FORT RUCKER, .Ala. -- Despite receiving top scores on customer satisfaction surveys recently, feedback received from residents at a Feb. 25 installation military family housing town hall revealed housing contractor Corvias and Fort Rucker officials still have some work to do to ensure Soldiers and families receive the level of service their commitment to the country deserves.
Maj. Gen. William K. Gayler, U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker commanding general, headed up a panel of post leadership, housing officials and Corvias operations director Melissa Bryson to field questions and concerns and get feedback firsthand from residents on where military family housing at Fort Rucker stands.
"We, as leaders, have an enduring obligation to ensure we are caring for Soldiers and their families -- caring for your health and welfare, and ensuring you are living in places that are clean and safe," Gayler said to the assembled housing residents at the town hall. "When we give you the opportunity to live on post, just because you accept that doesn't mean that we negate any concerns for health and safety. In fact, it should be at the forefront of everything we do."
And feedback, questions and concerns were not in short supply, as residents repeatedly brought up issues with lawn care, damaged trees not being removed in a timely fashion, flooring issues, pest control issues, flooding in garages and driveways, and lack of follow-up and quality control on the work performed by outside contractors.
While Fort Rucker has not seen a large number of major issues such as mold and lead in its housing, there were some regarding health or welfare items that were brought up by residents, and leadership did vow to work with its partner, Corvias, on improving conditions at Fort Rucker housing.
"We are in a partnership with Corvias, but we also count on them to do quality work," the general said. "Where there are shortcomings, we need to know. Help us keep everyone in the process honest. When you have a work order done or submit a request for a work order, if it's in your mind urgent and you don't see movement right away, give us the feedback because if we don't know, it's hard to correct it. We do have a very good working relationship with our partners in Corvias, but if there's ever a time where that satisfaction is not there give us the feedback, please."
Corvias manages 1,476 houses on Fort Rucker. During the town hall, Bryson apologized for Corvias not meeting the expectations of Soldiers and their families.
"We need to have a proactive plan to take care of any issues before they become an issue," she said. "I can sit here in front of each you and tell you things that sound good, but I ask that you give us an opportunity to show you -- we want to take care of it, we want to take care of each of you. I apologize that our services have not met your expectations -- we will definitely make changes."
Some of those changes, according to a recent Corvias press release, include the following.
• Launched The Corvias Commitment™, a set of resident-focused commitments to provide hassle-free communication, timely response, and satisfaction for our valued residents.
• Recommitted our employees to providing a gold level standard of customer service to achieve the highest level of resident satisfaction and to enable and empower our employees to identify and remove barriers that prevent them from providing excellence service.
• Expanded the methods in which residents can provide feedback and initiate service requests, so that there are options within the installation and with Corvias leadership.
• Engaged a leading global consulting firm to review Corvias' practices and procedures and make any necessary recommendations for improvement.
• Improved direct connectivity within our military communities through the hiring of additional resident-focused specialists and localized resources.
• Initiated Advocacy Groups at each of our installations, comprised of residents and other stakeholders who have input and understanding about their housing program.
Corvias briefed that work orders can be submitted by calling 334-230-5128 or 866-575-2027. Work orders can also be placed online at http://rucker.corviasmilitaryliving.com, while feedback on completed work orders can be sent via email to CustomerService.Rucker@Corvias.com or by calling 334-440-8988. Residents can also submit work orders and provide feedback at any of the Fort Rucker Corvias offices or corporate headquarters by calling 401-228-2800.
According to Fort Rucker housing officials, Corvias conducts quarterly customer service surveys to 25 percent of the installation's residences, and scored 4.53 out of 5 on its most recent survey.
And for the post's part, Gayler said communication from residents is key.
"Where there are shortcomings, we need to know," he said. "Customer satisfaction surveys -- fill them out. Go direct to garrison if you have problems, as well, and they will follow up. And if you're still having problems, get your chain of command involved -- there is no problem too small for your chain of command to solve for you."
To better help residents, Fort Rucker has also established a hotline for those experiencing life, health or safety housing issues. Residents can call the hotline at 334-255-9780.
Fort Rucker officials also briefed that all drinking water on post is safe on the installation, and that it is compliant with federal and state laws. They added that the annual Consumer Confidence Report on the post's water can be found on the web at http://www.amwater.com/ccr/fortrucker.pdf.
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