Karen Sudu, Gleaner Writer

In an era when some ministries and government agencies that interact with the public on a daily basis have a battered reputation of poor service, the Registrar General's Department (RGD) in Twickenham Park, St Catherine, for the most part, has managed to deliver an effective customer-service strategy.

Upon arrival at the office recently, I saw a neatly attired security guard, whose name I later learnt to be Michael Walker of Atlas Protection Limited, manning the entrance to the customer service department.

A friendly smile accompanied his pleasant greeting.

"Good afternoon, please come inside and join this line to speak to the rep," he said.

The customer service representative, Christie-Ann Green, was polite as she assisted the five clients who were ahead of me in the line.

In fact, for the most part, the welcoming atmosphere, the seating arrangements and the prompt attendance given to the customers seemed to have impacted them positively.

"The service was speedy. The customer service reps that dealt with me were courteous and I found that they were willing to go the extra mile to provide assistance," a satisfied Lawford Davis of Old Harbour, St Catherine, shared with The Gleaner after he paid his application fee for a birth certificate.

When it was my turn, Green extended a warm greeting with a pleasant smile.

I requested some information about the agency's Bedside Registration Programme introduced in January 2007. Under this project, the agency conducts registration of births at the bedsides of mothers at public hospitals and birthing centres islandwide.

Unable to fulfil my request, without hesitation, Green directed me to speak to another customer service representative who was not at her station at the time.

About two minutes after I sat in the section where I was directed to wait, she called me back to her desk and told me that she would get someone else to provide the information I requested.

With that, she made a call and informed the person on the line about my request. She permitted me to further explain in detail to Juliet Grant, with whom she was speaking, what I wanted.

In less than two minutes, Grant came and escorted me to the office of Georgia Taylor-Lewis, acting marketing manager.

Though seemingly busy, Taylor-Lewis was most accommodating, as she noted carefully the information I sought.

She indicated, however, that what I wanted was not readily available, but she would research, collate and email me as soon as possible.