[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 [email protected].

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

[[Page 42833]]

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
                                                                 -------
                                                                   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