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Morgan Hill, California
17
Zucker Systems
III.
ISSUES FOR ALL FUNCTIONS
A.
C
USTOMER
S
ERVICE
S
URVEYS
Customer surveys are routinely used by both public and private entities to solicit
feedback from their customers on the quality of the services that are being provided.
When properly designed, a survey can solicit important information that can be
gathered in no other way. Frequently, it is the customer that identifies the need for the
jurisdiction to offer a new service. Often this recommendation is provided because a
customer has taken advantage of some service that was provided by another
(competing) jurisdiction. The City of Morgan Hill does not currently have the basic
type of customer service survey program that we are accustomed to seeing at nearly
every development services department we have studied. Generally, we see comment
cards available at multiple public counters and prominently displayed on the
community’s website. One of the best practices we have seen in some progressive
communities is the jurisdiction’s efforts to send customer service surveys to permit
customers after their project has been completed. Some permit customers are reluctant
to provide meaningful feedback while their projects are still being reviewed, asking
for feedback after the project has been completed can provide insightful comments
about not only interactions with staff but, also recommended changes to the process.
2.
Recommendation:
The City Manager should direct Departments to
develop and implement a customer service survey to be available at every
public counter and on the City’s website.
3.
Recommendation:
The Assistant City Manager for Community
Development, and the City Engineer should create a program to send
customer service survey forms to permit holders after their project has
been completed.
The use of customer service surveys generates both positive and negative results. We
frequently see management focus considerable attention on addressing negative
comments and virtually ignoring the opportunities that positive comments can have
on an organization when those comments are shared in the proper setting. Stories of
employees providing extraordinary customer service can prove inspirational to others
who are asked to work in a challenging environment.
4.
Recommendation
: Managers should make both negative and positive
feedback gathered from customer service surveys available to all levels of
the organization.