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| Volume 18, Issue 4 | Fall 2006 |
Meeting the Needs of Its PassengersWalsh County Transportation, headquartered in Park River, ND, has been in operation for over 30 years, beginning its services in 1975. It has increased its services over the years, as the needs of its passengers have changed and grown. Currently, they have two buses and employ two regular drivers plus a substitute. Walsh County Transportation operates five to six days per week. They travel to Grand Forks two to three times each week; Grafton twice a week; Park River twice a month; Devils Lake once per month; and Fargo once a month. They began providing an extra trip to Grand Forks on Saturdays twice a month to assist a dialysis client who has difficulty finding someone to take her for treatments on Saturdays. It's all a part of doing "whatever it takes" to meet the needs of the people they serve. Director, Pam Landsem, can't say enough good things about her staff and the extra effort that they put into their jobs. Her two regular drivers, Marianne Gustafson and Elaine Cudmore, as well as their substitute driver, Carol Ondracek, continually do everything they can to make the passengers' ride as pleasant and accommodating as possible. Pam says, "They are real people pleasers, and since many of those who ride on our bus need extra help, they are willing to do just that. Anytime I ask any of them to do an extra trip or whatever else is needed, they are more than willing and NEVER turn me down. We could not have recruited better drivers or staff for the individual attention they give to each and every passenger on our bus." As a last resort, their Outreach Worker, Jean Hjelmstad, has also been pressed into action. As Pam noted, "When you are a small agency like ours, you wear more than one hat. Jean is a real 'jack-of-all-trades' who has even cooked a meal or two at one of our meal sites." One of Pam's drivers was asked what she does all day in Grand Forks after she has dropped everyone off where they want to go. What she does is constantly drive all over town dropping off passengers at one location and picking up passengers at another and taking them to their next requested stop. Many times there is not even time for a lunch break. When you have eight to ten people who each have appointments, shopping, or other errands to run, there is very little down time, and it generally is non-stop for the driver all day long. Pam commented that she has ridden with their drivers on these trips numerous times and finds herself exhausted at the end of the day. "I need to take a nap while they drive me home!" Pam remarked. Over the past 20 years that Pam has been working with Walsh County Transportation, they have had many interesting and challenging experiences. She always tells her drivers that they could write a book about their experiences. It's not an easy job to be a driver. The most important thing though is that day-in and day-out, the agency and staff work together to meet the needs of their passengers. Exceptional Customer Service - A Journey, Not a DestinationThe Dakota Transit Association Conference in Spearfish was the site of an all-day training on providing exceptional customer service, presented by Keith Lowry. Attendees examined their own experiences with customer service, with most of us (unfortunately) having more tales to tell of poor service than of good or exceptional service. We examined the importance of first impressions and learned what the customer "perceives" is real. We also need to be mindful that customer's expectations change and grow over time, making excellent customer service a goal to strive toward, probably a destination never quite reached. It is essential that front-line employees, be their drivers or dispatchers, be vigilant about putting their best attitude forward since the customer views the employee they deal with as "the company". We looked at ways of dealing with difficult customers, techniques of calming people down, how to address contentious issues, and reaching solutions that all parties can feel satisfied with. Many times people are difficult because it has worked for them in the past. As Keith said, "what gets rewarded, gets repeated". Listening might be the most difficult (and most important) part of good communications, and good communications are essential to providing excellent customer service. It is truly important to listen well, especially to the complainers, and respond quickly. We all say we value our customers. I believe we all need to remind ourselves that all the "stuff" in our busy schedules is about serving our customers. Our journey to excellent customer service will no doubt be filled with highs and some lows. What direction is your agency heading in? Submitted by:
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