Citizen Satisfaction with Federal Government Lags Private Sector, e-Gov Still a Bright Spot in Federal Services According to ACSI (PDF; 27 KB)
Source: American Customer Satisfaction Index

Citizens are less satisfied with federal government services than they are with private sector services, according to the annual federal government report from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) released today. In aggregate, citizen satisfaction with the federal government is 67.8 on ACSI’s 100-point scale, 11 percent lower than the National ACSI (75.2). Private sector services score 74.
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Although the federal government receives fewer complaints on average than the private sector, ACSI data show that federal government agencies could do a much better job handling the complaints they do receive. Only 9.1 percent of federal agency customers complained compared to 14.3 percent throughout the entire private sector. Complaint rates for Cable TV (44%), wireless telephone service (34%) and banks (27%) were much higher, but the federal government scores much lower in its ability to handle complaints.

Responding to complaints in a timely and effective manner can have a large impact on overall customer satisfaction. The ACSI for citizens whose complaints are handled well is 67. That drops to a dismal 28 when complaints remain unresolved.
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Citizen satisfaction with e-government continues to outpace the overall federal government sector. The ACSI e-Government index is 73.4 for 2007, which is 8 percent higher than the overall federal government. In 2007, 20 percent of measured websites scored at 80 or better, but 28 percent are below 70. This suggests that although there is great potential, delivery of government services online is a mixed success.

Among agencies, taxpayer satisfaction with the IRS’s paper filing process made the largest gain, up 8 percent this year to an all-time high of 55. This year’s most satisfying agencies include the Mint (86) and the National Cemetery Administration in the Department of Veterans Affairs (95). The Department of Interior, home of the National Park Service, leads federal departments as a whole at 79. Federal government departments with the lowest customer satisfaction include The Department of Treasury (60) and The Department of Homeland Security, with an ACSI score of 49, which puts it at the very bottom of the list.

+ Commentary by Claes Fornell
+ Government (Agency/Segment) Scores
+ ACSI Overall Federal Government Scores with Historical Scores of Agencies Measured
+ Other Public Sector Scores
+ ACSI Government Model

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 19th, 2007 at 10:55 pm and is filed under Consumer issues, Government and politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.