Charlotte Police Dept tries customer service to 'revolutionize' policing

Charlotte, North Carolina's police force is going to be trying something different in an effort at reform, with officers to take a "customer service" approach. Charlotte Police Chief Johnny Jennings told ABC News that the idea, which he described as "totally outside the box and totally different," came to him after he had a positive experience at a Chick-fil-a. He explained, "I started thinking, every time I go there, the voices are so friendly, the food is consistent and I leave there with a positive impression and a good feeling that I was valued as a customer. And as I thought about that, I said, 'Why can't we duplicate some of that with our interactions with the public, from a police perspective?'" Jennings got help from a customer service expert, John DiJulius, and his consulting firm, and developed training for officers that emphasizes being more empathetic toward members of the public and better ways to de-escalate situations. One simple example is having officers introduce themselves, with DiJulius explaining, "Instead of walking up to the car saying, 'License and registration,' they can walk up and, say, 'Hello, ma'am. I'm Officer Smith. The reason why I pulled you over is...'" Jennings hopes this customer service approach will build back trust with the community, saying, "[I]n every effort that we can, we want to leave a positive impression about who we are."