The power of an engaged public official

Disclosure: The title of this blog was modified from my chosen example. I read this article and I thought to myself "public administrators can apply this on job and their lives would be easier". In this article, Rob Markey shares his experience of how he got exceptional customer service from Jetblue because an "engaged employee" addressed his  twitter vent. As public administrators we have learned to differentiate between the private sector and the public sector and how private sector models cannot be applied to public agencies. This article shows otherwise. At one time or the other, we have had terrible experiences with public officials and agencies, we have had to drive to see offices where our requests could have been handled online. I visited the Facebook page of Tempe Elementary School District and a parent complained about the non- availability of a meal for her child. There was no response on that thread from the District. We can only  imagine the decision that parent took. If she withdrew her child from participating in the program, that means a loss of revenue for the district.  As potential public servants if we utilize the benefits social media tools provide, we may be more efficient and effective in service delivery to  clients and citizens. We can also make people believe that government works and it is not all red tape.