Now, certainly we in government need to enhance customer service. Because we all perceive the need to improve the vending machine, local government agencies in the United States and around the world are involved in initiatives to improve customer service, ranging, from hiring customer-sensitive employees, giving existing employees better training, streamlining procedures, cutting red tape, and recognizing customerservice heroes and. In the community of Brea, California, for example, we take great pride in the Brea Customer Care Commitment. Even when the city does in fact provide excellent customer service, however, there is a fundamental problem. Ultimately, the vending-machine model undermines people's confidence in and their allegiance to government.
Local government becomes just another service provider among many.
It is no longer special and can no longer demand the public's allegiance. Even more troublesome, the vending machine contributes to passive consumerism. Localities demand nothing more than that customers drop their quarters into the vendingmachine slot. In short, local governments have turned citizens into mere consumers. Finally, the vending machine is based on a deficit model.