Despite the proliferation of modern technology, people still want to interact face-to-face – something demonstrated almost daily by the line at the cashier’s window inside the Durango Transit Center.
Particularly those disputing parking citations. A website just doesn’t offer the same outlet for venting frustrations.
Within the span of about 30 minutes earlier this month, two people approached Tracy Shauinger’s window inside the Durango Transit Center building at 250 W. Eighth St. to dispute parking tickets left on their windshields.
A young woman with two tickets claimed she never received the first one and said the meter must have glitched on the second one because she had inserted enough coins for three hours of parking.
Behind the counter, Shauinger deftly navigated several computer screens, pulling up images of the car and the meter taken by a parking attendant, as well as data from the parking meter itself.
The records showed no three-hour payment had been made. The tickets stood.
A man arrived shortly after with a similar complaint. Once again, the data showed he hadn’t paid the meter, and he, too, would have to pay the fine.
He started off friendly, but when Shauinger told him there was nothing she could do about the ticket, his tone soured and he stomped away from the window.
Shauinger remained unperturbed.
“It can be emotionally draining when there’s so much coming in at times,” she said. “But when you think about it, it’s not a personal attack on me, it’s just that they’re upset about a certain situation.”
After 14 years with the transportation department, Shauinger has developed a strategy for dealing with unhappy customers.
“Letting them talk and not interrupting them is probably the best,” she said. “Sometimes you can de-escalate, sometimes you can’t. But unfortunately, we can’t always make people happy.”
As the city’s lead customer service specialist for the transportation department, a large part of Shauinger’s job involves fielding complaints from the disgruntled recipients of parking tickets.
Most of the time, though, people are friendly, she said. A host of regular customers more than makes up for the occasional sour apple.
“It’s fun being able to see them on a weekly basis, sometimes a daily basis,” she said.
At 12:15 p.m., an older man in a purple hat arrived at the window with a friendly smile.
He’s one of her regulars, stopping by with a question about his bus pass.
Shauinger asked if he was headed to the Humane Society. He wasn’t. Instead, he was going out to lunch, he said, before launching into a funny anecdote about his hands shaking when he tries to show his online bus pass.
“You crack me up,” Shauinger said, laughing.
That kind of daily interaction is Shauinger’s favorite part of the job.
“You really have to enjoy that – being able to help somebody and talk to our regulars,” she said. “I love our regulars.”
Her job involves more than just informing people they need to pay parking tickets or helping customers figure out the bus schedule.
A typical day starts with opening the office and launching a host of computer programs, she said. Cashiers process tickets, distribute incoming mail and, depending on how busy the window is, handle data entry, spreadsheets, emails and phone calls.
During the summer, the work picks up as more people need assistance – largely because of the tourist boom, Shauinger said.
Many tourists mistakenly walk into the building thinking it’s the visitor center, but she said the mistake often ends up being a happy accident.
“Especially a family with a bunch of kids – they’re like, ‘Oh, I want to ride that!’ It’s so cheap: $1 rides and under 5 is free. So it’s a cheap way to entertain and see Durango from a different perspective,” Shauinger said.
During her time with the department, Shauinger has worked in multiple roles.
“I’ve been a driver, I’ve been a custodian, I’ve been a parking officer, and now I’m more parking operations manager, so I’ve done it all – within our division itself,” she said.
That level of familiarity is required of all employees. Everyone rides the bus to become familiar with the routes.
“That way you can better serve the customer,” Shauinger said. “Because you have a visual in your mind of what that looks like.”
The cashier position is a hybrid role. Employees work the window and serve as parking officers – the ones who write the citations.
That dual perspective helps them better understand the citation system and act as ambassadors for the city, she said.
For Shauinger, serving in so many roles and interacting with locals on a daily basis has made her feel especially connected to the community.
In her 14 years in Durango, she has watched the city’s population swell.
Yet, her role at the transit window has ensured she can’t walk from one end of Main Avenue to the other without seeing someone she knows.
“It’s kind of cool,” Shauinger said.
jbowman@durangoherald.com
