WASHINGTON – A national scale for rating customer satisfaction found veterans and their next of kin give the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) higher marks in most areas than federal agencies in general or the private sector.
When it came to user trust, VA's national cemetery system received "an incredibly high index" score of 96 on a 100-point scale, according to a summary of the report by the University of Michigan Business School.
The strong showing for VA came from survivors of veterans interred in a national cemetery, recipients of death claim benefits under VA life insurance policies, patients treated in VA medical centers and outpatients using VA pharmacy services.
"This shows our VA employees are on the right track of attentiveness and responsiveness to veterans and their families," VA Secretary Anthony J. Principi said.
The survey results come from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), a seven-year-old economic indicator recognized widely in U.S. industry for its coverage of 164 companies in satisfying their customers. It was adapted in 1999 to add 30 federal agencies that deal with 90 percent of the government's public customers.
"Respondents are exceptionally willing to say positive things about the National Cemetery Administration (NCA), and they are also extremely willing to rely on VA and NCA," the report says.
The index, produced through a university, management consulting firm and American Society for Quality partnership, issues numerical rankings of companies, agencies and economic sectors on a 100-point scale based on more than 50,000 interviews annually.
An ACSI score above 80 is considered very good. VA's services to survivors of veterans who interred a loved one in a national cemetery achieved an overall customer service summary index of 93, one of the highest in government. Similarly, VA's life insurance program had an index of 90, also among the highest in government, in its handling of claims filed by survivors. This score far exceeds the best private insurance company index of 80 and the insurance industry average of 75.
The 2001 ACSI satisfaction ranking achieved by VA for acute medical services far exceeded private sector hospitals and other government service ratings. VA hospitals achieved a satisfaction rating of 82 compared to the private sector's score of 71.2 and the federal government-wide score of 68.6.
Another survey performed by ACSI addressed outpatient pharmacy services and showed that VA pharmacy services rated 83, a full 12 points higher than the comparable private sector rating (71.2) and 14.4 points higher than the federal government-wide score (68.6).
