BC Ferries Report notes that approach to resolving customer complaints gets high grades, though opportunities for improvement noted

A report conducted for BC Ferries on the theme of customer service has offered praise for the work of those at the end of the phone or at a service desk towards what can at times be a challenging situation.

With the conclusions to the 94 page review noting how BC Ferries staff offer a high level of customer service and work hard to resolve concerns that are directed their way.

"Overall, the existing customer complaint process is assessed as serving the interests of the public and ferry users well. 

The complaints handling process (see Chapter 2 and Appendix A) is well defined, and is designed to ensure that customer complaints are handled in an appropriate and timely manner.

The daily operations of the Customer Relations group are also favorably assessed. Management-level staff are experienced and knowledgeable, and express a commitment to providing high levels of customer service.

During a site visit to the Customer Relations group and adjacent Customer Service Centre, staff were positive, polite and professional."

The report which was compiled by MMK consultants and released in May, was posted to the BC Ferries Commission website on July 24th.

It explored all facets of the customer complaint process and how it is viewed by staff and customer alike. The document also includes a snapshot of other transportation providers both in BC and elsewhere, offering up a look at what BC Ferries could take from those other experiences to incorporate into their ongoing evolution of customer service.

The study consisted of 11 areas of interest, from the ship board experience to inside the terminal and the booking process to name a few.

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Considering the volume of passengers on the major southern routes, much of the feedback from the report puts the focus on those heavily travelled regions.





 Not surprisingly the largest volume of complaints and enquiries from the public comes during the high travel season of the summer period, with a noticeable decline in the fall and winter. 2019 provided for a year with a spike in complaints to the Ferry Service, with the volume of comments received to date in 2020 somewhat less than a year previous so far.

The Mid and North Coast routes accounted for 3 per cent of the system wide comments, with reservation booking and fare collection among the main concerns of customers, though there were compliments as well focused on the onboard service and experience.

Notes from the North Coast, Central Coast and Haida Gwaii
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Towards it's findings and recommendations, the MMK report notes the strengths of the current engagement process as well as areas where some improvement may be well received by the travelling public.

Findings and Recommendations from a BC Ferries report
on Customer satisfaction
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You can review the full document here.

Upon receiving the report, The British Columbia Ferries Commissioner offered his own comments on the findings, providing for his own directives for action on the report.

For more notes related to BC Ferry service on the North Coast, Central Coast and Haida Gwaii see our archive page here.