Lydia, A Picture of Customer Service

Sam, the owner of the Avenues Hostel, provided a ride to the Greyhound bus station. He didn't seem to want to talk about Robert, the permanent guest at the hostel who causes so much trouble, and all Sam could say was. "what can I do" I suppose Sam has a big heart and desires to help, but then again he has a monthly income from this; however, if Robert continues to reside at the hostel it will negatively affect Sam's business, so it is in Sam's best interest to assist Robert in finding an assisted care facility to live in. Robert does need some assistance.

Having arrived at 11:20 AM, I obtained my ticket for the bus to Seattle, departure time, Noon. The new and very nice Salt Lake City Greyhound station in the Salt Lake City Intermodal has almost clean bathrooms, very few seats, lots of space, and Wi-Fi (although there were issues about using it and after paying $6, still couldn't get access, and now waiting on the refund). There were a lot of people standing in line for the bus, which began to cause concern by a good number of passengers, especially when a baggage handler began to count the people. A bit later, a full bus, and 5 of us were left stranded. Greyhound overbooked the bus, something I hear a lot about but haven't experienced until now.

Most other ticket agents and bus drivers just tell everyone that they will have to wait and catch the next bus, never providing any concern, apologies, or even attempting to calm the worries of their customers. Her bright smile, calm voice, and quiet demeanor proved to be useful in providing resolutions to the 5 stranded passengers. She informed us of all of our options, offered to reopen the ticket counter to immediately reissue tickets (the ticket counter is closed between Noon and 4), and provided the most incredible customer service I have seen in my Greyhound travels. This is the type of employees Greyhound needs. Meal voucher, $100 Travel voucher, new ticket, some conversations with the other 4, Lydia graciously taking out bags and storing them safely behind the now locked up counter, and I was off to walk a bit. Greyhound, please take note, Lydia deserves to be paid a great salary, and hopefully you can begin to replace your rude and uncaring employees with some like Lydia. Lydia, thank you for calming the nerves of 5 confused and upset passengers.

Upset over having to wait for another 12 hours, I sought a place for Internet access. It seems that the Universe had determined I didn't need Internet for those 12 hours, as even in other locations, such as Jason's Deli, I couldn't get access. My depression increased, but upon return to the Greyhound station, finding a corner and sleeping a bit on the floor, I ran into Dan again. He was one of the young men who waited.

Dan (you can read Daniel's Blog by clicking here.) and I talked and he is from New Mexico. I enjoyed his company, especially from feeling so alone lately. Just how can a person surrounded by so many people feel alone? Later, after having used our Meal vouchers for a sandwich, chips, and soda I asked Dan if he'd like to walk a bit. Off we go into points unknown around the bus station. As we strolled, talking about everything, music began to come across Pioneer Park. "Do you care for a concert in the park?" I asked, and Dan replied with a bit of an English accent. The band Birthquake was performing for free in the park, and as much as I would love to tell you about the band, how do you describe the music of a rock band with a flute player? The music was great as we lay in the grass relaxing. After the concert, we met Portia Early with UtahFM.org. After spending many hours with Dan, I like him, he's young, bright, funny, and does Internet marketing. Perhaps a friend for the future, as he was one for the now.

Next surprise, a free film in the park. SoulPower, the film about a music festival in Africa in the 1970's. The film was enjoyed, and we returned to the bus station to wait a bit for the midnight bus. I'll admit, the music and film relaxed my mind about being delayed. I suppose the reason I so enjoy just being able to travel without an Itinerary is that when I have a schedule such as this one now, I tend to be more restricted in thought.

The thoughts currently for Greyhound are:

1. Greyhound should hire and train more employees so all of their customers receive the type of customer service that Lydia provided.
2. Greyhound should have a driver's assistant aboard each bus to assist the drivers in keeping control of the colorful passengers, unloading baggage, and just being there to serve as the cruise director.
3. Greyhound should improve their buses so that they are not in such great disrepair.
4. Greyhound should be concerned about their reputation.
5. Greyhound should clean up or relocate the Seattle bus station.
6. and
7. Greyhound should hire me to travel their routes and consult on ways for them to improve.

Oh, one of the bus drivers informed me that Greyhound is no longer owned by Laidlaw, Inc. Instead it is owned by a British company, so the search begins to determine which company now owns Greyhound. FirstGroup purchased Laidlaw and Greyhound is now servicing the UK. Lets hope they provide better service there. We will begin to research and divulge more information about FirstGroup as we obtain it.