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CHAPTER 7
PERSONNEL SUPPORT
The Navy is very definitely affected, either directly
or indirectly, by the service you provide to its members.
You will probably administer one or more of the
administrative and financial services and benefits the
Navy provides to help military members and their
dependents to adjust and cope with the needs of the
service. The Navy benefits from good service. The
attitudes of satisfaction and gratitude for good service
extend beyond the person providing it to include the
Navy.
In this chapter we begin with customer service.
Later we discuss the various types of accountability of
identification cards, the preparation of an application for
commission or warrant rank and the interviewer’s
appraisal sheet, screening of financial supporting
documents, and computation of travel documents.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Customer service is an integral part of your daily
operations and an area rarely given as much planning
and thought as it warrants. Up to one-half of your
business comes from across the counter. It is therefore
imperative for you to conduct customer service
efficiently. Your technical expertise, personal and office
appearance, willingness to listen, and ability to
comprehend and resolve problems will be tested by each
customer. Write specific minimum standards for
conducting customer service and post them near the
customer service windows. When helping a customer,
remember that you represent the entire office operation
in every respect.
ATTITUDE
A person can still be given good service even though
it is impossible to provide the desired results. People
may ask for things or services to which they are not
entitled or you do not have the authority to approve or
grant. In such cases service refers to the quality of your
service rather than whether or not you comply with all
of a person’s wishes. The runaround, fast shuffle, or a
don’t bother me response to the person needing service
indicates one of the following attitudes:
l You are not important.
l
l
l
Your request or problem is not important.
You don’t know what you’re talking about.
I have more important things to do.
Attitude can be described as the tendency to move
toward a situation or away from it, to be either positive
or negative in our outlook or feelings toward a subject
or a like or dislike for someone or something. Attitudes
can’t be measured or graded, but the effect or results of
our attitudes can be. They are apparent in our actions
and performance. You may have said or heard someone
else say, “That person has a poor attitude.” How was
this opinion formed? Was it formed as the result of the
way that person acted toward co-workers or customers
or in the way the work was completed?
Let us look at some specific instances in which
attitude plays a big part. Consider a YN2 who, in an
administrative office, has been assigned to complete the
lieutenant fitness reports in addition to routine duties.
The YN2 receives a personal phone call and a few
minutes later a customer comes in for service. The YN2
is the only one in the office at the time. The YN2 does
not acknowledge the customer’s presence. A YN3 who
previously worked in the administrative office before
being reassigned to the security office enters the
administrative office to pick up service records. The
YN3 notices the YN2 conversing on the phone while a
customer is waiting. The customer asks the YN3 for
assistance. The YN3 replies, “I am sorry, but I no longer
work in this office. The YN2 should be off the phone
shortly.”
Five minutes later, before leaving the administrative
office, the YN3 notices the YN2 is still talking on the
phone while the customer is waiting. The YN3
approaches the customer, apologizes for the delay, and
states, “Because the office is short-handed on personnel,
it should not create a problem if I assist you.” The
customer needs assistance with correcting an error on
his officer data card. The location of his spouse and an
annual re-verification of a variable housing allowance
(VHA) form must be turned into disbursing within the
next 2 weeks or the officer’s VHA payments will stop.
The YN3 obtains the Manual of Navy Officers’
Classifications, volume II, to assist the officer. The YN3
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