It's not too often that I write in praise of great customer service. There is only one reason for that. It's not too often that I encounter great customer service.
This week I did, and it was from the Records Department at the McHenry Police Department.
I had submitted a FOIA Request related to the three-department team that "swept" McHenry (and nearby) with 30 warrants on Monday and Tuesday. Fourteen arrests were made.
I faxed my FOIA Request on Thursday morning, and Thursday afternoon I received a call from the Records Department. The caller was very friendly and professional and called to let me know that she was going to have to deny my request and why. I had made an error in the dates covered in the Request.
She invited me to make the correction and fax it in, and she said she would process it promptly.
Now, that is service.
She could have waited seven days and mailed me a denial. The written denial could have said something like "No records found that meet the data of your request." And then a huge tug-of-war would have started. Instead, she realized the error I had made and, as soon as she mentioned the dates, I recognized the error I had made.
So, three cheers to the McHenry P.D.!!! Thank you for your courtesy and professionalism!
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2 comments:
Do you run into problems with other local departments?
What stood out about this Request was the quick response initiated by the McHenry PD Records Dept. to help me understand the reason they would have to deny my request and to provide me with an alert that would save me time.
The Records Dept. of the McHenry County Sheriff's Dept. has also been prompt in responding to requests, but several requests have been denied by the Woodstock P.D. "by the book".
At least one Request was approved after appealed to the City Manager, but other appeals have been denied, with the result that they died for lack of funds and knowledge to carry a further appeal into Circuit Court.
At the May 14th FOIA/Open Meetings Acts workshop sponsored by the State's Attorney, I learned of the the Public Access Counselor in the Office of the Illinois Attorney
General.
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