Customer Service for
Fire Departments
The how and why
of being nice…
Massachusetts Fire Service Project
Customer Service: East meets West
Revision: Summer 2008
Captain Jim Vuona – Shrewsbury Fire
Contributors:
Lt. Jeremy Souza – Swansea Fire
Lt. Stephen Walsh – Quincy Fire
Capt. Phil Field (EFO)– C-O-M-M Fire
Goals
 Provide
the highest level of
customer service to the
community
 Enhance the image of your
department and the fire service
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Objectives

Understand the concept of customer
service

Define who our customers are

Avoid the common pitfalls

Examine the potential benefits
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Objectives

Explain the ways customer service can
affect us

Improve communication skills

Provide a higher level of customer
service
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Customer Service - Defined
What is customer service?
“An organization’s abilities to
supply their customers wants
and needs”
Does this go far enough? … or should we exceed customers
expectations?... And provide “excellent customer service”
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Customer Wants and Needs
What do our customers want?
Make a list…
Someone to Help Them
Timely Response
Sympathy
Courtesy
Understanding
A Solution to their Problem!
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The Customer Service Model
Phoenix Fire Department

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Provide best possible service to Customers
Always be Nice
Execute standard problem solving outcome
Regard everyone as a Customer
Consider how/what you are doings looks
Don’t disqualify Customer w/ your Qualifications
Customer – centered Organizational Behavior
Continually improve Customer Service
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It’s all about
perception!
Remember, to the Individual
Perception is Reality
Public Perception
 The
attitudes that we have
 Treat
everyone with respect
 Those
on the front lines
represent everyone
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The Golden Rule
The Customer is Always Right…
(even when they’re wrong!)
It’s more important to be Polite, than Right!
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It starts at the top!

Fire Chiefs and Company Officers must:
1. Provide leadership
2. Set a good example
3. Communicate the mission
4. Support the troops
5. Recognize outstanding effort
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CitizenKARE

Means Putting Citizens First!
Knowledge
 Attitude
 Respect
 Excellence

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CPR…keeping customer service alive!
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Who are our customers?
Anyone that interacts with the fire service,
on any level, is a customer
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Who are our customers?
Customers are like a
box of chocolates,
you never know
what you’re gonna
to get…
and you never know who they know….
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Turn ‘Lemons into Lemonade’
“Unhappy customers are always
a concern. They’re also your
greatest opportunity”
Bill Gates
CEO Microsoft
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Angry Customers
The Assassin – tells
others about your
flaws
Strategy:
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provide apologies
ask for specifics
seek win/win options
avoid absolutes
never underestimate their
connections
Follow up
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Angry Customers
The Butcher –
demands go to the
extreme or the
impossible
Strategy:
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indicate you want to help
explore alternatives
develop a matching offer
know your limit
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Angry Customers
The Pincher – nitpicks
the small stuff, ignores
the big stuff
Strategy:
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don’t sweat the minor details
redirect
focus on the big picture
be sure to document
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Angry Customers
The Grenade –
angry about one
thing, rants about
everything
Strategy:
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allow them to vent
find mutual agreement
clarify problem/solution
act promptly
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Angry Customers
The Vampire – wants to
make you angry more
than fix the problem
Strategy:
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tell them what you can do
be empathetic
don’t take it personal
don’t respond in kind…
that’s just what they want
to Suck the Life out of You!
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The Bottom Line

Listen to your customers

Don’t argue with them

Accommodate them promptly (if possible)

Nod and smile!
(when appropriate)
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“What you do to or for your
customers is the difference
between success and failure”
Thomas Faranda
Pitfalls
What could possibly go wrong?
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What could possibly go wrong?
Broken promises/failure to provide the
service
 Unpleasant surprises
 Unrealistic customer expectations
 Delayed responses
 Ignoring/minimizing the customer’s
problem or concerns
 Bad manners

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Broken Promises

You said you were going to save
grandma!

I scheduled an inspection for this
morning and you didn’t show up!
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Unpleasant Surprises

Forcing entry on false alarms.

Tracking dirt into a home.

Don’t create more damage than
the Emergency!!!
Hippocrates said “first, do no harm”
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PFD - Mission Statement:
Prevent Harm – Survive – Be Nice
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Unrealistic Expectations

Why can’t you save
grandma?

Get inside my burning house
and save fluffy!
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Take time to educate the
public

Movies and television aren’t
reality
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Delayed Response

I called you 20 minutes ago!

Perception of time slows down for
people having emergencies
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Minimizing the Customer

This call is nothing, you should have
seen what we had last shift

It’s the third time we’ve been here this
week – our response gets complacent

Don’t disqualify the customer with
your qualifications
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Bad Manners

“Firehouse language” has no place outside
of the firehouse

Making comments in poor taste can
easily turn a good customer
away

If you wouldn’t say it in front
of your mother, don’t say to
the general public
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What’s it mean for me ?
How does poor customer service affect
us?
Make a list…
Political Issues
Department Actions
Legal Issues
Makes the Call more Difficult
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Political Issues

Angry customers tell people about their
experience with you
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Satisfied customers don’t tell anyone
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Happy customers tell people about their
experience, but less than
angry customers
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Statistically

The average customer tells 11 people
about their unpleasant experience…

Those 11 each tell 5 more…and so on…

That’s 56 people negatively affected by
one bad customer service experience
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Department Actions

Customers may complain to
department/city administrators
about your actions

Poor customer service may result in
disciplinary actions towards the
personnel involved
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Good or bad service can create
good or bad press – the press
never forgets
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Legal Issues
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Good customer service can sometimes
make up for undesirable outcomes

Bad customer service can lead
to legal consequences
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What’s in it for us?

How can Excellent Customer Service
affect us?
– Professionalism
– Turns negatives into positives!
– Recognition (political/media)
– Positive public image
– Community support
– Keeps the Chief off my ***!!!!
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Build Community Equity!

What’s it all mean????
– Winning hearts and minds (and votes!)
– Connecting with community partners
– Marketing the mission (life safety programs)
– Building respect for your department
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Connecting with your Community
Get Involved!
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Public Education & Life Safety
Programs

NFPA – Risk Watch
NFPA - Learn Not to Burn Curriculum
 Massachusetts – S.A.F.E. Program

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Station Visitors

First impressions

Professional and
courteous

Any interactions with
the public should be
viewed as an
educational
opportunity!
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USFA – PIER Program

Public Information

Public Education

Public Relations

USFA - Strategies for Marketing your Fire Dept.
Today and Beyond
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Communication Skills
Each of us holds the key to
good customer service:
Quality appearance
 Controlling emotions (ours
and theirs)
 Controlling attempts at humor
 Appropriate language in the
presence of others

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Controlling our Emotions
Maintain a level attitude
 Their worst day, is our everyday
 Don’t escalate the situation
 Stay away from ‘road rage’
 Be nice!

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Arrival – EMS incidents
Greet the customer in a friendly manner
 Perform your assessment in a friendly,
professional way
 Use your listening skills
 Many customers are repeat business,
they are comparing you to other
responders’ actions

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Controlling their Emotions
Don’t interrupt the customer
 Acknowledge their problems
 Confirm the details
 Outline steps to solve their problems
 Provide updates, both good and bad
 Get their input to solve the problem
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Humor

Attempts at humor can ruin good service

If you have to ask, then don’t use it
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If you aren’t good with humor,
don’t try to use it
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Language
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Our words often say more than we mean
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Don’t talk down to the customer
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Use friendly tones - it’s not just what
you say, it’s how you say it

Be careful what you say
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Listening
Maintain eye contact
 Give customer exclusive attention
 Appropriate distance
 Be friendly
 Stay open and positive
 Nod and affirm what they say
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Appearance
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How you look often says more
than what you say or do
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Take pride in your appearance
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First impressions are permanent – if
you don’t look professional, you
may be perceived not to be
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Appearance
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Organization Behavior
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Fire departments must be consistently
focused and centered on serving
the customer
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Bringing it to the Field
Fire and
EMS runs
with the
customer in
mind
Taking the Call
Dispatchers must be
courteous
 The only voice the public
associates with the fire
department
 If the dispatcher made
the caller angry, you get
to deal with the aftermath

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Answering the Phone

Fire Headquarters

Name / Rank

How can I help you?
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Dispatching
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Customers can hear you dispatch
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Many customers have scanners, they
hear everything you say

Stay professional on the radio
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Responding

Drive courteously!
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The public knows who to complain
to about your driving

Road rage and 20-ton vehicles – don’t mix.

Set a good example – Wear Seatbelts!
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Treatment – EMS incidents

Introduce yourself

Explain what you are planning to do

Don’t condescend
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Don’t argue with your partner

Clean up after yourself, particularly
after nasty calls
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Transport – EMS incidents
Make the patient comfortable
 Humor usually isn’t appropriate
 At the hospital, hand off your patient
in a respectful manner
 Keep from disparaging remarks
 Visit the patient just before you
return to quarters – leave
on a good note
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Arrival – Fire Incidents
Park for safety, but do not
block traffic unnecessarily
 If possible, leave a driver with
the apparatus to move if blocking
parking spaces
 Be respectful of property when laying
hose lines or setting up equipment
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At work – Fire incidents
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Try before you pry!
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Do not break things “because we can”
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Perform salvage work with a
serious intent
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Show compassion towards those
who’ve had a fire
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After the Fire
Try to leave the building in
a good condition.
 Salvage work continues after the
fire is out.
 Assist the occupants in working with
their insurance company.
 For businesses, do what we can
to help restart them at a
temporary location.

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After the Fire! Returning to Normal

Free from U.S. Fire Administration

Booklet or Downloadable PDF File
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Scenarios
Applying Customer Service to
Real-Life Calls
Scenario 1
You respond with your company and a private
ambulance to a 58 year old female not
breathing. Your company arrives in less than 3
minutes. Upon arrival, you find the patient in
cardiac arrest, with four family members there.
You recognize the patient’s husband as a town
selectman. Firefighters and paramedics use an
AED to quickly manage to restore the patient’s
heart rhythm on scene, another comforts the
family. She survives the incident.
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Scenario 1 - Discussion

What is the customer’s perception
of the call?

What things went right?

What things went wrong?

What outcome can be expected
from the call?
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Scenario 2
Your engine company responds on a first
alarm assignment to a room and contents
fire in a dwelling. After a quick knockdown
and overhaul, firefighters are seen giving
each other high-fives on the lawn in front
of the family.
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Scenario 2 - Discussion

What is the customer’s perception
of the call?

What things went right?

What things did go wrong?

What outcome can be expected
from the call?
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Scenario 3
You respond to a residential fire alarm
activation. Your crew parks on the lawn,
forces entry through a front door, and
destroys several expensive vases in the
homeowner’s collection. When confronted
about the damage, the company officer
swears at the homeowner, shouting
“don’t tell me how to do my (insert
colorful exploitive) job.”
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Scenario 3 - Discussion

What is the customer’s perception
of the call?

What things went right?

What things did go wrong?

What results can be expected
from the call?
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Improving Your Own Department

Remember, improvement starts
with the individual

Enhance your department’s image

Changing / Implementing SOPs

Awareness training for line personnel

Fire Officer’s–Lead by Example

Improvement is a Continual Process!!!
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“The highest form
of wisdom is
kindness”
The Talmud
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Review
Understand the concept of customer
service
 Define who our customers are
 Avoid the common pitfalls
 Explain the ways customer service can
affect us
 Improve communication skills
 Provide a higher level of customer service

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The Internal Customer

Don’t forget your brother and sister
firefighters are customer’s too!

Essentials of Fire Department
Customer Service – Section 2
“Always be nice – treat everyone with
respect, kindness, patience, and
consideration.” …(including Us!)
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Fortune Cookie
Customer Service
is like taking a bath;
you have to keep doing it…
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Have a Nice Day…
Special Thanks - Chief (Ret.) Alan V. Brunacini
Phoenix Fire Department
Stephan Sanders – Sanders Communication
Massachusetts Firefighting Academy
Anna Maria College, Paxton MA
References

Essentials of Fire Department Customer Service – Alan V. Brunacini - Fire Protection
Publications

Chief Fire Officer – IFSTA, Second Ed.

Fire Officer Principles and Practice – Jones and Bartlett

Uncommon Sense, Leadership Principles to Grow Your Business Profitability –
Thomas Faranda

Business @ the Speed of Thought – Bill Gates

USFA – Strategies for Marketing your Fire Department Today and Beyond

Delivering Unforgettable Customer Service – Stephan Sanders – Sanders
Communications, Inc.
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Thank You!

Captain Jim Vuona
– jvsfd20@hotmail.com
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