Councilman: Philadelphia needs better customer service

A Philadelphia city councilman says residents deserve to be treated better when they pay a bill or seek a permit. 

Councilman Jim Kenney says the basement of the Municipal Service Building, where people pay their bills or purchase permits, reminds him of a prison waiting room

“When you walk through, you see people standing in line, you see people sitting in bolted chairs like they are waiting at Curran-Fromhold (prison) for a visit,” said Kenney. “They get sent from one department to another. Why do people have to go to multiple lines and be treated as if we are doing them a favor, as opposed to us serving them?”

Kenney says Philadelphia needs to treat residents like customers, not an inconvenience.

“A nice place to sit where you are waiting, maybe a little TV screen, a little music, a nice environment, where people actually feel as if they are welcome as opposed to a politbureau experience that somehow we are doing them a favor,” he said.

The Nutter administration says it has made improvements already but will review the councilman’s ideas.