HEADED by a globally admired and respected statesman, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is arguably one of the remaining centers of excellence in the Aquino government. It has shown its mettle in public service delivery and innovation under its current leadership. If digital age has changed the way we communicate and do business, the agency bravely embraced change. For example, it opened new frontiers of convenience and transparency when it allowed the people to do part of the process of renewing or getting new passports online.
Simplicity, speed and efficiency make citizens doing business with the government happier. Thus, the success of any government agency critically depends on its capacity to provide such kind of service all the time. That’s how you earn your brand: If people hold you up to a high standard of service that they were made to believe was set to benefit them, they would be greatly disappointed if you don’t deliver at the level you are expected to perform.
It’s not easy to sustain the delivery of excellent service…unless it has become part of the corporate culture. For this to happen in any government agency, officials and the rank-and-file employees must have the gumption to fight mediocrity. Delivering a high standard of service consistently all the time is the most difficult part. Sadly, most government agencies are not able to rise to the challenge. Which is why most people interacting or doing business with the government are generally frustrated.
The degree of frustration rises to stratospheric levels when exceptional agencies like the DFA falter. That’s how people feel when they get something that is not as good as advertised. The higher their expectation of quality service, the greater their disappointment when the agency fails to deliver.
This kind of frustration was felt close to home recently when our publisher availed himself of the DFA’s courtesy lane facility to renew his passport. Apart from members of the media, the facility is being extended to government officials and employees, senior citizens, minor children, people with disability, pregnant women, and overseas Filipino workers with existing valid contracts or confirmed job offers. Owing to his hectic schedule, our publisher thought the DFA courtesy/express lane would make things easier and faster for him. He was a mile wrong. Given the DFA’s reputation for efficient service, it’s difficult to comprehend how he was made to suffer five long hours to complete the passport-renewal process that can be done, at most, in a matter of minutes. How much longer would it take to renew passports using the regular route?
We know the DFA is doing everything it can to ensure that passport processing and releasing are as efficient and customer-friendly as possible. The kind of frontline inefficiency that our publisher experienced presents an opportunity for improvement. The DFA must correct this at once. Done repeatedly, this is the kind of service that will lead people to conclude that the centers of excellence in the government are fast disappearing. There’s no better indicator that something may be seriously wrong in our brand of public service than the people’s growing cynicism bordering on dislike of the government.
Image credits: Jimbo Albano