Take Care of Your Customers

"If someone smiles and takes the money with a little bit of patience it makes the world of difference."

"If I am met by a stony face or an irritated expression then I feel as if I've almost had a slap in the face."

'Just speaking carefully, looking at the person and giving them attention - not feeling rushed - matters a lot. The feeling that you're holding up a queue of people is a very anxiety-producing situation ......

These are the comments from passengers talking about their local bus and coach services; the sort of people you carry every day. Many of them regular customers, in fact. Yet each of them has a problem - of a kind that may be hard to recognise.

Of course, you have your own problems - such as trying to run to time - but you do your best to offer courtesy and a smooth ride. That's not only good for your customer; it's good for the firm which employs you.

Some disabilities are very obvious. For example, a person carrying a white cane or accompanied by a guide dog, is visually impaired. People with crutches, walking frames or any other aids to movement are obviously physically disabled. Elderly people or people with cerebral palsy can usually be easily recognised.

There are also disabilities which are so commonplace that we hardly think twice about them. After all, you have everyday problems - rain, bad traffic conditions or the inconsiderate behaviour of some other drivers - to which many of your customers may be totally oblivious. It's really much the same as the everyday problem you are familiar with of people trying to manage with children, pushchairs, shopping trolleys or heavy luggage.

Other passengers may have difficulties which are not obvious and some of them may not want to advertise their disability they just try to manage. You will usually give extra thought and offer "courtesy and a smooth ride" to these customers, but it's not always easy to recognise them. Four groups of disabled people are mentioned here, but there will be others:

Blind and Partially Sighted

Only a small proportion of people with visual impairment are totally blind, but you cannot tell by their appearance how difficult it is for them to read a timetable, or the destination sign on a bus or coach. As one partially sighted passenger said:

"There is the problem of explaining that you can't see very well... we want to do as much as we can for ourselves and just be helped with the tiny bit we can't do..."

Blind and partially sighted people cannot drive, so those who want to travel are often dependent on public transport.

Deaf and Hearing Impaired

This is another group of people with a disability who can appear fit and athletic as they climb on a bus or coach. You can quite easily alleviate the anxiety they may feel by showing a little extra patience, and remembering that such customers may be reluctant to admit having a disability at all.

In the words of one woman with a hearing difficulty:

"I usually ask for my fare, and if I don't hear how much it is sometimes I bluff and just hand over a £1 and hope to get the right change. If the bus driver seems to be a pleasant approachable person I don't mind asking him to repeat, but some drivers care under pressure and appear not to be aware of you, or looking at your face ......

One out of every six of us will experience some degree of hearing loss during our lives, and six out of every ten people over seventy are hard of hearing or deaf. Most hearing impaired people want and need to use their local buses for work, shopping and other purposes.

Physically Disabled

Customers with stiff joints, arthritis, artificial limbs or conditions such as multiple sclerosis often put up with extra pain (and the impatient reactions of other passengers) rather than ask for special treatment on the bus. For them, courtesy and a smooth ride' is essential.

One passenger with arthritis made the point that:

"Nobody wants to shout to the rest of the world 'I am hailing trouble', but if they could wait until you are sitting down, before they went off... if letting the clutch out is done too violently it hurts every inch of the way .. if he were to go around corners a little more slowly or down a gear, it would probably be less painful.."

More than 20 million people in this country, including many who are young and look very fit, have arthritis. A large number are attempting to use local bus or long distance coach services.

Learning Disabilities

Customers with learning disabilities may also appear fully fit, but find bus and coach travel a problem and a challenge. Having a learning disability can be rather like being in a foreign country; it is difficult to speak or understand others clearly, and any unexpected problems can produce a sense of panic. Yet people with learning disabilities are increasingly encouraged to go out to work, shopping and visiting friends. With patience and understanding you can contribute towards their confidence and sense of achievement.

So, apart from offering a smile, a smooth ride and a lot of patience, what can you do to help every one of your customers?

Here are a few points:

• Be on the lookout. Some intending passengers may not be able to see or hear the bus or coach coming.
• Eliminate the gap. Many passengers experience pain and difficulty in boarding and alighting if the vehicle is more than 30 centimetres from the kerb, so draw well in if you possibly can. (Your company should be talking to the police and the local authority about parking enforcement and other traffic management measures to help.)
• f possible look directly at each customer. It will be little trouble to you and may make a 'world of difference' for the customer with a disability, especially if they are hard of hearing or trying to lip read.
• Give less agile passengers time to sit down before you move off. A few seconds here will make very little difference to journey times but can make a huge difference to some customers.

Disabled people, whether easy or difficult to recognise, would prefer to travel by bus or coach rather than to be stuck at home. Remember too, that passengers with bus passes or tokens are customers whose fares have been paid to your company by their local authority, and you often avoid the delay in handling their money. With extra alertness and attention you can give all your passengers a good ride and undoubtedly give a lift to your loadings. It makes good sense to:

Take Care of Your Customers

Updated: 9 November 2000

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