Vehicle registration streamlines customer service

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Dan Bellis
  • Detachment 4, Air Force News Agency
KAUPAUN AIR STATION, Germany (AFNEWS) --  Airmen who work in the vehicle registration office here realized not all of their customers were happy all the time. There were a variety of concerning factors, but the main area of dissatisfaction was waiting times.

"In the summertime I believe our max wait was three hours and 45 minutes long. And if you're waiting for upwards of four hours and don't get seen, people have a tendency to get kind of upset," said Airman 1st Class Alan Ferry, a vehicle registration specialist.

Wait times aren't typically that long, but sometimes customers don't have the proper paperwork to accomplish their transaction.

Tech. Sgt. Debra Riech had that problem the other day.

"We came in and we got the paperwork filled out, and when we got back to the desk we found out that we needed some additional paperwork that needed to be signed by the commander back at the unit. So then we had to turn around and go get that done and come back today to finish the process," Sergeant Riech said.

Members of the vehicle registration office realigned its workflow as part of an Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st century initiative to reduce customer waiting times. The vehicle registration team serves approximately 50,000 people, including members of allied forces. The registration facility changed its way of doing business to better suit customers' needs.

The new system the vehicle registration facility has adopted should alleviate snags like Sergeant Riech's.

"'Pre-screeners in the front are now going to be able to handle and take the paperwork, see what the people need, and what they don't have, they'll be able to send them away with a checklist of what they (need)," Airman Ferry said.

With changes like this, customer wait time and overall satisfaction should soon improve.

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