Finance values customers

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Rachelle Coleman
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Their customer service hours may be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. but financial services Airmen work steadily from 7:30 a.m. until they get the job done to meet their customer's needs.

The financial services flight is responsible for transactions involving military, civilian, and travel pay. The flight is made up of two sections, customer service and customer support - each side is focused on one objective, customer satisfaction.

Although it may seem like a technician can handle the smallest pay issue in five minutes; paperwork must be routed through an audit chain to make sure each form is filled out correctly and won't be returned by the Air Force Financial Services Center.

According to Staff Sgt. Sedelia Gonzales, 354th Comptroller Squadron NCO in charge of financial services, after each form is filled out by the customer, the information must be audited, placed into the computer system, audited again, and sent to the central processing center at Ellsworth AFB, S.D. Once it has been sent, the finance team checks to make sure the information was received and processed. Auditing each document ensures accuracy of each action.

Customers now have even more financial resources at their disposal. Virtual Finance on the Air Force Portal is available for customers to use to find a variety of tools and information including pay calculators, frequently asked questions, and customer spending account details.

"I think it is the best tool that the financial community has come up with to help ease the transition from a full finance office," said Sergeant Gonzales. "The best part is it saves the customer's time. I would suggest everyone go to the portal and take a look at the finance website."

To ensure the highest quality of work, the financial services office conducts weekly training to address finance customer service issues, contingency problems, and wartime skills. The Airmen share their experiences to teach each other how to handle a wide variety of situations.

"A lot of our training comes from our customers. We may have years of financial management and customer service knowledge, but I can guarantee you at least three times a week something new pops up that none of us have ever heard of. That's how broad our career field is," said Sergeant Gonzales.

"I worked in customer service back home but it wasn't military customer service," said Airman 1st Class Nadine DeShields, a 354th CPTS customer service technician. "We are dedicated to supporting Airmen; they can't focus on their mission if they are worried about their pocketbook."

The finance office recognizes the hard work of their fellow Icemen and coworkers and strives to solve financial issues as quickly and accurately as possible.