Please Call Again

THE DAILY FED

Please Call Again

Many say its tough to find someone in Washington to answer a question. According to one government estimate, more than 30 million callers last year simply gave up.

So two Knight-Ridder reporters decided to get to the bottom of the situation by putting away their press passes, opening up the phone directory and dialing government phone numbers. For two weeks the reporters called 50 different federal offices and asked 50 different "hard questions," questions they say government agencies should have been able to answer. Some of the questions included: "Who's the biggest minority dry clearner in Richmond, Va.?", and "How much federal mass transit aid does Honolulu get?"

The results: 40 of 50 questions got answered, the majority in three calls or less, not counting transfers in the course of a call. Most questions were answered in three hours, including time waiting for calls back. Of the 10 Knight-Ridder questions that proved unanswerable, most involved un-returned voice mail messages.

"It's hard, in the end, to conclude that the service was substandard," the informal investigation concluded.

Although the Clinton administration has said that treating callers well improves their attitude toward the federal government, it has downsized by 70,000 the number of clerical workers who used to answer phones. Now, Washington is relying on voice mail, e-mail, hot lines, personal computers and Web sites to offset the loss of some of their support staff.

In response last month, Sen. Lauch Faircloth, R-N.C.,introduced a bill that would require that callers to federal lagencies be greeted by live operators.