Newstrack: Customer service ramps up at Linn County Treasurer’s Office

BACKGROUND

With the goal of increasing customer satisfaction across several county departments, Linn County officials in 2016 launched a program aimed at enhancing the customer experience.

In the Linn County Treasurer's Office, that meant providing customer-focused training to all employees, finding ways to streamline services and implementing procedures aimed at making the lives of customers better.

Office staff were cross-trained and reorganized so they could handle multiple duties, and a payment drop box was installed.

Last year, the office added three new full-time employees to the more than 30-member staff.

In addition, the department installed a computer desk at one of the office's windows to allow members of the public access to the state tax and tags website, which is used to pay property tax fees and renew vehicle registrations.

Those services can be accessed at home, but sometimes customers either don't realize that or don't have home access to a computer, County Treasurer Sharon Gonzalez said.

WHAT'S HAPPENED SINCE

To further enhance the customer experience, the Linn County Treasurer's Office this summer announced the addition of a new tool on the county website - linncounty.org - that allows residents to see how long they can expect to wait if they go in to the office.

Residents can use the county website from home to see how many customers are waiting in the lobby, the average current wait time and the maximum wait time.

'This will help customers who may have time constraints to complete their business to decide if it's the right time to stop in, or if they must come down, they can know the approximate wait time they could expect and not be surprised,” Gonzalez said in a news release. 'This is one more improvement we have made to increase customer satisfaction.”

l Comments: (319) 398-8309; mitchell.schmidt@thegazette.com