The government works for us in many ways. Inspecting the food we eat and providing us with water that’s safe to drink. Paving our roads and building our bridges. Printing our currency, collecting taxes, and funding programs. It’s hard to imagine an aspect of our daily lives that’s not touched by the government in some way.
But what about the quality of our interactions with government services? Are they on par with our experiences in the commercial sector? Is selecting a public health insurance plan or filing taxes as easy as ordering carryout or buying a new washing machine online?
Over the last decade, government agencies have started to take a closer look at improving customer experience. Not necessarily because it’s what their citizen customers demand, but because they know that applying a human-centered design to any public service or offering drives program effectiveness. It’s not just a better end-user experience, the whole process just works better.
Which leads me to the story of how I accidentally took on City Hall. My mother, who is 76 and a double-stroke survivor with advanced dementia, lives more than two hours away. When her caregiver recently took a much-deserved vacation, my brother and I stepped in to help. During one of our check-ins, he mentioned, “Hey, I think mom’s trash sticker expired.” Okay, I thought. Easy enough.
A free service that comes at a cost
In her city, curbside recycling is “free” (granted, it’s biweekly, but still encourages citizens to recycle). Trash, on the other hand, is picked up curbside weekly and can be paid for by one of two ways: a $2.25 sticker affixed to every 32-gallon trash bag you fill, or an annual decal affixed to your can ($94.50 for a 32-gallon can to $283.50 for a 96-gallon can).
Thinking I could take care of this task between virtual work meetings and taking care of my mom, I hopped on the website only to learn that there are also two ways to buy a decal: print an online form and mail a check or go downtown to City Hall during weekday business hours to pay in person. My mom does not have a printer in her home. Alas, we packed up and headed downtown to City Hall.
We were greeted at the teller window by a lovely and helpful city employee who pulled up my mom’s account. “Oh wonderful, I see you receive real estate tax relief, that means you get free trash collection!” Well hooray! Despite having to schlep my mom downtown, I learned something new that was not available on the website: because she receives some property tax relief due to her age and fixed income, she was eligible for what the city believes is “free trash collection.”
What happened next was something of a cross between a Parks and Rec episode and the old Laurel and Hardy sketch, “Who’s on first?”
As it turns out, because my mom qualifies for property tax relief, she also qualifies to receive either 24 trash stickers every 6 months or a free decal for a 32-gallon trash can. The problem? Mom has a 64-gallon can.
“Are you delivering free 32-gallon trash cans to the elderly who qualify?” I asked the bewildered city employee. “Because if you’re not, you’re not actually providing free trash collection for the elderly.” From my perspective, requiring the purchase of a 32-gallon trash can is antithetical to the notion of providing a free service to those in need. Not to mention the logistics of an elderly person who may not drive having to procure a new can and dispose of the old one.
We went about three rounds of attempting to use the “free trash collection” offering before we finally gave up.
Small shifts can lead to notable customer experience
My guess is that the good folks from my beloved hometown meant well—but didn’t perform user research or conduct any journey mapping to make sure that the service that they’re excited about offering is actually effective. I spoke to an ICF colleague who helps federal agencies improve their customer experience, or CX, asking “Can this type of CX work happen at the much more local, lower-budget city level?”
“City governments are tackling complex human challenges with complex service delivery systems, but improving customer experience doesn’t have to be complex,” said Wendy Harman, customer experience strategist and Presidential Innovation Fellow. “Walking in the shoes of and listening to city customers—the constituents, residents, taxpayers, tourists, businesses, and employees who interact with city services—can help cities identify where small shifts make a big difference in how customers navigate and access services,” Wendy added.
Curious to learn if the city had conducted any customer experience program design, I reached out to the city utility office (“oof, that’s not my job”) and the City Manager’s office (“I don’t know whose job that is”) before being transferred to the communications office for media inquiries where I left a yet-to-be-returned voicemail.
Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a treatise against the good people at City Hall. Instead, it’s a plea to government leaders at all levels to think first about program design, taking into consideration the people these programs are designed to help. What is their journey? What are the roadblocks? How can we alleviate these roadblocks? How do we measure effectiveness? Until you can answer these four questions, head back to the drawing board.
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