FUMBLE - TTC SHUTS DOWN SHUTTERBUGS

This week's perspective from Joe Chidley:

Logic suggests the Toronto Transit Commission cannot be as bad as Torontonians complain that it is – if only because they complain so much. But sometimes it seems that the transit service Toronto loves to hate goes out of its way to confirm the bad buzz. Case in point: the texting-driver debacle. Riders recently sent incriminating photos, snapped with their mobile phones, of bus operators texting while driving – which is not only an offence in Ontario, but also puts at risk the lives and safety of customers. Asked about the photos snapped by patrons, a TTC spokesman told the Toronto Star: “We ask that people not do that.” Maybe there are legitimate reasons for making that request – the spokesman noted that putting “cameras in the face of operators” was dangerous (never mind that the passenger photos were clearly taken from behind the preoccupied operators). And the TTC did have other things to say – for instance, that it had begun investigations and would discipline the drivers. But that didn’t stop the Star from running the story under the headline “TTC to passengers: Don’t take pictures of texting drivers.” Now, in a crisis situation, it’s important for any organization to show, first and foremost, that it understands the issue and why the issue is serious, and then show that it is acting with the best intentions. The TTC failed miserably on both counts – blaming the potential victims, on the one hand, and on the other showing itself to be more concerned with its employees than with its customers. What should it have done? At minimum, thank the photographers for their help, and then vow to do everything it could to fix the problem. Like many fumbles, this was a missed opportunity to connect with customers.