By Kellie Melleady
Customer Experience Lead
I’ll never forget being onsite for a customer satisfaction survey when a bus operator approached me and asked, “Why is it only important to hear from customers? Employees have a voice too.” That moment has stuck with me ever since – because he was absolutely right.
There’s always a lot of discussion around listening to customers through satisfaction surveys, focus groups, or customer comment lines. But reality is, customer experience doesn’t start at the customer service counter. It starts in the breakroom, the operations center, and the driver’s seat.
Every day, frontline employees are the face of public transit. They’re the ones ensuring buses run safely, passengers feel welcome, and questions are answered with patience and care. After all, that’s why they go through such extensive training. Yet while agencies often benchmark how employees interact with customers – asking riders about driver courtesy, helpfulness, or professionalism – they rarely ask how employees themselves are doing.
That’s a missed opportunity, and in my opinion, one that deserves far more attention and accountability. Across dozens of employee engagement surveys we’ve led, one thing is clear: when employees feel supported, informed, and valued, riders feel it too. Agencies with strong internal communication and meaningful recognition programs tend to see higher customer satisfaction scores, especially in areas tied to service reliability and friendliness.
Conversely, when employees feel unheard or disconnected, those same customer-facing measures – courtesy, helpfulness, and even passengers’ sense of safety – begin to slip. It’s not because employees stop caring; it’s because the environment around them doesn’t always provide the tools, trust, or motivation to deliver their best.
Listening to employees shouldn’t be seen as separate from customer feedback – it’s part of the same story. Understanding what helps staff succeed, what information they need, and where they feel unseen can directly inform how we improve service for riders.
So maybe the next time we ask customers about their driver’s courtesy or helpfulness, we should also ask the operator: Do you feel supported? Do you feel recognized? Do you feel proud of the service you deliver every day?
Because when employees feel heard, valued, and equipped, customers notice.
