Customer Service - is it too much to ask for?

It seems that in these days of austerity that customer service is playing an increasingly important role.  This is not just in terms of building trust and customer loyalty, but in improving relationships and, especially in policing, community engagement.

But is customer service too much to ask for?  As part of my studies I have been writing letters to senior people in private and public life including Mayors, police chiefs, politicians, all manner of people.  Most major organisations have policies for acknowledging communication whether it is by e-mail or snail mail, and yet it is surprising how many do not have the common courtesy to say 'we have received your letter/email and will respond in due course.'  The dilemma is do you re write and run the risk of annoying the person, or do you hold tight and hope that one day they will have the inclination to reply.  

Research indicates that communities like nothing more to hear from the police.  They want to know what is going on in their neighbourhood and who has been arrested, who has been convicted, should they be worried.  Communication is a vital part of modern day policing and it is not as if we do not have the channels to communicate with.

I have just had a fascinating conversation with my friend Peter Olsen from Peabody Police in Massachusetts.  His thoughts on the use of social media include seeking ways to use Apps such as Twitter, Facebook and Four Square relate to the use of GPS to identify where cops are so that the public can speak to them.  This is something that has been looked at for some time and many forces across the world are using social media sites to get out their messages to the e-community.  But how many are using social media to say to the public ‘Hi. This is where I am, come along and say hello.’

Now I can hear the arguments raging that you don’t want to let the public know where you are as you may well become a target.  But surely, being visible is what policing is about? Speaking to people is what policing is about.  How on earth do we expect to gain the respect and confidence of the public if we hide from them?  Ok, that may be an over exaggeration, but we have to acknowledge that we are in a service where the people want to interact with the local cops or PCSOs.  They want to be able to feel safe when they go about their business.

As Peter says, we are heading to a whole new ball game in terms of communication over the next ten years. Using GPS locators, many of which are in iPhones or Android phones, will play an increasingly relevant role in society as a whole.

But, maybe we could make a start by sending a reply to an email or letter and letting people know that we are still out there and we still care.

Footnote – I recently wrote to the Mayor of Chicago Richard Daley to inform him that I had come across some interesting fact relating to his father, who was also the Mayor of Chicago some years ago.  Not only did I get a card saying ‘thanks for the letter’ but I also received a signed book of photographs of Chicago.  Now that is good customer service.