I was led to believe that Townships serves the community by representing government at its best - by listening to the customer with compassion, by being responsive and accountable. But to my surprise, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018, I was at receiving end of disrespectful and horrible treatment at West Deerfield Township.
I am an African woman, I needed a passport service quickly as I was going to Mexico July 7th. I came to West Deerfield Township location on Tuesday, June 19, 2018, with my husband (who is Caucasian) and my son for this service. On Monday, June 25th, I received the passport back from the government due to an error made by their staff. I returned to their office on Tuesday, June 26, 2018, to get it rectified, I was told that no one is on duty to assist me.
I was appalled by the treatment that I received by the staff, I was told, "we can't help you", I was trying to explain the urgency of the situation, I was told that they don't care about my urgency. I was told to go to another location to get it corrected which I did, but I had to pay another processing fee.
I called back on Wednesday, June 27, 2018, to talk to Peggy about the process of getting the processing fee refunded from West Deerfield Township, she told me there will be no refund and there is nothing she could do for me. She gave me the government's office phone number and told me to call there to complain, when I tried to discuss the issue further with her, she hung up on me. Just like the other staff in their office the day before on Tuesday, she was rude and unprofessional. I called back to speak to a supervisor, I was sent to a voicemail, I still yet to receive a call back.
I sent an email of my concerns to their trustee members. Two days later, I received a refund of my processing fee check in the mail without a note or a phone call of a remorse or apology for their unprofessional behavior.
As residents in the community paying taxes and needing the services that these townships provide, we deserve the quality service with respect and compassion regardless of our race, nationality, or gender. read more