SEPTA Budget
SEPTA announced a new executive position in charge of customer service. Transit agency officials admit that delivery of customer service has been neglected and the new senior manager will oversee training programs and be an advocate for riders.
By Peter Crimmins
 Listen Now [1 minute 3 seconds]
WHYY News, April 24, 2008
Everybody has a SEPTA story.
A man calling himself Sarge was waiting for the bus at 12th and Market and said that he has seen plenty of examples of "poor customer service."
"The other day this one bus driver was rude as hell to this old lady," said Sarge. "She was so old she had a hard time getting off the bus. He started yelling at her, 'I ain't got all day, hurry up, move!' That's ignornant."
Rude drivers are one of the topics on the agenda for Kim Heinle, the new director of SEPTA's Customer Service Department. The department will bring together aspects of customer service that had been scattered throughout the company - like market research, job training, and customer communications.
Heinle said that his position allows him to be a customer advocate at a management level.
"I advocate for my customers, my customers are both internal and external. We have customers whoa re in the region but not necessarily riders - they pay taxes to support SEPTA," said Heinle. "So it's very complex - but customer service is not longer down there, it's up here."
Heinle plans to bring back SEPTA On Site, a program that puts customer relations employees in the stations to talk directly with riders. The program is expected to launch in June.
Additional Information and Resources
SEPTA's website
SEPTA Watch blog
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