Customer Assessments program gives patrons a voice

Customers who live, work or do business on Fort Belvoir have an opportunity to provide detailed feedback about all of the installation's services, according to Belvoir's Plans, Analysis, and Integration Office.

Through Nov. 7, customers may visit www.myarmyvoice.org/community2008, to access the annual Customer Assessments survey.

The survey is one of two new programs which fall under Customer Management Services. CMS is the Installation Management Command's new program for collecting customer feedback and using the data to evaluate and improve delivery of installation programs and services.

The assessment opened Monday, and customers on most Army installations, including Belvoir, are seeing the multi-page, Web-based assessment for the first time.

Some installations participated in the demonstration phase of the program in 2007, when more than 1,500 customers - Soldiers, family members, retirees, veterans and civilian employees - completed the survey. They provided information about the importance of programs and services, and rated how well the installation provided them.

Within the survey, customers are asked to rate service performance on a scale of 1 (very poor) to 5 (excellent), and importance, also on a scale of 1 to 5. And any ratings of 1 or 2 must have an explanation describing any issues.

The assessment is divided into two main categories: corporate and constituent. Both categories are accessed from the same Web link. Customers are automatically directed to the appropriate assessment based on demographic data they provided at the beginning of the survey. This ensures family members or retirees are not asked to rate services like the Central Issue Facility or the Ammunition Supply Point - two services used by Soldiers and their commanders.
Data provided by unit commanders, command sergeants major, first sergeants, senior civilians and senior staff is captured in the corporate portion where they can rate the performance and importance of the services in relation to the accomplishment of their units' missions.

The more customers in each category who take the 10 to 20 minutes to complete the assessment, the more accurate and substantial the data collected. This will provide a baseline for future annual assessments.

-The data will be returned to the installation in November, when it will be used to identify and document best practices in areas and develop plans for improvement in others.

"The idea is to ensure we have the customers' voice - what they feel is the priority," said Marypat Begin-Ortiz, director, PAIO. "This overview will give us a much better idea of how to align our service to the customers' needs ... and gives us the opportunity in our strategic planning and our budgeting to look at what we are doing.

"I encourage our customers to take the time to do the survey," she said. "This is their opportunity to let us know what they need and want."

For more information about the October Customer Service Assessments, e-mail Melissa Barnhouse, Fort Belvoir customer service officer, at melissa.barnhouse1@us.army.mil, or 703-805-1265.