bus customer service

Tchaikovsky · 10-12-2019 11:59am

There's still a professional way of dealing with a difficult situation. I worked in customer service for a few years and if I had sworn at a customer I'd have been sacked there and then.

Isambard · 10-12-2019 1:24pm

Tchaikovsky wrote: »

There's still a professional way of dealing with a difficult situation. I worked in customer service for a few years and if I had sworn at a customer I'd have been sacked there and then.

as I pointed out, he didn't swear at her/him, he swore in their presence. Two different things.

Isambard · 10-12-2019 1:25pm

magicbastarder wrote: »

um, when talking to a customer, it is.

selective quoting

Nijmegen · 10-12-2019 4:00pm

To be honest I think a lot of people are missing the point here... In any service business, it's rarely the fault of the person at the coal face if something goes wrong. But in most service businesses, telling a customer to f-off would lose you your job. (And I've been on buses where the drivers have been incredibly rude and I think a lot of people have, and also buses where they're sound. It seems there's no reward or punishment for either.)

It's unacceptable to have companies that take that attitude towards their customers, and it's unacceptable for individual staff to take that line if it is against company policy. But in the case of most companies, they exist in a truly competitive marketplace where the customer can take their business elsewhere. Not so on individual bus routes. It feels like another public sector company where the customers are an annoyance and the customer is left feeling so, rather than provided the best service in the situation - even if that situation is apologising for something rather than telling someone to f-off.

Isambard · 10-12-2019 4:48pm

Nijmegen wrote: »

To be honest I think a lot of people are missing the point here... In any service business, it's rarely the fault of the person at the coal face if something goes wrong. But in most service businesses, telling a customer to f-off would lose you your job. (And I've been on buses where the drivers have been incredibly rude and I think a lot of people have, and also buses where they're sound. It seems there's no reward or punishment for either.)

It's unacceptable to have companies that take that attitude towards their customers, and it's unacceptable for individual staff to take that line if it is against company policy. But in the case of most companies, they exist in a truly competitive marketplace where the customer can take their business elsewhere. Not so on individual bus routes. It feels like another public sector company where the customers are an annoyance and the customer is left feeling so, rather than provided the best service in the situation - even if that situation is apologising for something rather than telling someone to f-off.

i think you miss the point actually. He did not tell her to **** off

punisher5112 · 10-12-2019 5:19pm

Oh dear lord.....

db does go at the driver believe me, they treat us like no matter what we are wrong.

Joker2019 · 10-12-2019 5:48pm

Nijmegen wrote: »

To be honest I think a lot of people are missing the point here... In any service business, it's rarely the fault of the person at the coal face if something goes wrong. But in most service businesses, telling a customer to f-off would lose you your job. (And I've been on buses where the drivers have been incredibly rude and I think a lot of people have, and also buses where they're sound. It seems there's no reward or punishment for either.)

It's unacceptable to have companies that take that attitude towards their customers, and it's unacceptable for individual staff to take that line if it is against company policy. But in the case of most companies, they exist in a truly competitive marketplace where the customer can take their business elsewhere. Not so on individual bus routes. It feels like another public sector company where the customers are an annoyance and the customer is left feeling so, rather than provided the best service in the situation - even if that situation is apologising for something rather than telling someone to f-off.

I don't agree with the driver using swear words myself. It sounds like he is probably saying what he and many other staff who deal with the public probably think myself included at times. Personally I prefer drivers to completely ignore passengers and just do their job you know drivers that just drive the bus don't get involved in conversations or arguments. Yeah it's nice if the driver is going to be friendly but they don't need to be.

Many cities I have been to the driver does not interact with passengers at all almost like the Luas. This benefits both the driver since they don't have to deal with passengers and passengers as they don't have to deal with the driver. Also there is competition now for DB in the form of Go-Ahead and customer service is one of the areas which the NTA is marking both operators.

I have come across certain retailers in the private sector where the staff are rude so it's not exclusive to semi state bodies. You mention that someone in the private sector would be sacked immediately but this would only be the case if a manager witnessed it and would be difficult to prove if the employee was on their own as it would literally be a case of the customers word against the employees word. Buses by their very nature are mobile so it is impossible for constant supervision of drivers.

Also I'm sure out of all the complaints DB receives there is a proportion that are bogus. People can say literally anything and while I'm not accusing this instance could also be bogus.

AlekSmart · 10-12-2019 8:59pm

suicide_circus wrote: »

issue was the previous bus never showed, got down to "Due" and never appeared so myself and the other passengers had to wait another 25 mins. Eventually this bus shows up, he lets passengers off (it was the terminus) and the driver closes the door at which point I and the 20 other people at the stop became a bit dismayed and i tried to explain the situation. he did end up opening the door again and let us all on but its the initial reaction and total indifference to the customer that isnt on imo.

Can you confirm that none of 20+ people,now waiting at a Terminus for over 25 minutes had any means of contacting the Customer Service or On-Line information points ?

With the doors of the arrived bus closed,where were you positioned whilst explaining the situation and how did that explanation process proceed ?

You suggest the Driver had a total indifference to "The Customer",however you also suggest that as he had allowed previous customers to disembark,which could suggest that this indifference may not quite as total as you claim,as he almost certainly had to allow these people on in the first place ?

As you state that you were not in the least surprised at this attitude,and further describe it as an Industry Standard can we accept a certain predetermination of the outcome here ?

You state that you don't expect things to change,which is fair enough,but also carries with it yet more predetermination,and failing to realise that things are changing all around you,even in the "industry".

Later you claim....

my issue wasnt that the last bus didnt show, it was that he was in service but had closed the door and was preparing to drive away.

Are you absolutely sure that the driver you complain of,was In-Service ?

Could there be,even a remote possibility,of the fellow being finished his duty and due to head back to the Garage empty ?

You do appear to be well sure of other posters strengths and weaknesses regarding this "customer service" issue,and well able to engage on a personal level with them...

well your attitude seems to be pretty standard. does customer service play any part in your training as a matter of interest?

...which again begs the question,why were you and the 20+ customers unable to engage on a corporate level with the Company in the 25+ minutes extra they were waiting ?

Yet,you appear very certain of the Drivers intent...

AGAIN my issue was that he was driving away without picking us up after the last bus failed to arrive. a decision he thought better of some moments later

... perhaps this Driver was scheduled to do exactly this,and was instead asked by a Controller to alter his duty to deal with your (and 20+ others) problem ?

As it appears you are familiar with the greater Customer Service ethos,I'm taking it that your assumptions about this particular Driver ARE in fact 100% correct,with no possibility of any other scenario being possible (or acceptable ) ?

With a bit of luck,your driver was able to get some added satisfaction from being able to fulfill the needs of the 20+ customers who otherwise might have been left in the lurch ?

Nijmegen · 10-12-2019 11:33pm

We seem to be pulling apart semantics in a situation where, to be honest, the driver shouldn’t have said something like “not my f-ing problem” to the customer. And many of us, myself included, have witnessed downright deplorable attitudes and behaviour from drivers over the years. Saying “yeah well the customers...” doesn’t really excuse it. Or “how would you prove it...” doesn’t really address the core underlying problem that there is a core of people working in a service business who do not have the right attitude towards their customers, which should at least be polite if not actually helpful.

There might be competition in the market now but it’s not on a route by route basis and to be honest no matter what happens you’re not going to be seeing redundancies from folks working in the semi state sector for a long period of time. There’s an immunity there that tends to breed a certain contempt towards the customer.

Again, plenty of sound DB drivers and plenty who just get on with their jobs. But there are people who are actively nasty at times and it really isn’t on. If nothing else they might consider that the travelling public is also the voting public in an era when changes to the old regime are starting to creep in and the monopoly ebbing away.

Joker2019 · 11-12-2019 12:26am

Nijmegen wrote: »

We seem to be pulling apart semantics in a situation where, to be honest, the driver shouldn’t have said something like “not my f-ing problem” to the customer. And many of us, myself included, have witnessed downright deplorable attitudes and behaviour from drivers over the years. Saying “yeah well the customers...” doesn’t really excuse it. Or “how would you prove it...” doesn’t really address the core underlying problem that there is a core of people working in a service business who do not have the right attitude towards their customers, which should at least be polite if not actually helpful.

I have yet to come across this deplorable attitude from drivers towards passengers... apologies valued customers. I have come across drivers who don't exactly have a happy face. Honestly I don't know what you expect from drivers but I think you may be expecting drivers to have an extremely fake have a nice day type fake American attitude. Most passengers do not acknowledge the driver espeicially first thing in the morning so I'm not sure what exactly you expect.

There might be competition in the market now but it’s not on a route by route basis and to be honest no matter what happens you’re not going to be seeing redundancies from folks working in the semi state sector for a long period of time. There’s an immunity there that tends to breed a certain contempt towards the customer.

So I'm guessing what you want is a late 80s/early 90s UK bus wars type scenario. I've travelled on the continent and have generally found that the employees of state public transport companies are not the most customer focused induviduals. I'm fine with it I'd rather my bus is on time than a driver that will kiss will wipe my arse.

Again, plenty of sound DB drivers and plenty who just get on with their jobs. But there are people who are actively nasty at times and it really isn’t on. If nothing else they might consider that the travelling public is also the voting public in an era when changes to the old regime are starting to creep in and the monopoly ebbing away.

Again I have yet to come across these induviduals. Despite using DB services nearly every day I have yet to have any real dealings good or bad with DB employees.

MrTime · 12-12-2019 11:04pm

Is there not a scheduling problem if drivers shift finishes at remote terminus

It seems very inefficient to have inbound out of service buses

also ideally if there is excessive delay , should there not be a few reserve busses and drivers to insert into the schedule to fill unplanned delays

The concept of a bus being sent out of service to the opposite end of route to catch up seems crazy

Midnight_EG · 13-12-2019 12:12am

MrTime wrote: »

Is there not a scheduling problem if drivers shift finishes at remote terminus

It seems very inefficient to have inbound out of service buses

also ideally if there is excessive delay , should there not be a few reserve busses and drivers to insert into the schedule to fill unplanned delays

The concept of a bus being sent out of service to the opposite end of route to catch up seems crazy

No, you have to have busses going each way and at the end at least one driver will have to go for lunch. The time to get from the Terminus to lunch won't be enough to cover a journey the opposite way so he goes special to the depot or whatever. There's extra drivers, and they cover sick leave and late busses.

Better Than Christ · 13-12-2019 12:26am

MrTime wrote: »

also ideally if there is excessive delay , should there not be a few reserve busses and drivers to insert into the schedule to fill unplanned delays

In an ideal situation, where public transport was funded properly, there would be reserve buses and drivers parked in strategic locations at busy times of the day, ready to go if required. In an even more ideal situation, buses wouldn't be delayed by private cars hogging the roads, and the Gardai would at least try to prevent cars from driving in bus lanes and parking in bus stops.

In reality though, there are barely enough buses to cover the schedule on a good day. Go Ahead regularly has several drivers waiting in the canteen in the afternoons with no bus to drive. And I've seen those tiny single-decker buses that are usually on the 44b on the 145 recently. I don't think Dublin Bus would be putting them on such a busy route unless they absolutely had to.

Joker2019 · 13-12-2019 12:28am

MrTime wrote: »

Is there not a scheduling problem if drivers shift finishes at remote terminus

It seems very inefficient to have inbound out of service buses

also ideally if there is excessive delay , should there not be a few reserve busses and drivers to insert into the schedule to fill unplanned delays

The concept of a bus being sent out of service to the opposite end of route to catch up seems crazy

It would be impossible to completely prevent some degree of dead running. Generally drivers finish their shifts either in the middle of the day if their doing an early or in the evening after the evening rush so traffic is generally light when their going back to the garage. Not like they're sitting in traffic heading back to the depot.

As for far out places there is a small sub depot in Bray for the 84/a/x and some duties on the 145 and one in Skerries for the 33. Also sometimes they go on a set down only basis so not running completely empty.

Scoundrel · 13-12-2019 3:06pm

A Bus drivers job is to drive the bus he/she is on that's it so whinging at them about anything else is a total waste of time and it's no harm to be able to tell ignorant customers to **** off it's a pity you can't do it in more places this bowing and scraping to ignorant customers has to stop it only enables ignorance.

LineOfBeauty · 09-01-2020 7:09pm

Dredging this one up! The attitude of some of the drivers is so ridiculous that you can't help but laugh. 2 buses pull up one after the other, 15 and 14 in that order, 15 is crowded with limited seats, 14 has plenty seats. I get on the 14, give my destination, driver then looks at me and says "you know the 2 buses go the exact same way right? Pause for dramatic effect, he gives a good eye roll and away we go! It's just jarring because I can't think of any other service transaction you'll have in every day life where you just kinda accept rudeness as part and parcel of the service delivery.

bus customer service

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