KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- Credibility in customer service is hard won, especially in the U.S. Air Force. Sometimes one poor customer service experience can make or break somebody’s viewpoint forever. The personnelists at Kirtland’s Military Personnel Flight go above and beyond to earn credibility by providing excellent service to their customers.
“One of the misconceptions is that we are only here during customer service hours,” said Master Sgt. David Mancha, 377th Military Personnel Flight superintendent. “We don’t close for training days. We schedule training outside of customer service hours so we can stay open.”
Before, during and after customer service hours, the MPF is working hard and doing their part to keep Kirtland and its many mission partners running smoothly. According to Staff Sgt. Anthony Moreno-Chavez, 377th MPF Force Management NCOIC, it is not as easy as people think it is.
“I retrained into this job thinking it was all easy,” said Moreno-Chavez. “I am more tired here at the end of the day then when I was doing vehicle maintenance. People are constantly working hard here.”
The work the MPF does includes making ID cards for service members, contractors, dependents and retirees, DEERS updates such as new dependencies and marriages, leave approval, line of duty determinations, special leave accrual, on base transportation, resetting common access cards and helping dependents gain U.S. citizenship.
The dedication and hard work of the MPF has been acknowledged. After averaging 100 customers a day, with 14,539 people serviced in 2018, the section was lauded for productivity and volume alone.
“We get rated on a personnel action report, and we get rated on how we are doing based on all metrics,” said Mancha. “In 2018 we were Air Force Global Strike Command’s MPF of the year. That only speaks to our productivity. The other piece is our customer service.”
According to Moreno-Chavez, the MPF customer service approach is a simple one.
“Obviously treat every customer like you want to be treated,” said Moreno-Chavez. “Simply take care of the customer. What we do can affect pay, health care and benefits. We want to service the customer the way we would want to be serviced.”
The MPF tries to excel in all sections with the hope of tailoring service to every customer’s needs.
“We are here to meet everyone’s customer service needs,” said Mancha. “We put our best efforts forward in doing that. If we miss the mark, just give us feedback.”
The MPF often receives feedback without the name of the customer attached.
“A lot of times we get anonymous feedback and I can’t only do so much with that,” said Mancha. “We need the name of that person so we can try and find out how we can provide better customer service.”
The team at the MPF want to service as many customers as they can, while retaining quality customer service. However, to make the process easier on everyone, it helps to be prepared with all the required documents and forms of ID needed.
“Everything you need to know is on our website and on the TV in the lobby,” said Moreno-Chavez. “It can be frustrating for someone that has waited three hours to get an ID card and then be told that they need one more form of ID. The website [and TV in the lobby] has every situation you could come across that our office handles.”
Customers can be prepared for the next appointment at the MPF by visiting their website at: https://kirtlandforcesupport.com/military-personnel/.