[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 154 (Tuesday, August 11, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42832-42833]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-21541]
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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
Proposed Collection; Comment Request--Customer Satisfaction
Surveys
AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) requests
comments on proposed surveys and other information-collection
activities to determine the kind and quality of services CPSC customers
want and customers' level of satisfaction with existing services. The
Commission will consider all comments received in response to this
notice before requesting approval of this collection of information
from the Office of Management and Budget.
DATES: Written comments must be received by the Office of the Secretary
not later than October 13, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be captioned ``Customer Satisfaction
Surveys'' and mailed to the Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product
Safety Commission, Washington, DC 20207, or delivered to that office,
room 502, 4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda, Maryland, 20814. Written
comments may also be sent to the Office of the Secretary by facsimile
at (301) 504-0127 or by e-mail at cpsc-os@cpsc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about the proposed
collection of information, or to obtain a copy of the questions to be
used for this collection of information, call or write Robert E. Frye,
Director, Office of Planning and Evaluation, Consumer Product Safety
Commission, Washington, DC 20207; (301) 504-0416, Ext. 2264.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Background
This request for clearance, in general, of several planned customer
satisfaction surveys, is in response to the Government Performance and
Results Act (GPRA)-related evaluations of service quality and customer
satisfaction, and in response to the Vice President's call for
``Conversations with America,'' to survey customers and determine the
type and quality of services they want and to obtain information on how
to improve existing government services. ``Customers'' of CPSC include
any individual or entity interested in or affected by agency
activities. These would include, but not be limited to, (1) consumers
telephoning the Hotline to report product-related incidents, or to
receive information; (2) consumers, industry members, or others
contacting the National Injury Information Clearinghouse for
information; (3) State representatives who work with CPSC on
cooperative programs; (4) firms using CPSC's Fast-Track Product Recall
Program to report and simultaneously propose satisfactory product
recall plans; (5) small
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businesses that have sought information or assistance from the CPSC's
small business ombudsman; and (6) other individuals CPSC is providing
information to, such as those through the CPSC's Office of Information
and Public Affairs.
The information will be used by the CPSC Office of Planning and
Evaluation to prepare sections of the agency's annual performance
report (required by the GPRA). This information will provide measures
of the quality and effectiveness of agency efforts related to three
goals in its strategic plan (informing the public, industry services,
and customer satisfaction). Also, the information will be used to guide
improvements in initiatives related to the ``Conversation with
America'' program. If this information is not collected, the Commission
would not have useful measures of its effectiveness in providing useful
services to consumers and others, and information necessary to guide
program development would not be available.
B. Estimated Burden
The surveys and other information collection activities would be
conducted by various methods, including contractors or in-house staff.
They may be by (1) amending CPSC's web site's comment page, ``Talk to
Us/Tell Us What You Think,'' to solicit feedback on the level of
satisfaction with CPSC's services, (2) the periodic use of brief
customer service follow-up queries (on-line) with samples of telephone
hotline callers, (3) surveying a sample of firms using the Fast-Track
Product Recall Program to assess their views and suggestions for
improvements in the service aspects of the program, (4) including
customer comment cards within the pages of the Consumer Product Safety
Review, and (5) conducting mail surveys of state partners and samples
of customers of the National Injury Information Clearinghouse. Fewer
than 10 customer surveys or information collection activities a year
would be conducted using this clearance.
The Commission staff estimates the number of annual respondents to
be about 1,550. Among the anticipated sources and annual respondents
are:
Sources
Web site...................................................... 500
CPS Review.................................................... 100
Recall Round-ups.............................................. 100
Hotline....................................................... 300
National Injury Information Clearinghouse..................... 300
Small Businesses.............................................. 100
State Partners................................................ 50
Fast Track Product Recall Program............................. 100
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1,550
The average time needed for each response is estimated at two
minutes. Thus, the annual time burden would be about 3,100 (2 x
1,550) minutes or 51.7 hours. Using $12 an hour (the average hourly
wage for all private industry workers, according to the 1996 edition of
the Statistical Abstract of the U.S.) times 51.7 hours, the cost would
be negligible (a total of about $620 per year).
For CPSC staff, the average time needed to process each response is
estimated at five minutes. Thus, this information collection activity
would require about 7,750 (5 x 1,550) minutes or 129.2 hours per
year. Based on the average hourly Commission salary of $37.37, the
129.2 hours of CPSC staff time would be valued at about $4,828.
C. Requests for Comments
The Commission solicits written comments from all interested
persons about the proposed surveys. The Commission specifically seeks
information relevant to the following topics:
--Whether the surveys described above are necessary for the proper
performance of the Commission's functions, including whether the
information would have practical utility;
--Whether the estimated burden of the proposed collections of
information are accurate;
--Whether the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be
collected could be enhanced; and
--Whether the burden imposed by the collection of information could be
minimized by use of automated, electronic or other technological
collection techniques, or other forms of information technology.
Dated: August 5, 1998.
Sadye E. Dunn,
Secretary Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 98-21541 Filed 8-10-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P
