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# A new era of service at City Hall
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/a-new-era-of-service-at-city-hall/
- Published: 2006-08-30T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T21:20:18.000Z
- Author: Kevin Herrera
- Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Bureaucrats look to make good with public*

MAIN LIBRARY — Addressing concerns of a disconnect between residents and city staff, City Manager Lamont Ewell Tuesday unveiled a new set of customer service standards at City Hall, as well as a new slogan for all employees to live by — “We do the right thing right!”

The seven standards emphasize swift and accurate responses to residents’ requests, all while providing a safe and welcoming environment that is sensitive to the special needs of customers. Politeness is key, as is maintaining the highest ethical standards.

“We are instituting standards that get us to the highest level of delivery so that our public understands that when we come to work, we come for one reason, and that is because we are dedicated to providing the best level of service we possibly can,” Ewell said during a meeting with City Hall’s high-ranking supervisors, who will be responsible for disseminating the new standards to roughly 2,100 city employees by the end of September.

“People have this belief that we don’t care, that we’re just bureaucrats feeding off the tax base,” Ewell said. “And it has always been my belief that we can turn that attitude around. We want to do it the right way and be successful at what we do … We should always be interested in turning good service into great service.”

When Ewell first arrived at City Hall ear-lier this year as City Manager, he said he heard numerous complaints from residents and business owners about a City Hall that seemed to be indifferent, cold and often unresponsive.

Whether or not that had to do with the attitudes of certain employees, stress, or the lack of assistance internally remains to be seen, however, Ewell felt it was imperative to address the issue of customer service immediately.

Within weeks of his arrival, Ewell formed City Hall’s Customer Service Committee, which was comprised of 15 representatives from various departments, including the City Managers Office, Planning and Community Development, the Santa Monica Police Department and the City Clerk’s Office.

The committee, led by City Hall’s Community Relations Manager Judy Franz, reviewed best customer service standards and practices from cities throughout the U.S. and Great Britain. Interviews were conducted with representatives from those cities and draft standards were prepared based on those interviews. The draft was sent to all department heads, and recently to all employees, who reviewed them and made suggestions.

The standards are as follows: ■ Maintain the highest level of ethical standards. ■ Be polite, helpful, respectful and understanding at all times. ■ Solve problems and provide accurate information and timely responsive service. ■ Promote a safe and welcoming environment for the public and staff. ■ Be sensitive to the special needs of customers. ■ Value customer feedback and continue to improve in all areas of service. ■ Provide excellent customer service to colleagues, which in turn benefits service to the public.

The standards “don’t represent the flavor of the month,” Ewell said as he promised to hold more meetings with supervisors to receive feedback and monitor the implementation of the standards and the performance of staff. “This will be an ongoing effort, one which we are committed to as we strive to make it a part of our culture.”

In addition to the standards, a new rewards system also was introduced in which employees “caught doing the right thing right” will receive gifts and recognition at an annual picnic and in a City Hall newsletter.

All employees will receive training on the new standards and are encouraged to make suggestions. Committee members tried to assuage fears city employees may have about the standards being used against them in evaluations of their work performance.

“Customer service is a part of evaluations, but we all can have a bad day,” committee members wrote in a “Frequently Asked Questions” handout. “We’re going to learn from the tough situations and grow as an organization. As your supervisor, I’m not going to be watching like a hawk for you to make a mistake. I’m going to be providing coaching, resources, training to make sure you feel fully prepared for all sorts of customer service experiences. We’re in this together.”

While the standards focus a great deal on treating customers with respect, there also is a request from City Hall that residents and other customers show the same level of respect to employees.

“Employees don’t need to suffer abuse from disgruntled customers and … colleagues and supervisors will ‘have your back’ in these situations,” said Gay Forbes, a member of the committee.

However, if a customer experiences poor service, he or she is encouraged to report it to the City Manager’s Office by filling out a customer satisfaction survey and mail it free of charge. Customers also can go online to file a complaint or call the corresponding department head.

“We already do a good job of providing service,” Franz said. “This is just taking us to the next level.”

Kathy Dodson, president of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, said businesses have pointed to customer services as a significant issue of concern, “so we are glad to see that it is being addressed. It’s wonderful news.”

City Councilman Herb Katz, who has had a few bad experiences with city staff while working as an architect, said he is confident Ewell will follow through with implementing the new standards, which he said are a long time coming.

“We need to see that staff is well trained and the public understands that they are there to help and not to hinder,” Katz said. “This has been needed, been talked about, but (Lamont) is actually doing it. I’m very pleased.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 30, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/083006.pdf?ref=smdp.com)