customer satisfaction

[ferryrider42]

The release of BC Ferries annual report highlighted one continuing trend with large companies; a focus on customer service and client satisfaction. On page 10 of the annual report BC Ferries boasts an overall customer satisfaction of 89%, up 3 points from last years 86%. And, I suspect the company hopes to see further increases in future years. So I will stimulate conversation with two distinct questions:

a. At what percentage would you consider a company to be a high performer in customer service? I believe you can’t realistically please everyone.

b. Should BC Ferries be expected to have a higher level of customer satisfactions then other large companies, for instance a grocery chain?


www.bcferries.com/files/PDFs/BCFS_AR_0607.pdf (Link to Annual Report)

[Balfour]

I consider anything over 80% pretty high performance for customer service. I do think that BCF is trying to be the best they can be and it's gone a long way in the past 4 years. Amenities and food are what the travelling public seem to take into account the most. BCF has more amenities than many other ferry lines in North America, so for a ferry company, I don't think BC Ferries should be expected to have a higher level of customer satisfaction than other large companies.

[NMcKay]

i work for a telephone tech support company, and we are encouraged on our external surveys to get 100% in what is know at our TOP 2 Score...which is "on a rating of 1 to 5 with 1 being extremely un satisfied, and 5 being extremely satisfied, how would you rate your overall experience?"

[Neil]

This is one customer who was definitely not satisfied. Not sure what I think about this. But, reading this account, I'm wondering if anyone has had a situation where they were asking ferry employees to 'bend the rules' slightly, or if ferry staff needed to adjust to a slightly out of the ordinary situation...

How was the customer service? Are BC Ferries people absolutely rigid about the rules?

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(From the Bowen Island Undercurrent.)
Ferry debacle leaves popular islander cuffed, confused
By Julie Andrés
Sep 28 2007

On the 4 p.m. ferry from Horseshoe Bay on Tuesday, September 25, Bowen Islander Paul Hoosen was slammed to the deck by a West Vancouver Police Officer, arrested and dragged off the ferry in handcuffs. He was charged with “assault by trespass”.
Hoosen had arrived at 4:21 and waited in line to buy a ticket. “There were about 5 or 6 Boweners behind me. One of them went up and asked the ticket seller if we should be processed first, as is usual. She said not to worry,” states Hoosen.
“At 4:23, she called for Bowen Passengers to come to the front of the line. I was first. I handed the ticket agent my credit card and asked for a book of 10, and to use one for this passage. She took my credit card, but just before swiping it, heard on the radio that Bowen was clearing. This was at 4:24, and I could see that the cars coming off of Bowen had just unloaded. They still had to start loading foot passengers and cars for the trip back to Bowen. She stated that she had no time to process a credit card (takes 15 seconds), and that she would not sell me the tickets.
“I said to the woman that this was ridiculous, but she refused to allow me to pay. I took back my credit card and went down to the dock. (This timing is all documented, as the people behind me were processed through at 4:25, as evidenced by their ticket stubs.)
“On the dock, I went straight to the shore-side marshalling employee and explained what had happened, and that I intended to get on the ferry, and buy my ticket from the purser. (This is also standard practice when a person is transferring from one ferry to another, but doesn’t have time to get to the ticket office and back before the ship sails.) Cars had just started loading at that time, and the passengers who were behind me in line were waiting on the dock as well.
“[She] refused to consider this solution, and told me I would not be allowed on the ferry. I responded by saying that was unreasonable, and that she could do what she liked, but I was boarding.”
Once on board, Hoosen went to the cafeteria, bought a ticket and and returned to the car deck. He showed the ticket to the first mate who told him that the police had been called and that he would not be allowed on that sailing. The sailing was delayed until the police officer arrived. The officer demanded that Hoosen leave but he said he would not comply. He was “immediately treated to a judo move that slammed me backwards and face-first into the deck. I did not struggle, but just went limp”.
“The incident was witnessed at close range by a number of Boweners who pointed out to him that I was not struggling.”
Hoosen, a professional clown whose gentle manner and deep wisdom would make him a top-notch mediator, was eventually released on his own recognizance, but told that he would not be allowed on any ferry before the 9:35. They also threatened to refuse him passage until the next day. He is scheduled for a court appearance on November 7. Friends rallied together and Cam Rolfe arranged to pick Hoosen up in Horseshoe Bay in his boat.
Earlier this month islander Joe Lewicki, on his way from the east coast where he had been receiving treatment for a rare form of blood cancer, had been denied a ticket in much the same manner. He arrived one minute after the cut off for the noon ferry (11:56 a.m.) and although the ferry was a few minutes late, several passengers were left behind. “Apparently stranding five passengers in Horseshoe Bay for two and a half hours when there was plenty of time to load [us] is not seen as a system flaw that needs fixing,” he states. That same day buses held for him on two occasions.
With regard to Hoosen’s treatment and subsequent arrest, BC Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall brusquely defended the actions of ferry employees in what she called “a clearance process incident”. She said, “The man was abusive. He yelled, ‘Give me back my credit card,’ and stormed onto the ferry. He then had an altercation with an employee on board”. When asked why people behind him in line were able to purchase tickets she said the issue was the purchase of a book of commuter tickets.

[kylefossett]

So we have heard one side of the story, Mr Hoosen's side. The only witnesses to make comments to the paper were people who know Mr. Hoosen. Let's here the other side before we start deciding if he is guilty or not

[Low Light Mike]

After reading the Hoosen account, I would think that he may have got better results by not pushing things to get onto that sailing.

Instead he could have calmly accepted the ticket-clerk's ruling, and waited for the next sailing. Then (and I don't mean that very instant, but say the next working day) he could have taken his case to the BCFS company by phone, and if no adequate response from them, he could take it to the media too. Give them time to respond, and keep calmly pushing through those channels until he maybe would influence a policy change.

RE the Capilano crew, who had no part in the passenger's denial of the credit card option, I would have called a "code white" too, for an irate passenger. The crew had no idea what he was going to do, as an agitated passenger.

I suppose that Hoosen had 2 choices:
1)- act out right then & there.

2)- take his lumps (ie. miss the sailing), and plan a detailed response re contacting people in higher-up authority over the situation.

Yes, Hoosen's denial of passage by the ticket-clerk and the deck-officer might have been silly and unnecessary, but that might not have been the most effective setting for him to take his stand.

[Hardy]

Where I see the problem being, is that Ms. Marshall has stated (supposedly) that the problem was the purchase of the commuter tickets. Where in the regulations does it say that pax boarding near the cut off time for the ferry are only permitted to by single voyage tix, and not commuter tix for use on that immediate sailing? I think that THIS is a problem that needs to be dealt with IN DEPTH to resolve.

Furthermore, another issue that stands out for me --- tix cut off times. I understand that the policy says "x minute before the scheduled sailing time". However, in a realistic setting, as is the case with Bowen more often than not, the sailings ARE behind. Therefore, if, say a 12:00 noon sailing is scheduled, and the boat is ALREADY 30 mins behind, and therefore the realistic departure time is 12:30, why would one cut off the tix for that sailing at 11:50 and not 12:20???

Perhaps a re-write to read "ANTICIPATED DEPARTURE TIME".

I would tend to be of the mind that the cut off time should be reflective of the anticipated/estimated departure time, and not a published/scheduled departure time when there have been known delays previously on that route. I can also see how this "flexibility" could result in further complications and interpretations, but it may be the lesser of two evils.

[WettCoast]

The newspaper account makes BCFS's and it employees look rather bad. But, as Kyle
Fossett points out above, we perhaps do not have the other side of the story well documented here.

The Capilano's crew live on Bowen, just like Mr Hoosen. Their treatment of a fellow islander does seem to be just a bit over the top.

[Neil]

Actually, I don't believe any of the 'Capilano's crew live on Bowen, since the vessel overnights at Horeshoe Bay. That may be part of the story here. I recall an old Dolphin article which was profiling a long time Bowen crew member- he had never once set foot on Bowen soil. The island's ferry crew probably do not have the same connection to the place and people that Gabriola, Denman, Quadra or other crews have.

[Nick]

Keep in mind also that the computer system that sells tickets literally kicks the teller out once the ticket cut off is reached. The teller would not have any way of overriding that system. From what I know, the commuter tickets go through a different system than regular tickets, so even though a manager might have overridden the regular ticket sales to accommodate the late sailing, it probably wasn't done for the commuter tix.

[nolonger]

hornbyguy said:

Actually, I don't believe any of the 'Capilano's crew live on Bowen, since the vessel overnights at Horeshoe Bay. That may be part of the story here. I recall an old Dolphin article which was profiling a long time Bowen crew member- he had never once set foot on Bowen soil. The island's ferry crew probably do not have the same connection to the place and people that Gabriola, Denman, Quadra or other crews have.

The crew do not live on the island. I served on the run in the early '80's for a short time. There was a connection between crew members and residents of the island as there is on any route with so called "regulars". However, a small percentage of Bowen Islanders have always been known for their attitude toward the company and it's employees. They lead the league in the "it's our ferry, we own it" department This is not the first incident of this kind on that run.

[Low Light Mike]

Here's a story from CBC, relevant to an earlier item in this thread re Bowen Island:

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www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/10/09/bc-bowneferrydispute.html

Bowen Island Municipal Council says it wants to have a sit-down with BC Ferries to discuss the ticketing process, which some believe is cumbersome and enforced with too much zeal.

Municipal Coun. David Hocking believes overly strict enforcement of a rule that prohibits passengers from buying tickets within five minutes of departure led to an island resident being arrested last month. Council now wants to meet with BC Ferries to find a solution, he said.

"What we can do to improve communications between the tower, between the ship and between the ticket booth so we can avoid this kind of situation in the future?" said Hocking.

Hocking said the problems were brought to the fore when Paul Hoosen was arrested in a dispute with ferry crew.

Hoosen arrived at the ferry terminal close to the ferry's departure time and wasn't allowed to buy a book of tickets on Sept. 25, Hocking said. So Hoosen walked past the terminal ticket booth, boarded the ferry and purchased a ticket in the cafeteria.

On presenting the ticket to crew, Hoosen was told he was trespassing, that he would have to leave and that police had been called.

Hoosen refused to get off the ferry and was ultimately arrested and charged with assault by trespasser.

Mark Stefanson from BC Ferries said the corporation will gladly talk to Bowen council about the issue, but he said there is no problem with the current system and the rules are in place to keep a tight schedule.

Richard Goth, an island resident and past director of Ferry Cure — a disbanded group that once shut down the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal to protest fare increases — agrees the community is frustrated with the service.

"We have to put up with all manner of niggly little technical … things," said Goth. "You can be there well ahead of the ferry and get stuck in this lineup and can get pretty anxious because of this five-minute rule."
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[Low Light Mike]

....and another news story re the Bowen Island clown:
========================

www.theglobeandmail.com:80/servlet/story/LAC.20071011.BCCLOWN11/TPStory/National

FERRY FRACAS

Nobody's laughing at this clown
Bowen Island residents rally to support performer who had fight with B.C. Ferries crew, police over his ticket
JEREMY NUTTALL

Special to The Globe and Mail

October 11, 2007

VANCOUVER -- All over Bowen Island these days, people are walking around with red noses, and it's not because of a good drink special at one of the local pubs.

Some of the 5,000 residents have donned the red noses to show support for a local professional clown who claims he was roughed up by the West Vancouver police.

On Sept. 25, Paul Hooson arrived at the Horseshoe Bay terminal too late to buy a ticket to Bowen. He got on the ferry anyway and bought a ticket from the onboard purser.

By then, the ferry crew had already called the West Vancouver police, and officers ended up throwing Mr. Hooson to the deck after he refused to get off the boat.

The incident has caused a stir on the island and worsened already tense relations between Bowen Island residents and B.C. Ferries.

This week, Bowen Island's town council voted to draft a letter asking for a meeting with the B.C. Ferry Corp. Councillor David Hocking said he hopes a meeting can solve some of the underlying problems behind the incident.

Mr. Hocking said the strict ticket-purchasing deadlines can cause someone to miss a ferry if they encounter even the smallest delay. "Everything is done with split-second timing," he said. "So when things go wrong you can expect people get a little upset about it."

B.C. Ferries spokesman Mark Stefanson said officials "would be pleased" to meet with Bowen Island councillors to talk about their concerns. But he defended the ticketing system.

"We have a cut-off point for purchasing tickets because one of our key priorities is on-time performance," Mr. Stefanson said. "Ferries have to leave on time or the entire system starts backing up."

Some Bowen residents point to this latest incident as another in a long history of problems involving service to the island.

Richard Goth, a past director of a group called Ferry Cure, which once shut down Horseshoe Bay terminal for an afternoon to protest against a fare increase, said he is surprised to see Bowen councillors being proactive when it comes to B.C. Ferries. In the past, Mr. Goth has been a vocal critic of council's relationship with the ferry corporation.

"I'm shocked ... I dig at our council that they were actually paying attention and seem to have done the right thing," he said.

He said many residents are irritated by customer service on the route. "We'd like to be treated more efficiently, with a sense of helping us get onto the vessel and get under way, rather than [them] trying to promote their [ticket] system," he said. "You sometimes get the feeling they could run a heck of a system if they didn't have to deal with the doggone passengers."
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