Customer Experience & Service Comm Liaison

PRTC•Salem, VA

11d

About The Position

The Customer Experience & Service Communications Liaison serves as an impartial bridge between PRTC, bus contractor management, dispatch, operators, and customers. The role supports timely, empathetic, and accurate communication across service touchpoints and promotes accountability, transparency, and service ownership. Reporting to the Customer Experience Manager, the position improves the rider experience by strengthening communication protocols, coordinating customer service training, increasing operator engagement, and ensuring service issues are proactively addressed and communicated. This position is considered Essential Personnel and is expected to work during inclement weather and emergencies as determined by management. The position develops and monitors communication protocols, coordinates customer experience training, supports service accountability and customer-facing performance measures, leads public education and operator-focused communications, develops recognition initiatives, and analyzes customer feedback to recommend improvements. Work is sedentary and generally performed in a moderately noisy business-office setting. The schedule is Monday through Friday, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent, plus considerable experience in transit operations, customer experience, or contractor oversight, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Strong communication, conflict resolution, and process improvement skills.
Ability to influence without direct authority.
Some knowledge of clerical and administrative duties in an office setting.
Working knowledge of transportation and routing; organizational rules, policies, and procedures applicable to the assigned function; record keeping; and correct English usage, including spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
Skill using personal computers, software packages, hardware, and peripheral equipment; data entry; customer service and professional phone communications; and developing and presenting reports.
Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing, compose correspondence, deal courteously and effectively with the public, handle confidential information according to established procedures, and collaborate with other departments.
Ability to be detail-oriented, manage multiple tasks, analyze and resolve or timely escalate support issues, type at a reasonable pace, read maps, and understand local street geography.
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with associates, customers, department directors and managers, dispatchers, and the general public.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with public agencies and contractors.

Responsibilities

Establish and monitor communication protocols among Operators, Dispatch, bus contractor management, and OmniRide.
Ensure service disruptions are communicated accurately and promptly to OmniRide.
Identify breakdowns in the Operator-to-Dispatch-to-PRTC communication chain and implement corrective procedures.
Serve as the designated liaison between PRTC Customer Service and bus contractor Supervisors, including Pentagon operations.
Develop and coordinate quarterly mandatory customer service training for Operators and Supervisors in partnership with bus contractor leadership.
Train staff in de-escalation, empathetic communication about delays and disruptions, and managing competing demands while maintaining customer awareness.
Track training attendance and performance outcomes and recommend contractual inclusion if needed.
Work with bus contractor leadership to promote new service initiatives, define accountability metrics, encourage proactive service ownership, and create dashboards focused on customer-facing metrics.
Lead public-facing “Behind the Scenes” communications explaining route planning, causes of delays, and the respective roles of OmniRide and the bus contractor.
Partner with Marketing on campaigns such as “Meet the Operators,” operator spotlights, and day-in-the-life content.
Review existing bus contractor incentive programs.
Develop or enhance operator recognition initiatives with OmniRide leadership and implement structured recognition tied to customer commendations and service excellence.
Create positive reinforcement systems, such as gift cards, recognition events, and awards.
Collect and analyze rider complaints and commendations; identify recurring themes and operational patterns.
Provide quarterly improvement recommendations to OmniRide and bus contractor leadership.
Facilitate joint improvement meetings between OmniRide and bus contractor leadership.
Work Monday through Friday, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., and work during inclement weather and emergencies as directed by management.