What I have seen written about customers of the federal government usually assumes that they are people that we do or at least could meet face-to-face. But many functions of government deal with problems that are long-term, broadly focused, or otherwise concerned with people who cannot be identified. After all, government is the institution that must provide those essential services that the private sector cannot or will not provide--and these mostly are not things that we have people standing in line willing to pay money to have done. An example from my own work with the US Geological Survey: I contribute to an effort to characterize a radioactive and hazardous waste site at a DOE facility in Idaho. No one is currently harmed by the toxic substances present, but evaluations must be made concerning the potential hazards: Will contaminants spread into drinking water supplies in the next 500 years or more? Is it reasonable to leave the site in its present form, or must it undergo minor or major remediation? What would be the effects of various remediation options? The answers to such questions require information from characterization studies of the type that we are working on. Although there are many people we deal with, directly or indirectly, including government officials, contractors, and local citizens, the main ones to benefit from our work are people many generations down the line who will experience the effects of decisions made in our time. So if these are customers, they are customers who aren't born yet. We can't see them or poll them or find out in any way how they like our work. And we can't charge them, unless there are some really long-term bond issues. While this is one example, I think the general problem of having customers who are not present or identifiable is common in government service, not just in the USGS but also in the Forest Service, BLM, USDA, EPA, and other agencies. How should we work with customers like this?
Last Updated: 12/20/94 06:48:41 (EST)