The following individuals, teams and agencies have been recognized by their peers as providing customer service excellence. Congratulations on a job well done!
Region I Regional Award Winners
Team Award
CDL Quality Assurance Audit Team, New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission
The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission continually looks for ways to enhance service to customers. In the case of the Commercial Driver’s License program, service improvements must be weighed against adherence to strict state and federal operational requirements. MVC sought to develop an internal quality assurance program that would guarantee that its testing centers and examination personnel maintain a high caliber program that not only met government requirements but provided the state’s motorists with efficient and effective service. To that end, MVC created the CDL Quality Assurance Audit Team. Members of the team consist of MVC personnel from several program areas – not just the driver testing program. By maintaining an open line of communication between various agency program areas and the Inspection Services Division, MVC has created an environment that allows continual feedback and improvement of the CDL program. New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission also won the 2007 Region I CSE Team Award.
Region II Regional Award Winners
Individual Award
Examiner Adrian Haney, Alabama Department of Public Safety, Driver License Division
Examiner Haney takes the phrase “Welcome to Alabama” personally. Adriane works in the Sheffield Driver License Office located in the “Shoals” area. The office is manned by six individuals daily who service more than 100 persons per day.
In December 2007, Ms. Haney was awarded the “Director’s Coin,” a highly sought after but rare award usually given to State Troopers that have gone above and beyond their call of duty.
Having gone through some difficult personal trials, Adriane tries to bring a bit of joy and a smile to each of the customers that walk through the Sheffield office. This was most evident when a new resident transferred her license to Alabama. It seems this person had just lost her husband and was forced to move to Alabama to be closer to her family. Examiner Haney’s “Welcome to Alabama” touched this particular customer in a heart felt warmth at a time when she needed it most.
Alabama was fortunate that Adriane was on duty one day when a local news reporter needed to transfer his driver’s license to Alabama. He had intended to do a negative news story about the wait time and overcrowding in the Sheffield office. After he completed the transaction, he informed Adriane that he no longer intended to do the story. Thanks to her “above and beyond” customer service philosophy, the Alabama Department of Public Safety as able to avoid the negative publicity.
Corporal Andy Pike, who nominated Adriane, summed up his nomination with “…..Ms Haney is the greatest because she is able to use the hardships and pain in her life in a positive way to touch so many without even trying to do so. It’s just who she is….”
Agency Award
Kentucky Department of Vehicle Regulation, Division of Motor Vehicle Licensing
Imagine re-engineering a system and improving the turn-around time on titles by 55 to 60 percent! Kentucky’s new Systemized Title Application Registry (STAR) does just that. Implemented in October, 2007, the STAR program has four checkpoints that will not permit second, third or fourth step functions to be performed before the first step. STAR also track logged in and out applications and can be queried to run reports. With STAR, Kentucky now has a turn around time of 10 to 14 days with an average of only 5 percent of all applications being held for more than 15 days.
The implementation of STAR has significantly reduced the volume of incoming calls from customers inquiring about the states of their title applications. In addition, after title verification and approval, an electronic request is sent to American Bank Note to print and mail titles. In most cases, titles are mailed the same day.
Region IV Regional Award Winners
Team Award
Driver License Project Team in Arizona’s Motor Vehicle Division
Imagine getting back to your hotel room and your wallet’s gone. No credit cards, no cash, no ID. What do you do if you need to drive or get on an airplane? If you live in Arizona, you can use the express delivery option for a duplicate driver license or identification on ServiceArizona.com. The goal of the Express Driver License Project was to develop an alternative to regular mail for quickly delivering a replacement driver’s license or identification. The service enables people to go online and order a duplicate for an expedited delivery fee. Instead of the regular postal service delivery of 7 to 10 days, a duplicate license or identification can be delivered much faster – usually the next business day. Team members included Penny Martucci (team leader), Dave Jackson, Rita Skiye, Craig Stender, Yvette Porter, Jim Douglas, Michael Devine, Jenelle Nadeau, Christie Estrada, Renie Crum, Penny Martucci, Sue Garber, Candace Olson, Tina Zismann, William Raiford.
Agency
Vehicle Tab Renewal Program from the Washington State Department of Licensing
The Washington Department of Licensing was tasked with reducing costs to meet budget shortfalls. One of the items they changed was the renewal tab renewal notice. DOL was mailing renewal notices on a double postcard which allowed for savings on postage. However, there were changes in laws and other information that needed to be communicated to the public. In 2005, the agency conducted an in-depth analysis of the impact of eliminating the postcard style renewal note and sending letter-sized renewals. While the project was approved only $1.7 million of the projected $2.4 million need was funded. Working with their vendors, Washington changed their renewal notice, changed the paper stock and leaving enough space for any special announcements or information that needed to be conveyed. The agency found that considerable staff time was saved by providing important information to the customers on the renewal rather than spending time answering questions after renewals were received. Out of 1.8 million letter-size renewals send since November 2007, DOL has officially received only one complaint and less than two dozen suggestions for improvements. Wanting to continually improve service, DOL has implemented or plan to implement most of the citizen suggestions.