RED CLOUD GARRISON, South Korea - Soldiers, civilians and Family members will see more opportunities to get answers to their questions and concerns about services offered by directorates and other service organizations: Army and Air Force Exchange Service and the Defense Commissary Agency.

Answers may turn around and come back to the customers quicker if Area 1's new Interactive Customer Evaluation Customer Service Officer, Lia Abney, has her way.

"ICE is a system where the individual or a customer can receive immediate feedback to questions they may have of military service providers," Abney said. "Service providers are the regular services provided to military personnel, civilian personnel, and their families receive in the community."

There will be no changes in the way ICE is managed, but feedback will be given to customers within three working days. "We want to make sure customers questions, complaints, or comments are being answered in a reasonable amount of time so providers can take action," Abney said. "This system also offers providers an opportunity to improve and expedite their current programs."

This ICE system has always been a tool for quick response to questions from customers and a way for providers to take notice of needed improvements to customer service.

Because the leadership sees a need to tune-up ICE, so it may help keep support for the Army Family Covenant and provide dialogue between customers and providers, Abney is here to keep the system running smoothly and efficiently.

"If someone is new in the community and does not know where to get answers to questions, this is a way to find those answers," Abney said. "Anyone in the community can use ICE. This is an opportunity to hear their voices and to address things service providers may not see."

If service providers find, by reviewing ICE comments, their service needs a change, they can make those changes earlier and keep abreast of changes their customers need, Abney explained.

"The ICE program will have more visibility now with the positioning of this new customer service officer here in Area 1," said Kent Garcia, Plans, Analysis, and Integration Office management analyst. "There will be more focus on customer issues and they will be able to respond to their needs much more quickly."

ICE helps to identify trends in customer service and is a good tool for both customers and service providers, Abney said.

"There are two parts to ICE," she said. "The computer-based ICE, where customers can go online and make their comments, and a hard-copy ICE program. In the community there will be places where we call ICE boxes. These are kiosks where a customer can stop by and fill out a paper ICE form and drop it in the box. Part of my responsibility will be to collect those forms and put them into the ICE electronic system."

Currently, there are 22 ICE comment boxes around the community. If there is not a comment box where there needs to be one, part of Abney's job is to assess where ICE boxes should be placed. The future will see computer ICE kiosks in the community, Abney said.