A mile in their shoes: Finance customer service

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Joseph Kapinos
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  There is an old saying that to truly understand a person, they should walk a mile in their shoes. It is not to be taken literally, but to help someone think about the other person and their lives before passing judgment.

That is what this series is about, taking the time to "walk a mile in their shoes," and understand them just a little bit better for the experience.

Just about everyone is familiar with the customer service counter at the finance section, but have you taken the time to better understand just how that particular office works? To help gain that understanding, we have to start at the beginning.

"All finance personnel do their three-plus months of technical training at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. after completing basic training," said Staff Sgt. Jermaine Smith, 39th Comptroller Squadron non-commissioned officer in charge of finance customer service. "After the school, the students report to their first assignment, which is normally a base."

The biggest change that has now come for the new finance people coming out of tech school, when compared to their co-workers, is the recent addition of the new finance center located at Ellsworth AFB, S.D., which serves as the center of all finance operations for the Air Force. Many new graduates have that as their first assignment, learning the ins and outs of how to handle the massive amount of workload that comes to the center every day. From all travel vouchers to starting housing allowances, all transactions have to pass through the center's doors.

According to John Vonglis, the acting Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management and Comptroller, the opening of the Air Force Financial Services center was the largest single transformational effort the financial management field has ever seen. The center consolidated all routine transactions currently handled by 93 base financial offices worldwide.

"Being assigned to the center is just like getting any other assignment," said Sgt. Smith. "And while it may be daunting to new airmen, the majority of new finance personnel are sent there and it truly gives them an education on their new career field."

The new way of handling finance for the Air Force has been a difficult transition according to Sgt. Smith. Before the center was created, most finance issues were handled right there at the office, with just the basic information forwarded up in order to actually get the money into the member's accounts. Any problems with vouchers, or pay, could be handled right there at the counter. However, with the drawdown in manning affecting every career field, fewer and fewer customer service people were available, making the "one-stop shop" a necessary addition. But the change has come at a price.

"Here at Incirlik, the biggest problems we have are not being able to process transactions ourselves and having to rely on the center, especially for those who are in-processing," said Sgt. Smith. "We have Airmen submitting their paperwork; however, occasionally there are delays in getting things taken care of. This ends up being frustrating for the member as they work to get all of the pay and entitlements they are supposed to be getting."

"It's frustrating for us as well, because we no longer own our processes so we're at the mercy of others", while trying to explain it to the member, said Sgt. Smith. "People just need to understand that it is a difficult process, for a number of reasons, but we try each and every day to help everyone who comes into our office."

"The Air Force decided to go to the center due to an AFSO 21 initiative," said Senior Airman Chadd Smith, 39 CPTS customer service technician. "It was mainly done in response to the drawdown of forces, meaning there are simply less people available to work the counter like we used to. We have two technicians and the NCOIC to handle all of the finance paperwork that comes across our counter. Couple that with exercises, on the job training and the other things such as readiness training, escort detail, misc details and we are limited in our ability to provide the same level of customer service that people are used to."

"We aren't complaining because we certainly understand that everyone has the same issues," said Senior Airman Shawn Rasdall, 39 CPTS customer service technician. "We would just like the rest of the wing to understand that this system is new and they are still working the kinks out. We are doing everything we can, putting in long days in order to make sure everyone's pay is straight."

Because of the drawdown in forces that seems to be affecting all career fields, the Air Force has turned to the web in a way similar to the functions normally done by the military personnel flight. Soon, many of the finance functions that were done at the counter will be able to be accomplished on the portal, just like vMPF. Called PIPS or Personal In-processing System and coupled with E-Finance, the system will give the military members the ability to update personal information, file travel vouchers, in-process the base and handle routine financial transactions, all of which were normally done by customer service.

But putting in the time and effort to help people is not something this group of finance experts will shy away from.

"We are a three-man team and it's not unusual for us to be the last ones to leave the building at the end of the day," said Senior Airman Smith. "We work long hours in order to keep caught up on the constant flow of paperwork, especially the vouchers. When people see the gate pulled down, it's not to avoid helping people. It's to give us a chance to get caught up so we can help them."

"I'm proud of this team of finance professionals," said Sgt. Smith. "They are dedicated to mission and dedicated to the wing. They say that 'money makes the world go round.' Well these are the guys who make that happen every day."


Note: This is the first part in a three-part series.