Opinion piece argues mayor-elect should leverage his famous smile to improve customer service among NYC’s 300,000 municipal employees
The Power of a Smile in Public Service
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s infectious smile carried him through a successful campaign and helped him navigate a surprisingly warm meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House. Now, according to former New York Lieutenant Governor Betsy McCaughey, it’s time for Mamdani to harness that same positive energy to transform how the city’s 300,000 employees interact with the public they serve.
In an opinion piece published in the New York Sun, McCaughey argued that launching a civility campaign should be among Mamdani’s first priorities when he takes office on January 1. She contends that New Yorkers routinely experience rude, dismissive, and even hostile treatment when seeking help from city agencies, courts, and other municipal offices–a pattern that undermines public trust in government and makes already stressful interactions unnecessarily difficult.
McCaughey, who co-founded the Save Our City advocacy organization, writes with the authority of someone who has both worked in government and experienced it as a constituent. Her proposal reflects broader frustrations many New Yorkers feel about bureaucratic indifference and suggests that cultural change within city government could significantly improve residents’ quality of life without requiring major budget increases or structural reforms.
The Current State of City Employee Interactions
Anyone who has visited a city agency office, courthouse, or municipal facility likely recognizes the scenario McCaughey describes: long waits, confusing procedures, and employees who seem annoyed by questions or requests for assistance. Rather than helpful public servants, many city workers come across as gatekeepers who view the public as an inconvenience interrupting their day.
McCaughey uses vivid language to describe the typical experience: New Yorkers seeking help are “barked at and herded like dumb animals.” This harsh characterization may overstate the problem, but research supports the underlying concern. According to studies from the Government Performance Project, citizen satisfaction with government services correlates strongly with employee attitude and communication style, often more than with the actual efficiency of service delivery.
The problem extends beyond mere unpleasantness. When residents can’t get clear information or feel intimidated asking questions, they may fail to access benefits or services they’re entitled to, miss important deadlines, or make costly mistakes filling out forms. Poor customer service in government doesn’t just create bad feelings–it can have material consequences for vulnerable New Yorkers navigating complex systems.
During his campaign, Mamdani emphasized that city government employment has become less attractive, noting 17,000 vacancies across agencies because “nobody wanted them.” This recruitment and retention challenge connects directly to workplace culture concerns. Organizations with poor internal cultures typically struggle to attract and keep quality employees, creating a downward spiral where remaining workers become more stressed and less effective.
The Business Case for Government Civility
McCaughey draws an interesting comparison to private sector customer service standards. Target recently mandated that in-store employees smile and make eye contact with shoppers, recognizing that pleasant interactions drive customer loyalty and sales. While private businesses can lose customers to competitors if service deteriorates, government agencies often operate as effective monopolies–New Yorkers seeking permits, filing complaints, or accessing services frequently have no alternative providers.
This monopoly status makes civility even more important, McCaughey argues. When customers have options, poor service naturally produces competitive disadvantages that incentivize improvement. When they don’t, explicit standards and accountability mechanisms become necessary to ensure acceptable treatment. Private businesses understand that frontline employee behavior directly impacts brand perception and customer satisfaction; government should apply the same logic to constituent services.
Research from the International City/County Management Association shows that citizen satisfaction with local government correlates strongly with perceived employee courtesy and helpfulness. Cities that invest in customer service training and create accountability for employee behavior typically see improved satisfaction scores even without major service improvements, suggesting that how services are delivered matters as much as what services are delivered.
Historical Precedent: The NYPD Experience
McCaughey points to the New York Police Department’s “Courtesy, Professionalism, Respect” (CPR) initiative as a model for citywide adoption. Implemented in the 1990s under Commissioner William Bratton, CPR aimed to transform police culture by emphasizing that officers serve the public and should treat all residents with dignity regardless of circumstances.
The initiative produced mixed results. Some studies found improvements in how officers interacted with the public, particularly in non-enforcement contexts. However, CPR also faced criticism for being more rhetoric than reality, with many New Yorkers–particularly in communities of color–continuing to report disrespectful and sometimes abusive treatment from police.
Despite its limitations, the CPR framework demonstrates that large public sector organizations can attempt cultural transformation through explicit values statements, training, and accountability. The challenge lies in moving beyond slogans to actual behavior change, which requires sustained leadership commitment, consequences for violations, and positive reinforcement for exemplary service.
According to research from the Police Foundation, procedural justice training–which emphasizes treating people with dignity, giving them voice in interactions, being neutral and transparent, and conveying trustworthy motives–can improve both public satisfaction and officer safety. Similar principles could apply across all city agencies, from housing inspectors to social services caseworkers.
Implementation Challenges and Considerations
Launching an effective civility campaign involves more than issuing a mayoral directive. City employees work under various union contracts that protect against arbitrary discipline and establish specific procedures for performance management. Any civility standards would need to be negotiated with unions and implemented in ways that respect collective bargaining agreements and due process requirements.
Additionally, employee behavior often reflects organizational conditions beyond individual attitude. Understaffed offices where workers face impossible caseloads and inadequate resources will struggle to provide pleasant service regardless of civility campaigns. If employees feel overworked, unsupported, and underappreciated, telling them to smile more may generate resentment rather than improvement.
Mental health professionals note that emotional labor–the requirement to display certain emotions regardless of how one actually feels–can be exhausting and contribute to burnout. Service workers required to maintain cheerful demeanors despite difficult conditions often experience this emotional labor as particularly draining. Any civility initiative must balance customer service expectations with employee wellbeing and realistic workload management.
Dr. Arlie Hochschild’s research on emotional labor, documented in her book “The Managed Heart,” found that workers required to perform emotional labor need organizational support including adequate staffing, reasonable workloads, and genuine recognition of the difficulty of their work. Without this support, mandated pleasantness becomes another burden rather than a meaningful improvement.
Potential Benefits Beyond Customer Satisfaction
A well-designed civility campaign could produce benefits beyond improved constituent satisfaction. Research shows that organizations with positive workplace cultures experience lower turnover, better employee health outcomes, and higher productivity. If a civility initiative succeeds in making city employment more rewarding, it might help address the recruitment and retention challenges Mamdani highlighted during his campaign.
Improved employee morale could also reduce costs associated with absenteeism, disability claims, and grievance procedures. The Society for Human Resource Management estimates that workplace stress costs U.S. employers hundreds of billions annually in lost productivity, healthcare expenses, and turnover. While government often lags private sector HR practices, there’s no reason city employment must be more stressful and less satisfying than comparable private sector work.
Furthermore, a civility campaign aligns with Mamdani’s stated commitment to worker dignity and respect. His campaign emphasized that workers deserve fair treatment and recognition for their contributions. Extending this principle to include how city employees treat each other and the public creates consistency between his broader values and specific government operations.
Political Calculations and Optics
McCaughey’s suggestion comes freighted with political subtext. As a prominent conservative and frequent critic of progressive policies, her advice to Mamdani serves multiple purposes. It positions her as reasonable and focused on practical improvements rather than ideological opposition. It also subtly suggests that Mamdani’s smile–often described by supporters as genuine and disarming–might be his administration’s most valuable asset, implying perhaps that his policy agenda is less promising.
The piece’s headline urges Mamdani to “put your grin to work,” language that can be read as either encouraging or slightly dismissive. Some observers might interpret it as suggesting that Mamdani’s greatest strength is personal charm rather than substantive policy expertise or governing capability. However, the underlying point–that mayoral leadership can influence organizational culture across city government–remains valid regardless of McCaughey’s political motivations.
For Mamdani, launching a civility initiative offers low-risk political benefits. It requires no major budget allocation, faces minimal opposition (who could argue against treating people courteously?), and might produce quick wins that build momentum for more ambitious reforms. If constituent satisfaction with city services improves even modestly, Mamdani could claim credit for making government work better for ordinary New Yorkers.
Lessons from Other Jurisdictions
Several cities have attempted similar customer service improvement initiatives with varying degrees of success. Seattle’s “Walking the Talk” program trained city employees in customer service skills and created accountability mechanisms for measuring and rewarding excellent service. Philadelphia launched a “Philly311” system that consolidated constituent services and tracked response times and satisfaction scores.
According to research from the Urban Institute, successful government customer service initiatives share several characteristics: leadership commitment from the top, adequate training and resources, clear performance metrics, regular feedback loops with both employees and constituents, and consequences–both positive and negative–linked to service quality.
Cities that treat customer service improvement as a one-time training exercise typically see minimal lasting impact. Those that embed service quality into organizational culture through ongoing reinforcement, recognition programs, and performance management systems achieve more sustainable improvements.
Connection to Broader Reform Agenda
A civility campaign could serve as an entry point for broader city government reform. Mamdani has emphasized that city government has grown “sluggish and stagnant,” with processes and procedures that frustrate both employees and constituents. Improving how employees interact with the public might naturally lead to examining why those interactions are often so difficult in the first place.
Many constituent service problems stem from unnecessarily complex procedures, unclear requirements, and systems designed for bureaucratic convenience rather than user needs. The city’s digital services redesign initiative, started under previous administrations, attempted to make government more accessible and user-friendly. A civility campaign could complement these technological improvements by ensuring that both online and in-person interactions meet minimum courtesy standards.
Mamdani’s transition team includes committees on government efficiency and operations, suggesting he recognizes the need for systemic improvements beyond political messaging. A civility initiative might serve as a visible, public-facing component of broader internal reforms aimed at making city government more effective and responsive.
Measuring Success and Accountability
For a civility campaign to prove meaningful rather than merely performative, it requires measurable outcomes and accountability mechanisms. Cities can track constituent satisfaction through surveys, complaint systems, and secret shopper programs where trained observers evaluate service quality. Employee surveys can measure whether workers feel supported in delivering excellent service and whether they experience the workplace culture as positive and respectful.
The challenge lies in creating accountability without fostering a punitive environment that makes employees defensive and resentful. The most effective customer service cultures combine clear expectations with robust support, recognizing and rewarding excellent service while addressing problems through coaching and additional training rather than solely through discipline.
Public sector unions will play a crucial role in determining whether a civility initiative succeeds. If unions view it as management scapegoating workers for systemic problems, they may resist implementation. If they see it as genuinely aimed at improving working conditions and supporting employees in serving the public effectively, they may become partners in implementation.
The Smile That Launched a Campaign
McCaughey concludes her piece by circling back to Mamdani’s signature asset: “Put that grin to work, Mr. Mayor.” Whether intended as encouragement or subtle dig, the advice reflects a truth about political leadership. Tone and culture flow from the top of organizations, and mayors who model the behavior they expect from employees create permission and momentum for cultural change.
If Mamdani treats city employees with respect and dignity, expects them to extend that same treatment to constituents, and creates systems that support and reward excellent public service, he could meaningfully improve how millions of New Yorkers experience their government. It won’t address the city’s most pressing structural challenges, but it might make daily interactions with government agencies less stressful and more productive.
As Mamdani prepares to take office, he faces enormous expectations from supporters who voted for transformative change and skepticism from critics who doubt his ability to govern effectively. Launching a successful civility campaign might not be revolutionary, but it could demonstrate that his administration takes seriously its responsibility to serve all New Yorkers with respect and competence. And in a city where residents frequently feel ignored or dismissed by government, that would itself represent meaningful progress.
