create 20,000 new jobs through the implementation of energy efficiency programs that promote private sector investment by October 1995. *************************************** Department of Health and Human Services *************************************** Health Care Financing Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Manages the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Written responses: --- We will answer your written inquiries within 30 days of receipt. If getting you an accurate answer will take longer, we will keep you informed. Telephone standards: --- We will respond to your telephone inquiries in a pleasant and helpful manner. We will provide an immediate answer whenever possible. If we cannot provide an immediate answer, we will give you a firm commitment as to when an answer can be provided. --- Nobody likes to be put on hold. Our standard is that callers will be "on hold" for no more than two minutes. --- Calls made in off hours will be returned the next business day. Information needs: --- We are asking our customers to help us improve all of our publications and notices so they can be understood by our customers. We will begin using new publications and notices beginning early next year. Claims processing (Medicare): --- We are currently working hard to simplify our claims processing system to provide you with more consistent determinations. --- We will process your claims for service accurately and within the times provided for in the law. --- If you are not satisfied with the action we take on your claim, you can appeal and we will process your appeal fairly, accurately, and within established timeframes. We are working to reduce the paperwork burden associated with appeals. Customer satisfaction: --- We will measure your satisfaction with Medicare and Medicaid through the use of customer surveys, focus groups, public comments, and meetings with customer representatives. --- We are setting up groups of customers who volunteer to give us assistance in setting standards and evaluating our performance. --- We will identify customers who have special needs related to vision, hearing, mobility, health status, literacy, language, and other factors. We will make a special effort to help these customers with access to services and information. Health care choices: --- We will provide clear, understandable information about the options our customers have in choosing a managed health care plan, including information about individual plans, to assist them in making health care decisions. Medicaid special standard: --- We will encourage all states to establish customer service standards for Medicaid, and we will work with them to assure a goal of continuous improvement in customer service and program administration. Health care quality: --- We will provide doctors and hospitals with information they can use to give better care to our beneficiaries, and we will monitor the effect of those activities. --- We will expedite our investigative and case review process as much as the law will permit when a complaint involves quality issues. --- We will respond to verbal or written complaints from beneficiaries or their representatives by mailing a complaint form to them within two working days of the telephone contact or responding in writing to written beneficiary complaints within 10 working days. Program administration: --- We will fully investigate all leads about potential program fraud and abuse in order to protect against unnecessary expenditures. --- We will work with our partners, our agents, states, other interested parties, and our customers to identify and implement creative and effective approaches to improving our programs and our performance. ******************************************* Department of Housing and Urban Development ******************************************* Community Planning and Development ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Stimulates community development through grants and loans to states, localities, and nonprofit organizations. HUD has provided a point of departure for field offices in setting standards. Field offices are to take into account their local situation. Standards are to address these areas: --- Caring and commitment. A critical, but perhaps unmeasurable, standard for treating customers is the intangible factor of motivation to achieve the underlying mission of the department: caring about the needs of clients of HUD and helping them solve their problems. --- Timeliness. A common standard for customer service is timeliness. An important CPD standard established in the Consolidated Plan rule for responding to local partners is that CPD has 60 days to review the plan. Section I cites a timeliness standard imposed on grantees, in response to customer complaints from the public, of 15 working days. --- Flexibility in methods of achieving goals. CPD should allow its local partners flexibility, within the framework of the statutes, to achieve goals. --- Performance orientation. CPD should help ensure that our local partners produce results that serve our clients. --- Courtesy and respect. Every HUD customer deserves respect and courtesy. --- Honesty and integrity. Strict adherence to the federal government's ethics code and the department's own standards of conduct is a critical part of maintaining proper relationships with customers. --- Fairness and impartiality. Customers are entitled to equal treatment with respect to the services for which they are eligible. --- Information accuracy and availability. HUD customers rely on accurate, timely, and complete information concerning CPD, HUD, and federal programs. --- Clarity. Communication with the public, state, and local partners should be in terms that the general public can understand. --- Competence. In order to provide accurate and timely information, CPD staff should be knowledgeable in the program areas or processes for which they are responsible. --- Partnerships and entrusting authority. Partnership is the emphasis in CPD in working with state and local governments and nonprofit agencies to serve end-users. --- Responsiveness to needs of end-users. The needs of low- and moderate-income end-users of CPD program assistance vary from place to place and change over time. --- Accountability. With greater decentralized authority to the field comes greater accountability. --- Evaluation and feedback. Part of any effort to improve performance in service clients should be systematic evaluation and feedback to improve service. Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Fair Housing Assistance Program Implements fair housing policies and enforces fair housing laws. Grants administration: --- Cooperative Agreements and pertinent attachments and appendices will be written in easily understood language with reimbursement requirements and time frames clearly set out. --- We will provide continuous technical assistance. --- We will provide updated information and materials that assist in carrying out the provisions of the Cooperative Agreement. Certification processing: --- Technical assistance will be provided to agencies seeking certification. All requests will be acknowledged within six months. --- Send agency's law or ordinance within three working days to the Office of General Counsel for legal analysis so an agreement between HUD and partner may be executed. --- Advance notice will be given of the date and documentation required for on-site technical assistance and performance assessment visits. Performance assessment: --- We will provide guidance on criteria to be used to assess agency's performance. Joint investigations: --- All joint investigations will be completed within 150 days. Referral of complaints: --- Referrals will be made in writing within five business days of HUD receipt of complaint. --- Determinations regarding jurisdiction under the Fair Housing Act will be made on all complaints before referral. --- Approvals and closures of active cases by HUD reviewers in the field offices will be made 90 days after receipt of the case. --- In-depth reviews of closed complaint files will be completed within six weeks. --- All dual-filed complaints will contain a HUD case number and an agency case file number. Technical assistance: --- We will provide guidance on drafting legislation. --- We will provide guidance on enforcement activities. --- We will provide testimony to legislators. --- We will provide assistance to agencies seeking certification. Training and policy guidance: --- Partners are to receive all information in an easily understood format and language. --- Technical assistance activities and materials provided will be timely and useful. --- We will provide updated and adequate policy guidance. --- We will provide training to improve investigative skills. Office of Housing/Federal Housing Authority ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Stimulates housing through direct financing, loan guarantees, interest rate subsidies, mortgage insurance, etc. You can expect our employees to meet the following standards: Respect: --- Every customer is entitled to courteous treatment. --- Every employee represents the Office of Housing. --- Display name plates or wear name tags as appropriate. --- Identify yourself and your organization every time you have a customer. --- Don't drop the ball -- direct correspondence and telephone calls to the correct party. --- When transferring a customer, take time to reassure the customer that assistance can be obtained by speaking with another party in the office and that they are not being shuffled around. --- After assisting a customer, offer to provide additional assistance at a later time should the need arise. --- Provide a "real person" alternative to all voice-mail messages. --- Strive to provide foreign-language alternatives and alternatives for the deaf and blind, when necessary. Quality products: --- Provide all available information to a customer on the first call or letter; ensure that all questions are answered. --- Write in plain English, not technical or government jargon. --- Follow-up regularly to ensure that quality products are provided. --- Advise customers/partners in writing when new policies or changes are being considered; involve them in the development phase. --- Consider the needs of customers/partners when developing products and procedures. --- Apprise customers/partners of operational problems, e.g., don't wait for the customer to call only to be told the system they need is down. --- Reach out to customers -- go to their place of business when possible; conduct regular conference calls. --- Include a contact name, organization, telephone number, and effective date on every document, e.g., handbook, Mortgagee Letter, congressional and general correspondence. Timely service: --- Ensure adequate telephone coverage throughout the business day; answer all phone calls by the third ring. --- Respond to all telephone inquiries within 24 hours. --- Respond to written correspondence within 10 working days. --- Provide an interim response when a complete response requires extra time for research or there is a heavy workload. --- Provide "1-800" customer service numbers when possible and economically feasible. Results: --- Establish quantitative customer service goals and incorporate them into performance standards and Housing's Plan where possible. --- Establish quantitative processing standards for each program or function. --- Solicit feedback and react to customer comments. --- Train all employees regularly on customer service initiatives. --- Institute random supervisory quality control checks to ensure that appropriate and adequate customer service is provided. --- Encourage teamwork so all staff are thoroughly informed. --- Provide basic program training to clerical staff, particularly those who deal with the public. --- Include in the headquarters telephone directory and each field office telephone directory a contact name and telephone number for each program area, e.g., Single Family Mortgage Servicing, John Doe, 708-0000. --- Always conduct oneself as a representative of the organization. ************************** Department of the Interior ************************** Bureau of Indian Affairs ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Serves as the steward for Indian and Alaska Native lands and monies held in trust by the United States. By the end of fiscal year 1995: --- We will provide you with up-to-date information about the status of your claim, application, case or inquiry on the day of your visit to our office. --- We will answer your telephone call in a pleasant, courteous manner and be responsive to your questions. We will return your phone call by close of business the next work day. If we are not able to assist you, we will direct you to the necessary office that will help you. --- We will response to your written inquiries within five days of receipt of your letter and we will seek resolution of your problems within 30 days. --- We will consult with and provide feedback to you regarding education issues under consideration through regularly held regional education consultation meetings. --- We will develop all new rules and regulations in partnership with tribes. --- We will establish a formal consultation process through which comments and concerns by tribal governments will be sought. --- We will deliver portable classrooms within one year of funding. Office of Territorial and International Affairs ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Coordinates Interior's international activities and represents the department's position in the development of U.S. foreign policy. Policy: --- We will consider all policy analysis important, regardless of whether our role in the process is large or small. We will participate in the process fully, courteously, professionally, and in a timely manner. --- We will analyze and/or coordinate all policy analysis at the highest appropriate level under the following guidelines: -- if the analysis requires our written participation, we will do so within 15 business days of our concluding the analysis or coordination; and -- if we may communicate the analysis by telephone, we will do so on the day on which we have concluded the analysis or coordination or the day following. --- Political: -- We will participate in interagency review and discussion of any and all requests that you make for greater self-determination and those issues which involve your political relationship with the United States, and we will respond in a timely and professional manner. -- When this review or discussion produces public written comments, we will provide you with them within 15 business days of their production. --- Social: -- We will help you present your health, education, and public safety goals to other federal agencies. -- We will develop partnership agreements with you and other appropriate federal agencies or consultants to address your goals. -- We will work with other federal agencies to achieve maximum flexibility in federal programs and grants to achieve your goals. --- Economic: -- Within 15 business days, or sooner if the situation warrants, we will bring issues involving federal law or policy to the attention of appropriate federal agencies or interagency groups. --- Environment: -- Within 15 business days of written receipt, we will present to other federal agencies your concerns about federal environmental policies. -- We will solicit your comments on new initiatives related to the environment within seven business days of its being released to the public. -- We will provide you opportunities to interact with other federal agencies on environmental issues. Budget and payments: --- We will consider all insular requests for discretionary funding in formulating the annual budget for Territorial and International Affairs. --- We will include all mandatory funding in the budget consistent with the appropriate law or administrative requirement. --- Each spring we will send a letter to the leaders of each insular government inviting their input within 30 business days. --- We will coordinate with the congressional appropriations committees to ensure you have the necessary information to participate in congressional hearings on the budget. --- We will immediately inform you of congressional action on the budget, including report language, as soon as the Appropriations Committees allow us to do so. --- Within 20 days after we have received an appropriation, we will prepare and issue those grants approved by Congress for specific non- discretionary purposes (such as government operations and capital improvement grants). --- Grant payments: -- All grant payments to insular governments will have attached a copy of our drawdown procedures and forms. -- We will process all complete drawdown requests within 48 hours of receipt. -- If approved, we will send a facsimile copy of the approved request to the appropriate insular official who originated the drawdown request. Department of the Interior and U.S. Treasury policies and practices require actual payment to be made within three business days. -- If disapproved, we will send a written statement regarding the reasons for disapproval to the appropriate insular official. --- Mandatory payments: -- Compact of Free Association: Under the terms of the Compact, each freely associated state will receive advance notice of the amount of payment to be made on the first day of the fiscal year and the first day of each quarter. -- Advance Payments of Taxes to Guam and the Virgin Islands: (1) We will make the advance payment before the beginning of the next fiscal year (October 1). (2) We will send a letter to the governor of each insular area asking for the governor's estimate of collections for the coming fiscal year for which the advance payment applies, with adequate justification and supporting documentation. We need this information by September 1. (3) If we cannot accept the estimate submitted by the governor, we will inform the governor in writing within one week, giving the specific reasons for rejection of the estimate and the amount of the advance which we will pay if further information is not received. Discretionary assistance: --- We will acknowledge all complete requests for discretionary program assistance within five business days of receipt, and we will review them within 30 business days of receipt. --- We will return for resubmission or additional information any incomplete requests within 15 business days of receipt. --- We will send written approval (including all grant or funding documents), or disapproval (including reasons for disapproval), to the applicant within 60 business days of receipt of the completed application. Inquiries and communications --- We consider all inquiries important, regardless of source, and we will exercise due diligence to ensure that inquiries are responded to fully, courteously, professionally, and in a timely manner. -- All inquiries will be responded to at the highest appropriate level under the following general guidelines. -- All letters will be responded to within 15 business days. -- All requests for printed information, documents, and/or other written materials will be completed within five business days after we receive the request. -- All incoming telephone calls will receive a response on the day received, or at the latest on the following business day. -- All letters will contain the name and telephone number of one or more of us who can answer questions or provide additional information on the issue. --- Our informational materials on insular issues will be made available to the requester within five business days after we receive the request, unless the materials are out of print, and, if so, we will replenish the stock as quickly as possible. --- We will publish our OTIA FLASH FAX of breaking information approximately twice a month. We will automatically send it to those whom we know are interested in insular issues and to those who request it. --- We will review and process within six hours of receipt all requests for foreign travel by departmental staff. ******************* Department of Labor ******************* Employment and Training Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Provides employment and training services for unemployed persons and issues cash benefits. --- We will improve the promptness of our response to your requests of information and assistance while maintaining the high quality of those responses. --- We will make grants-related decisions in compliance with all legislated and regulated timelines 100 percent of the time. --- Within 45 days of your funding request, we will notify you of funding decisions for JTPA Title III National Reserve Account grants. --- Within 30 days of receipt, we will notify you of our decisions on your request for modification of your JTPA Title III National Reserve Account grants. --- Within 30 days of receipt, we will notify you of decisions on your requests to modify your Indian and Native American, Migrant and Seasonal Farm worker, or Older Worker program grants. Mine Safety and Health Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ --- We will work with state and local institutions and associations to provide miners with useful, understandable information about mining health and safety. **************************** Department of Transportation **************************** National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ State and Community Traffic Safety Program Planning We will: --- Work with your office in the initial planning stages of major new traffic safety program initiatives and continue to seek your input as the plans evolve. --- At least once a quarter, inform your office of potential Section 403 priority project opportunities and activities and national organization initiatives, and solicit your ideas for other projects that merit 403 funding consideration. Technical assistance: --- Every three years, perform a full program management and financial review of your Section 402 formula grant program, including ways to strengthen programs and streamline the financial management process. --- Once a year, conduct a meeting with your office to share the latest information available about: -- Available programs, funding sources and technologies offering the greatest promise for reducing highway death and injury, and the associated economic losses. -- Traffic safety projects and activities being planned or conducted by other federal agencies and national organizations. -- Interactive computer capabilities to enhance information exchange. --- Review and approve your annual Highway Safety Plan not later than 30 days after we receive it. Program information and materials: --- Twice each year, provide your office with a Project and Program Materials Update summarizing the key projects, printed and electronic media, and other publications planned for completion and distribution during the next six months. --- Ship program materials for major program initiatives, such as Campaign Safe and Sober, 90 days before they will be needed. --- Provide your office at least a 30-day advance notice of when national media campaign materials will be distributed to media outlets. --- Each January, publish a catalog of traffic safety program materials that includes ordering instructions and the name of the person to contact about the status of orders. Training: --- Each September, provide your office with a listing of traffic safety professional development and technical courses. --- Each January through March, help your office conduct a training needs assessment. --- Deliver or arrange for the delivery of the courses identified in the training needs assessment. ************************************ Agency for International Development ************************************ Standards for our partners: private businesses, private voluntary organizations (PVOs), and universities: Quality: On a regular basis, we will communicate with our customers to improve our processes and simplify our business practices. --- You will be part of an ongoing, consultative process regarding policy, programmatic and/or procedural matters that affect you. -- We will hold semiannual vendor meetings for service providers and partners. -- We will periodically survey you to see if the changes in our policies and procedures are working to eliminate the impediments you have identified. --- If USAID issues a grant, cooperative agreement and/or contract to your organization, you will be assigned an agency project officer to facilitate your relationship with us. The project officer will contact you and provide you with his/her phone number, address, E- mail address, and fax number. --- To simplify the PVO registration process, we propose, in collaboration with our PVO partners, to: -- reduce the number of documents required from new PVO registrants from 18 to about eight; -- reduce the number of documents required annually from PVO registrants from six to four; and -- revise and simplify USAID Form 1550-2 used to compute a PVO's "privateness percentage." --- To be more consistent in applying USAID policies and procedures, our contracting and grants officers will: -- consistently interpret and apply policies and regulations in awarding grants and contracts; -- eliminate redundant procurement processes, procedures and reporting requirements by December 1994; and -- publish and make available by September 30, 1994, "A Guide to Doing Business with the U.S. Agency for International Development," which will clearly and concisely describe USAID's policies and procedures. Timeliness: We will improve the turnaround time for our processes. --- We will answer your questions in a courteous, expedient and professional manner. You will receive an initial response to calls and E-mails within 24 hours; written inquiries will be answered within 10 working days from receipt. If a full response is not possible within these periods, we will indicate a probable time frame for resolution. --- USAID's Office of Procurement will make non-competitive awards within 90 days and competitive awards within 150 days. We will modify contracts and amend grants within 90 days of receipt of requests for action from line offices. --- PVOs seeking registration and eligibility requirements to compete for development assistance grant funds will be sent a complete registration packet within five days from the receipt of inquiry. --- Applications to register new PVOs will be reviewed and formal notice of acceptance or denial will be mailed within eight weeks of receipt of fully completed application packages. --- Within three days of an organization's request for funds under a letter of credit, payment will be deposited in its bank account via electronic funds transfer. Access to Information: USAID will offer greater access and more transparency to agency activities and information. --- Within six months, outside vendors will be able to check an electronic bulletin board for the status of all invoices and payments. --- Assistance and acquisition information relevant to PVOs, non- governmental organizations (NGOs), universities, and private businesses are available on USAID's Internet gopher (gopher.info.usaid.gov). These include: -- general information on USAID-funded programs; -- country strategies and implementation guidelines; -- USAID publications; -- all USAID Washington solicitation documents; -- USAID procurement policies and opportunities; -- all procurement award notices, posted within five working days of approval; -- all USAID Commerce Business Daily notices, posted within 24 hours of appearing in the Commerce Business Daily; -- Center for Trade and Investment Services information on business opportunities; and -- Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization information on business opportunities. ******************************* Environmental Protection Agency ******************************* EPA Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Pollution Prevention and Toxics ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Helps state and local governments prevent and prepare for chemical emergencies and informs the public about community hazards. We will: --- Make Toxic Release Inventory information available through county libraries nationwide and through electronic systems and published reports. --- Work with Local Emergency Planning Committees to make the information about chemicals and chemical releases easy for you to obtain and use. --- Assure that the information in the Toxic Release Inventory about hazardous chemicals and routine release of toxic chemicals is updated annually and made available to you every spring. --- Provide you with the most accurate data about chemicals in your community. Solid Waste and Emergency Response ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Assists state and local governments and others on solid waste issues and responds to requests for documents, including regulations. --- Your questions will be answered courteously, accurately, and as promptly as possible, in either English or Spanish, or via a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD). --- Every Information Specialist will listen to your questions and help you find the information you seek. Hotline staff will provide you the most current and accurate information. --- Your inquiry will get an immediate response. --- If we cannot answer your question immediately, we will let you know within five days how long it will take to get an answer. In addition, the Information Specialist will give you his/her name so that you can call for more information or to check on progress. --- If your call needs to be addressed by another agency, state, or local program, we will tell you whom to call to obtain your answers. --- If your information is available electronically, we will tell you how to access it through EPA databases, Internet, or other sources. Water Grants Management (States and Tribes) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Protects, restores, and maintains the quality of the nation's waters. --- We will reduce the amount of paperwork by 20 percent through consolidation of application and reporting requirements. --- We will acknowledge receipt of application within 10 days. --- We award grant monies within 90 days after EPA receives an appropriation from Congress or after we receive a complete application. --- We will be as flexible as possible, under the law, in allowing use of the funds in ways that match state or tribal environmental needs. ******************************************** Travelers, Tourists, and Outdoor Enthusiasts ******************************************** ************************* Department of Agriculture ************************* Forest Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Manages the national forests and rangelands, with over 191 million acres, and makes them available for recreation as well as business and research. --- Our offices, work sites, and visitor centers will be open at times convenient to our customers. --- Knowledgeable employees will be available at times convenient to our customers. --- Our facilities will be safe, clean, attractive, and informative. --- Our facilities will be accessible to persons of all ages and abilities. --- Visitors will always be welcomed with prompt, courteous service. --- Customers will be asked regularly to help us improve our services and business practices. --- Customers will promptly receive the service and information they request, or we will explain we cannot meet the request. ********************* Department of Defense ********************* U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Water Resources Operation and Maintenance Maintains 2,500 recreation sites. --- We will maintain all recreation facilities in a clean and safe condition, and we will treat all of our visitors courteously. ************************** Department of the Interior ************************** Bureau of Land Management ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Manages all aspects of 270 million acres of federal land and 570 million acres of federal mineral resources. We will always: --- Treat you in a courteous, efficient, and professional manner every time you contact us. --- Work with you to meet your needs while complying with laws and regulations. --- Advise you if your request cannot be filled in your initial contact with us, and tell you who will respond to your request and when you can expect that response. Casual Uses of Lands, Facilities, and Developed Sites Use of campgrounds, visitor centers, developed trails, and other facilities. --- You will be provided with well-designed and maintained facilities. --- You will receive complete and up-to-date information on the requested site. --- If you need an authorization to use lands, facilities, or sites, we will complete action on your in-person request within 30 minutes. We will respond to telephone or written requests within five business days. Compliance and Enforcement Enforcement of requirements, regulations, and laws governing leases, permits, grants, and other uses of lands and resources. --- You will be advised of the requirements for the proper use of public lands and resources. --- You will be given the information you need regarding the applicable BLM compliance and enforcement process, expected time frames, and reporting requirements and responsibilities. --- You will be treated fairly under laws and regulations. Information Access Centers Provide information and products at central locations. --- You will be greeted and your request will be acknowledged within five minutes of your arrival. --- You will receive the most current and accurate information about the public land that we have available to the public. --- You will receive available information within 30 minutes of your in-person request. We will respond to your telephone or written inquiries within five business days. Public Policy Involvement Opportunities Opportunities for you to be involved in our planning process and our management of resources. --- You will be provided with the opportunity to tell us how you think publicly owned resources should be managed. --- As we develop plans, rules, and regulations for use of public resources, you will be asked for your ideas. --- You will be afforded adequate time to make your comments and suggestions. Uses Requiring Authorization Grazing permits, mineral leases, and rights of way that require prior written approval. --- You will receive a response to your phone messages and letters, usually within five business days. --- You will be informed of what the transaction is, how your request will be handled, who will respond to your request, and the date by which we expect to address your request. Bureau of Reclamation ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Manages, develops, and protects water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner. Recreation Areas --- We will always treat our customers with courtesy and respect. --- We will promptly answer our customers' questions with accurate, objective information. --- We will resolve our customers' needs through single-point contact whenever possible -- our customers will not receive the "runaround." --- We will provide educational information to our customers about the resources we manage, their use, and the laws and regulations governing their use. --- We will use language that our customers can easily understand. --- We will ask for and consider our customers' ideas about agency plans, programs, and services. --- We will promptly respond to our customers' suggestions, concerns, and comments. Fish and Wildlife Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Manages 500 conservation refuges across America. --- You will be treated with courtesy. --- Your calls will be answered promptly. An answering machine will be available during non-business hours. --- We will provide you with all the information you need to visit the facility: -- hours of operation; -- facility rules; -- telephone numbers, including an emergency number for problems; and -- brochures. --- Our employees will always look professional. Our employees are easily identified by uniforms and name tags. --- We will provide you with high quality wildlife-dependent recreational and educational opportunities to enjoy this refuge's resources. --- We will clearly mark all trails and tour routes. --- We will clearly mark all hazardous areas and materials. --- Our facilities will be clean at all times. --- We welcome your comments and suggestions at any time. Contact a uniformed employee. National Park Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Promotes and regulates the use of national parks, monuments, and reservations. We pledge to: --- Protect your right to experience superlative wilderness and scenic grandeur. --- Communicate an understanding of the people, places, and events that shaped these United States. --- Provide opportunities for quality outdoor recreation while conserving exceptional natural, cultural, and historical resources. --- Make the beauty and history of our nation's parklands a more meaningful part of the life of all Americans. --- Manage the National Park System so that everyone, now and in the future, may be assured the right of enjoying the parks. --- Seek out and protect the finest of what remains unprotected of the nation's natural, cultural, historical, and recreational resources. --- Join in partnerships throughout this and other nations in conserving and maintaining a quality world environment. Visitor Centers --- We will keep the center open during peak hours and seasons and provide alternative sources of information when the center is closed. --- We will maintain the facility in a clean, safe condition. --- We will answer your questions or refer you to additional sources of assistance. --- We will make special efforts to inform you of hazards and situations that may adversely affect your visit. --- We will provide and maintain exhibits and audio-visual programs that impart understanding and stimulate appreciation of the park and its significant natural, historical, cultural, and recreational values. --- We will display schedules of programs and activities available throughout the park. --- We will offer a wide range of quality, park-related educational items at fair market value sold in well-maintained outlets. ********************* Department of Justice ********************* Immigration and Naturalization Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Deals with travelers entering the United States. --- We will treat you with courtesy and respect. --- If you are a United States citizen entering the country at an airport, you will find citizen inspection lines dedicated specifically for rapid clearance back into the country. --- If you are a frequent business traveler being inspected in an airport using the INSPASS Program, and being inspected at the Newark, New Jersey; New York City; or Toronto, Canada, airports using the INSPASS System, you will be processed in less than a minute. This service is available 24 hours a day. INS is exploring the possibility of expanding this service to other airports. --- At most land border ports of entry, we will complete our entry inspection within 20 minutes. --- At the busiest southwest border ports, which experience heavy volumes of commuter traffic, we will strive, through the application of innovative inspection techniques and technology, to reduce waiting time to 30 minutes. --- If you use the recently instituted Dedicated Commuter Lanes in Blaine, Washington, you will experience virtually no delay in entering the country. We are working with local authorities to establish similar lanes in other land border locations. --- After January 1, 1995, if you request information through the "Ask Immigration" telephone number, (202) 514-4316, we will provide improved service by reducing the message format from 58 items to 10 and the length of the menu time from 9 minutes to 1. The message system is available 24 hours a day, with staff available to assist with follow-up questions during normal business hours. ******************* Department of State ******************* Bureau of Consular Affairs ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ --- You will receive your passport within 25 working days after your application is received. Service will be provided in a courteous manner and, whenever possible, we will try to meet your individual travel needs. --- You will receive timely and accurate information on travel safety and conditions in foreign countries 24 hours a day, seven days a week. --- You will receive a timely and courteous response to your request for American citizen services and service will be provided by knowledgeable, professional, and courteous personnel. --- Services to persons seeking visas to legally visit or reside in the United States will be provided by professional, knowledgeable, and courteous personnel. **************************** Department of Transportation **************************** U.S. Coast Guard ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ We will provide the following services for recreational boaters: --- 24 hours/day, seven days/week search and rescue services on demand. --- 24 hours/day, seven days/week Radionavigation services. --- Toll-free, 24 hours/day, seven days/week Boating Safety Hotline, 800-368-5647, for immediate access to a Coast Guard customer service representative with accurate on-the-spot answers to technical questions and written information follow-up to: -- obtain free boating information, -- obtain boating accident statistics, -- obtain boat safety defect warnings, -- report a possible boat safety defect, and -- learn about a recall campaign. --- Boating Safety classes and courtesy inspections by trained Coast Guard Auxiliarists at locations across the United States. --- 24 hours/day, seven days/week navigation information services at 703-313-5900. --- 24 hours/day, seven days/week operation of Channel 16, the VHF-FM national distress system. ************************** Department of the Treasury ************************** Bureau of Engraving and Printing ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Public Tours Offers public tours of the Washington, D.C. plant that prints U.S. currency. You can expect: --- Knowledgeable and courteous personnel. --- Additional personnel stationed throughout the tour to assist you and answer your questions. --- A comment card to be provided for your questions and suggestions for improving the tour. --- At least one tour guide will be assigned to each group. --- That your group will be distinct and separate and be given personalized attention. --- Your group will have no more than 80 people. --- Your tour guide to be fluent in the language you requested. --- To receive various informational brochures from the gallery and the Visitors Center. --- The "Visitors Guide" to be available at the ticket booth, visitor's entrance, and the Visitors Center. --- Knowledgeable and courteous service in the Visitors Center sales area. --- Quality products from the Visitors Center. U.S. Customs Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ International Air Travelers We'll serve international air travelers by: --- Providing professional and courteous treatment to everyone. --- Providing expeditious clearance to the majority of international travelers within five minutes of luggage claim. --- Providing a supervisor to address your Customs-related questions or concerns before you leave the area. --- Working with you, other federal inspection agencies, airlines, and facility owners in providing the best customer service. --- Upon receipt of your written inquiry, complete with a telephone number, we will contact you personally within three working days. ********************************* Executive Office of the President ********************************* Old Executive Office Building Preservation Office ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Public Tour Program We will base our success on how well we meet these standards: --- That we provide an enjoyable and educational tour. --- That we have knowledgeable and interesting tour guides. --- That we give you clear directions as to the time and location of Old Executive Office building tours. White House Visitors ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ We will base our success on how well we meet these standards: --- That visitors have an enjoyable tour experience. --- That visitors receive accurate and helpful assistance. --- That visitors are given clear directions for obtaining tickets and reaching the tour entrance. --- That tour schedulers are informed of every aspect of the scheduling process, and assisted in implementing them. ********************************************* National Aeronautics and Space Administration ********************************************* NASA Exhibit Program ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Informs the general public about the objectives, methods, and results of the U.S. aerospace program. We will: --- Display themes in a concise, informative, and accessible way to a largely non-technical audience. --- Provide safe and adequate passage for persons who use walking aids, or have visual impairments, as well as people who use wheelchairs. --- Plan all aspects of an exhibition in terms of the physical and intellectual needs of visitors. --- Caption audio-visual presentations. --- Consider eye level of persons standing and seated (as in a wheelchair) in the placement of text and visuals. --- Use a simple and clear-grid format to minimize clutter and assist persons in accessing information. --- Make sure the operation of interactive devices does not require tight grasping, pinching, twisting of the wrist, or unreasonable strength. --- Make a sign language interpreter available for guided tours of NASA Centers to assist the hearing impaired who have made specific tour arrangements in advance. --- Incorporate bilingual text into exhibits. ******************************************** National Archives and Records Administration ******************************************** Accesses, arranges, describes, preserves, and makes available to the public the historically valuable records of the three branches of government. --- We will treat all of our customers with courtesy. --- We will meet or beat our established deadlines for providing customer service. --- We will provide to our customers competent service by knowledgeable staff. --- We will provide informational products to meet our customers' needs. If you call or visit one of our facilities: --- You will find Archives staff and volunteers available in all offices to assist you during posted business hours. Our business hours will be prominently posted at all sites and noted in our brochures and through other information sources. If you visit our exhibition hall in Washington, D.C.: --- You will find us open to serve you with knowledgeable staff or volunteers 364 days (closed only on December 25), with information readily available about our programs and services. During the peak visitor season, we will extend our hours so that you can see the Charters of Freedom and other exhibits at times that will be more convenient and less crowded. If you visit one of our presidential library museums: --- You will find us open to serve you with knowledgeable staff or volunteers 362 days (closed only on Thanksgiving Day, December 25, and January 1), with information readily available about our programs and services. If things go wrong: --- If our service has not matched our values and standards for customer service, we want to know so that we can do something about it and get it right the next time. Our local complaints and suggestions procedures are as follows. You may: -- Ask to speak to the person you dealt with. -- Use our Suggestion/Complaint comment form (NA Form 14045). You can mail it or drop it in the box provided. Or, you can simply write us a letter. If you request a reply, we will provide a response within seven working days. -- Speak or write to the supervisor in charge. If we cannot solve your problem immediately, we will provide a response within seven working days. If you are still not satisfied that we have handled your complaint or provided the service we promised, you can write to the Assistant Archivist for the office with which you have been dealing. ***************************************** The U.S. Government and Federal Employees ***************************************** ********************** Department of Commerce ********************** Bureau of the Census ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Congressional Affairs Office Handles congressional queries for statistical information. --- We will be attentive and serve you with courtesy. Your data needs are important, and a Congressional Specialist will assist you politely and responsively. --- We will meet most of your information and data requests within 24 hours. Many of your needs will be met the very same day they reach us. If we are unable to do this, we will act on most requests by the following workday. Should we need more time to prepare data that are not "on the shelf," we will give you a good-faith estimate, within 24 hours, of the time needed to prepare your customized product on a priority basis, and we will deliver it to you immediately upon completion. --- We will call upon subject or statistical experts, if needed, to service your needs for data and other information. In the event our Congressional Specialists are unable to provide certain service or data product directly, we have established an agencywide Congressional Liaison system to identify the person best suited to help you in the timeliest way possible. --- We will ask you about your level of satisfaction and areas where we need to improve. We conducted surveys of your staffs to help us evaluate our service. We will repeat this process periodically to gain quantitative and qualitative insights with which to continue improving our data and information deliveries to you. --- We will provide you Resources for the Congress, your convenient reference binder to our programs and services. You can expect to receive this basic reference during the autumn of each year. --- We will expand our services to you beyond Capitol Hill. Your staffs in home state or district offices can expect to receive selected data products, identical to the ones we provided your Washington staff. Our 12 regional offices will acquaint your staffs at home with our data products and services. And, starting with the 1995 census test, we will implement a Congressional Partnership Plan for the 2000 Census of Population and Housing, eventually putting us in touch with each Member of Congress and their staffs. Governments Division Reimbursable Surveys ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Conducts public sector surveys on behalf of other federal agencies. --- We will review survey requests for relevance to our mission, skills and capabilities, and available resources. --- We will review the cost of survey options, and work to tailor projects to sponsor requirements and available resources. --- We will communicate with sponsors in the following ways: -- Negotiate an agreement that defines the scope of work, the performance period, and estimated costs. -- Review project deliverables. -- Develop work plan and provide schedule. -- Provide regular progress and cost reports. -- Review intermediate products. -- Develop contingency plans and provide advance alerts as contingencies arise. -- Obtain survey response/participation consistent with professional standards, sponsor needs, and available resources. -- Maintain appropriate data confidentiality guarantees. -- Evaluate product output by assessing data reliability (e.g., sample and non-sample error). -- Provide detailed documentation of methodology. -- Evaluate project effectiveness through debriefings. -- Use the best available technology, including technology that you request to meet your requirements for cost and deliverables. ********************* Department of Defense ********************* Defense Commissary Agency ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Runs commissaries at military installations. Our customers have the right to: --- Professional, courteous service. --- A clean, pleasant store. --- Fresh, high-quality merchandise. --- Well-stocked shelves. --- The best possible prices. --- Quick, efficient checkout. Our employees have the right to: --- Fair and equal treatment. --- Challenge work processes with new ideas. --- Express their views and have them fairly considered. --- Expect a commitment to quality. --- Put quality first. --- Feel true pride in their workmanship. Legislative Affairs ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Congressional requests for hearings, etc.: --- Employees maintain close contact with clients within the department to ensure that deadlines for submission of testimony are met and participate in events scheduled to prepare the DOD witness for the hearing. --- Employees maintain a dialogue with their customers on Capitol Hill to ensure that the department receives a thorough explanation of the require-ment of the hearing, meeting, or briefing. Congressional constituent inquiries: --- Replies to Congressional, General Public, and White House correspondence shall be overseen by the Correspondence Control Division (CCD) in accordance with the standards of Administrative Instruction Number 7, DOD Manual for Written Material. Personnel and Readiness ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Military Recruiting Military recruiting stresses a total-quality approach that underscores teamwork and a strong customer focus as the foundation of our commitment to customer service. To make our military recruiting force more accessible to our customers, we have established: --- Convenient locations for our recruiting facilities. --- Pleasant, professional-looking offices. --- Comfortable reception areas. Recruitment advertising also is an essential component of our image to customers. Each year we invest about $125 million for television and radio spots (35 percent), magazine and newspaper advertisements (15 percent), and a range of promotional material, including direct mail programs. These efforts inform youth -- and those who influence their decisions -- of Armed Forces opportunities. ******************* Department of State ******************* Office of Foreign Missions ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The goal of the Department of State is to establish, for foreign nations' diplomatic and consular missions and their personnel, a regime of service which is readily understood, simple in execution, and sensitive to the time constraints of the consumers involved. OFM currently operates the following programs which are subject to the provisions of this Customer Service Plan: --- Diplomatic Motor Vehicles --- Goods and Services --- Travel --- Real Property --- Customs --- Tax Exemption Note: The established standards for each of these programs are spelled out in applicable diplomatic notes which have been used to notify the customers involved. The standards employed are governed by our commitment to quality but tempered by reciprocity as required. ************************** Department of the Treasury ************************** Bureau of Engraving and Printing ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Prints and provides paper money to the Federal Reserve Banks and prints stamps for the U.S. Postal Service. Paper money: --- You can expect us to deliver 100 percent of your orders for currency to the Federal Reserve banks each week. We will measure compliance on a monthly basis by reporting the proportion of total orders completed to the total number of items delivered. --- You can expect us to conduct an audit of your currency destruction activities annually. --- You can expect us to assist you in calibrating your currency verification systems equipment monthly. --- You can expect us to respond within 24 hours to complaints regarding discrepancies in shipments or defects in product quality. Stamps: --- You can expect us to deliver 100 percent of agreed upon postage stamp orders to you in accordance with your 13 accounting periods. We measure compliance daily by reporting the proportion of total orders completed and a count of items delivered. The measure is calculated by the proportion of the total stamps ordered and a count of stamps delivered to the USPS vault. Feedback can be directed to our Office of Production Management, (202) 874-2615. --- We measure our effectiveness by verifying the production and shipment schedules. Finished goods produced in advance for the convenience of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing are not billed to you until delivery. You can call the Office of Production Management, (202) 874-2615, with any questions. --- We respond to your request for a change in production scheduling within 24 hours. --- Once we make a proposal for a revised production schedule, you can expect us to deliver within the parameters of that proposal. Federal Law Enforcement Training Center ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Trains federal, state, and local law officials. --- We will maintain Administrative Services at a level 4, as measured by the Student Feedback System. --- We will maintain Program Services at a level 5, as measured by the Student Feedback System. --- We will maintain a rating of 90 percent for customer services in the 1994 Customer Satisfaction Survey. --- We will train 100 percent of your Basic Students. U.S. Mint ^^^^^^^^^ Mints and supplies coins to the Federal Reserve Banks. --- We will work to improve our ability to meet Federal Reserve Bank coin requirements and to maintain inventories at sufficient levels to fulfill Federal Reserve Banks' coin distribution mission. --- We will maintain and update a pallet tracking system to assure prompt and accurate accounting of pallets shipped and returned. --- We will coordinate and communicate planned shipments quarterly in accordance with your orders. U.S. Secret Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Conducts investigations to assist U.S. Attorneys with their prosecutions of crimes involving counterfeiting, forgery, and other kinds of fraud. Because we want to provide the U.S. Attorneys with completed investigations consistent with their prosecution priorities, the Secret Service has set the following standards for this relationship: --- A minimum of 25 percent of all U.S. Attorneys or their designees will be interviewed each year by a representative of the Director of the Secret Service. These interviews will ensure that the needs and priorities of the U.S. Attorney's Office are being met by the local Secret Service Office. --- Special Agents in Charge will maintain ongoing and frequent liaison with U.S. Attorneys in their districts. --- Specific service standards agreements will be determined after consultations between the Secret Service and each U.S. Attorney. These standards will be tailored to reflect the unique needs of each U.S. Attorney and the respective judicial district. *************************************** Equal Employment Opportunity Commission *************************************** Conducts hearings and appeals on complaints of employment discrimination, establishes principles for affirmative action plans, and conducts training and informational activities for the federal government. You can expect us to: --- Treat you with respect and dignity. --- Look at the way we do business and the way we relate to you and others using our procedures; we want to find ways to improve the quality and speed of our services. --- Involve charging parties like you to help us understand what you want, what you need, and what you think about the way we serve you. --- Support our front-line employees by giving them the tools and knowledge they need to provide the best possible service to you. --- Strengthen our commitment to customer service. ********************************* Executive Office of the President ********************************* Admittance to the White House Complex ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Manages admittance process to the complex. We will base our success on how well we meet the following standards: --- To greet all customers in a friendly manner. --- To expedite your entry to the Complex. --- To ensure that appointments are made correctly and in a timely manner to minimize delay. --- To provide a comfortable waiting environment for customers should there be an unlikely delay. --- To continually educate White House Complex employees about the admittance process. EOP Libraries ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Operates general reference libraries in the White House Complex. We will base our success on how well we continue to ensure the following standards: --- That the libraries meet your immediate needs. --- That library staff is helpful, knowledgeable, and professional. --- That you are given the necessary tools to be able to quickly find what you need. --- That information you need is available through the libraries. White House Conference Rooms ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Provides conference support for the Executive Office of the President. We will base our success on how well we continue to ensure the following standards: --- That the conference rooms fully meet your expectations --- That you receive accurate and helpful assistance at all stages of the conference room process. --- That your schedulers are given clear directions for how to reserve conference rooms --- That the conference rooms are well maintained (lighting, heating/cooling, quiet environment) --- That the room is ready at the time of your event. ******************************* General Services Administration ******************************* GSA has established the following standards to help guide its relations with its federal customers: Value: --- Competitive prices at the quality specified. --- Added value for the prices GSA is paid. --- Value as defined by our customers. Quality: --- Products and services of consistently high quality. Timeliness: --- Timely delivery of products and services. --- Prompt response to customer inquiries and requirements. Ease of accessibility and convenience of service process: --- Competent and knowledgeable staff. --- Ease of access to people who can help. Fleet Management System ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Value: --- Rates paid by customers for vehicles, including maintenance and fuel, are below the average rate for commercial lease of comparable models, including maintenance and fuel. Quality: --- Customer satisfaction with the quality of the vehicles provided at the rates charged will be maintained at a 90 percent level. --- Customer satisfaction with repairs to vehicles will be maintained at an 85 percent level. Timeliness: --- Vehicles will be replaced within the time frames agreed upon by the Interagency Fleet Management System and customers at a 90 percent satisfaction level. --- Establish a period of time for vehicle maintenance and repair activities that is acceptable to the customer at a 90 percent satisfaction level. Ease of accessibility and convenience of service process: --- Customer questions, problems, and concerns will be resolved by Fleet Management Centers within five working days. --- A Maintenance Control Center technician will be on the line with a customer within 75 seconds of the call being answered. --- The SF 149 and SF 149A credit card used by customers will be accepted at fueling stations convenient for the customer at a 90 percent satisfaction level. Fleet Management Services, Region 2 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Value: --- Offer the best prices with the most comprehensive service by continuously comparing our services to those in the many commercial fleet rental operations. --- Achieve a 95 percent approval rating on a customer survey that asks about the overall value customers feel they receive from Fleet Management Services. Quality: --- Ensure customers get the best possible service and products by disseminating survey information to all field locations and developing regional goals and strategies for aggressive customer service. --- Offer an open line of communication inviting feedback through our Fleet News to ensure immediate attention to customer problems. --- Maintain face-to-face communication with our customers by making regular visits and offering a yearly Interagency Motor Equipment Advisory Committee conference. --- Achieve a 95 percent approval rating on a customer survey that asks about the overall quality of service customers feel they receive from Fleet Management Services. Timeliness: --- Provide strategically located Fleet Management Centers (FMCs) and sublocations throughout the region to offer the most complete line of vehicle leasing services in the United States, with highly trained fleet employees performing regular, timely on-site visits to ensure continued customer satisfaction. --- Customers will wait no more than 30 minutes to terminate old vehicle assignment and receive new vehicle. --- Customers will receive new vehicles within 30 days from their receipt at the FMC. --- Customers experiencing downtime of more than five days will receive a permanent replacement vehicle. (Vehicles involved in accidents will not be down for more than 45 days.) --- Customers calling the Centralized Maintenance Control Center are helped within one minute of hearing the recording. --- Vendor invoices are certified for payment within five days and forwarded to finance. Ease of accessibility and convenience of service processes: --- All customers' inquiries received before noon are answered no later than before the close of business the same day. --- All customer inquiries received after noon are answered no later than by noon the next business day. --- Provide eight Fleet Management Centers (FMCs), five sublocations, and various sale sites to afford our customers the convenience and accessibility to accomplish a speedy vehicle drop-off or exchange as well as giving customers better access to fleet personnel. --- No fleet customer will ever be without access to emergency service. An "after hours" and weekend hotline for customers' convenience will be established. Office of FTS2000 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Value: --- Overhead rates will not exceed 8 percent. --- Prices paid by customers will remain below the average of the lowest commercial rates. Quality: --- Grade of service (blocking of switched voice and switched data service) will not exceed 5 percent. --- The number of switched voice service troubles reported per 100,000 attempted calls will not exceed five. --- FTS2000 service providers will meet the scheduled service order due date 95 percent of the time. Timeliness: --- Mean time to repair switched voice service, switched data service, and Dedicated Transmission Service network troubles will not exceed four hours. --- Processing of service enhancement contract modifications will be completed within 135 work days from receipt of proposal. --- Agency's requests for exceptions to FTS2000 will be responded to within 15 working days from date of receipt of request to date of response. --- Monthly statements of account will be issued to customers by the 16th of the month following receipt of invoices. Ease of accessibility and convenience of service process: --- Customer satisfaction with the overall handling of trouble reports by the FTS2000 service providers will be maintained at a 95 percent level. --- 95 percent of the issues raised during our annual Users' Forums will be resolved as scheduled. ****************************** Office of Personnel Management ****************************** Federal Employment Information System ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Serves job seekers by providing information on federal employment. To assist you as a federal job seeker: --- We will provide you with courteous and timely service. --- We will update our nationwide job listings every business day. --- We will have Employment Information Specialists available to answer your questions. --- We will provide 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week access to nationwide job information and application request services through a variety of electronic media. --- We will respond to your requests for applications and/or routine information within one business day. --- We will use your suggestions and complaints to improve our service continually. We will always remember we work for you, the American public. Office of Insurance Programs ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Federal Employees Health Benefits --- Your choice of health benefits plans will compare favorably for value and selection with the private sector. --- When you use the FEHB Guide and plan benefit brochures, you will find they are clear, factual, and give you the information you need. --- When you change plans or options, you should receive your new identification card within 45 days after your new plan gets your enrollment form from your agency. --- Your fee-for-service plan should pay your claims within 20 work days; if more information is needed, it should pay within 60 days. --- If you ask us to review a claim dispute with your plan, our decision will be fair and easy to understand, and we will send it to you within 60 days. --- If you need to do more before we can review a claim dispute, we will tell you within 14 work days what you still need to do. Retirement and Insurance Group ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Office of Retirement Programs For our new customers (retiring employees): --- We will make your transition to retirement as seamless as possible. As agencies begin to participate in this program, your federal income tax and direct deposit arrangements will be automatically maintained by us. --- Your first annuity payment will probably be on its way to you within five working days from when we receive your retirement papers from your agency. If you are participating in the direct deposit program, your account will be credited within seven working days. We will meet this standard 90 percent of the time by the end of 1995. --- You can expect to receive professional and personalized information concerning your retirement and the status of your application for benefits. For our new customers (survivors of retirees): --- We will be prepared to assist you in filing the paperwork needed to obtain benefits. We will initiate processing your benefit when you call us about your loss. For our established customers (account holders): --- You can count on our reliability: You will receive your recurring benefit payment on the first business day of every month. --- We will tailor our services to meet your needs. For example, we will accept tax withholding requests based on dollar amounts or exemptions and filing status. Your requests for this and other selected services will be accepted by us either in writing or by phone. For both new and established customers: --- We will assist you in a polite, courteous, and helpful manner, whether it's on the telephone or in letters to you. *********************************** U.S. International Trade Commission *********************************** Furnishes studies, reports, and recommendations involving international trade and tariffs to the President, Congress, and other government agencies. --- Staff will stay fully abreast of official commission activities and determinations in order to provide complete and accurate information and guidance to their customers. --- Staff will greet all customers in a courteous and helpful manner, and assist them by: -- helping locate requested information, -- putting the customer in direct contact with appropriate ITC technical experts when inquiries exceed staff's own knowledge; and -- helping customers find appropriate information sources outside the ITC when inquiries are not related to the ITC's mission and functions. --- To the extent resources allow, staff will fulfill all requests for published information, reports, and documents within 24 hours of receiving the request. --- To the extent resources allow, telephones will be answered directly by staff. When voice mail must be used, it will be monitored and responded to as promptly as possible. No call will be held unacknowledged for more than 24 hours after its receipt. ******** Veterans ******** ********************* Department of Defense ********************* Defense Finance and Accounting Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The central financial and accounting office for the Department of Defense. --- For retirees/annuitants: -- Initial retiree payments will be made within 30 days of retirement. -- Initial Survivor Benefit Plan payments will be issued within 30 days from date of death notification. -- Arrears of pay will be resolved within 60 days from death notification. --- Our service providers will be knowledgeable and courteous. --- We will provide prompt resolution to your inquiry. For retirees/annuitants, we will respond to your written inquiry within 12 working days. Personnel and Readiness ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Operation Transition Helps people leaving the military to find civilian jobs. --- The Operation Transition Help Desk is scheduled to be available to employers from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time. Adequate staffing of the Help Desk will ensure employers are called back the same business day. Enough phone lines are to be installed to ensure that employers don't get busy signals on the Defense Outplacement Referral Service or the Transition Bulletin Board. All phones will be answered promptly and professionally. ******************* Department of Labor ******************* Veterans' Employment and Training Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Helps veterans seeking employment and provides information and assistance to employers. For veterans, we will provide: --- Courteous, prompt, and respectful service. --- A Veterans Reemployment Rights (VRR) Eligibility Form 1010 within 10 days of receipt of a VRR complaint and within three days of the complaint if unemployed. We will also settle your VRR case, or refer it to the Department of Justice for litigation, within one year of your complaint. --- Referral for a job and/or job training opportunity for which you are deemed qualified and eligible, with first consideration to service-connected disabled veterans. --- Information about all the services for which you are qualified and eligible, with first consideration to service-connected disabled veterans. --- Help in filing a complaint about employment and training matters. --- Information about, and referral to, other agencies providing benefits and services. For employers, we will provide: --- Courteous, prompt, and respectful service by dedicated veterans' staff. --- Qualified veteran applicants and eligible persons for job openings that are listed. --- A responsive and timely answer to your concerns. --- Answers to your questions about VETS' employment and training programs and help in accessing community resources and incentive programs. For grantees, we will provide: --- Courteous, prompt, and respectful service. --- Consultation with you about policy and program changes that affect your grant. --- A responsive and timely answer to your concerns. --- Answers to your questions about our employment and training programs. ****************************** Department of Veterans Affairs ****************************** Board of Veterans' Appeals ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Reviews appeals made by veterans or their beneficiaries. Courtesy and respect: --- You will be treated with courtesy and respect by every Board of Veterans' Appeals employee every time you have contact with the Board. Communication of information: --- You will receive a complete and understandable explanation of the appeal process when you begin your appeal; you will also be provided a phone number and address which you may use to contact us for any questions regarding your appeal. --- You will receive an accurate current status report on your appeal, upon your request. --- You will be kept informed of all significant developments in the processing of your appeal, including significant changes to the estimated completion date. --- You will receive a plain language explanation of the board's decision along with the formal written decision on your appeal. --- If you receive an unfavorable decision on your appeal, a plain language explanation of your additional appeal rights will accompany the written decision on your appeal. Timeliness: --- Within 30 days from the date you file your appeal, you will receive a realistic estimate of when to expect a final decision on your appeal. Thoroughness/fairness: --- All issues in your appeal will be thoroughly reviewed and decided according to the letter and spirit of all current laws. --- All information and evidence included in your appeal will be reviewed and considered when deciding your appeal. National Cemetery System ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Provides burial services in National Cemeteries. Courtesy/compassion/respect: --- We will deliver service in a manner reflecting compassion and respect for you and your family in a time of need. --- We will listen to your requests or questions and provide feedback that ensures understanding and comfort. Accuracy: --- We will accurately determine eligibility for burial services. --- We will provide a headstone or marker that is correctly inscribed. --- We will record and provide accurate grave site locator information. Reliability: --- We will provide clear, easily understood explanations of eligibility and all policies. --- We will deliver service in a manner that is fair and impartial. --- We will provide trained staff who are able to provide prompt answers to requests and questions. Timeliness: --- We will determine eligibility for burial benefits within 48 hours. --- We will ensure that a headstone or marker is delivered to the cemetery within three months. --- We will mail Presidential Memorial Certificates within 45 days. Convenience: --- We will provide scheduling seven days a week for Monday through Friday services. --- We will have office staff available to assist you during regular business hours. --- We will provide a 1-800 phone line for you to make inquiries about headstone and marker applications. Appearance: --- We will maintain the appearance of individual gravesites, headstones, markers, and monuments in a manner befitting these national shrines. Veterans Benefits Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Provides benefits and services to eligible veterans and their beneficiaries. Courtesy and Respect: --- We will treat customers with courtesy and respect at all times. Communication -- We will communicate with customers accurately, completely, and clearly by: --- Explaining the full range of benefits and services available. --- Providing a realistic estimate of how long it will take to process their claim or answer their request. --- Keeping the customer informed on the status of the claim or request. --- Clearly explaining all reasons for decisions. Timeliness: --- We will answer or acknowledge benefit inquiries within 10 workdays. --- We will respond to telephone calls within three minutes after the call goes through. --- We will interview customers at our offices within 30 minutes of arrival. --- We will deliver benefits and services in the shortest possible time. Responsiveness: --- We will ensure ready customer access to our services. --- We will fully address all customer questions, concerns, and complaints. Veterans Canteen Service ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Provides retail services at veterans facilities. --- We will always treat you with courtesy and respect. Retail stores: --- We guarantee unconditional customer satisfaction. --- We will handle all complaints promptly and to the customer's satisfaction. NO IFS, ANDS, OR BUTS. --- We guarantee the lowest price in town for current "price buster" merchandise or refund the difference plus 10 percent. --- We will provide knowledgeable and helpful responses to your questions. Food service: --- In canteens with Food Courts, we will serve you within three minutes. --- We guarantee you a positive dining experience each and every time. --- We will offer a "Caregiver Special" every day in the cafeteria or Food Court and price it within the lunch allowance for VA volunteers. Veterans Health Administration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Provides health care to eligible veterans and their dependents. --- We will treat you with courtesy and dignity. You can expect to be treated as the first-class citizen that you are. --- We will provide you with timely access to health care. We have talked to you, our patients, about your expectations for timeliness. You have told us that you expect to have your urgent needs met when they come up and your non-urgent needs taken care of in a reasonable period of time. You also said you understand that it may take some time for your medical facility to meet your expectations for timeliness. For that reason we have asked our medical facilities to do three things so that they eventually meet your expectations: (1) post local timeliness standards; (2) keep track of how well they meet those standards; and (3) make continuous improvements in their timeliness. --- One health care team will be in charge of your care. Because health care often involves many different providers, it is important that one provider or team have overall responsibility. You can expect to know whom to contact when you need help or have a problem. --- We will involve you in decisions about your care. Your preferences will be met whenever possible and medically appropriate. We will listen to your concerns and discuss them with you. --- We will strive to meet your physical comfort needs. This includes help with things like pain management, eating, bathing, or getting to the bathroom while in the hospital. It also includes maintaining privacy during examinations and tests when an inpatient or outpatient. We will ensure proper facilities for veterans with special needs. --- We will provide support to meet your emotional needs. We will encourage you to share any anxieties and fears you may have about your condition or treatment. You can expect our staff to be sensitive to your feelings and help you deal with your health care experience. --- We will take responsibility for coordination of your care. Health care can be very complicated, and many patients need to see more than one health care professional. We will ensure that all your providers talk with each other and give you clear plans for your care. If you need a specialist, you can expect us to make all arrangements to ensure one is provided for you. --- We will strive to provide information and education about your health care that you understand. You can also expect us to try to answer your questions in a way that you understand. --- We will provide opportunities to involve your family in your care. Whether your family is involved, however, should generally be your choice. --- We will provide smooth transition between your inpatient and outpatient care. You can expect to understand what medicines you are to take, what danger signals to look out for, and what activity level you can have after discharge. You can expect to know whom to contact if you need help or advice right away, and when your first follow-up appointment is.