Some of the City of Hartsville’s services to its residents can be found in utility customers’ monthly bills: water, sewer and the removal of solid waste, recyclables and yard debris. Many more of our services, however, aren’t on that list. From the police officers and firefighters who keep our residents safe to the grounds crews who keep our trees maintained and our streets clear, the city provides numerous benefits to those who live here. Families and athletes use our parks. Businesses and visitors benefit from the commercial and historic districts protected by our zoning and planning efforts, and also from our city events.
The way we see it, the City of Hartsville has many customers, whether or not they receive a monthly bill, and we are always striving to improve our customer service for everyone. This can include the way we interact with people in anything we do: helping those who call in to City Hall with questions or who stop in to pay their bills, those in need of building permits or business licenses and those recreating at the Coach T.B. Thomas Sports Center. Our employees undergo customer service training on everything from the way we handle requests for needed information to the way we answer our phones. We even have an internal award given every month to the employee who best demonstrated outstanding service to customers or residents.
Since the New Year provides as good as time as any to aim for self-improvement, I would like to use the beginning of 2013 to invite any City of Hartsville customer to give us feedback on our service and our efficiency. Contact the City Manager’s office at 339-2867 or natalie.zeigler@hartsvillesc.gov with any suggestions or concerns, or to let us know if you see any city staff doing an exceptional job.
Consider also using the city’s SeeClickFix application. This recently adopted tool allows residents to reports problems they see around Hartsville such as stormwater drainage clogs to downed trees, potholes, missed trash pickups, code violations and more. Users can include locations and photos, and also receive updates on the reported issues as they are processed, resolved or reported to the appropriate agency. The app can be found at www.seeclickfix.com/hartsville and can also be downloaded for use on mobile devices.
When we provide services to more than 7,700 residents and all those who visit, do business or attend school here, we always have opportunities to do something better than before. Your contributions provide important information for the improvement process, though. So whenever you would like, feel free to talk to us about anything we are doing.
