OCR Text |
Show From the commander "I look forward to meeting and working with all the members of the wing." Off to a fast,encouraging start By Col. Daniel Dick Commander, 388th Fighter Wing Words can not express how pleased I am to be part of the 388th team. The 388th's excellent reputation is well known and with what I have seen in my first month here, I can see it is well deserved. It has been a busy month. In my first three weeks we executed a Phase I (mobility) exercise, a Phase II (employment) exercise and hosted the 12th Air Force vice commander for two days. Iam very pleased with the performance of the wing in all three of these significant events. I was particularly pleased with the way the Phase n exercise went. We flew a lot of sorties in a tough simulated wartime environment. The performance of all the maintenance folks in preparing the sorties, the pilots in flying them and all the " support personnel in tying it all together was superb. With some polish, I know we will water the IG's eyes next October during the ORI. Another significant event we recently had was our wing safety day. This is the time of year that - Col. Daniel Dick 388th Fighter Wing commander accidents and mishaps increase, so please, be careful. I want everyone to have an enjoyable summer and spend some well deserved time off with your family and friends. Our exercise and deployment schedule will continue to be fairly heavy, so please plan ahead so you can get the chance to take leave and recharge your batteries and please do so safely. Again, I'm tremendously excited to be at Hill and to be a part of the 388th. I look forward to meeting and working with all the members of the wing. ... data measu re merits, Surveys, customer? care about Do makes it This quiz By Maj. Gil Van Wagner Commander, 388th Logistics Support Squadron There's been a lot of talk about quality in the past few years. That's all fine and good but let's be brutally honest: we have some significant problems facing us if we are to stay competitive. The talk about quality can be overwhelming so let's cut to the quick and look at one major aspect of it and see how we are doing let's take a look at customer service. We can gather data till the cows come home but it can be much easier to find out how we support our customers daily. We often overlook simple indicators that tell what our customers think about us. If you think you can stand the answers, here are some questions to ask yourself. I caution you, this quiz is not for the squeamish. something or you have to check with your boss, you are nothing more than an interference. The customer wasted their time talking to you. If you are a boss, and are routinely asked to make simple decisions your organization is ineffective. If your people can't or won't make decisions then your customers know dealing with them is futile. We don't need people who can't act. The saying lead, follow, or get out of the way applies to everyone. Picture a fly ball to deep center and the short stop lets it go knowing the outfielder isn't there. Sound crazy? That's because it wouldn't happen because baseball in a team sport. News Flash! so is customer support. Play the game or sit in the bleachers. We don't need slowing down the game. Do I hide behind regulations or policy? Listen to your conversations with customers. If you constantly say things can't be done because of regs, you are constantly telling - customers you will not support them. The classic example is the person who says, "I know it's stupid but it's a regulation. If you do that, the saying that if you are not part of the solution you are a part of the problem should be tattooed on your forehead, without any painkiller. Do non-playe- rs I know my customer needs? That can't be answered from behind your desk. Visit them and see their job and get to Do know them. I often visit my suppliers and am sometimes greeted with, "It's good to see you. You haven't been up here for a long time." That's nice but why haven't they come to visit mezsd. customer? It's smart business. Get out of the office and see what's going on. Those customers will often defend you if you've visited because they know you care. Based on the number of times I see suppliers visiting customers at Hill, outside of formal meetings, we don't understand that simple concept. My experience shows that these visits minimize complaints. That's time saved. (I put that in there for all of you rationalizers who think you don't have the time for visits. You're too busy working problems for customers. Hmmm ... You figure it out) Pretty brutal column, huh? That's because it's simple, yet it is not done. The classes help and the push for "quality" is commendable, but if you're not taking care of the customer, we'll be the most quality-wis- e folks on the unemployment line. Think about it. I look at the dock before deciding what can be done today? It happens all the time here. It's Thursday afternoon before 549 Friday and the person takes the problem and drops it midstream to beat the rush out the gate. I've seen paperwork for components that, when not ordered, keep aircraft from flying stuck in someone's for a three- - or four-da- y weekend. If your loyalty punches a clock, it's not loyalty. That separates professionals from the average worker the professional cares. ih-bas- Do I support the customer or just refer them to someone else? If you constantly tell people that you can't do your you simple: ket Can my customers be serviced when I'm not there? This is prevalent everywhere. "It can't be done because Bob or Mary isn't here and that's their area." A customer was just turned away empty handed. That's the bottom line. If you or people you work with do this, you're not a team. You are a group of individuals who happen to work in the same area. Fkbtbm Covtmr is edited, prepared and provided by the 388th Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office, Submit editorial copy to: 388 FWPA (Bldg. 20, Room 3) by the first Friday of the month for that month's Issue, For more Information, call the public affair office at Cot. Daniel Dkk Commander, 388th Ftfiter Wing 1 1 1 777-320- 0. 1st Lt John J. Thomas OH Pubc Affairs TSgt Darla J. Ernst NCOKruMc - editor Fighter Country is a supplement to the Hilltop Times, published by MorMedia, Inc. a private firm In no way connected with the US. Air Force, under exclusive written contract with the Ogden ALC Public Affairs Office, This commercial enterprise Air Force newspaper if an authorized publication for members of the U.S. military services. Contents of Fighter Country are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the Affairs Groben A I C Aim - US, Government, the Department of Defense or the Department of the Air Force. Unless otherwise Indicated, all photos are US. Air Force photos. Advertisements contained herein do not constitute an endorsement by the Department of Defense, the US, Air Force or Hill AFB, Utah. Everything advertised is available without regard to race, color, religion, sex or other nonmerlt factor of the purchaser, user or patron. |