Every day, the questions come in at the the Virginia Railway Express headquarters in Old Town, Alexandria.
Are they putting in new parking places? When are they getting more two-level rail cars?
These are just a couple of issues that VRE's new program called 'Tell Me Why' is set up to address.
Wendy Lemieux, customer service manager at VRE, heads the program, which is designed to provide a personal touch to customer inquiries.
"Everybody has a 'frequently asked questions' (FAQ) program. Our goal is to have a continual conversation with riders," Lemieux said.
The program was launched Monday, March 15, and will last until the end of June, addressing a different question each week. A colored placard will be posted at each VRE station with the question of the week and VRE's explanation as well. Customers will be able to read the poster while waiting in the station, or go on the Internet and print out the explanation for further examination.
Six weeks of questions are already in the works, and the other weeks are yet to be decided.
"The questions are a little more in-depth than FAQ questions," Lemieux said.
AT THE END of the 15 weeks, VRE will examine the program and possibly reintroduce it from time to time. Starting April 7, railroad officials are planning to combine the program with a meet-and-greet opportunity as well, when staff members will be on the platform to give riders a chance to voice concerns. In addition to VRE officials, CSX and Norfolk Southern officials will be present at two of the stations, to answer questions.
Lemieux said that between the Web site information, Tell Me Why and the meet-and-greet sessions, all the avenues of information dissemination will be addressed.
"Our goal is to hit the three kinds of ways people learn — visual, reading, and person-to-person," she said.
April Maguigad manages the customer service team that deals with the customer queries from 7,000 daily riders.
Over 400 riders asked about the fare structure change currently being addressed by VRE officials in the coming months.
"We address everything they want to know," she said.
SUPERVISOR SHARON BULOVA (D-Braddock) is on the VRE board and considers addressing customer feedback an important part of the service. She was enthusiastic about the Tell Me Why program when she heard about it.
"I think the VRE is good about getting feedback from riders," Bulova said.
Although VRE is going through a fare-restructuring program over the next several weeks as well, the timing of the two programs was coincidental, according to Lemieux. They didn't launch Tell Me Why in conjunction with the fare restructuring. Nonetheless, some have asked about the fares.
"We have heard from a few of our riders," she said.
Other questions that she has gotten concerned adding parking and more rail cars.
"One of our goals is to explain and let them know what's coming in the future," Lemieux said.