FORT DRUM, N.Y. (Aug. 29, 2018) -- Since 2005, the web-based Interactive Customer Evaluation (ICE) system has enabled people to provide feedback on service providers at military installations across the Department of Defense.
At Fort Drum, the ICE program is managed by the Plans, Analysis and Integration Office, and plans are underway to reinforce awareness of this vital customer service system. David Converse, PAIO management and program analyst, said that a lot of the informational material around post has endured enough wear-and-tear to warrant replacing.
“It has been a while since the initial push to put up ICE information posters and notices to encourage customers to submit comments,” Converse, the overall ICE manager, said. “Re-energizing the ICE information to the community would be extremely helpful in my mandate to provide feedback to the garrison directorates as to how they are performing their customer service obligations.”
Directorates are also being contacted to verify that the Quick Response, or QR, Code is displayed at their locations that will allow people to instantly access the website via smart phone.
ICE is the fast and easy way for customers to provide feedback on their experience with any customer service on post – to include medical, legal, housing, recreation and Soldier or family support. Converse said that the system was designed to help improve services to all customers. He also noted that the program solicits ICE comments, not ICE complaints, for a reason.
“ICE comments are used as much for recognizing outstanding performers as they are for improving services based on customer recommendations,” Converse said. “We want to encourage everybody to submit ICE comments when they have received great service, when they have received less-than-great service, and when they have a recommendation to improve services.”
In 2017, Installation Management Command programs, to include Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation and child care centers, accounted for more than 55 percent of all Department of Defense ICE feedback – roughly 4.2 million comments.
When customers use the ICE system, they can choose to remain anonymous or they can submit their contact information to receive a response about their issue.
“There is a whole series of ICE managers across all IMCOM-Fort Drum directorates who routinely view the ICE comments,” Converse said. “They are required to respond to ICE comments within three working days if they request to be contacted regarding an issue.”
Comments are treated as “For Official Use Only” and Converse said that they are only seen by the service provider managers and not shared across other systems.
Converse said that when the DOD system went offline for several weeks last spring it could only be accessed by .mil users, and that perhaps that gave some people a reason for not submitting further ICE comments since that time.
“Those errors have since been corrected, and anyone can submit an ICE comment from any internet system or smart device,” he said. “Those customers who may have attempted to submit an ICE comment during that time frame and were frustrated in their attempts are encouraged to re-submit them.”
The ICE system is located at https://ice.disa.mil/index.cfm?fa=site&site_id=45&dep=DoD.
For more information on ICE, call (315) 772-0728 or send questions to usarmy.drum.imcom-atlantic.mbx.cat-paio@mail.mil.