Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich. – chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee – James Lankford, R-Okla., and John Cornyn, R-Texas., introduced bipartisan legislation to improve and streamline the customer service (CX) that Federal agencies provide in person, online, and over the phone.
The Improving Government Services Act – slated to be marked up by the committee on Oct. 25 – would encourage all government agencies to offer a better and more secure experience for taxpayers by adopting CX best practices from the private sector.
“Taxpayers must be able to easily and efficiently reach federal agencies when they have questions about services or benefits,” Sen. Peters said in a statement. “My commonsense bipartisan bill would require agencies to adopt customer service best practices that limit wait times and use callbacks to ensure taxpayers receive support in a timely manner.”
According to the text of the bill, the senators’ legislation would require the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to designate certain agencies as “high-impact service providers” – meaning agencies that deal with loan programs, passport renewal, tax filing, and health care, among other services. OMB would oversee these high-impact Federal agencies in developing a written comprehensive strategy to improve CX at their respective organizations, including creating a “CX Action Plan” to adopt appropriate CX best practices from the private sector such as online services, telephone call back services, and employee training programs.
The bill also requires agencies to plan for long-term customer service improvements – including adoption of the latest technologies that can better serve the public – and to increase the use of digital channels and self-service CX options.
“Taxpayers are often forced to navigate red tape, outdated websites, and long wait times when trying to access the Federal agency services their tax dollars fund,” Sen. Cornyn said. “This legislation would help Federal agencies improve their ‘customer satisfaction’ by requiring them to adopt proven customer service practices from the private sector.”
The senators cited the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as a gold standard for improving CX at an agency. For example, after implementing some new customer service strategies, such as establishing a single phone number to access benefits and services and new ways for veterans to quickly access information, the VA saw veterans’ trust in the agency rise from 55 percent in 2016 to nearly 80 percent in 2023.
“I have worked for years across the aisle to get Federal agencies to use private-sector best practices to improve customer service and promote privacy and data security,” said Sen. Lankford. “Some agencies have already successfully implemented private-sector best practices, but we need them government-wide. Providing good customer service doesn’t have to be difficult. Let’s get this nonpartisan bill to the finish line so interacting with the Federal government is less frustrating for the public.”
