News   Jul 10, 2024
U of T's Rotman Commerce Design by Danish Architects 3XN Unveiled
 1.8K     1 
News   Jul 10, 2024
News Roundup for July 10, 2024
 623     0 
News   Jul 10, 2024
Slice of Town
 950     0 

TTC: Customer Service

nfitz said:
No ... it's childish and immature. It's like talking to a 20-year old ...
Click to expand...

I have known 20 year olds who are more conscientious workers than some TTC operators. At least they won't fall asleep on the job or take unscheduled breaks. The 20 year old ride operators at Wonderland are more professional than a good chunk of the TTC's workforce.

And 20 year olds don't launch or threaten wildcat strikes or have union bosses who defend sleeping employees by suggesting that those who catch them in the act are doing something wrong.

There's a crisis of confidence in the TTC right now and those who defend them are not helping fix things at all. They need to understand that the public is angry and they need to understand why and address those issues.
 
kEiThZ said:
I have known 20 year olds who are more conscientious workers than some TTC operators.
Click to expand...
Sigh ... I wasn't talking about work ethic ... I was just referring to how many teenagers and a bit older seem to think they know everything about everything, are hugely judgemental, little tolerance, and so little perspective that what they say just makes everyone else around them smile to themselves and remember what it was like to be a kid. "Still crappying yellow" as one of the columnists in the Globe put it the other day. "Generation Whine" I tend to call it. I'm sure you know what I mean ...
 
I think the problem with these sorts of incidences is that it's really easy to get angry about them, but getting angry doesn't do much to effect change and solve the problem. There are lots of questions being raised because of these incidences. Why do TTC operators feel like this is acceptable behaviour on the job? Are these routes not monitored via GPS by a supervisor? Wouldn't a stopped bus for almost ten minutes trigger a red flag at Transit control? Why not?
 
GraphicMatt said:
I think the problem with these sorts of incidences is that it's really easy to get angry about them, but getting angry doesn't do much to effect change and solve the problem. There are lots of questions being raised because of these incidences. Why do TTC operators feel like this is acceptable behaviour on the job? Are these routes not monitored via GPS by a supervisor? Wouldn't a stopped bus for almost ten minutes trigger a red flag at Transit control? Why not?
Click to expand...

Why would you be worried about it if you were an operator? Until the recent rash of photos and videos there was no disciplining for such unscheduled breaks. Heck, the public didn't even know it wasn't allowed! And look what happened to the sleeping booth jockeys (recall there were 3 photos of sleeping collectors). Not a single one disciplined.

It'll get better. But it's going to take time.

I still can't believe people defend this behaviour. How many people would find it acceptable for their cab driver to randomly pull over, leave the driver's door open and take off for a coffee without any warning? Now imagine you got the same cabbie, who did this every night at the same place. And you have no choice but to use this cabbie.
 
Dolemite said:
Looks like the rank and file, are still not getting the message

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/toronto/story.html?id=2523971

A TTC bus driver stopped at Tim Hortons on Sunday morning, and as it happens such events are now news in Toronto. Reporter David Menzies came across the stopped bus, got intrigued, and filed this report:
Click to expand...
The whole coffee thing blew up on Tuesday/Wednesday. This apparently happened a week ago. Perhaps the National Post should ask why it's journalist was slacking so much it took him 5 days to file his story!
 
^ Coffee breaks are now news, they weren't before the video, which wasn't out on Sunday.

Interesting that in the NP story, the driver tries to hide his face as soon as he realizes he's getting his picture taken. It would seem obvious he knew he's not supposed to be doing this.

Last night while on the Bathurst car, the driver made a comment to another passenger along the lines of "Well, I'd better do that (he was being helpful in some manner - I was toward the back of the car and couldn't tell what had happened), or else you might video tape me". He seemed awfully bitter about it, but what other means do passengers have to push back? People have been watching this for years, but their cries went nowhere. The complaints department at the TTC seemingly has the most snoozes and coffee breaks of all.
 
Last edited:
Dilla said:
They get breaks for this. Also, it's not the coffee break, it's how. He could have announced to the passengers "Sorry folks, but I didn't have time to go on my last break, so I've got to pop in here and use the facilities. Sorry for the delay, I'll be as quick as possible." Who would complain then?
Click to expand...

Exactly. There's no way anyone has a problem with it after that.

I hope the strike rumour is true. It will make my life a lot more difficult, in the short-term at least...
 
Last edited:
Gary Webster's email to the TTC - from Transit Toronto:
“I don’t know about you, but I am becoming increasingly tired of defending the reputation of the TTC; tired of explaining what is acceptable and what is not; and tired of stating the obvious: that much of the behaviour being reported is, indeed, unacceptable.

“You have heard me say that I am proud of the TTC. I still am, but I am not proud of what we have been dealing with over the last several weeks.

“Two weeks ago, I said that the vast majority of TTC employees care about the organization and do a good job, but we can all do better. I asked everyone to respond well. Some of you did. Clearly, some of you did not.

“We all have to accept responsibility for allowing the TTC to drift into a culture of unacceptable operating discipline. In other words, we have deemed it acceptable for some employees to not do all aspects of their jobs.

“We have two choices. We can continue to react to issues, deal with individual employee problems, and hope that the rest of our employees get the message, behave themselves and not get caught doing something they should not be doing.

“The other choice, and the one we are going to take, is a much broader approach. Expectations need to be clear, especially for frontline employees. And employees need to be held accountable for their poor performance.

“We are in the customer service business, but some of the behaviour our customers have encountered recently would suggest otherwise. Our customers pay a fare and the City provides hundreds of millions of dollars every year to the TTC. This public transit agency belongs to the very people we serve.

“As Chief General Manager, I am ultimately accountable to our customers. As employees, you - and you alone - are accountable for your actions. The culture of complacency and malaise that has seeped into our organization will end. I hold all of management responsible to make this happen. Reviews and plans are under way to address systemic issues regarding customer service, but real change starts with you.”
Click to expand...

He sounds genuinely pissed off - hopefully he stays that way.
 
Swarley said:
He sounds genuinely pissed off - hopefully he stays that way.
Click to expand...

Now compare his statement to Giambrone's weasel words that he's not reponsible since he's 'only' the TTC Chair.

I sympathize with Webster. He's caught between an apathetic ATU and a TTC Commission and City Council that either does not care enough to do anything or is too scared of the ATU to actually do something.

It's going to be interesting if they really are doing a work-to-rule campaign.
 
Giambrone can only be responsible for so much. He doesn't provide job training, scheduling of shifts, or anything that concerns front line workers. He is merely a liason between Council and the Commission. Making sure that they budget correctly, provide ideas and innovation within reason, etc...Where you work, what influence does your CEO or CFO have on you on a daily basis? Do they assign you work, tell you who to work with, etc? The reason why people blame him is because he is the face of the TTC, how many people have seen a supervisor or know his name compared to Giambrone?
 
kEiThZ said:
Now compare his statement to Giambrone's weasel words that he's not reponsible since he's 'only' the TTC Chair.
Click to expand...

UrbanPrincess said:
Giambrone can only be responsible for so much. He doesn't provide job training, scheduling of shifts, or anything that concerns front line workers. He is merely a liason between Council and the Commission. Making sure that they budget correctly, provide ideas and innovation within reason, etc...Where you work, what influence does your CEO or CFO have on you on a daily basis? Do they assign you work, tell you who to work with, etc? The reason why people blame him is because he is the face of the TTC, how many people have seen a supervisor or know his name compared to Giambrone?
Click to expand...

Yes, UrbanPrincess,but note that the Globe reports today that Webster cleared his memo with Giambrone before sending it out to employees. I don't know what your workplace is like, but in my company the president wouldn't think of calling the Chairman just to communicate with his staff.

So I ask you, who is really running the TTC?
 
Last edited:
Blovertis said:
Yes, UrbanPrincess,but note that the Globe reports today that Webster cleared his memo with Giambrone before sending it out to employees. I don't know what your workplace is like, but in my company the president wouldn't think of calling the Chairman just to communicate with his staff.

So I ask you, who is really running the TTC?
Click to expand...

If the communication is going to be released publicly then it is another issue.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top