Hello to customer service
By all accounts, the Customer Service Center is changing the public's perception, at least about one government organization and its commitment to customer service. In October 1999, the first month CSC's operation was up and running, the call center processed 400 calls. Today, they're averaging 7,000 a month, a number bound to grow as the new organization picks up speed. The volume of calls is clearly a challenge, but ask a veteran CSC employee what the most difficult part of the job is, and she'll tell you it's not the number of questions they field every day, but the variety of inquiries. There are as many different questions as there are callers, and Janice Mosher, who manages the CSC, will tell you outright that after even a short time on the job, you just learn to roll with it.

Most of the questions are mainstream inquiries-

"Do I need a license to import something?"

Some are heartfelt-

"Can I bring my pet turtle into the U.S.?"

And a few are absolutely unforgettable-

"What are the regulations governing the importation of shrunken heads?"

The CSC does its best to answer them all, and today, thanks to technology, team members have the best shot yet at succeeding. The upside to a workday filled with non-stop calls is a new initiative Mosher and her team took from concept to completion in just two months: they monitored how frequently they were asked certain questions and put these "most frequently asked" questions and the answers to them online, an innovation that lets customers looking for standard information bypass the telephone and pull the answers they need right off the Web.

What began as just one more bright idea is today an online service that's earning public kudos for CBP-more than 500 questions and answers are available online at www.cbp.gov. The implementation of RightNow Email on CBP's Web site has also won the prestigious E-gov Explorer Award from the Government Solutions Center, a private/public sector partnership that supports E-gov projects in the federal government.

"Before we launched this service, the only people who had access to the wealth of information we've accumulated over the years were the information specialists in the CSC," says Mosher. "Using software developed by RightNow Technologies, we were able to convert our in-house database into a self-help module that's available to anyone looking for answers."

How to find an answer
If you have a question, head straight to www.cbp.gov where you can access information by clicking on "Questions" at the top of the homepage.

Questions are categorized by subject area to help the user identify areas of interest. They are also categorized by type of customer, so if you're a job seeker, traveler, or importer, you can access customized information in one simple "click." A third option, which allows users to type in simple search terms, also triggers quick and accurate responses.

If none of the currently available FAQs address a specific question, customers can contact the CSC for personal assistance-an option that becomes available only after users have made an attempt to use the self-help mechanism.

E-gov means automatic updates
One of the most powerful attributes of this software is that it allows customers to "subscribe" to an answer. If the answer is updated, for instance, to reflect a change in the personal exemption for travelers, or to extend a filing deadline for certain refunds, subscribers to that answer are automatically notified about the change.

The project is a prime example of ways in which federal agencies can support President Bush's E-gov initiative. It makes a tremendous amount of information available to the public electronically on a 24/7 basis, and because so much of it is automated, it allows the CSC staff to spend more time helping people whose questions defy easy, electronic answers.

New questions and answers can be quickly and easily incorporated into the FAQ database. If you would like to propose a new FAQ, or would like to suggest a better answer to a current online question, please contact the CSC staff at 202.354.1000, or send an e-mail to Christal Oliphant. The CSC staff appreciates assistance from CBP employees-it helps them keep the information on the site accurate and up-to-date.