" WE EMPOWER OUR AGENTS TO TAKE THE TIME NEEDED TO EXPLORE ALL OPTIONS AND AIM FOR FIRST CALL RESOLU- TION WHENEVER POSSIBLE."
-- KAREN TINDALL
HELPING CUSTOMERS GET ABOARD
Nobody likes to get left behind. And that is especially true for ferry sailings where the waits can be for hours, or at worst, customers are turned away at the terminal entrances. BC Ferries has long had advance bookings on its key routes for that reason. Also because drive-up traffic can snarl nearby intersections and interchanges and back up into residential communities.
So, when BC Ferries decided to upgrade its Horseshoe Bay terminal, northwest of Vancouver that is expected to span multiple years to complete, to minimize those issues it moved to an advance book-and-pay model for travel to Departure Bay( Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island) in October 2025.
Naturally, BC Ferries strongly advises customers to make bookings regardless. I usually do but once when I didn’ t, my wife and I waited several hours to get home( she wanted to use me for crab bait for that one …).
Sometimes, though, customers can’ t get a booking on their desired sailing. On occasion, their trip is essential, like for a doctor’ s appointment. But sometimes sailings are canceled for a whole host of reasons, forcing BC Ferries and its customers to look for options.
So, how does BC Ferries prepare and train its contact center agents to handle these situations? Karen Tindall, Director, Customer Care responds.
“ When customers are unable to secure their preferred sailing time or experience a cancelation, our agents focus on finding the best possible alternative whether that’ s a different sailing time, a different route, or travelling without a vehicle.
“ We empower our agents to take the time needed to explore all options and aim for first call resolution whenever possible. Training includes call simulations that prepare agents to handle difficult conversations with empathy and confidence. Ongoing support is always available from senior agents, supervisors, and managers. We foster a strong team-based approach to problem-solving.
“ For those who have medical specialist appointments, we offer free bookings when the customer is traveling as part of the province’ s Travel Assistance Program.
“ To help our customers, we are rolling out new digital tools on select routes. The Sailing Space Alert functionality will allow customers to subscribe to email notifications when space becomes available on previously soldout sailings and will be available on the Horseshoe Bay- Departure Bay and the Horseshoe Bay- Langdale routes.
“ Waitlist capability will also be introduced on the Horseshoe Bay- Departure Bay route, giving customers a better chance of securing a spot when their preferred sailing is full. This feature will give customers the option to join a waitlist for space on their preferred sailing; should the space become available they will automatically be charged and receive a booking confirmation.
“ We will also be launching a new Sailing Space Alert subscription list, for sold out sailings where the waitlist is not available, for customers who want to be notified if space becomes free so that they can book on a firstcome first-served basis.”
" WE EMPOWER OUR AGENTS TO TAKE THE TIME NEEDED TO EXPLORE ALL OPTIONS AND AIM FOR FIRST CALL RESOLU- TION WHENEVER POSSIBLE."
-- KAREN TINDALL
AT A GLANCE
• Contact volume: 35,000 calls per month average, rising to 54,000 calls per month in summer( June through August, plus May Victoria Day and September Labor Day long weekends)
• Number of agents: 70 year-round, up to 120 during the summer
• Split( if applicable) between in-office and remote agents( percentage): 50 % hybrid from home, 50 % in office
• Location: Downtown Victoria, B. C., Canada
• Split between inbound and outbound contacts: 100 % inbound
• Channel split( voice, email, chat, video, social, by percentage): 100 % voice with social / email being managed separately by a sub-team in the Customer Service Centre
• Key technologies used: iCE Anywhere, eDea Booking system, Oracle( formerly Siebel) CRM systems
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