VIA RAIL - Beyond Customer Expectations

 You’re planning a trip, and something goes wrong. Weather you didn't get treated the way you anticipated or just had terrible customer service with the service you have chosen. About 80% of travelers feel that customer service is never what it seems to be when commercials or websites provide details on how great their customer service is. VIA Rail continues to prove that this is not the case with their company. Jean Lemyre, senior manager, customer relations, wants to change this thinking with most travelers. Jean deals with many calls from customers and wants to make customers know that VIA Rails mission is to work together to provide a travel experience that anticipates the needs and exceeds the expectations of their customers. Whenever somebody calls to complain, VIA Rail takes every call as important as anything else that happens in a business. The staff is trained to handle problems as they arise, so that every customer feels as respected as they can be. VIA Rail wants to ensure that everyone goes in and leaves happy with their services, and wants to come back and ride again. About 50% of customer issues are handled by phone, and if someone calls, VIA Rail will try and call them back within a day - talk about good customer service. If someone leaves a complain through e-mail, VIA Rail will try and respond within three days. VIA Rail feels that the more inportant part of complaints is that the customer feels that the company cares about customers concerns and issues. When VIA Rail responds they always apologize, whether they are at fault or not, then they try to reassure the customer that they will try to remedy the issue. Depending on complaints, VIA Rail may do what is called a "recovery measure," such as offer refunds or a complimentary certificate. No matter what, VIA Rail loves it customers and wants to make sure they are as happy as they can be. They always put the customer first and weather the issue or problem VIA Rail is there to help.  

REFERENCES

Mary Ellen Guffey, Kathleen Rhodes and Patricia Rogin. (2008). Business Communication: Process and Product, Sixth Canadian Edition. Toronto: Nelson Education Ltd. .