Helping hands and open ears
Status: 13.05.24
Who are the people who are always so nice to our passengers on some of our buses in the south of Dortmund?
Our customer advisors - very close to the passenger
Meeting up with friends, visiting family or simply doing the shopping: If you don't want to or can't travel by car or bike, you can take our buses or light rail services. For older passengers in particular, this is often the only way to be mobile. But if you can't walk as well as you used to without assistance, if you're not as quick on your feet and if your eyesight isn't as good as it used to be, then a bus journey can be difficult and more exciting than it should be.
This is where our customer service colleagues come into play. They are on hand to help passengers get on and off the bus, manoeuvre even the most fully loaded rollator and shopping bags from the bus stop onto the bus and ensure a safe journey. They also help passengers who are not quite sure whether they are standing in front of the right bus. Or they help them find the right connection if they need to travel further than the nearest weekly market. And they are also happy to order a taxi for passengers for the last few metres from the bus stop to their front door. Our customer advisors are always on hand, happy to help and ready to listen to our passengers' questions.
They are really well received and have become an integral part of everyday life for many of our older passengers and a real help. And the colleagues at the wheel of our buses are also delighted with the active support in and around the bus.
This service is only possible with the support of the Dortmund Job Centre. Even though our customer advisors are normally employed by DSW21, their employment is funded by the Job Centre through the Participation Opportunities Act. What's the point? To enable people who have been out of work for a long time for various reasons to get back into a job.
We think that's a great thing and are happy to help. Our declared aim is to offer our customer service colleagues a secure future at DSW21 even after their support from the job centre comes to an end. That is why, if they have done well as customer advisors, we prepare them for deployment in ticket verification. If they do well here too, nothing stands in the way of permanent employment. And who knows what will come next. Perhaps a move to the driving service and behind the wheel of a bus or light rail vehicle. Or one of the many other different jobs at DSW21.
As the further development is actually working well, some customer advisors have now left us in favour of ticket checking. That means we need reinforcements! If you have already been receiving citizen's allowance for a while and think "that's my thing", simply get in touch with your contact person at the Dortmund job centre for more information or read about it here https://jobcenterdortmund.de/de/articles/programm-wendepunkt!
We - and our passengers - look forward to welcoming new colleagues!
