The fire service is not a business; those who say it is are wrong. However, it is a part of the service industry, so those who believe that a fire department's noble mission will insulate it from today's constant pressure to improve customer service are also wrong.

True, the fire service doesn't need to demonstrate a profit, show growth on the stock exchange or answer to shareholders. It has the advantage of answering only to the public and elected officials, not customers who can take their business elsewhere. Or can they?

We like to believe that the public, our customers, appreciates what we in the fire service do, but will they always? How do we really know? The fire service must constantly learn the desires and expectations of those we serve. We must meet those expectations by constantly improving our customer service, and by looking for innovative ideas within the fire service and in other industries.

If it seems inconceivable that the public's perception of the fire service could ever change, imagine a graph showing the swings in reputation for doctors and police officers over the last 30 years. Both are admired professions that have struggled to deal with issues like managed care and increased anti-crime efforts. Both have also suffered setbacks in how they're perceived by the public.

The fire service's struggle is similar: less direct support for greatly increased demands for more types of services. At the same time, safety and technology changes have led to a decrease in the demand for fire suppression services. The good news is that this has led to some great creativity from a variety of departments, both career and volunteer.

At the same time, creativity in one community increases expectations and pressures for the one next door. Ideas and changes that succeed for one aren't always good for all, and change for change's sake is often disastrous. While a fire agency shouldn't hesitate to examine another department's successful concept, it must also consider whether its benefits will outweigh its costs.

How do you tell the difference between a potential positive change and a disaster? It starts with knowing what your department's customers value and how those desires are being met. Do you know customers want? Do you really know, or is it an assumption? It's more than knowing what type of response a particular incident requires. It means that when a customer requests assistance, you truly know his or her expectations about everything from the initial contact to the "thank you" for being allowed to help.

The key to knowing customer expectations lies in which questions are asked. So how do you know which detailed questions to pose? First ask a generic question of your customer, like "What's important to you when you contact the fire department?" This applies to emergency and non-emergency contacts alike, from the 911 cardiac arrest call to the e-mail inquiry on cpr classes.

In Sarasota County, Fla., the quality improvement manager, David Harrawood, asked the fire department's chest pain customers what their most important expectations were when calling 911. Besides a quick response, professional appearance and behavior, and an explanation of what's happening, respondents valued pain reduction highly.

Another sample was surveyed to gauge department performance. As it turned out, the vast majority of customers were satisfied with the overall care and service provided. However, when asked about pain, only 8% of the customers said they had any reduction in their chest pain while department personnel were providing care.

Following the initial survey, crews learned that pain reduction was greatly valued by the patient/customer, and that it would be measured on calls. Crews now had a focus. When measured again, pain reduction was at 50%. For those who believe the fire service doesn't get enough attention because good service is taken for granted, this type of improvement is newsworthy. Moreover, this type of customer responsiveness is another concrete way, beyond response times, of demonstrating excellent fire service performance.

Ask yourself what your crew's goals are when they respond to a scene. What do your crews say? Do any of those answers match your customers'? With a fire, the answer seems easy: Save lives and property. Our quick response and bravery appreciated. Once the fire is under control, however, suppose the most important customer concern is minimizing the damage done to surviving mementos. Does your department have a way of learning and explicitly sharing customer expectations?

Departments must critically examine themselves, other departments and even other industries to discover how they stay in tune with customers' preferences and wants. For example, what can delivery industries teach the fire service about resource allocation and placement? What can biotechnology firms teach us about maintaining training certifications? What can a successful technical support center teach about dispatch and call tracking? Which companies have good techniques for motivating their personnel to always look at an individual's problem from the perspective of the one seeking help?

Comparing your fire department to other customer service organizations is healthy and necessary. The fact that we're not a traditional business allows us a potential competitive advantage for greater customer service, but are we delivering on that potential?

To do so, we need to keep the customer's perspective paramount. There must also be a constant critical examination of our goals, values and intentions. Finally, we must measure how well we're executing those intentions in the services we provide, the processes we use, and the ways we communicate to our customers, stakeholders and teams.

Our commitment can't stop at asking the right questions. We need to look at the answers, consider improvements, and then ask again. Or ask a different question altogether. Eventually the answers of the chief, the crew and the customer will all match - for now.