Great Customer Service from the TTC!

It is so much easier these days to find an example of poor, pitiful, and down-right outrageous customer service. In an age when technology should make it easier to make connections with customers, it seems most companies are only capable of pushing marketing messaging out instead of taking feedback in.

So, it really is with great pleasure both as a customer but also a PR pro to be able to say that the Toronto Transit Commission did the RIGHT THING and a GREAT JOB for its customers that subscribe to the metro pass discount plan.

With the Canada Post strike iminent, the TTC took PROACTIVE action for its customers who normally receive their monthly metro pass in the mail. Amazing right? A large organization being proactive for its customers?! How novel. But seriously, it happened. And it was great!

I recieved an automated message via the TTC well in advance of July 1. It informed me that due to the Canada Post strike, the TTC would not be mailing out the passes. Instead, it asked customers to purchase their metro passes from a TTC kiosk. To compensate this group of customers that normally receive a 10% discount on their passes, the TTC informed me that it would automatically be crediting me the 10% and that my next pass would arrive via mail as normal.

Now, this may seem like common sense. By taking these actions the TTC avoided having passes stuck in the mail and it avoided having to use an alternative (and more expensive) mail service. But given that many companies couldn't even inform their own employees proactively about how to operate during the strike, I commend the TTC for thinking about its customers, providing clear direction, and compensating them appropriately.

Good customer service is not about giving your customers everything they want and losing money as a result. It's about proactively communicating with them in a clear, concise, and fair way. It's about treating them like the people they are - the people paying your for a service.

Great job TTC!