I find myself in a struggle with an unnamed government department trying to get a certain permit for something. I don't think there is anything wrong with our application, but trying to communicate with the department is impossible. They do not answer phone calls or e-mails. If I were rating their level of customer service it would be a minus 10. When asked why, I get that they are busy.
One cynical friend suggested that when governments have funds cut, they automatically allow customer service to suffer as a way to get the funds restored. I hope not, but it begins to seem that way.
The real answer is that governments perform a service and should be rated on their customers service. Any well managed organization must be held accountable for service. If they don't perform, they should be fired. In the case of a government with a monopoly, this is difficult to enforce, but I would think that they would realize that much of the anti-government sentiment has to do with poor service.
