(The following story by Alfonso A. Castillo appeared on the Newsday website on February 12, 2009.)
NEW YORK — Ask a Long Island Rail Road conductor where a bathroom is located on a train, and you’ll likely be delighted with the courteous response you’ll receive.
But once you enter the bathroom, you may not be so delighted.
That was the message of the LIRR’s annual customer satisfaction survey report, released yesterday. It included its highest grade of 95 percent for crew courtesy, and its lowest marks for bathroom cleanliness.
About 60 categories concerning the LIRR’s operations both on and off its trains were included in the survey, which was completed by 9,000 LIRR riders. Overall, the LIRR scored 89 percent in customer satisfaction and in the key category of on-time performance, riders gave the LIRR a 90.
Because the LIRR changed its survey methodology since last year, officials said it was difficult to compare results from this year to previous years. Last year, the LIRR scored a 6.7 on a scale of 1 to 10 in overall satisfaction. Crew courtesy scored a 7.6.
Like last year, the LIRR picked up its worst marks in the area of bathroom cleanliness, a 58 out of 100.
At a news conference at the Mineola train station, LIRR president Helena Williams thanked riders for recognizing “the good work done by Long Island Rail Road employees every day,” and vowed to bring up all its numbers next year.
However, LIRR officials acknowledged, that could be tough to do if the MTA has to enact its “doomsday” operating budget, which calls for deep service cuts and scaling back on cleaning train bathrooms.
LIRR Commuters’ Council chairman Gerard Bringmann questioned the new survey methodology, saying the findings were at odds in some categories with what he hears from commuters.
Anthony Simon, general chairman of the United Transportation Union, which represents LIRR conductors, said he “couldn’t be prouder” of the high marks for their courtesy.
One commuter, Lois Bruce, called LIRR employees “very courteous” and train bathrooms “nasty.”
“I went in there one time,” she said. “And I walked right out.”