MBTA to centralize customer service

BOSTON – The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority this month will open a centralized customer service department that aims to appease riders and streamline the complaint process.
“The myriad customer service functions will be located within one office, rather than spread across multiple offices and buildings across the city,” Carla Howze, the new department’s director, told the MBTA board of directors.
The goal is to eliminate past problems of callers being bounced from one office to another – such as bus, boat, subway and commuter rail – or receiving different answers from different offices.
The department also is to feature more staff and more bilingual employees. The T has hired 25 new customer service reps, 11 of whom speak at least one language other than English; Howze said they began training last week.
The T will keep its “Write to the Top” complaint process. But, starting next month, it will add a new complaint tracking and troubleshooting system.
Additional information is available at www.mbta.com/about_the_mbta.