August 13, 2003

Escanaba was the latest stop on Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land’s statewide tour as she shared ideas on improving customer service with branch office staff and the public.

The trip is in keeping with Land’s pledge to visit all 173 Department of State branch offices this year. She already has visited over 150 branches since taking office in January.

Land is working aggressively to improve customer convenience and department efficiency through Internet technology.

"We are committed to delivering the best possible service," Land said. "Greater use of innovation and technology will help us do that. It also is helpful to hear the ideas of employees and the public firsthand. We’ll be a wiser, more efficient department because of their input."

Her new campaign "Skip the Trip! Save Time, Renew Online!" generates awareness of available online services. As part of that effort, Land recently asked that outdated branch office signs still bearing her predecessor’s name be modified to incorporate the department Web address www.michigan.gov/sos. Only signs in disrepair will be replaced entirely.

She also is exploring ways to improve service for people visiting branch offices. Possibilities include extending office hours and offering Saturday hours in select locations; expanding the use of credit-card transactions to include branch office services; overcoming language barriers by posting multilingual signs in offices that help visitors understand what information they must bring to conduct business; and improving office accessibility by working to repair pavement in parking lots, improve lighting, and provide timely snow removal.

The Secretary commended Escanaba office employees for their performance and pointed out the tremendous volume of work that they handle.

The office processed nearly 87,150 transactions last year.

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