FAC Customer Relations & Service 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A contracting officer's representative (COR) notices a contractor's performance is slipping but no formal complaint has been filed. What is the BEST first step?
- Issue a cure notice immediately
- Document observations and schedule a performance review meeting with the contractor (Correct answer)
- Terminate the contract for default
- Notify the Inspector General
Correct answer: Document observations and schedule a performance review meeting with the contractor
Documenting observations and holding a performance review allows both parties to address issues before escalating to formal remedies.
Question 2: Which federal principle requires acquisition professionals to treat all customers with equal responsiveness regardless of their agency rank?
- Merit-based selection
- Impartiality and equity in service delivery (Correct answer)
- Competition in contracting
- Best value determination
Correct answer: Impartiality and equity in service delivery
Impartiality and equity require that acquisition staff provide consistent, unbiased service to all customers irrespective of rank or seniority.
Question 3: A program office urgently needs supplies but lacks a proper requisition. As a contracting professional, you should:
- Procure the supplies immediately to avoid mission impact
- Help the program office prepare a proper requisition before initiating any action (Correct answer)
- Refer them to another agency
- Issue a verbal purchase order
Correct answer: Help the program office prepare a proper requisition before initiating any action
Proper documentation (a valid requisition) is a prerequisite to any procurement action, even in urgent situations.
Question 4: What does 'Voice of the Customer' (VoC) mean in a federal acquisition context?
- A mandatory protest process filed by offerors
- Structured collection of customer needs, preferences, and feedback to inform acquisition planning (Correct answer)
- A congressional mandate for public comment periods
- Annual contractor performance surveys only
Correct answer: Structured collection of customer needs, preferences, and feedback to inform acquisition planning
VoC is a structured process to capture what the requiring activity needs so the acquisition strategy accurately reflects those requirements.
Question 5: A customer agency disputes the terms of a task order issued under a Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC). Who has primary responsibility for resolving this dispute?
- The GWAC contracting officer at the ordering agency (Correct answer)
- The contractor's legal team
- The SBA
- The using agency's program manager alone
Correct answer: The GWAC contracting officer at the ordering agency
The contracting officer at the ordering agency is responsible for administering and resolving disputes on task orders issued under GWACs.
Question 6: Which metric BEST measures customer satisfaction in federal acquisition services?
- Total contract value awarded
- Timeliness of award and responsiveness to customer inquiries (Correct answer)
- Number of protests filed
- Size of contractor pool
Correct answer: Timeliness of award and responsiveness to customer inquiries
Timeliness and responsiveness directly reflect service quality from the customer's perspective in acquisition support.
Question 7: When a requiring activity submits requirements that are overly restrictive, what is the contracting officer's obligation?
- Process the requirement as submitted to honor customer preference
- Work with the customer to revise requirements to allow for maximum competition (Correct answer)
- Reject the requirement without discussion
- Immediately issue a sole-source justification
Correct answer: Work with the customer to revise requirements to allow for maximum competition
FAR Part 11 obligates contracting officers to promote competition by helping customers describe needs without unnecessarily restricting the market.
FAC Customer Relations & Service 2
A contracting officer's representative (COR) notices a contractor's performance is slipping but no formal complaint has been filed.
What is the BEST first step?