I took the bus from Vancouver to Westbank a couple weeks ago. We pulled into Merritt at 1:35 pm and the driver told us we could take a twenty minute break. At 1:55 pm we were back on the bus and he announced that we would be waiting another fifteen minutes for one person who was coming in on another bus. We waited forty minutes, and the person wasn’t even on the bus when it arrived. How could the communication break down this badly? Clearly the driver had talked to someone before asking us to wait. I had people picking me up in Westbank, I also had an appointment scheduled. We arrived forty minutes late. Waiting fifteen minutes is one thing, but to hold us up for forty seems unreasonable. I am not sure why we didn’t revolt, or at least strongly encourage the bus driver to let us vote.
Good customer service is a key sustainable business practice. The bus driver did not even apologize for the inconvenience. I emailed Greyhound Canada on my return, but I have heard nothing yet. Maybe this little blog post will encourage them to give me a voucher for (fill in the blank).