CITY COULD LEARN SOME MANNERS\Councilman wants bureaucrats to improve etiquette, customer service.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer

Councilman Joel Wachs proposed Thursday that city bureaucrats be sent to charm school to improve their manners.

"We have to train our employees, and particularly those who have contact with the public, in the art of friendly and efficient service," said Wachs, whose charm school idea was included in a multipoint plan to make City Hall a kinder place for constituents.

His other ideas include giving residents "courtesy cards" to comment on city service, awarding merit pins to outstanding workers and reviewing the Civil Service examination process so the city can hire workers with better people skills.

In short, he wants dealing with City Hall to be more like dealing with a friendly department store - one that emphasizes customer service.

"I have often felt that if the city government was a business, many of our best customers would take their business elsewhere," Wachs said.

The proposal drew mixed reactions from union representatives and others.

"If they don't know me, they treat me like they treat everyone else, which is not nice," said Gordon Murley, president of the Woodland Hills Homeowners Association, about city bureaucrats. "They frequently walk away from counters, and many of them don't know their jobs."

Julie Butcher, a union representative for blue-collar workers, said city employees already are doing an outstanding job, despite limited resources and low morale.

"The city works amazingly well in spite of itself. The workers work very hard. But you can always improve," Butcher said.

One of the biggest complaints heard at City Hall is that City Council members themselves are rude.

At many council meetings, residents complain during public testimony that they have been made to wait hours to speak on important issues as the council handles routine business and that once the public hearing is opened, council members ignore the speakers, instead engaging in private conversations, phone calls or giving their attention to the free food provided at many meetings.

Wachs acknowledged the complaints.

"People do say that from time to time," Wachs said, adding that some of the public's frustration comes from not understanding the way the council conducts business.