Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Question: I want to complain to the governor's office about several extremely and constantly rude employees at a "public service" state agency, but I don't know their names. I continue to use the agency, so I don't want problems by asking other employees for their names. Aren't state employees supposed to wear name badges? How to gripe about
workers at state agencyAnswer: There is no overall requirement that state workers wear badges or name tags, although some departments may have their own internal requirement, said Jim Dote, of the state Department of Human Resources Development.
You can call him, 587-1161, with specific information, including the time, date and location of the rude behavior.
Dote said the governor and his department heads are concerned about quality customer service" and discuss the matter often.
"The remedy we can offer," he said, is to inform the department of the complaint and ask that appropriate action be taken, including possibly sending staff to training courses."
Human Resources Development, which develops and offers internal training programs, has worked with the University of Hawaii's community colleges to develop different courses dealing with improving communications and customer service, he said.
Between March and June next year, for example, Kapiolani Community College is offering five community courses, including "Customer Service," "Communicating at Work" and "Conflict Resolution."
You also can file a complaint with the State Ombudsman. The office was established to handle certain complaints against state and county executive branch agencies. Call 587-0770.
Poor customer service is not condoned, Dote said.
There are "many dedicated state employees who truly care about their clients and try their best to treat them in a fair and businesslike manner," he said.
Unfortunately, Dote said, budget cuts have taken their toll, with many departments operating with 10-30 percent fewer staff than before.
"Often, the employee has to go to another area to perform file searches or document checks so processing "on-the-spot' (for front-counter customers) may not be possible," he said. "This is stressful to both the customer and the employee. So, I hope that we can all extend our aloha to each other and understand the situation each person is coming from."
Q: I received a $10 parking ticket at a private lot on Beretania Street between Bethel and Nuuanu. It's like a cash register receipt, with a citation number, my license number and description of my car.
I'm justified in getting this ticket, but there is no way to pay it -- nothing showing the name of the company or address. How does this company expect people to pay for citations?
A: Propark Inc. runs the lot. Citations are issued in two types of envelopes, said operations secretary Jeanne Posner.
One is a small manila envelope with the company's name and address and the other is a white pre-addressed envelope with a "plastic face," she said.
A register tape is slipped between the plastic and the white envelope, Posner said, speculating that the tape somehow became detached.
Penalty fees usually are mailed to a post office box, she said.
However, send your payment to Propark Inc., 445 Seaside Ave., Honolulu 96815.
Need help with problems? Call Kokua Line at 525-8686,
fax 525-6711, or write to P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Email to kokualine@starbulletin.com