When is Your Moment of Truth Published Aug. 18, 2010 By Lt. Col. Gregory S. Cullison 436th Medical Support Squadron commander DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- It's great to be here. As one of the new squadron commanders here at Dover Air Force Base, it is truly a privilege to arrive at a world class installation and to be part of Team Dover. It is also good to be back in the business of healthcare management in a Medical Group after a two year break --- a tour at Air Staff in Washington, DC and a deployment to Afghanistan. I wanted to take this opportunity to offer some observations and express my gratitude to the members of Team Dover who have made my family feel welcome at our new base. I have long believed that excellent customer service is the key to success in any enterprise, and it has become clearly evident that members of the team embrace the concept. Customer service is measured by the customer, not the organization or employee providing the service. I assert that the level of service provided is measured in a unit called Moments of Truth. A moment of truth is every single interaction between an organization and its customers. Each interaction (phone call, personal visit, email, etc) is important, but the most vital and influential are the first and most recent. Our first impression is a lasting one, and we have one moment of truth to provide that impression that our organization cares about its customers. I will give you a few examples of moments of truth we experienced upon arrival and before my change of command. First, I had to have an official photo taken, and I had no idea how to get to the Base Photo Shop. I stopped in the first building I came to, which was Military Personnel. The room was full of newcomers and other customers who had signed in and were waiting to be served. I approached the counter and Tech. Sgt. Judell Haug, the non-commissioned officer in charge of military personnel customer service, greeted me and asked what he could do for me, and proceeded to give me perfect directions to the building I needed. Next, I arrived at the photo shop and the photographer, Jason Minto, was very professional and made an old soldier look as good as he could, welcomed me (and my young son, Robbie) to the base, and sent my squadron and me digital photos immediately. A few days later, we took our four kids to the Oasis Pool on a hot summer afternoon. The young lady at the pool entrance was checking pool membership cards. We didn't have one yet, but my wife showed our card from Fort Belvoir, thinking the pool might honor that season pass until we had a chance to get one here. The pool employee not only allowed us in, but observed and commented on the quality of the Fort Belvoir card, and asked if she could make a copy of the card because it was evidently of superior quality to what she was looking at every day this summer. This demonstrates not only a positive moment of truth, but a quality improvement moment by a front line worker. That is the name of the game. That same week, I took a break from unpacking to stop by the Medical Group, not in uniform, to drop something off. It was my first time in the building, and I was unsure where the command section was. A staff member noticed me pausing to read the signs, and stopped to ask me if they could help me find anything. Again, fantastic customer service. All of these examples, and many more, have helped to shape my family's positive first impression of our new assignment. You will note that none of these moments of truth were difficult to execute for the employees. But collectively, they made a big difference. Keep up the great work, Team Dover. Take every opportunity to make a difference during that next moment of truth.