Sloppy service at government deptartments

WHY is the customer care at government departments constantly below standard?

This is the case at many municipal and provincial government departments dealing directly with the general public.

It is as if their employees do not take pride in their work. They think that because they serve the general public, and given the low cost or free nature of the service they provide, people simply have to be satisfied with what they get.

They seem to forget that they are being paid for the services they render, from taxpayers’ money.

The government institutions employing them have a mandate to provide good and accessible services to the public.

The dress code of public servants also contributes significantly to their poor client service. Frontline staff, especially, often work the way they dress.

Their sloppy, unprofessional conduct is reflected in their sloppy, unprofessional dress.

This is in contrast to private institutions where employees always have to wear uniforms, or strictly adhere to a particular dress code.

When lodging complaints or even writing compliments, it is not even possible for clients to state the name of the person who attended to them, since they either wear no name badge or identification card, or these identification devices are obscured; often purposely.

Being easily identifiable is an especially important requirement at hospitals and clinics. According to the Patients’ Rights Charter, patients have the right to be treated by a named health-care provider.

If merely reading an observation like this is met with gross denial by the officials in charge of government facilities who are guilty of this, can the public ever expect to see a positive change in customer care?