Customer
Service Excellence
[1] [2]
Donita Precise, Debra Pruitt, Tracy Samuel
Public Works & Engineering
“We humans are quick to criticize and slow to praise. What I want to do now is praise, praise, praise!” wrote Donna Hebert.
Hebert had e-mailed public works about a ditch that needed mowing and a culvert that needed cleaning. The response was quick and decisive, she wrote.
Debra Pruitt and Tracy Samuel logged her requests. Soon Bonita Precise called Hebert to say the crew was en route to fix the problem.
“Her crew was a well-oiled team,” Hebert wrote. “They did a great job.”
Pam Ingersoll
Building Services
Each year, fifth graders at Bunker Hill Elementary School raise funds to maintain and restore the Sam Houston Statue, wrote Principal Krista Blackburn. Pam Ingersoll encourages the students by taking them on field trips to view and clean downtown art, by providing speakers and by giving the students certificates and tokens of appreciation.
Beyond simply maintaining wall and sidewalk art, it’s important for students to learn about art and sculpture, Blackburn wrote.
“She’s had such a tremendous impact teaching and helping our students grow to be conscious of art and the need to keep it beautiful.”
Nicola Stanley
Human Resources
“Nicola Stanley’s professionalism, knowledge of employee benefits and willingness to go the extra mile has been a great asset,” wrote A. Blackmon.
Ruth Torres
Municipal Courts Administration
Jose Mendez was struggling to understand how the city’s driving safety course works. So he called 311 and was transferred to Municipal Court’s collections section.
Ruth Torres answered the phone. Because he speaks Spanish, he was happy to hear someone on the other line who spoke his language, Mendez wrote.
After explaining the process, Torres reminded Mendez he had a court date the next day and if he didn’t show, a warrant would be issued. Mendez had forgotten about his court date.
“I’m glad she reminded me,” he said. “I’m so appreciative of her patience and courtesy. I’m glad the city provides such excellent customer service.”
Angel Toledo
Aviation
Regina Callaghan set down her briefcase to pick up her luggage at Bush Intercontinental Airport, then forgot about it after she loaded her luggage and started heading toward her vehicle. By the time she remembered, the briefcase was gone.
The briefcase was significant to her, Callaghan wrote. It had been her husband’s, who had recently died, and it was filled with sympathy cards and unmailed thank-you notes.
Callaghan checked with airline personnel and with lost and found, but had no luck. Despondent and accepting that she’d never see her briefcase and its contents again, Callaghan left the airport.
Four days later, it occurred to her that perhaps security had picked it up. Angel Toledo told her the briefcase was indeed being held in his office, Callaghan wrote.
It was late in the day, and Callaghan said she wouldn’t be able to get to the security office before it closed. Toledo told her he’d wait for her and gave her instructions for contacting him when she arrived.
Toledo even gave Callaghan a short quiz to verify it was her briefcase before returning it, Callaghan wrote. When she offered him a reward, he declined.
“I can’t tell you how important that briefcase and its contents are to me,” she wrote. “Mr. Toledo was so kind and considerate. He certainly didn’t have to make the special effort to open the office for me after hours.”
George Feist, Rashead McGuire, Daniel Vogel
Fire
Mary West passed out in an airport bathroom. After George Feist, Rashead McGuire and Daniel Vogel revived her, West said she was fine and wanted to get on her plane.
Feist, McGuire and Vogel insisted West go for tests, which revealed she had a blocked artery. Before performing emergency surgery, doctors told her she’d have been in real trouble if she’d gotten on the plane.
“You probably saved my life,” she wrote. “Without your talk, without your very positive insistence, I certainly would not have gone to the hospital.
“So, please, keep up the very important job you do. You should be commended for your accurate decisions.”