To: Kevin Brady,Station Manager, Air Canada Ottawa Airport Re: Customer Service Desk Today I attended 009 training and was delighted to learn that Air Canada is headed in a new direction; we are going to focus on CUSTOMER SERVICE! To that end I am creating a petition to request the addition of a Customer Service Desk in the domestic gate area at Ottawa Airport. What will follow is a list of duties that could be performed by the agents manning the CSD. Gate agents are presently performing these duties with some spillover to check-in and ticketing. As you are surely aware we are staffed to bare minimum. Staffing numbers appear to be based on a 100% on time performance. Gate agents are scheduled so tightly they are barely able to manage the duties on their lines, throw in any of the following responsibilities and it becomes impossible for them to be where they should be and do their jobs properly. On Time Performance, Customer Service, and employee confidence and morale all suffer. DUTIES: -Provide general information, assistance and guidance to local boarding, transiting/connecting, and arriving customers. -Process Same Day Changes, rebook, process payment, print receipt and check-in customer -Liaise with DCC regarding misconnections and hotel bookings. -When misconnections at Ottawa Airport occur provide rebooking information, check customers in on new flights, provide PSOs for accommodation, ground transportation and meals if required. -Monitor creeping delays for possible misconnections out of destination, liaise with DCC as to whether to send misconnections or not. -Call AC and Jazz crew scheduling when crew are missing. -Coordinate snack carts with CARA -Make gate change announcements. -Fulfill the requirement to make delay announcements every 15 minutes. -Provide options to customers on delayed and cancelled flights, including IRROP Res. Phone number, baggage retrieval information. -Care for customers that have been denied boarding due to over sales. Issue compensation MCO. Rebook/check-in customers. Provide PSOs if needed. Complete DBC edits. Send Denied Boarding Teletype. I am sure that are many other ways that a Customer Service Desk could provide support. Maybe, as this petition circulates, new ideas will be added. I know you have been approached many times about this issue and you seem to not take the need seriously. I’m hoping that the number of names on this petition will convince you to rethink your position. Another thing I learned in 009 training today was the quote "We respect, We listen, We act." ADDED 15May: I have been told many times that the Ottawa Airport Authority is a road block in the pursuit of a CSD. If that is the case I hope that AC management and OAA will try very hard to come up with a solution to this impasse.