CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Since the summer and fall of 2007, base-level finance offices across the Air Force have lost 50 percent of their manning to establish the Air Force Financial Services Center, located at Ellsworth AFB, S.D.
Within one year of the AFFSC opening, all travel pay, military pay and customer inquiries were scheduled to transfer from individual bases to the service center.
In light of the schedule and loss of base-level manning, Charleston's finance office reduced customer walk-in hours from 7:30 a.m. through 4:30 p.m., to 7:30 a.m. through 1 p.m.
Eventually, it was planned for all customers to contact the AFFSC 24-hour call center and to have immediate viewing capability online. Base-level customer service was intended to be by appointment only, but things have not gone as planned.
The transfer during the past two years has been problematic due to continuous technical and software difficulties. Since the AFFSC inception, there has been a spike in processing errors, lost documents and payment delays, yet manning has not changed.
Instead of having a base-level finance office with a minimal role, due to minimal manning, the problems with AFFSC have driven a larger workload than ever.
By now, the doors for travel and military pay services should have closed altogether. Instead, the comptroller squadron continues to remain open until 1 p.m. to meet personally with customers. In fact, lobby hours are sustained by civilian over-hires, Reservists on man-days and longer hours once the doors have closed. The focus once the lobby closes is quality control, audits, timely submission of documents to the AFFSC and follow-ups to inquiries.
Before the AFFSC, the 437th Comptroller Squadron assisted with approximately 3,700 customers inquires a month via the customer service counter, telephone and e-mail. In July 2009, they served more than 4,600 customer inquiries.
Also, prior to the AFFSC, the 437 CPTS manually processed 1,600 vouchers each month, and during the past several months, they've averaged more than 2,300 vouchers per month - a 44 percent increase with 50 percent the workforce.
For every permanent change of station, every mission flown and every temporary duty accomplished at Charleston AFB, there are numerous checks that must be accomplished, before and after sending documents to Ellsworth AFB.
For example, when a voucher is filed, it must be thoroughly reviewed, given a checklist, scanned and named according to the category of the voucher, then transferred to the AFFSC where the voucher is paid as quickly as possible. Finally, many travel transactions also generate military pay adjustments, which are still processed locally.
The new process has produced much more behind the scenes work, which must be done for each customer. Yet, during lobby hours, the comptroller squadron's attention has remained on the customers in the lobby.
The 437 CPTS is always looking for ways to provide better service and welcomes constructive feedback. Airmen and civilians are welcome to stop by the 437 CPTS or visit their Community of Practice Web site to complete a customer service survey.
Looking from the outside in, the 437 CPTS works from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and then locks the door. However, the truth is the lobby hours may end at 1 p.m., but their service hours continue into the night until each customers is paid.