South Bend, IN—Today, Congressman Joe Donnelly marked the one-year anniversary of the opening of his South Bend office by sharing successes his office has had in the past year in helping constituents.

“When we opened the South Bend office a little over a year ago, I said that serving my constituents was my top priority. To this end, we have worked tirelessly over the past year,” said Congressman Donnelly. “Based upon the responses we’ve received from the constituents who have sought our services, I can say that all that hard work is paying off for the people of north central Indiana.”

In order to gauge the quality of the service it provides to constituents, Donnelly’s office takes a proactive approach by following up with constituents after their cases have been closed. A customer satisfaction survey is sent out, along with a pre-stamped envelope, to allow those who received services from Donnelly’s office to critique the service they received.

Recipients are asked to rate the services received as either excellent, good, average, or poor. Of the 162 surveys that have been returned, 142, or 92 percent, either received a good or excellent rating.

“Anyone who does not give us an excellent or good rating receives a follow-up phone call,” said Nikki Gonzalez, senior case manager for Congressman Donnelly. “We are always looking to improve, and this is the best way for us to do so.”

Donnelly was joined by three constituents who received assistance from his office this past year:

Thomas Schmidt of South Bend requested assistance after his son was injured in an accident and hospitalized. His son’s wife wished to be at her husband’s bedside, and was having trouble caring for their two young children as a result. To help her out, his wife’s sister offered to come from Poland, but was denied entry to the United States on a visitor’s visa. Donnelly’s office sent an urgent e-mail to the U.S. Embassy in Krakow requesting that they grant a visa to the sister. Mr. Schmidt informed Donnelly’s office that the visa was granted soon after the e-mail was sent.

Melvin Easton of South Bend requested assistance from Donnelly’s office after being charged by Vonage Phone Company on a monthly basis, despite the fact that he had cancelled the service many months before. He had repeatedly contacted Vonage to ask them to stop charging him, but he was told nothing could be done. Donnelly’s office helped resolve the issue and Mr. Easton’s money was reimbursed.

John and Carol Peterson of LaPorte contacted Donnelly’s office with concerns regarding Mrs. Peterson’s Medicare Part D and her insurance plan carriers. A carrier she had used in the past would not disenroll her causing her current carrier to refuse her benefits. Donnelly’s office was able to get her disenrolled and, thus, allow her to receive her medical benefits.