May 15, 2003

When Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land took office in January, she promised to visit all 173 Secretary of State branch offices within the first year of her administration to find better ways of serving the public.

Just five months into her term, she is ahead of schedule, having visited 88 branches in 37 counties as of today. The ambitious effort is paying off with a wealth of ideas being shared between Land, department staff and the public that are geared to enhance efficiency and customer service.

"These visits are extremely valuable in providing me with information about what’s working and what needs improvement in the branch office system," Land said. "I have had the opportunity to meet with hundreds of employees and customers personally. Based on what I’ve learned so far, I am already developing plans that will help us deliver better service."

Land found that there is no substitute for personal contact when seeking ideas. For example, when walking toward the Detroit Downtown office for her visit, Land came across a pedestrian who was having trouble finding the branch office. She led the man to the site and noticed that the building’s signage was insufficient. Land immediately requested that a sign be placed outside of the office that will make it easier to find.

One of Land’s top priorities is to educate the public of the Secretary of State services available to customers over the Internet. During her visits, she noticed that there was virtually no promotion of the public’s ability to do business with the Department of State via the Internet in the branch offices. This resulted in her decision to place the department’s Web address, www.Michigan.gov/sos, on the exterior branch office signs. This effort kicked off her campaign of "Save time, Renew online!" encouraging customers to take greater advantage of the department’s online services such as vehicle and watercraft registration renewal.

Branch office improvements she is looking at to enhance customer service include:

• Credit cards in branch offices – the use of credit cards has become a standard business practice, and Land hopes to allow customers to pay for services in branch offices by credit card before the end of the year.
• Flexible branch office hours – Land understands it is not always convenient for customers to make it to a branch on a weekday. While most branch offices are open for business until 7 p.m. on Wednesday evenings, she has proposed offering additional hours in some offices. She is exploring opening some branch offices early one day a week, primarily in the state’s larger metropolitan areas and offering Saturday morning hours in select branches. This concept has been positively received by many branch office employees as well as the public.
• New branch office signs – to promote fiscal responsibility and make better use of existing resources, outdated branch office signs are being modified to read "Secretary of State, www.Michigan.gov/sos." Only those signs in disrepair will be replaced entirely.
• Physical plant and facility upgrades – to enhance accessibility and safety, Land is working with branch office managers and landlords to repair crumbling pavement in branch office parking lots; improve lighting; increase security measures and make sure all physical plant operations, such as heating and air conditioning systems, are working properly. Land is evaluating the branch locations to see if they adequately serve the community’s needs.
• Language barrier issues – with today’s multicultural environment, there is a need for more bilingual staff and materials. To address this, branch offices will begin posting highly visible signs in their windows outlining which documents are needed to obtain a driver’s license or personal identification card. The multilingual signs will help people understand what information they must bring with them when they visit a branch office. This will spare non-English speaking customers the frustration and embarrassment of not having the documents they need to complete their business.

"While the Internet can enhance the services we provide, there is also great value in person-to-person communication," Land said. "My goal is to redefine and reshape how we use both the Internet and the branch offices to provide customers with the best possible service for their unique needs."

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