Friday, June 14, 2002

 

The Speakers' Series invites in-house speakers to discuss current issues and their impact on the rest of ITA. The series is designed to meet monthly and informally for an hour. Mark your calendar and join us on the following date:

Date and Time: Thursday, June 20, 2002 at 10:00

Location: Room 3884

Speaker: John Ward, Senior Editor and Publications Manager, Office of Public Affairs

Topic: ITA Publications

Puzzled by ITA publications procedures? Wondering why your target audience is not responding to your publications and marketing pieces in the way you anticipated? And what do those funny-looking editorial squiggle marks mean anyway? John Ward will attempt to demystify the publication process, and will offer some tips on how you can produce better, more reader-friendly publications. For more information, contact Rosemary Pappas at (202)482-0482.

Secretarial Correspondence

The Department's Executive Secretariat (ES) has issued guidelines regarding due date extensions on Secretarial correspondence. To comply with the request of the Secretary's office for expedited response times, the ES will grant fewer extensions. Sufficient justification must be provided in writing, and the ES will review each request on a case-by-case basis. All such requests will be reviewed and approved or disapproved by Johanna Cole, Acting Director, or Ed Levy, Deputy Director. Continue to submit all extension/downgrade/decontrol requests to the ITA Secretariat--the Secretariat will transmit these requests to the ES. Provide concise information on the requests and submit each one prior to the ITA Secretariat's correspondence due date. If you have any questions, please contact Donna Magruder in ITA's Secretariat at (202)482-5101.

Purchase Card Training Requirements

The Department of Commerce, Acquisition Policy and Programs (DoC-APP) now requires that all existing Cardholders and Approving Officials complete General Service Administration (GSA's) web-based purchase card training. GSA's Purchase Card Training "GSA SmartPay Purchase Card - Your Blue Print for Success" takes about 45 minutes to complete and includes a 30 question test. It can be found at the following website address: http://www.fss.gsa.gov/webtraining/trainingdocs/smartpaytraining/index.cfm. When you pass the test, the website will generate a "Certificate of Completion". Please print out the certificate and send a copy to Robin Carpenter, ITA's Program Coordinator by September 15th, 2002, so that she can keep your credit card account active. If you have questions, please contact Robin Carpenter at (202)482-4989 or via e-mail Robin_Carpenter@ita.doc.gov.

FY 2003 Budget

Markup of the Appropriations Bills continues to be delayed, although work has begun in the House. For more information, contact Alan Zegas at (202)482-5739.

FY 2004 Budget

The FY 2004 Secretarial Budget has been submitted to the Department. Questions from the Department's Budget Office Analysts have been received and are being answered. Formal hearings with the Deputy Secretary are expected to occur in a few weeks. For more information, contact Alan Zegas at (202)482-5739.

ITA Comings and Goings -5/07/02 - 6/04/02

Arrivals - WELCOME!

OUS - Jeremy Isaac Caplan, ADMIN - Carlos T. Cole, Brandon R. Gordon, Ronald D. Jones Jr., IA - Jesse N. Cortes, Desiree Gavilan, Michael Holton, Ryan S. Langan, James M. Mathews, James P. Neel, Michael Quigley, Stephen A. Williams, Meredith Wood, MAC - Lynn Costa, Baron Green, Leah B. Markowitz, Leila Odom, Salvador Orofino, Cherie Rusnak, Tracy Theisen, TD - Daniel J. Bloom, Sarah A. Borwick, Brenna A. Cheslack-Postava, Robin Darden, Susan A. Hupka, Richard P. Stetson, US&FCS - Laura A. Parsons

Departures

IA - Frank Thomson, Margaret Weems, MAC - Derek Nowek, Neil Wavra, TD - Pat Beander, Joseph Payne, Ashley Plaxico, OUS - Kimberlee Sega

Traveler's Corner

Question: How can I find out if the foreign county which I am visiting on official travel has an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) available to obtain cash advances with my government-issued Citibank travel card.

Answer: Citibank cardholders should call Customer Service (within the continental U.S) at (800)790-7205, and (outside of the continental U.S.) call collect at (904)954-7850. If you have questions, call your travel contact or Sharon Russell at (202)482-3267.

Where Do I Find.... information on Evacuation of the Herbert C. Hoover Building? The Department of Commerce has provided a handbook on evacuating the Herbert C. Hoover Building (HCHB) in an emergency. This information can be obtained by going to the Office of Security's home page at http://www.doc.gov/osy/

ITA Yardstick

A key component of the President's Management Agenda is focusing on our customer to foster a customer centric environment and make our services the "best in business". Learning to be consistent and pleasant with each and every phone contact will go long way in ITA to make customers (internal and external) "wowed" by our professionalism. Listed below are five "best in

business" practices for dealing with clients on the phone:

 

1) Begin each customer contact with a pleasant, "[Office or Unit Name], this is [Employee's Name]. How may I help you?" Be sure your voice tone is pleasing and your volume is neither too loud nor too soft.

2) Never argue with customers. Encourage customers to voice their concerns, but don't make judgments or participate in a combative confrontation. If necessary, politely ask if the customer would please hold. Count to ten, think of your "happy place," and pick up the phone with a cheery, "I'm so sorry you had to wait. Please continue, I really want to

help you..."

3) Answer all phone calls promptly, by the third ring. Otherwise, your customers might be guessing if they have the right number, or if you're out to lunch. Prompt phone answering is the key to providing quality service.

4) Listen and listen! Allow customers the opportunity to say what's on their minds. This helps cut down on confusion for both you and the customer. When you actually hear what's being said you stand a much better chance of providing the right answer to your customer's concerns.

5) Ending every phone call with a friendly and sincere "thank you" is how every pro should conclude a phone contact. The echo of those final, polite words will make customers feel acknowledged and satisfied.

For more information on ITA's performance program, contact Ed Meyer at (202)482-3304.