CS-12-351 RPO Continuing Education and CS-12-371 Taxpayer Assistance Survey

OMB #1545-1432

T axpayer Assistance Center

Customer Expectations Survey

You can help the IRS improve its service to you and other taxpayers by answering the questions below. This anonymous and voluntary survey takes about 10 minutes to complete.

Please answer questions 1–20 prior to receiving service and the last 13 questions after receiving service.

Instructions: Please mark the box next to your answer.

1. Is this your first visit ever to a local IRS office?

 Yes

 No, I have visited a local IRS office previously

2. About how many times, including today, have you visited this local IRS office, in the past 2 years?

 1 time (today’s visit)  4 times

 2 times  5 times

 3 times  6 or more times

3. How did you first learn about local IRS offices, like this one? (Please mark only one)

 Friend, family member, co-worker  IRS web site (IRS.gov)

 Telephone book  IRS telephone representative

 Saw the office  Other IRS representative

 Tax preparation company  Volunteer tax preparation clinic

(e.g., H&R Block, Jackson-Hewitt)  Other (please specify):______________________

 Accountant/tax professional  I do not remember

4. About how long did it take you to travel to this local IRS office?

 0 – 5 minutes  31 – 45 minutes

 6 – 10 minutes  46 – 60 minutes

 11 – 20 minutes  61 – 90 minutes

 21 – 30 minutes  More than 90 minutes

5. What is your main reason for visiting this IRS office today? (Please mark only one)

 Get a copy of a prior year return  Get a lien or levy released

 Make a payment  Ask about Identity Theft

 Set up a payment plan  Drop off a completed tax return

 Resolve an IRS notice or letter  Request tax form or instruction booklets

 Ask a tax law question (not about a notice)  File Form 2290 (Heavy Vehicle Use Tax)

 Have a tax return prepared  Other (please specify):_____________

 Check on refund status

6. Thinking of the main reason that brought you to the local IRS office today, approximately how many

times did you contact the IRS to try to resolve it? (Please enter zero if you did not contact the IRS by

this method.)

Called IRS Toll-Free Line→ ____ Times

Used IRS.gov→ ____ Times

Visited IRS Office (include today’s visit)→ ____ Times

Sent IRS Mail → ____ Times

Sent IRS E-mail→ ____ Times

Faxed IRS→ ____ Times

7. What made you decide to come to the local IRS office today, instead of using a different IRS service (such as the IRS website, IRS Toll-Free line, Mail or Email)?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

8. About how long do you think you will wait before meeting with an IRS representative to discuss your main issue?

 Immediately (no wait)  21 – 30 minutes

 1 – 5 minutes  31 – 45 minutes

 6 – 10 minutes  More than 45 minutes

 11 – 20 minutes

9. After you start talking to an IRS representative, about how long do you think it will take to complete your main issue?

 Less than 5 minutes  21 – 30 minutes

 5 – 10 minutes  31 – 45 minutes

 11 – 20 minutes  More than 45 minutes

10. What category describes your current age?

 18 to 24 years  55 to 64 years

 25 to 34 years  65 to 74 years

 35 to 44 years  75 to 84 years

 45 to 54 years  85 years and over

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

11. What is the highest level of education you have completed?

 Less than 9^th grade  Some college, no degree

 9^th grade to 12^th grade, no diploma  Associate Degree

 High school graduate (or GED)  Bachelor’s Degree

 Some technical or vocational school  Master’s Degree

 Technical or vocational school graduate  Post-Master’s Degree

12. What category best describes your annual household income?

 Less than $15,000  $50,000 but less than $75,000

 $15,000 but less than $25,000  $75,000 but less than $100,000

 $25,000 but less than $35,000  $100,000 or more

 $35,000 but less than $50,000

13. What is the primary language spoken at home? (Please select one)

 English  Korean

 Spanish  Russian

 Chinese  Other (please specify): ___________________

 Vietnamese

14. For the following aspects of a convenient location for IRS local offices, please identify the most important and least important.

1. Distance travelled D. Neighborhood safety

2. Available parking nearby E. Easy to find

3. Free parking

Most important________________

Least important________________

15. Are there any other aspects of the IRS office’s location that are more important to you than those mentioned in question 14?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

16. For the following aspects of building condition for IRS local offices, please identify the most important and least important.

1. Office layout D. Cleanliness

2. Privacy E. Security/Screening

3. Seating

Most important________________

Least important________________

17. Are there any other aspects of the IRS office’s building condition that are important to you that are not mentioned in the question 16?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

18. Please share your expectations about the hours of operation for this local IRS office

1. What time do you expect the office to open? ­­­__________

2. What time do you expect the office to close? __________

3. Which day(s) of the week do you expect the office to be open?

Sunday  Thursday 

Monday  Friday 

Tuesday  Saturday 

Wednesday 

19. Were your expectations for the following aspects of your visit met during today’s visit?

Much Worse As Much Better

Than Expected Expected Than Expected

1 2 3 4 5

    

Aspects of Visit _____________________________

Convenient location     

Building condition     

Distance travelled     

Available parking nearby     

Hours the office is open     

Cost of Parking     

20. How much do you agree with the following statements?

Strongly Neutral Strongly

Disagree Agree

1 2 3 4 5

    

Statements ______ _____________________________ ___

I am willing to use a computer in a local IRS office     

that is connected to the IRS website to receive assistance

instead of talking to an assistor in-person.

I am willing to receive service from a remote IRS     

assistor through a video monitor at my local IRS office.

I believe that issues that take a short amount of time,     

such as making payments or obtaining copies, should

have express service lane.

I am willing to use a payment ATM/kiosk placed in a     

local store to submit payments to the IRS.

I am willing to use a payment ATM/kiosk placed in other     

government agencies (e.g., Post Office, DMV) to submit

payments to the IRS.

Post-Service Questions

21. Overall, how satisfied were you with today’s visit?

 Very Dissatisfied  Dissatisfied  Neutral  Satisfied  Very Satisfied

22. What would have made your visit today better?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

23. How long did you actually wait before meeting with an IRS representative today?

 Immediately (no wait)  21 – 30 minutes

 1 – 5 minutes  31 – 45 minutes

 6 – 10 minutes  More than 45 minutes

 11 – 20 minutes

24. How long did you actually spend with the IRS representative on your main issue?

 Less than 5 minutes  21 – 30 minutes

 5 – 10 minutes  31 – 45 minutes

 11 – 20 minutes  More than 45 minutes

25. Were you provided the assistance you needed to resolve your main reason for visiting today?

o Yes

o No

o Don’t know

26. Did the IRS representative answer all of your questions today?

o Yes

o No

27. Will the information you received today eliminate the need for further contact with the IRS regarding your main issue?

o Yes

o No If ‘No’, please explain: _____________________________________________________________

28. Were your expectations for the following aspects of a visit to a local IRS office met during today’s visit?

Much Worse As Much Better

Than Expected Expected Than Expected

1 2 3 4 5

    

Aspects of Visit _________________________________________

Wait time     

Getting my issue resolved today     

Getting all my questions answered     

Eliminating the need for further IRS contact     

Professionalism of staff     

Courtesy of staff     

Skill of staff     

Knowledge of staff     

Overall, were your expectations for this visit met?     

29. P

    Very Very

    Dissatisfied Neutral Satisfied

    lease rate your satisfaction with the following aspects of the location of the office visited today?

1 2 3 4 5

    

Satisfaction with Location _____________________________

Distance travelled     

Available parking nearby     

Free parking     

Neighborhood safety     

Easy to find     

30. P

    Very Very

    Dissatisfied Neutral Satisfied

    lease rate your satisfaction with the following aspects of the office’s building condition today?

1 2 3 4 5

    

Satisfaction with Building Condition _________________

Office layout     

Privacy     

Seating     

Security/Screening     

Cleanliness     

31. Please rate your satisfaction with the following aspects of your interaction with the IRS staff today?

Very Very

Dissatisfied Neutral Satisfied

1 2 3 4 5

    

Satisfaction with IRS Staff ____ _____

Professionalism of staff     

Courtesy of staff     

Skill of staff     

Knowledge of staff     

Staff listened to your concerns     

Staff treated you with respect     

32. P

    Very Very

    Dissatisfied Neutral Satisfied

    lease rate your satisfaction with the following aspects of the service received today?

1 2 3 4 5

    

Satisfaction with Service _______________________

Wait time     

Getting my issue resolved today     

Getting all my questions answered     

Eliminating the need for further IRS contact     

33. Please share your opinions about how we can improve the service provided at local IRS offices?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for completing this survey.

Please return the questionnaire to the survey administrator.

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice

The Paperwork Reduction Act requires that the IRS display an OMB control number on all public information requests. The OMB Control Number for this study is 1545-1432. If you have any comments regarding the time estimates associated with this study or suggestions on making this process simpler, please write to: Internal Revenue Service, Tax Products Coordinating Committee, SE:W:CAR:MP:T:T:SP, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20224.

Privacy Statement

The authority requesting the information is 5 USC 301. The primary purpose of asking for the information is to determine steps IRS can take to improve our service to you. The information may be disclosed as authorized by the routine uses published for the Privacy Act System of Records entitled, Treas/IRS 00.001 Correspondence Files, including Stakeholder Partnership File, and Correspondence Control Files, as published in the Federal Register: December 10, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 237)] [Notices] pages 63785-6.  Providing the information is voluntary. Not answering some or all of the questions will not affect you.