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In Toronto, the main public transport system is the TTC, or Toronto Transit Commission. They handle buses, streetcars and subway trains for the Greater Toronto Area, which is a pretty wide circle of commuters. They had a pretty stormy 2007 and early 2008, with disputes between employees and management and fairly poor service for its 2.5 million daily users.
Yet in the last six months the TTC has been visibly trying to repair damaged bridges. They’re decommissioning their aging streetcars and replacing with energy-efficient LRV’s instead. They’re looking to increase the amount of subway connections to the commuters that really need it. Their buses are being replaced by hybrid vehicles, to fall in line with the Ontario eco-friendly program.
Add to this the improved (yet still not ideal) employee structures, the OneStop Media LCD information screens in stations keeping commuters up-to-date with the latest news as they travel and the fact that TTC fares have stayed the same $2.75 since 2007, and things are looking much better for the company.
Compare that with Mississauga Transit, which is about 36 miles from Toronto yet still falls within the GTA area and is serviced by the TTC subway system. They’ve just put their prices up from $2.75 to $3.00 (this is the same whether you’re a child in grades 1-8 or senior citizen – no discount there).
They’ve cut a lot of services, and many don’t run on a Sunday – not even to some of the larger shopping malls where local retailers count on consumers to stay afloat. They recently closed down one of their main bus stations for upgrades and moved the passenger embarking area without any clear cut announcements. Services at peak time are often 20 minutes to half an hour apart.
They do have a shiny new email alert system for delays, so it’s not all bad…
Market value is a key commodity between businesses and their customers. Word of mouth, both good and bad, is the currency behind the value. What are your customers saying about you?
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How your customers view you is one of the most important relationships for businesses. So why do so many businesses offer less services and value for more cost?
via uberVU
How your customers view you is one of the most important relationships for businesses. So why do so many businesses offer less services and value for more cost?
via uberVU
All well and good — except that any initiative to go green / build bridges with angry customers / save the money — will go to bust, come April. See, at that point, they will charge $5 per day for parking, effectively DOUBLING the cost of transportation (metropass = $109, parking for 22 business days in a month = $110). Screw the bastards.
This points to the very important fact that word-of-mouth advertising is still so powerful. I see it on twitter everyday. It used to be that if your service or product fell short of consumer's expectations, You may have feared negative word-of-mouth but you didn't see its results until you saw your profits, or lack thereof. Now, you can see immediate reaction to what you offer your clients, and that's a good thing. At least for those of us who want to stay on top of our customer service.
It's the thought process that a lot of companies have, Scott. They fear getting involved because, like you say, they're scared people will say bad things about them. But they already are, and so you need to be here to counter.
Twitter: timjahn
What customers say about you is more important now than ever before, in my opinion.
The other side of the token is the customers expressing their opinions. These days, companies are listening (hopefully) and you will be heard. There's definitely no reason not to speak up (as you have here).
Maybe the Toronto transit officials can swing by Chicago sometime and talk to our CTA guys. Boy do they need some pointers!
HA! Ok so I started to comment but it was ridiculously long and it wouldn't take.
So i wrote my own blog post about this lol – check it out
http://justkickinit.ca/2009/02/12/a-very-long-com...
now you see why it wouldn't fit here lol
HA! Ok so I started to comment but it was ridiculously long and it wouldn't take.
So i wrote my own blog post about this lol – check it out!
http://justkickinit.ca/2009/02/12/a-very-long-com...
now you see why it wouldn't fit here lol