An expanded version of the second annual governmentwide customer satisfaction survey will be released this spring, providing a broader look at how federal agencies are meeting customer expectations.
Agencies determine which customers are interviewed for the survey.
We started with 30 agencies and next spring we'll expand that baseline to close to 100. The survey will provide customer feedback to several first-time agency participants, including the U.S. Postal Service, the Small Business Administration and the Agriculture Department's Farm Service Agency. Several agencies have also decided to survey additional customer groups. For example, USDA's Food and Nutrition Service will survey recipients of its food stamp and school lunch programs, in addition to participants in the Women, Infants and Children program, who were surveyed in earlier surveys. I think a lot of agencies have gotten away from the idea that there is one definition of customers.