Team Member Spotlight: Christina Lopez
Christina Lopez works as the Customer Service Coordinator in the Metro Call-A-Ride (CAR) Department at the Metro Central Operations Facility. She is responsible for receiving and responding to all of the customer complaints that come into the CAR office. Christina works hard every day to help resolve at least half of the complaints, and when applicable, she forwards the other half to the appropriate supervisors to handle. Our CAR customers must make advance reservations for all their trips, and we handle between 1,500 to 2,000 trips every day. To help encourage and continue responsible trip scheduling and usage, a No-Show and Late Cancellation policy is in place. When the policy is not being followed, Christina mails letters to inform and remind customers about the policy, and the importance of maintaining on-time service for all who utilize CAR. Christina also monitors the customer calls that come into the Reservation Call Center for quality assurance purposes.
Christina said, “I really like helping our Call-A-Ride customers, because I like being the liaison between the company and the customer.” She enjoys helping to educate them about the various policies so they can become better at riding the paratransit van system. Christina created a Q & A quick reference guide that is designed to help customers understand the Metro Call-A-Ride policies. She also updates the customer files that are used by the van operators/dispatchers, with important details about each customer. Such details may require a five minute pre-arrival call for some passengers or a note to notify the van operator that a passenger needs door-to-door assistance if they require additional help getting to the van. These details really help both our CAR operators and customers.
Prior to coming to BSD, Christina lived in California and worked at Avalcom, a telecommunications company. She came to Bi-State Development in 2002 and began her career as an Office Administrator at CAR. Five years later, she moved into her current position. Christina said, “I really love the people I work with. We all have the same motivation – to provide excellent customer service to our customers! That makes it worth coming to work when you have a good group of people you work with.”
Christina also enjoys working on arts and craft projects. She likes to sew and creates custom cutting boards to give as gifts to her family. During the pandemic, when most people were stuck indoors, Christina took the opportunity to refurbish her home and to do some hiking. When she is not working on an arts and craft project, she is busy spending quality time with her adorable, three-year old grandson.