Archive
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Document Name: Veterans (12 of 23)
Date: 09/01/94
Owner: National Performance Review
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Title: Standards for Our Customers: Veterans (12 of 23)
Author: Vice President Al Gore's National Performance Review
Date: September, 1994
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CUSTOMER GROUP: Veterans
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Therese Aprile works in the Veterans Affairs benefits office in New
York City. The way she does her work represents what could be one of
the best things that ever happened to U.S. veterans. At the very
least, it is one of the best things that ever happened to Len Davis.
Davis was wounded during his first tour in Vietnam. He finished his
second tour toward the end of 1969. In the years that followed, he
contacted Veterans Affairs in a number of locations, starting with
the medical center in Washington, D.C. Later, it was benefits offices
around the country. Wherever he went, VA promised to help, but Davis
says there were always problems. "I never dealt with the same person
twice, and every time I got transferred on the phone or had to call
back the second or third time, I had to start all over again
explaining the situation, the story, and it was frustrating."
Then he moved to New York City, expecting the same or worse. But when
Davis called to get an update on a hospitalization claim, he noticed
a difference right away. "She introduced herself over the phone. . .
. Therese Aprile told me that she'd be my contact person, I could get
back in touch with her with any questions I had. I thought, something
strange and different's going on here."
With time, Davis became a big fan of VA. He says, "Therese always got
back in touch with me. When she told me she'd get an answer, she got
an answer. When I left a message . . . she called me back, and it was
a very big difference."
The New York office is a VA reinvention lab -- a place to try out new
ideas. One of those ideas is putting customers first, reorganizing
how the office works so that employees focus on what veterans want,
not on old rules for how to do things. The idea is working. Veterans
are happy, employees are happy, and the work gets done faster.
But New York is only one office in one part of VA. There are
thousands of other places where VA contacts its customers. Some of
these places have already established their own brand of customer
service reinvention. Others are sorting out what their customers want
and how to make changes. There is also an agencywide rallying cry,
"Putting Veterans First." And all of VA's major service organizations
are publishing standards that veterans can use to judge how the part
of VA that they need measures up.
The Veterans Benefits Administration provides compensation and
pension benefits to over 2.5 million veterans. It also provides death
benefits to nearly three-quarters of a million veterans' survivors.
The agency is looking at the lessons from its New York office and
combining that experience with other reinvention ideas. It is getting
customer input from surveys and focus groups. One thing it learned is
that its internal performance measures don't cover all the areas that
matter to veterans -- such as being treated with courtesy and
respect. This and other customer needs are reflected in the agency's
new service standards.
The National Cemetery System maintains all 114 national cemeteries,
as well as providing burial services, headstones, markers, and burial
flags. Affording veterans dignity and honor in their final resting
place is the solemn promise of the National Cemetery System. Its
customer service standards focus on that promise.
The Veterans Health Administration is one of the nation's largest
providers of health care. Last year it treated over 1 million
inpatients and provided 24 million episodes of outpatient care in its
172 medical centers, 357 outpatient clinics, 130 nursing homes, and
200 veterans centers.
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Highlights from Customer Service Standards:
Veterans Benefits Administration
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These are examples of veterans service standards being published by
the Veterans Benefits Administration:
--- We will treat customers with courtesy, compassion, and respect at
all times.
--- We will communicate with customers accurately, completely, and
clearly by keeping the customer informed on the status of the claim
or request and clearly explaining all reasons for decisions.
--- We will answer or acknowledge benefit inquiries within 10 work
days.
--- We will interview customers at our offices within 30 minutes of
arrival.
National Cemetery System
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These are examples of the customer service standards of the National
Cemetery System:
--- We will deliver service in a manner reflecting compassion and
respect for you and your family in a time of need.
--- We will maintain the appearance of individual gravesites,
headstones, markers, and monuments in a manner befitting these
national shrines.
Veterans Health Administration
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The Veterans Health Administration's customer service standards
spring directly from what customers in focus groups said matter most.
--- We will treat you with courtesy and dignity.
--- We will provide you with timely access to health care.
--- We will involve you in decisions about your care.
--- We will take responsibility for coordination of your care.
--- We will provide opportunities to involve your family in your
care.
--- We will provide smooth transition between your inpatient and
outpatient care.
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As VHA puts more effort into listening to customers, it is learning
more and more about what is important to veterans and their families.
For example, VHA had pretty much assumed that hospitalized veterans
cared a lot about hotel-type amenities, like food quality. Focus
groups of recently discharged patients said that these things matter,
but only up to a point; how well patients are treated matters more.
Some officials had also believed that veterans didn't mind time spent
waiting to see doctors because it gave them a chance to swap stories
with other veterans. However, the focus groups revealed that
veterans, like most Americans, don't want to wait for service.
The Veterans Health Administration is putting this customer input to
work. It has established a National Customer Feedback Center and has
developed ongoing surveys to track how it is doing. To compare
results with customers receiving care in the community, VHA is using
the same survey questions as the Harvard Community Health Plan and
others.
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Your Standards
These agencies and offices are publishing customer service standards
for veterans. The standards appear in the "Veterans" section of
Appendix B.
Department of Defense
Defense Finance and Accounting Service
Personnel and Readiness
Department of Labor
Veterans' Employment and Training Service
Department of Veterans Affairs
Board of Veterans' Appeals
National Cemetery System
Veterans Benefits Administration
Veterans Canteen Service
Veterans Health Administration
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