The Customer Service and Government Interviews

As a former government employee and someone who has trained thousands of public sector staff how to deal with the many difficult situations they face with customers, I've gleaned a lot of experience and understanding (I hope!) about the challenges facing all levels of government in meeting the needs of its citizens.

And, of course, like you, I'm a customer of government. Sometimes I'm "served". Sometimes I'm regulated, when I don't want to be. And I have to pay taxes too, so I've been lucky enough to be on multiple sides of the table - as customer, as consultant, and as employee.

The Government Customer Service Interviews

With the help of some colleagues and friends, I've made available a series of interviews on the topic, with two purposes:

• First, to help those outside of government understand that when they encounter "poor customer service" it's often not because the employees are lazy, stupid or slow.
• Second, to help those IN government develop practical, sustainable strategies for improving the service they provide.

The Bottom Line Costs Angry Citizens And Customers Have On Government Departments
Do difficult and angry customers cost government? In fact the answer is yes. While governments don't have competitors, so generally, they don't lose revenue, there are important impacts, some of them actually measurable.

History, Culture Cause Citizens To Forget Even Good Customer Service Experiences From Government
Why does it seem citizens hate government or don't notice when things are done well?

Should Governments Use Facebook For Customer Service?
In this article Robert explains why government should not be using, or relying of Facebook for communication and service to citizens.

The Problem WIth Facebook Ads On Government Facebook Pages
It's simple. Government should not be, directly or indirectly, furthering the ability of a commercial company to sell ads to citizens, particularly using demographic and behavioral data gleaned from visitors to official Facebook pages.

Where Are We At In Terms of Serving Government Customers As Of 2013?
Has government had successes in improving customer service? Where is it headed and what pitfalls are ahead?

Biggest Difference Between Government and Private Sector When It Comes To Serving Customers
The main difference that causes government to hit the wall when it comes to customer service has to do with the fundamentally different purposes of private and public sector organizations.