Customer Satisfaction Survey shows WYDOT improves in several areas

Customers who visited the Wyoming Department of Transportation’s Driver Services offices over the past two years are pleased with the service they received.

WYDOT’s 2020 Customer Satisfaction Survey showed people continued to have high satisfaction with Driver Services in the areas of courtesy of the staff and promptness. 

The University of Wyoming’s Wyoming Survey & Analysis Center conducted the survey from Nov. 25, 2020 through Jan. 9, 2021. Center callers completed 913 interviews, of which 733 were on cellphones and 180 on landlines. The Wyoming Survey & Analysis Center has conducted the survey every two years for WYDOT since 2002.

In 2020, WYDOT received an 81.5 percent approval rating compared to a 78.7 percent rating in 2018 for promptness. For courtesy of the staff, WYDOT received an 88.5 percent approval in 2020 compared to an 85.7 percent rate in 2018.

“Even though we have dealt with challenges from the pandemic, our staff at Driver Services has risen to the occasion and has continued to offer the best service possible,” said WYDOT Director K. Luke Reiner. “Our 2020 Customer Satisfaction Survey shows all of our employees continually work hard for the people of Wyoming. The survey shows we have some bright spots that we should be proud of but also that we have some areas we need to improve on.”

The survey also showed numerous areas that remained consistent in terms of satisfaction or were trending upward from 2018. Those areas included satisfaction with the Wyoming Highway Patrol, overall stewardship of the transportation system and communications.

For WHP, respondents continued to be satisfied with the courtesy and respectfulness of WHP personnel, how WHP responds to situations and how WHP meets expectations. However, the results show that people tend to be even more satisfied after having contact with WHP personnel.

For example, when asked about courtesy and respectfulness of WHP personnel, 68 percent who had no contact said they were satisfied but 86 percent who had contact said they were satisfied, the 2020 survey indicated.

“At the Wyoming Highway Patrol, our port of entry officers, dispatchers and troopers work hard to keep travelers as safe as possible on our roads,” said WHP Col. Kebin Haller. “The men and women of the Highway Patrol not only uphold the laws to keep people safe but also treat everyone they encounter with the same respect and dignity. We have one of the best law enforcement agencies in the world and this survey shows that.”

The survey showed continued overall satisfaction with WYDOT’s stewardship of the statewide system as well as the way WYDOT communicates with the public with both achieving 80 percent, the 2020 survey indicated.

There were a few areas that were on the downward trend in terms of satisfaction. 

The survey showed that road quality and maintenance dipped in 2020, with 80 percent of respondents saying they were satisfied after a highway construction project versus 82 percent in 2018.

Fifty percent of respondents agreed that highway conditions have improved in the last two years versus 58 percent in 2018. And, overall maintenance of highways (guardrails, potholes, etc.) had a satisfaction rate of 67 percent in 2020 versus 75 percent in 2018.

“We anticipated seeing some decreases in satisfaction rates in some of our areas due to budget issues that we have been dealing with for several years,” Reiner said. “A renewed focus on maintaining what we have should help address road quality and maintenance in the future; however, I suspect we are seeing, and may continue to see, the effects of our budget issues relative to maintenance of our roadways.”

To read the full Customer Satisfaction Survey, visit WYDOT’s website. 

For additional information about this news release, contact:

• Aimee Inama, senior Public Affairs specialist, at (307) 777-4013
• Doug McGee, WYDOT Public Affairs Officer, at (307) 777-4010