The Internal Shopper Program is a customer service initiative designed to focus on the expectations of our customers as seen through the eyes of a fellow VA employee. Teams of surveyors from various sites throughout VISN 2 visit sites other than their own utilizing a standard report card to observe, as well as learn, how other VA employees are responding to our Customer Service Standards. The questions on the report card include cleanliness, courtesy, safety, environment, parking, handicapped accessibility, etc. During Fiscal Year 1999, all five VISN 2 Medical Centers were surveyed as well as the clinics located at Rochester, Rome, and Binghamton. The teams found that the VA employees at each site are very proud of the service they provide to our veterans.
Service is provided in an environment that is clean and well-maintained.
In all instances, the teams witnessed veterans being treated with respect and caring and feedback from discussions with veteran patients was positive. There were few deficiencies noted and these dealt with improving safety issues. These were either already being addressed by the facility or steps were taken to improve these areas as soon as possible. Feedback reports were given to the management at each site for both corrective action, if needed, and for use in recognizing the staff involved in providing excellent VA health care.