Customer Satisfaction with DLA Services Is Mixed

Our work showed that customers at the eight locations we visited expressed satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the services the agency provides. Usefulness of Customer Feedback Approaches Has Been Limited

DLA’s approach for obtaining customer service feedback has been of limited usefulness because it lacks a systematic integrated approach for obtaining adequate information on customer service problems. As a result of these back orders, some of the unit’s aircraft were unable to operate because of maintenance needs. Initiatives for Achieving a Better Customer Focus Could Be Enhanced Through Improved Customer Feedback Approaches

While DLA has initiatives under way to improve its customer service, there are opportunities to enhance these initiatives to provide for an improved customer feedback program.
What GAO Found

The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) performs a critical role in supporting America's military forces worldwide by supplying every consumable item--from food to jet fuel--that the military services need to operate. Although customers at the eight locations GAO visited were satisfied with some aspects of routine service, such as delivery time for routine parts and certain contractor service arrangements, customers also raised a number of points of dissatisfaction, particularly with regard to the detrimental impact of DLA's service on their operations. The agency's approach for obtaining customer service feedback has been of limited usefulness because it lacks a systematic integrated approach for obtaining adequate information on customer service problems. Although DLA has initiatives under way to improve its customer service, there are opportunities to enhance these initiatives to provide for an improved customer feedback program.