Tuesday, February 9, 2010

The TTC Crackdown

For a couple of weeks, there have been angry debates going back and forth about the customer service from the front line reps of the TTC.
This is my opinion - essentially, TTC operators - those who sit in the collecting booths, drive those buses and subways etc etc - are customer care representatives. Their primary job is to drive, collect or both. They also have to realize that with this position, they are also customer care representatives because they face the riders everyday. Whether they like it or not, this is in their job description. Only those who are qualified to handle the public should only work for the TTC. It's simple as that.
Now, I'm not argueing about their breaks etc. I think that those who sit there for eight hours a day, driving a bus should be entitled to a break because their bladder needs it. Sometimes, it gets boring driving that bus along that same route everyday. Yes, I understand. Riders need to take this into consideration. I don't think that sleeping on the job is appropriate <-- now that's just going too far.
But at the same time, with this bus driving deal, ttc operators also need to understand that customer service is an essential part of their job! I work in customer care. My job, essentially, is to wait for customers to call in and complain. Do I flip out on them when they yell at me? No, not at all because they call in for a reason. They call in to complain about the service they are receiving. I take this as "get your fucken act together because I'm paying you for a service." This is what I want the TTC operators to realize. To realize that riders also need respect and that not everyone is out to get them.
I think the most unbelievable experience I've had with a ttc operator was when I was going home from work in Scarborough. If you know Scarborough, you know that most of the people on the bus have little or no knowledge of English (except for the younger generation). It was rush hour and obviously the bus was packed. As we stop, the TTC driver gets up and literally yells at this elderly lady right in her ear. "LADY, GET OUT OF MY WAY!! LADY GET OF MY WAY!" WTF??!! Couldn't this operator say excuse me? It's not even the language barrier that was the problem. It wasn't even like the lady that was standing in her way because she wanted to block her. It was because she didn't even know that this operator wanted to the leave the bus.
I find that there are only a handful of operators out there who are rude. Most of those who I have encountered were fairly nice. I remember when I took the TTC often every morning to work, most of the operators would wish me a good morning. There was one driver who would wait for a frequent rider until they boarded the bus. It's all courtesy. Not because it's their job, but because they genuinely like doing this. Yes, there are people out there who like to help people, no matter how little it is! And i think this should be the job description of any TTC operator.

What I'm trying to get at is this:
operators should respect the public and vice versa.
operators should be entitled to breaks because they're human too

that is all.

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