Trying to Put the Focus on Friendliness at City Hall
If Councilman Joel Wachs had his way, Los Angeles City Hall would offer on-site alterations, hassle-free returns, complimentary gift wrapping and maybe even personal shopping and beauty consultants.
Those are some of the perks that have made Nordstrom Inc. famous nationwide for customer service. On Thursday, the veteran lawmaker proposed that city employees right a reputation for rudeness and aim to make Los Angeles “the Nordstrom of city governments.”
But Wachs can’t exactly employ the department store’s tactics--making employees work on commission, offering frequent customers high-limit charge cards and automatically matching competitors’ prices--so in classic bureaucratic fashion, he’s got an eight-point plan instead:
Anti-obnoxiousness training seminars. Customer satisfaction surveys in water bills and comment cards at all locations where residents deal with city employees. Cash awards for innovative ideas. Civil Service exams that reward friendly attitudes. Lapel pins for do-gooders on the staff. Toll-free hotlines for complaints.
And, most importantly, a “Ten Commandments” outlining the city’s commitment to customers--No. 10: “Never use the words ‘That’s not my job!’ ” No. 9: “Never offer as an explanation, ‘because that’s the way we’ve always done it.’ “--to be given to every employee and posted in every office, including the City Council chamber.
“I’ve often felt that if city government were a business, many of our customers would take business elsewhere. They want better service,” Wachs said at a City Hall news conference that started 13 minutes late because the councilman was stuck in traffic (Commandment No. 4: “Always explain the reason for delays”). “If a person has a complaint, if a person has a problem and you respond, they will become even more loyal customers.”
Nordstrom spokeswoman Brooke White said the company has no secret recipe for customer satisfaction, no concrete rules for employees to follow and no incentive program to speak of.
“Every single day, we work on it,” White said. “Every single customer that walks through the door is No. 1 priority. . . . Just be nice. Listen to the customer. Interact with them.”
In the motion he plans to present today and take up in his Government Efficiency Committee within two weeks, Wachs tells the tale of a West Los Angeles resident who called City Hall twice to complain about couches and other trash in alleys and empty lots, only to be launched on an endless treasure hunt marked with wrong numbers.
“This type of ‘bureaucratic buck-passing’ only fuels one of the stereotypes that many people have about government employees. It’s an attitude that successful businesses would never tolerate,” the motion states.
“In the business world, customers express their dissatisfaction with their feet by taking their business elsewhere,” it continues, warning that the backlash will come in the form of term limits and voter rejection of tax initiatives. “In government, the dissatisfaction is expressed at the ballot box.”
Asked if he has experienced Nordstrom’s renowned service firsthand, Wachs said he shops there “a little. It’s mostly the women in the office that shop at Nordstrom. . . . I couldn’t exactly say ‘the Wal-Mart of city government,’ could I?”
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Wachs’ Way
Joel Wachs’ “Ten Commandments” to boost customer satisfaction:
1. Treat the public with courtesy and respect.
2. Give clear and concise instructions.
3. Always explain the reason for delays.
4. Respond quickly, especially to phone calls.
5. Avoid using “insider” or bureaucratic jargon.
6. Be a good listener.
7. Never direct people without being certain that the referral is correct.
8. Occasionally take the time to stand in line and talk to the public.
9. Be receptive to suggested improvements and never say: “Because that’s the way we’ve always done it.”
10. Never say, “That’s not my job!” Instead, find out whose job it is.
