Course helps Holloman Take Care of the Customer

HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- As part of a wing wide effort to improve Holloman customer service skills, the 49th Mission Support Group Airman and Family Readiness Center offers all wing Airmen and civilians customer service training.

According to Ms. Shirley Bratton, 49 MSG AFRC community readiness consultant, the purpose of the training is to motivate Holloman members to provide better service and inspire management and employees to take care of their customers.

"No matter where people go on base, they should expect and receive outstanding service," she said.

Each ARFC customer service training class last approximately one hour and consists of student interaction, a slide show and video featuring the owner of a nationwide franchise who credits his company's success to good customer service.

The course curriculum defines customer service, offers tips on improving customer relations and advises students how to reevaluate their own attitudes toward customer service.

Ms. Mary Landers, 49th FW Chapel Service secretary, attended Wednesday's training class and said the training would benefit her during her day-to-day operations.

"I am the first person most people see when they come to the chapel," she said. "If you have one individual who left the chapel with a bad feeling, it would most likely spread through the whole base."

Ms. Landers said wing service providers may not be conscientious of how they interact with customers.

"The course doesn't actually point fingers, but it does make people think [about] how they look at coworkers, supervisors and customers," she said. "I would definitely recommend this course to anyone who deals directly with customers."

The course also defines the fundamentals of customer service as attention to detail, meeting the needs of the customer and accomplishing the task at hand. Ms. Bratton said all four of these tenets are important if services-related businesses want to stay in business.

According to Mr. Dan Salinas, 49th Fighter Wing Safety ground safety technician, customer service should be the number one priority.

"If you don't have good customer service, the customer isn't coming back but if the service is good, the individual will be a customer for life."

Mr. Salinas said the 49 FW SO tries to adhere to good customer service principles.

"We try to help customers right away," he said. "We try to answer every question they may have. If we're unable to, we look it up and get right back to them as soon as possible. Poor customer service reflects upon the entire office."

Ms. Bratton and other AFRC personnel have taught the class since its inception in 2005.
Anyone wishing to attend the course may contact the AFRC at 572-7754.