Introducing a Passenger Charter: Your Guide for Success...Introducing a Passenger Charter Your uide...

1Introducing a Passenger Charter: Your Guide for Success

Introducing a Passenger Charter: Your Guide for Success

Transforming the Customer ExperienceCUTA Fall ConferenceNovember 23-27, 2013 – Calgary, AB

2 Introducing a Passenger Charter: Your Guide for Success

It is with great pleasure that we are able to unveil the Passenger Charter for members of the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA). This was developed with the help of 15 Canadian transit agencies that make up the Customer Orientation Task Force and is endorsed by the CUTA Executive Committee.

As highlighted in the third theme of the CUTA Vision 2040 – Focusing on Customers, it’s all about the customer. One of transit’s greatest challenges in recent decades has been to serve travellers who have become more diverse by nature and more discriminating in their choices. Investing in customer service can bring increased ridership. It can save money by reducing complaint handling. Increased attention to customer service boosts employee morale resulting in better attendance and less time managing grievances. Finally, governments are more likely to fund agencies that have the high public approval that comes with good customer service.

A Passenger Charter that clearly outlines promises to improve service quality demonstrates our commitment to bettering the customer’s experience. CUTA’s Customer Orientation Task Force put together a Passenger Charter template and training materials that you can use to successfully launch a Passenger Charter in your organization. The template provided is a starting point for you. Take components that work for you, add others or even remove some that just don’t fit for your company.

We’ve tried to make it easy for you to implement by providing you the best practices of a successful launch and customized training modules, but I cannot stress enough that this should not be taken lightly. Customers will challenge your organization and you will have to be prepared to take action.

Good luck and your partners at CUTA are always available if you have any questions.

Mary Proc, VP Customer Service, GO Transit

November 25, 2013

Mary Proc is the Vice President of Customer Service at GO Transit and the chair of CUTA’s

Customer Orientation Task Force.

John Beaudoin is the Director of Customer Engagement and Marketing at TransLink and the Co-chair of CUTA’s

Customer Orientation Task Force.

John Beaudoin, Director of Customer Engagement and Marketing, TransLink

A Message from Mary Proc and John Beaudoin


TOPIC

Welcome, Introduction, Objectives

Ice Breaker - Win a Bus!

Passenger Charter

Six Steps for a Successful Launch

Introducing the Passenger Charter Toolkit

Concluding Remarks

Workshop Agenda


Our Passenger Charter: We will...

do our best to be on time.We want to get you where you need to be - when you need to be there. It's our goal to be on time, and you're always welcome to see how we're doing - just visit <<your company website>>. If there are delays, we will provide information about them.

always take your safety seriously.This means continuing to keep our stations and terminals well lit and our vehicles well maintained. If something does happen, it means getting you the help you need from our trained, professional staff. All in all, it means doing whatever we can to ensure that you get home safely.

keep you in the know.Whether it’s information that can help you plan your journey, late-breaking news that impacts your trip with us, or an announcement you need to hear; we will be clear and consistent in our communications.

see that you have a comfortable trip.We want your trip to be as easy as possible. Your fare will gain you admission to a modern, well-equipped vehicle, giving you well-deserved time to yourself. Your comfort is important to us.

help you quickly and courteously.Customer assistance is part of everyone’s job at <<your company name>>. If you have a problem, we’ll do our very best to resolve it on the spot. If you have questions prior to, or during your trip, we’ll answer them for you. In other words, whenever you need help, just ask.

be welcoming and accessible to all.<<Your Company>>is at your service. Our vehicles, stops, stations and terminals are accommodating to all passengers. Our signage is clear, and service is available in several languages. All our employees are ready to make your experience a positive one.

do our best to be a good neighbour.The area we serve is our home too. <<Your Company>> will strive to be sustainable and smart. We will maintain good relations with our communities and be a good corporate citizen.

Looking to the future, two things are certain – we will need to grow to meet increasing demand, and we will adapt to meet your changing needs. If you have ideas, we want to hear them. And as our system grows and changes we think you deserve to know. Together, we can all enjoy the ride.

See what we are doing to make your trip better... visit us at <<Transit Company Website>>


• Use employee focus groups to get their insights on what promises you should make

• Prioritize the promises• Consult the Union Executive and explain why

it will be good for employees

Steps for a successful launch

Step 1: Building Employee Engagement

“It is my belief that success comes from trusting employees to know

what works best in their own areas and then

entrusting them with the power to make needed

improvements.”

– Fred Hansen, General Manager,

TriMet Transit

We all know that when an employee’s commitment drifts it can result in decreased productivity, a drop in work quality, and increased rework. One simple way to avoid this when launching your Passenger Charter is to involve employees up-front. Let them inform your organization on what the promises should be. They offer a wealth of experience garnered from their face-to-face interactions with customers. Also, employees will be the individuals who will bring the charter’s promises to life, it is critical to ensure they are included in the Passenger Charter development. This will provide them a sense of ownership and increase the likelihood of success.


• If you have a customer panel, run the Charter by them. Ask if it covers everything they think is important

• Do your customers prefer to be referred to Passengers/Customers/Riders/Guests?

• Is the language appropriate – is it clear, or too formal/relaxed?

Step 2: Building Customer Engagement

Steps for a successful launchSteps for a successful launch

For the Passenger Charter to really ring true to your customers, it’s critical to get them involved right at the start and keep them involved until you launch. Listening to the voice of your customers throughout the planning and launch phases will ensure that you are establishing a Passenger Charter that is valued by your customers. You’ll know you’ve done this right when you find your customers are spreading the word about the Passenger Charter and are acting as champions!

“Our Customer Service Charter includes targets for

meeting…service needs based on what [customers]

have told us during our customer research.”

– Ian Jarvis, CEO, Translink


• The most important message to employees: If you are ever unclear about how to apply “your company’s rules”, and you make a decision in favour of the customer, “your company” will back you 100%

• Train people leaders first then front-line staff, and don’t forget about the office team

• Make the training mandatory and clearly communicate why the Passenger Charter is a good idea

• Customize training based on the audience

Step 3: Training


Training is not just a transfer of knowledge, but an investment in employees and your organization. By investing in training, your organization will be demonstrating how important the initiative is and that the organization is committed to its success.

Passenger Charter training will inform your employees about what exactly your Passenger Charter is, will prepare them for the questions that they will receive and will teach them how to bring the promises to life. The training also provides you an opportunity to address employees’ concerns before launch, to communicate your expectations and to focus everyone’s efforts on achieving the same end goal – enhancing the customer experience.

“We also realise it is equally important to invest in bus staff. It is the drivers who are delivering the service and who can make a big

difference to passengers…”

– Mike Weston, Director of Buses,

Transport for London UK


• Know your audience and the benefits• Have your responses ready: - “I’m just a driver, I’m not supposed to do customer service”

- “I might not make the right decision – I don’t want to get into trouble”

- “I thought safety was the first priority, not customer service – you can’t have two first priorities”

- From City Council: “What will this cost?”

Step 4: Overcoming Resistance

“Everyone here has the sense that right now is one

of those moments when we are influencing the future.”

– Steve Jobs, former CEO, Apple

Computers


As with any initiative, resistance can be a challenge right from the start and being prepared is the best tool in overcoming this. Senior executives and your City Councils will first need to be “sold” on the initiative, so know the benefits and be able to communicate them. When launching, you will find that not all employees will be early adopters and you will need to provide support for the transition. It is recommended that you communicate openly about the benefits of the Passenger Charter and how it will help employees in their day-to-day roles within the organization.


• Do you have service KPIs now, and can they be used to measure progress in the Charter?

• Make them S.M.A.R.T. – specific, measureable, attainable, realistic and timely

• What are your targets – look back to your past performance and consider the organization’s future service plans

• Share your performance internally and to the public

• Review and revise KPIs when appropriate

Step 5: Developing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

“You’ve got to have a plan and be able to

track that plan. We have developed 25 high-level key performance indicators that

measure key areas, such as customer satisfaction,

performance and financials.”

– Andy Byford, CEO, TTC


Key Performance Indicators assist in distilling the complex nature of organizational performance into more understandable and digestible pieces. The Passenger Charter KPIs will help your organization focus on the measures that are key to its success.

Measuring performance will allow you to identify key insights from your organization and drive improvements. They enable fact-based decision making and provide support to strengthen your strategic assumptions. The main aim is to provide employees with the information that they need to make better informed decisions.

Establishing Passenger Charter KPIs will simplify and standardize the information you provide to your customers and other external stakeholders. Your stakeholders will appreciate knowing what information you will be providing to them and when they can expect updates.


• Find champions at the highest level of your organization

• Launch the Passenger Charter with cake and celebrate annually

• Circulate stories where customers commended your staff for observing the Passenger Charter

• Keep the promises posted for all to see in boardrooms, lunch rooms, on your vehicles and on your website

• Get the word out to the local news teams – this is great press for your system

• It’s a monumental day – enjoy it!

Steps for a successful launch

Step 6: Launch with a Bang and keep the momentum going!

“Success comes from taking the initiative and

following up…”

– Tony Robbins,

Motivational Speaker

To build awareness of your new Passenger Charter consider hosting a “launch” media event at a central station or head office. To keep the focus on your launch, consider planning events to highlight one or two promises a day for an entire week.

Although building awareness of your new Passenger Charter will be a key priority during launch, it is still important to celebrate all of the hard work that employees have contributed in order to get you to this point. Celebrate the launch internally to commend the people who worked on the project and to remind all employees that the initiative is now live.

Once launched, it’s important to share the successes to remind everyone why the Passenger Charter was launched. Customer feedback is one place to start; look for commendations that highlight aspects of the Passenger Charter and share them within the organization.


Mary ProcVP Customer Service, GO [email protected]

John Beaudoin Director of Customer Engagement and Marketing, [email protected]

Barry StannardManager GO Transit Control Centre, GO [email protected]

Michael Roschlau President & CEO, [email protected]

Raymond BédardDirector, Training & Membership Development, CUTA

[email protected]

Charter Champions

We are here to help you with any challenges you face. Feel free to reach out to any of the Charter Champions.


CUTA is making available three training modules to help prepare your organization for a successful Passenger Charter Launch. All materials can be customized for your organization and are available for download from the CUTA website.

The modules are as follows:

1. People Leaders Training: In this 4 hour and 20 minute interactive workshop; Leaders will learn about the 7 commitments of the Passenger Charter, Change Management Principles and how to lead through transition. Through activities, discussion, practicing customer and employee scenarios, leaders will prepare themselves not only to demonstrate key behaviours but also how to create success in launching a Passenger Charter by engaging their employees.

2. Front & Back Office Employee Training: In this 3 hour and 35 minute interactive workshop; employees will learn about the 7 commitments of the Passenger Charter, their own reaction to change, and how to assist others (employees and customers) who are resistant to change. Through activities, discussion, practicing customer scenarios, employees will demonstrate the required behaviours to make launching a Passenger Charter successful for themselves and customers.

3. Sustainment (Post Launch): In this 2 hour interactive workshop; employees will learn about the 7 commitments of the Passenger Charter, customer loyalty and examples of service excellence that supports the promises of the Passenger Charter. Through activities, discussion, practicing customer scenarios and a quiz, employees will demonstrate the knowledge that supports a Passenger Charter-friendly organization.

Training Materials

Transforming the Customer Experience

CUTA Fall ConferenceNovember 23-27, 2013 – Calgary, AB



Transforming the Customer Experience

CUTA Fall ConferenceNovember 23-27, 2013 – Calgary, AB


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