AC TRANSIT DISTRICT Board of Directors Executive Summary
GM Memo No. 09-169 Meeting Date: July 29, 2009
Committees: Planning Committee External Affairs Committee Rider Complaint Committee Board of Directors
Finance and Audit Committee Operations Committee Paratransit Committee Financing Corporation
SUBJECT: Overview of Customer Feedback Process RECOMMENDED ACTION: Information Only
Briefing Item
Recommended Motion
Fiscal Impact: None Background/Discussion: The customer feedback/issue resolution process is designed to listen to and capture relevant information from customers, route the concern to an appropriate person or department for research and action, resolve the issue and respond to the customer when appropriate. The process itself is unchanged from the previous update in January 2008. Description of Customer Feedback Process Customer feedback arrives by Phone/Voicemail, Email, Website and US Mail. Processes are in place for each group to receive a confirmation that their feedback was received. Contact Method Phone Voicemail Email Web Letter
Initial Response Delivery Reassurance of feedback given during call Callback Email back to customer Web auto response Return letter
The Information Center staff enters the feedback or issue into the Customer Relations Database. The key information that is collected includes: • • • • •
Rev. 6/09
Customer Info (name, address, phone, email) Date/Time of Occurrence Line and Bus Number Location of Incident Direction of Travel
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Description of Operator / Badge Number Feedback/Issue Detail
The Information Center staff then researches and seeks to verify the information given above, codes feedback appropriately, determines the responsible person or department for action, and forwards the ticket to that department for action. Once the ticket is coded “For Action” to a department, it becomes the responsibility of the designated department to resolve the issue and contact the customer (if requested). The relevant department receives an email reminder to indicate there is an open case in the Customer Relations database. Most of the tickets received relate to specific operator behavior, and, as such, are routed to division managers to investigate. Other concerns, such as scheduling or planning issues, or general on-street operations are forwarded to the Planning or Supervision departments. The relevant department staff then researches the issue, and depending on the need, may communicate with the customer to get additional information. In the case of discipline hearing, the manager may request that the customer participate in a hearing. When the investigation is complete, staff enters the results of the research and action into the database. If a customer response was requested, the relevant department staff either replies directly to the customer or assigns that responsibility to Customer Relations for reply. Once the research and any required customer contact is complete, the ticket is coded in the system as “Ready to Close”. The final step in the process is that the Customer Relations staff reviews items coded as “Ready to Close”, verifies that the information is complete and closes the ticket. The General Manager’s Quarterly Report includes a summary of the tickets received each quarter and relevant information about the status of the tickets.
Process Enhancements: In the past few months, the Customer Service staff has worked to improve the quality of information that is being collected and sent to other departments. The enhancements include: • Senior clerks now have access to NextBus replay and a Satcom terminal to aid in identifying a specific coach. This allows them to more accurately identify the coach and operator who may have been involved in the incident, and ensures that division managers have accurate information before starting their investigation. • All clerks have a comprehensive list of questions to ask customers during complaint intake. These questions, and their responses, add consistency to the information collected and were created based on feedback from
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Transportation Superintendents. This information also provides division managers with more complete and accurate information. A complaint quality control check has been implemented that checks all complaints for accuracy before they are sent off to other departments for action.
Web Based Feedback Process: The AC Transit external website currently has a feedback form for customers to use to enter both complaints and commendations. The form is accessed from a link on the homepage under the Customer Assistance tab. When completed, the form is entered directly into the Customer Relations database and is then checked, coded and forwarded to the appropriate department for action. If the feedback form contains a question, the customer receives a response to the question from Customer Relations. It is more efficient and effective to have customers use the web form for feedback because: 1) the web form is open 24 hours each day, 2) the customer’s exact comments are entered into the database, not relying on a third party’s interpretation, and 3) it saves data entry resources on the part of District staff. To encourage a greater percentage of customers to provide feedback through the website, District staff will include messages in the phone system queue for Customer Information letting customers know about the web feedback tool. It will be possible to add this message in the new phone system that is being implemented in the next few months.
Prior Relevant Board Actions/Policies: The Board periodically receives reports on the District’s complaint process. Attachments: None Approved by: Prepared by: Date Prepared:
Rick Fernandez, General Manager Kathleen Kelly, Chief Transportation Officer Ron Esparza, Customer Services Supervisor Ken Rhodes, Customer Services Manager July 9, 2009
