TriMet completes investigation into mother/child incident on the bus
October 14, 2011
Operator disciplined for actions
TriMet has completed its investigation into the Sept. 29 incident involving a bus operator and a mother and her crying child on Line 57. The investigation included talking with the mother, five witnesses, the operator and reviewing video from the bus.
"This was truly an unfortunate incident for the mother and child, as well as for all of the riders onboard," said TriMet General Manager Neil McFarlane. "The actions of this operator are not representative of the overwhelming majority of our operators who do an excellent job every day. In response, we are taking appropriate disciplinary action against this employee."
While TriMet provides more than 100 million trips a year, this incident was a rare occurrence that does not represent the customer service we expect.
Findings
- The operator made an announcement asking the mother to quiet the child. She later walked to the back of the bus to talk with the mother about the crying toddler. The operator stated that she would not move the bus until the child was quiet.
- When interviewed, the mother said she voluntarily left the bus. She said she did not want to hold up the bus, and instead called her husband for a ride.
- The operator deboarded the bus, offered candy to the child and asked the mother if she wanted to get back on the bus. The mother declined, the operator returned to the bus and continued on her route.
- Some of the passengers onboard were upset with the operator's actions and swore at her. She then stopped the bus and said they could also leave the bus. Eventually, all of the passengers got off the bus.
Conclusion
TriMet found that the operator responded unreasonably to the crying child, inappropriately left her seat, exited the bus to interact with the mother, and also did not contact dispatch to request assistance when she first had concerns about operating the vehicle with the crying toddler on board.
The operator has been appropriately disciplined for her actions in this matter. The operator has been employed by TriMet since 2001. In the past 12 months, not including this incident, she has received 36 complaints related to customer service, and five complaints related to operational issues, such as a bus not showing up or a pass up, which may be outside the operator's control. TriMet has provided training, counseling and clear expectations related to customer service related to these complaints.
Other actions
TriMet issued a reminder last week to all operators that customer service is a priority and that a crying child is not in violation of the TriMet Code. If an operator is concerned about an issue on their vehicle, they should call dispatch and ask for assistance.
To ensure the highest level of customer service, TriMet is taking a programmatic approach in response to this incident that includes:
- adding training on this issue in the upcoming operation recertification.
- reviewing both our customer relations workshop and new hire training relative to customer service.
- evaluating staffing levels to ensure we have staff at the ready to provide training and intervention when we see early signs of customer service issues.
- increasing the focus of our quality assurance or "secret shoppers" to have a higher emphasis on safety and customer service delivery.