The past few weeks have been a public relations nightmare for the TTC, which has been exercising perpetual damage control as one employee after another has been caught doing things he probably shouldn’t be doing.
The message from Chief General Manager Gary Webster? Shape up.
In a memo sent to all TTC employees on Saturday, Webster says, “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.”
“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.”
He is referring, of course, to the bus driver filmed taking an unscheduled coffee break in the middle of his route about a week ago, not long after a pair of ticket collectors were snapped sleeping in their booths.
The resulting video and photos have incited a maelstrom of discontent among riders already familiar with poor service from front line TTC workers.
“The culture of complacency and malaise that has seeped into our organization will end,” Webster warns.
“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.”
The TTC plans to hire private consultants to improve customer service in the face of rising complaints, although many of the grievances are likely due to January’s 25-cent fare hike.
Customers with specific complaints or concerns can contact the TTC at 416-393-3030 or by visiting their website.
Here is the full text of the memo sent to TTC employees:
Our Customers Deserve Better
February 6, 2010
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.
Gary Webster
Chief General Manager