The Customer Service Team presented the 2014 Customer Service Awareness Day at Centennial Plaza on Oct. 30. The individual award winners: Front row: Saridon Chambless, Shane Glaiser, Stacy Dempsey, Roxanne Valadez, Bryan Whitted. Back row: Manuel Martinez, Sherril Friedrich, Melissa Hermosillo, Elaine Rodriguez, Ruben Santibanez, Sherri Crone, Mike Ackerman, Jennifer Escobedo, and Raynice Earl. Congratulations, everyone!

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The Customer Service Team presented the 2014 Customer Service Awareness Day at Centennial Plaza on Oct. 30. The theme was Halloween and it was a big success.

The week featured training sessions and concluded with Customer Service Awareness Day at Centennial Plaza. We had a great turnout and lots of fantastic costumes. | See pictures

On hand were Mayor Alan McGraw and Councilmembers Craig Morgan, John Moman and Will Peckham and Interim City Manager Laurie Hadley.

Customer Service Awareness Day featured breakfast tacos, games, and the Customer Service Award ceremony.

During the week, the Customer Service Team presented three training sessions attended by more than 200 employees. The sessions were:

• Make the Connection – Team Skills Tune Up presented by Lisa Pierce-Jones of Human Resources.
• Personality in the Workplace presented by Dr. Monica Scamardo, Variate, LLC.
• Teambuilding with Intention presented by Dr. Monica Scamardo, Variate, LLC.

Recognizing achievement

Once again, the Customer Service Team recognized individuals and departments for their great customer service. Individual awards were presented from each department and a department/division award was voted on by all City employees. Also the Team awarded the Overall Individual Award voted on by all City employees.

In addition, the Innovations Team presented its annual Award of Merit for innovative projects.

The Innovations Team presented the Rock Award to the Fire Department for its Computer Aid Dispatch System. From left: Councilmembers Moman and Morgan, Shane Glaiser, David Coatney, Mayor McGraw, and Councilmember Peckham.

Innovations Award of Merit (Rock Award)

To encourage and foster new methods to be productive, the Innovations Team has developed the citywide Innovations Award program. Submissions are accepted and recognized throughout the year. Recipients of the Innovations Award are considered for the annual Award of Merit or the “Rock” award. The winning department keeps the Rock for one year and then passes it on to the next winner.

The 2014 Award of Merit goes to the Fire Department for its Computer Aid Dispatch system for command staff.

This is second year in a row that Fire gets the Rock Award. The Computer Aid Dispatch automatically notifies command staff of any rescue or emergency, allowing personnel to focus on the scene rather than alerting others. The CAD system is easy to use and operates around the clock on every call-out. It has increased efficiency and saves time. | See pictures

Department/Division Award
City employees voted online for the Outstanding Customer Service by a Department or Division Award in October.

Outstanding Customer Service by a Department or Division: Parks and Recreation

The Parks & Recreation Department is always there to assist when needed, whether it is their own project, one of the numerous community special events, or special events/projects for other departments. They embody the meaning of customer service every day and through every employee. | See pictures

Manuel Martinez of Parks and Rec took home the Overall Individual Customer Service Award.

Overall Individual Award

For the Overall Individual Award, City staff were invited to submit the names of a staff member from anywhere in the City they thought provided great customer service. The winner was: Manuel Martinez of Parks and Recreation.

Manuel also won the Individual Customer Service Award for Parks and Rec. It was quite the busy day for him!

Manuel was nominated for this award not only by his co-workers in the Parks Department, but by employees throughout the City. This shows how far reaching his commitment to customer service is and he deserves our applause. Manuel works hard to provide a positive and memorable experience for both internal and external customers. | See pictures

Individual customer service awards

A highlight of the day came with the presentation of the individual awards to acknowledge great customer service from each department. These awards have become very popular. Each department picked an individual who exemplified great customer service in their area. Here are the winners for Outstanding Customer Service by an Individual from each of the participating departments.

Administration: Saridon Chambless                                                                                                         Saridon takes on any project pushed her way without complaint and runs with it. Her commitment to outside customers is just as deep as her commitment to within-the-city customers. She has a great attitude, wonderful smile and is always able to help and get things accomplished!

Convention and Visitors Bureau Stacey Dempsey Stacey has been with the CVB since June and has already made a huge impact in the department. She has impressed with how she handles both internal and external customers.

General Services: Rueben Santibanez Ruben is the “face” of the Sports Center. His normal hours are evenings and weekends. Due to this he greets almost every participant, coach, spectator, and event organizer whenthey enter the facility. He does an outstanding job of accommodating everyone’s requests, handling issues when they arise, and making sure everyone leaves the Sports Center wanting to return. His part-time staff of 20-30 have been trained to carry on that positive, customer friendly experience to everyone that enters. Because of Ruben, and his staff, we continuously receive numerous compliments about how great the Sports Center is. He truly is the definition of Outstanding Customer Service.

Finance: Sherri Crone Sherri is very knowledgeable and always willing to help us in Accounts Payable to answer any questions that we may have with a positive attitude.

Fire: Shane Glaiser Shane Glaiser has worked tirelessly on the departments Pink Heals event for the past three years. This year, he secured a pink fire truck for the event and made sure it was ready to roll out.

Information Technology: Bryan Whitted Bryan is very diligent, follows up, responds quickly, and is always professional and courteous. He never skips a step and will stay as long as it takes to get the job done.

Human Resources: Melissa Hermosillo No matter what issues or hiccups come about Melissa always stays calm and composed to get the job done. She is a great example and an awesome mentor to her family and colleagues.

Library: Elaine Rodriguez Elaine in a quiet way goes the extra mile and discharges her duties faithfully – rain, snow or heat.  Her commitment to the library and its patrons is second to none.

Municipal Court:  Sherril Friedrich Sherril assist customers and has worked diligently on the Wellness committee for the city. She assists with the Farm to Market deliveries and delivered barrels throughout the city for the food drive. Sherril is the one to go to that always has the answer to your questions and if she doesn’t, she will find out.

Parks and Recreation: Manuel Martinez Manuel is always willing to help out with any job task and support any team member. Manuel works hard to provide a positive and memorable experience for both internal and external customers. He is very dedicated to the City of Round Rock. Not to mention, he is the nicest person you’ll ever meet.

Planning and Development Services: Roxanne Valadez Roxanne strives to turn negative situations into positive situations and is successful most of the time. She is friendly, loyal and is trusted by all and is willing to help anyone in a time of need. She is informative and insightful and brings exuberance and excitement wherever she goes.

Police: Brian Young Officer Young has made great strides to connect the Police Department to the community by taking initiative, being proactive and actively engaging multiple elements of our police department to accomplish the community service goals.Brian was not able to attend the event.

Transportation: Mike Ackerman Mike is always thinking of his ultimate clients, the citizens. He does this daily without complaint and without concern for credit or reward. He is an example for the crews that report to him as well as for his peers.

Utilities and Environmental Services: Raynice Earl Raynice answers all calls for Utilities as if it was her first. She has the best attitude, is always happy and spreads her joy throughout the department!

Utility Billing: Jeniffer Escobedo Jeniffer has outstanding customer service skills and always has a great positive attitude. She is cheerful and pleasant to each customer on a consistent basis.

Congratulations to all the winners! And thank you to the Customer Service Team for another great event!