With the recent release of our new Customer Experience Action Plan, we’re laser focused on creating commutes for our riders that are enjoyable and convenient. Transit staff are putting it in motion across the system and at key touchpoints.

We chatted with a few of our staff who are championing exceptional customer experiences.

Meet Alicia, a Transit Security Officer; Shane, a Marine Attendant with SeaBus; Nick, a Transit Operator with Coast Mountain Bus Company; Tam, a Field Operations Duty Manager with SkyTrain; and Jen, a Fare Media Representative at the TransLink Customer Service Centre inside Waterfront Station.

Here’s a few qualities that make them shine!

Pride in going the extra mile

With so many tourists visiting Metro Vancouver year-round, it’s not uncommon for them to use our transit system at some point. While some may only ride the SkyTrain to get to and from Vancouver International Airport, others may hop on a bus or cruise on the SeaBus to experience the very best the region has the offer.

Each point of connection to our riders, local or otherwise, is an opportunity to make them feel like we love having them on board.

It could be making great use of our system to see the sights of Metro Vancouver, get to work, or visit friends and family. Some transit trips are easy-breezy, and some require assistance in some way, whether it’s navigating where you need to go, using accessible features on a train or bus, or simply, reloading a Compass Card.

Alicia, a Transit Security officer, recalls a time where technology just wasn’t the way to go, and put pen to paper. She was checking fares at Waterfront Station, which is a high tourist area, when a customer approached her for assistance.

“An elderly lady from Australia stopped and asked how to get to Granville Island,” says Alicia. “She didn’t have a phone — just a pen and paper — so I wrote down the directions for her.”

On the other hand, Shane, a Marine Attendant with SeaBus, beams about a time when technology did come in handy.

He says he had met a customer who needed to get to a SkyTrain station. Shane quickly realized she spoke only Spanish. Sensing her anxiousness about finding her way, he pulled out his phone.

“I thought, because I had tried it before, to use Google Translate,” says Shane. “I would say, ‘Oh, where do you want to go?’ and she would say something, and we were talking through the phone with her, and she was so happy. She was like, ‘Oh, thank you, thank you. Really.’ So, you know, made her day.

“It’s great now with the technology.”

Treating customers as their own friends and family

Another instance of helping customers, despite what can be a difficult language barrier, happened to one of our Transit Operators, Nick. He recalls a woman boarding the bus, speaking Cantonese to him. He quickly apologized for being unable to help, but didn’t want their interaction to end there.

“But then I said to myself as she went to sit down, ‘I can do better,'” Nick recalls.

As Nick walked up and down the bus aisle, trying to find a passenger willing and able to translate, unfortunately, nobody could. He continued his bus route and another woman stepped on his bus, appearing that she might be able to help with this dilemma. Luckily, this passenger was able to speak Cantonese with the first passenger, and thank goodness she did!

“In the end, she had said she was lost for 6 or 7 hours,” says Nick.

Nick was shocked. This woman had been away from home for the entire day. He learned through the helpful translator, that she had dementia.

After a bit of back and forth, Nick was able to get this passenger’s granddaughter’s phone number.

“When I finally ended up getting ahold of her, she knew right away,” Nick says. “I told her, ‘This is Nick calling from transit. I have your grandmother here.'”

Her granddaughter was so relieved to hear that her grandmother had been found safe, after a stressful and unsuccessful search of her own.

She agreed to meet Nick wherever the bus was, and as a result, had an emotional reunion with her missing grandmother.

The grandmother couldn’t help but show her gratitude as well, giving Nick a hug and thanking him as if he was her own son. For Nick, that’s just part of the job, being able to help customers get where they need to go, including getting home safely, no matter what.

“So, there’s that reward,” Nick says. “What if that was my mother or whatever, you know? We’re all, people, right? And we’re here to help.”

They enjoy the rewards of working together as a team

Over at SkyTrain, Tam is always listening to what’s going on with the system. As a Field Duty Operations Manager, she loves hearing her team of SkyTrain Attendants problem solve and assist customers, perhaps in ways that couldn’t be done without teamwork.

Listening to them report on lost items that could be rescued from trains before they get too far, informing customers on what’s going on during Transit Alerts, and making good decisions that boost your transit experience is a perk.

“Whether it’s finding the laptop, reuniting a child, driving a train, or solving a door problem so quickly that nobody knows that there was even an impact to the schedule,” Tam says.

“And sometimes things just go really sideways and they need to be all kinds of places. But listening to them on the radio and hearing them on the radio, solving those problems to me just makes me bubble with pride.”

Customer service with depth

The TransLink Customer Service Centre at Waterfront Station sees thousands of guests a year. From picking up a guide to the city, stopping in for a Compass Card after hopping off a cruise ship, or coming in to sort out a payment, they see a lot of people and a lot of scenarios.

Jen, a Fare Media Representative there, remembers a time when she had to do a bit of digging to help a customer out. The customer explained that she had accidentally loaded her Compass Card twice and the loaded amounts did not apply properly to her card.

“I had to check with our accounting department to make sure she was actually charged, and then from there, offer her either a credit or a refund,” Jen says.

She wanted to ensure that she could make it right for this customer, but also, understand what had happened here, to prevent it from happening to another.

“I emailed her and, in the end, she decided to have a Monthly Pass for November,” Jen says. “So, it all worked out pretty well.

“It’s just for some situations. It’s not quite obvious. When you first look at the card, you have to really go back and investigate or maybe check in with our accounting team to see what happened.”

As we continue to deliver an elevated customer experience, it’s the compassion and commitment of transit staff that truly set us apart. Their actions today shape the kind of system we want for tomorrow.

Feeling inspired and interested in delivering great customer experiences yourself? Visit translink.ca/careers and you might find a job that resonates with you as much as it does with the people we spoke to.