Governor Perdue has challenged agency heads and customer service champions from 42 state agencies and offices to begin implementation of customer service improvement plans. Governor Perdue also announced the theme of the state’s customer service campaign – “Team Georgia. Ready To Serve.” The customer service improvement plans were due to the Office of Customer Service by June 30, 2006, and implementation is set to begin in August.

“Each Georgia citizen who walks through our door for a government service is an opportunity,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “It is my intention that Georgia government employees will take advantage of those opportunities, showing citizens that we respect and value their time.”

The meeting spotlighted the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) as an example of an agency that has vastly improved customer service for citizens. According to DDS Commissioner Greg Dozier, the average wait time statewide for customers visiting a DDS customer service center in person improved from 22:24 minutes (July 2005) to 6:40 minutes (May 2006).

The wait for a reservation for a road test decreased from 14 weeks (July 2005) to less than 4 weeks in most centers (May 2006). DDS continued its pledge to provide a regular driver’s license renewal in 30 minutes or the customer does not pay. Free licenses issued have decreased from 1,100 per week (July 2005) to 15 per week (May 2006) saving the state approximately one million dollars per year.