5: Customer Satisfaction
Sustain the high level of customer satisfaction with the CPSC web site, hotline, Clearinghouse, and State Partnership Program
at 90 percent or better through the year 2010.
Other Information:
THE PROGRAM In addition to our work reducing hazards associated with consumer products, we provide additional services to
the public in the form of information services, including the agency's Internet web site, hotline, the National Injury Information
Clearinghouse, the State Partners Program. These resources are used both to provide information to, and to receive information
from, the public. Customer satisfaction with these services is vital if CPSC is to fulfill its mission. Our web site (www.cpsc.gov)
provides Internet access to CPSC resources, allowing the public to view information about recalled products, report unsafe
product incidents, request information, and download safety information. The hotline is a toll-free telephone service that
allows consumers to report product complaints or product-related injuries, learn about recalls and safety hazards, and obtain
safety publications. The National Injury Information Clearinghouse provides data to the public in response to 3,300 requests
each year. It also alerts manufacturers to potential hazards associated with their products, providing them with consumer
complaints, reported incidents and accident investigations involving their products. Our State Partners Program, using limited
CPSC funds and CPSC-developed safety information, brings product safety services to consumers through cooperative programs
with state and local governments. The program extends our reach throughout the nation. REDUCING THE RISK The satisfaction
of customers (including consumers, industry, and state partners) with CPSC services is important to us. If consumers are satisfied
with safety information they receive through the web site, hotline, and Clearinghouse, they will more likely obtain and use
this information to protect themselves and their families. If our state partners are satisfied with CPSC's safety information
and response to them, they are more likely to incorporate this safety information into their local ongoing programs, again
protecting consumers from product-related injuries and deaths. SETTING THE STRATEGIC GOAL Web Site. In the past our strategic
goal focused on the number of contacts to our web site, which has increased dramatically over the years (see graph below).
However, now that our web site and the Internet itself have matured, we want to shift the focus more towards customer satisfaction
with our site. We plan to begin conducting surveys of user satisfaction with our Web site to identify areas that could be
improved. We conducted an initial survey in 2003 to give us baseline data for the level of satisfaction with our Web site.
In this survey approximately 96 percent of respondents indicated that they were satisfied or very satisfied in general with
the CPSC Web site. In attempting to benchmark this goal, we also investigated evaluations at other agencies. We were able
to locate only two other Federal agencies that reported conducting customer satisfaction surveys for their Web sites: the
Bureau of the Census, and the International Trade Administration (ITA), both in the Department of Commerce. The Bureau of
the Census reported 94 percent custome r satisfaction in 1997, 69 percent in 2000, and 90 percent in 2001. The ITA reported
customer satisfaction levels for 2002 at 84.4 percent. For FY 2002 their target satisfaction rate was “greater than 50 percent.”
For 2003, they set the target at 70 percent. Because these agencies’ customers’ needs and expectations may be very different
from those of CPSC’s customers, we are not sure that these satisfaction levels would be strictly comparable to CPSC’s. However,
based on the Web site customer satisfaction evaluations at these other agencies, and CPSC’s own baseline evaluation of customer
satisfaction, we set a goal of 90 percent satisfaction with our Web site. Hotline, Clearinghouse, State Partners. CPSC set
a strategic goal to sustain the high level of customer satisfaction with the hotline and Clearinghouse and of the states with
our State Partnership Program at 90 percent or better through the year 2010. We set this goal based on recent evaluations
of the three services showing customers and partners to be very satisfied with CPSC's services. Satisfaction levels ranged
from 88 percent to 97 percent over the time period (see following table). These values compare very favorably with those we
found from other comparable agencies that reported customer satisfaction levels ranging from 70 percent to 81 percent. STRATEGIES
The two following strategies will be used to maintain or improve the level of customer satisfaction with the web site. Customers
will be able to: § Find information about recalls on our web site the day the recall is announced. § Find copies of statistical
studies, briefing packages, and other documents on our web site the day the documents become public. To sustain the high level
of customer satisfaction with the hotline, Clearinghouse, and State Partners Program, staff will maintain and adhere to a
list of customer service standards. Customers, including consumers, industry, and state partners, will be able to: § Speak
to a knowledgeable and courteous staff person. § Receive the most up-to-date safety information. § Have a response to a request
within a specified time, usually within one to five business days. § Receive a return call or have a request acknowledged
in a specified time, usually within one to two business days. § Speak to a CPSC staff member in any of 12 languages. § Have
a consumer complaint recorded accurately and a copy mailed for verification within two business days. PERFORMANCE MEASURES
We will rely primarily on two basic types of performance measures: in-house tracking systems will provide time-torespond measures,
and surveys will provide the percent of customers (consumers, industry, or state partners) satisfied with our services. Surveys
may be telephone interviews, e-mail surveys, or mailed questionnaires.
Objective(s):
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