Rock Beats

Customer Service Awareness Day 2012

cs_individual_group_2012On Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012, the Customer Service Team presented the sixth annual Customer Service Awareness Day at the Prete Main Street Plaza. We had a great turn out at our new location.

On hand were Mayor Alan McGraw, Councilmembers Carlos Salinas and George White and City Manager Steve Norwood. Mayor McGraw and councilmember Salinas spoke about the importance of customer service and City Manager Norwood praised City staff for their high marks from residents for customer service. Brooks Bennett, ITC director, also spoke about the City’s commitment to service.

In addition to games and carnival activities, Elliot Sean Pervinich, Challenge Course Coordinator with the City of Georgetown, held group team building activities with attendees.

The Team continued a tradition started last year with the Brag Wall. Staff could leave compliments for fellow employees they feel exemplify customer service. These comments will be featured in Rock Beats’ Employee Fanfare in the coming months.

A few comments were:

  • Dora Owens’ customer service makes us pop with pride because she is always so pleasant when helping the public and staff. Love her smile!
  • Delores Brisco’s customer service makes us pop with pride because of her smile everyday.
  • Trish De La Torre’s customer service makes us pop with pride because she is a great person who is always willing to help.

During the week, the Customer Service Team presented three training sessions attended by more than 100 people. The sessions were:

  • Team Building by Elliot Pervinich
  • Keeping Your Cool by Valerie Francois
  • Dale Carnegie Customer Service Training by Kim McCorkle

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 Innovations Team presented its annual Award of Merit for innovative projects.

Utilities and Environmental Services took home the Department AwardDepartment/Division Award
City employees, 207 in all, voted online for the Outstanding Customer Service by a Department or Division Award in September.

Outstanding Customer Service by a Department or Division: Utilities and Environmental Services

Utilities and Environmental Services has spent a tough 12 months dealing with the severe drought last summer, a major pump repair and projects related to water conservation, water reuse and stormwater drainage. The staff is always customer friendly and reliable. The crews are always helping other departments with special events and they are a joy to work with.
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.

Parks and Recreation received the Innovations Award for the Play for All Abilities ParkThe 2012 Award of Merit goes to the Parks and Recreation Department for the Play for All Abilities Park.

The Play for All Abilities Park is a project five years in the making and has truly been a community-wide effort and a dream come true for the City of Round Rock and surrounding communities. The park was originally suggested by Round Rock citizens who wanted a park that would be accessible to children with disabilities, since there were no such facilities in the entire Central Texas area. The City’s Park and Recreation Department and local civic clubs formed the Play for All Foundation which raised more than $430,000 in cash and in-kind services to build a million dollar facility for $600,000.  City staff included professionals and parents familiar with working with children with special needs in the design process. As a result, on March 3, 2012, a beautiful new park opened to serve the children of Williamson County, including the 7,945 children with a disability. Since its opening, an estimated 1,000 people a day visit the park.
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, pictured with Mayor McGraw, Councilmembers Salinas and White, and City Manager Steve Norwood.
 

Administration — Cynthia Mouser
Cynthia has long impressed with her conscientious dedication, patience and efficiency. She is often customers’ first contact with the City and we could not ask for a better representative.  If you ever need a pick-me-up, just visit with her for a few minutes and her upbeat, positive attitude will turn your day around!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finance — Joan Sharp
Joan has in the past year learned a new job, trained a co-worker in her old job, and has been part of the City’s transition to a new bank.  She assumed these roles without hesitation and is always quick to respond to requests for help.
 

 

 

 

 

Fire — Angelo Luna
Angelo is punctual, dependable and passionate. He goes out of his way to ensure that all of the logistical needs of the fire department are met. He is always forward thinking, looking at new ways to improve current practices and internal and external customer service.  He leads by example.
 

Human Resources — Karin Holland
Karin has worn many hats in the department and has done them all with kindness and grace. She is friendly and helpful and very thorough, especially when dealing with frustrated citizens. She is an asset to the department and committed to helping others.
 

 

 

 

ITC — Omesh Pertob
Omesh has handled an extremely demanding and very complicated technical project in a short time. He has put in extra time and effort to make two new project implementations a success. He was thrown right into the fire and didn’t get burned. He applies his skills in a friendly, humble and consistent manner every day.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Library — Andrea Warekentin
Andrea is probably the most helpful, friendly and patient person you’ve ever met. She is always jovial with patrons and staff and always eager to help. She is concerned for patrons both within and beyond her department. She takes her tasks very seriously and does a fantastic job.
 

 

 

 

Parks and Recreation — Kenneth Goldwire
Kenneth has a “get it done” attitude. He is a good leader with an eye for detail. He greets projects with enthusiasm and goes the extra mile to work quickly and efficiently.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Planning and Development Services — Veronica Chandler
Veronica is helpful and goes above and beyond in everything she does. She took on extra duties when one co-worker left and another was out and did it all promptly and graciously. She’s awesome.

 

 

 

 

 

Police — Juan Rodriguez
Juan has an amazing attitude. He is always in a good mood and smiling. His pleasant and friendly personality brightens your day. He goes above and beyond his required job duties to make sure the Police building stays in order and has great interaction with everybody he meets.

Note: Juan was also honored with this award from the Police Department in 2008. He is not even in their department!

 

 

 

General Services — Jake Stutes
Jake has nothing less than exemplary performance and enthusiasm in all areas where he has worked. He is always willing to take on new responsibilities and widen his areas of expertise by attending any training available to him. He approaches every job with a sincere desire to succeed. His customer service is second to none. He often puts his own needs aside to help others, and then continues on with his responsibilities like it is just second nature.  No picture available

Transportation — Kathy Michna
Kathy’s ability to juggle multiple responsibilities and keep a calm demeanor under constant pressure is outstanding. She consistently uses good communication skills to address staff needs. She provides invaluable administrative assistance to project managers as well as all the Transportation staff.  She is dedicated to quality customer service for internal and external customers.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Utilities and Environmental Services — Michelle Risko
Michelle exemplifies excellence in customer service daily. She responds to customer inquiries in a professional and thorough manner, explaining complicated data in a layperson fashion. She always goes the extra mile by meeting with the customer in person and performing additional tests so that they can understand things better.

Congratulations to our winners! We’ll see you next year. Please let us know how you think we can make CSA Day even better.

 

 

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Customer Service Team 2012

Photos by Brian Ligon.