When things don’t go as planned, customers rely on transit staff to step up and help them.

During a recent service disruption, station ambassador Nick Scountrianos did that and more.

Picture this, it’s a rainy Friday morning in busy West Toronto. Commuters and travellers are making their way to work or the airport when a truck clips a nearby bridge.

Out of an abundance of caution both UP and GO Trains couldn’t safely cross that bridge to stop at Bloor GO/UP Station during a busy rush hour. There was even a full UP Express train that couldn’t keep going for safety reasons and had to reverse and unload at Bloor Station.

Even for a veteran employee, that’s a lot to deal with.

Scountrianos works out of Bloor GO Station, and he’s been on the job for just over a month.

Needless to say, it was a very fast paced morning for someone new on the job. But regardless of how long he’s been on the job, his focus was steadfast.

“The number one thing at that moment is safety for our passengers,” says Scountrianos.

Once everyone was safe, Scountrianos knows there’s main thing on people’s mind at rush hour.

“These people all have places to go, their offices, the airport, they want to get going fast!” he says.

So, Nick Scountrianos jumped on the phone with the Metrolinx network operations centre to figure out a solution, and fast. 

Teams came together and quickly landed on a solution.

GO and UP customers would be diverted to the nearby TTC service, at no extra cost.

And Scountrianos didn’t just let them flounder.

“Every single customer matters to me, they are not a number,” he says.

Throughout the disruption, he personally led group after group of commuters and travellers towards Bloor Street and made sure they knew how to make the 5-minute walk to the Dundas West TTC Station. He also helped groups of customers get back to the UP Express trains once service was reinstated.

All of this hard work didn’t go unnoticed either.

Regular Bloor UP Express customer Fana Seife says she was overwhelmed by Scountrianos level of service.

“He demonstrated a commitment to delivering outstanding service. He acted with integrity and kindness,” says Seife.

“He wins the award in my book for top employee!”

Scountrianos says customers are returning to transit faster than before thanks to GO and UP service increases, and he’s thrilled to help each and every one of them.

“I was once a student, I was once a passenger, I’ve travelled in other countries, it’s all about helping kids, families, seniors, everyone,” says Scountrianos.

“If we can provide a good service, people will want to come back and ride with us again.”

And thanks to the efforts of transit workers like Scountrianos, those customers found their way and the disruption was just a minor blip on the radar.

Scountrianos notes that some of them came back through his station on their way home that day – right at the end of his shift - and made sure to thank him for keeping their day on track.

All in a day’s work for a GO station ambassador.