REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
NO. 13-098
CALL CENTER-
FIXED ROUTE TRANSIT SERVICES
February 20, 2013
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RFI 013-08 Transit Video Advertising Franchise
RFI #13-098
Call Center- Fixed Route Transit Services
REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION OF SOUTHERN NEVADA
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) No. 12-095
COIN SORTING/COUNTING MACHINE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. General Information and Intent…………………………………………....2
II. Overview/Background……………………………………………… ……2
III. Scope………………………………………………………………………3
IV. Proposed Project Schedule ……………………………………………...... 3
V. Response and Contact Information …………………….………………....3
VI. Response Format...……………………………………………………….. 4
VII. General Terms and Conditions ………………………………………….. 4
EXHIBIT A-Draft Scope of Work……………………………………………...…5
EXHIBIT B-Industry Questionnaire……………………………………………....7
EXHIBIT C- RFI Package Label.…………………………………………………9
I. GENERAL INFORMATION AND INTENT
The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) is requesting information on call centers supporting fixed route transit operations. The purpose of this Request For Information (RFI) is to obtain industry comments on the call center scope of work and answers to specific questions on contracting out call center operations to a third party.
The RTC’s intent is to issue a formal Request for Proposals (RFP) for a Call Center- Fixed Route Transit Services in March, 2013. Responses to this RFI will assist the RTC in the preparation of the scope of work and RFP documents.
II. OVERVIEW/BACKGROUND
The RTC is a political subdivision of the State of Nevada, with responsibility for the operation of public transit services in the Las Vegas Valley, and also serves as the Metropolitan Planning Organization for Clark County, Nevada. The RTC purchasing procedures are governed by the Nevada Revised Statutes and by various Federal statutes and regulations, as administered by the Federal Transit Administration. These require, among other things, that purchases be made according to approved plans and specifications, which become a part of any contract between the RTC and a successful proposer.
The current RTC fixed route transit service consists of 42 routes. In 2011, RTC carried nearly 58 million passengers in the greater Las Vegas Valley. RTC Transit consists of 31 general market routes, The Deuce, Strip & Downtown Express, Centennial Express, Westcliff Airport Express, Boulder Highway Express and the Sahara Express.
Currently the RTC has an in-house call center staffed by RTC employees to support fixed route services. The call center handles approximately 32,000 calls per month. The intent of the RTC is to outsource the fixed route call center operations to a third party, and utilize existing fixed route call center staff to support paratransit call center operations.
III. SCOPE
The RTC is issuing this RFI in an effort to issue the best possible RFP and to obtain industry feedback on the solicitation scope of work, and to address specific questions the RTC has regarding outsourced call center operations. A draft Scope of Work is included as Exhibit A to this RFI. A questionnaire is included as Exhibit B to this RFI.
RFI documents may be obtained on the internet at http://www.rtcsnv.com/about-the-rtc/doing-business-with-the-rtc/.
IV. PROPOSED PROJECT SCHEDULE
Release of RFI February 20, 2013
RFI Responses Due March 4, 2013
Request for Proposal(s) Issued March 12, 2013
Request for Proposal(s) Due April 16, 2013
Contract Award May 16, 2013
The RTC reserves the right to alter the dates shown above by written notice.
V. RFI RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS AND CONTACT INFORMATION
All responses and any questions are to be submitted, preferably via-E-Mail, to the attention of:
Lydia Bilynsky
Sr. Purchasing & Contracts Analyst
600 S. Grand Central Parkway, Suite 350
Las Vegas, NV 89106-4512
PHONE: 702-676-1528
FAX: 702-676-1588
Response and written feedback to this RFI is requested no later than 5:00 PM local time, March 4, 2013.
If submitting a response to this RFI in a non -electronic format, i.e hard copy by mail, courier, hand delivery, please affix the RFI label included as Exhibit C. Please include one (1) unbound original of the RFI submission and one compact disc (CD).
VI. RESPONSE FORMAT
TAB 1: A letter of Transmittal signed by an authorized representative of the Respondent and addressed to Lydia Bilynsky, Sr. Purchasing and Contracts Analyst, RTC, 600 South Grand Central Parkway, Las Vegas, Nevada 89106, and at a minimum must contain the following:
(1) Identification of the Respondent, including name, address, telephone number and e-mail address of the people within your organization who are responsible for the submission;
(2) Acknowledgment of receipt of RFI addenda, if any;
(3) Name, title, address, telephone number and e-mail address of the person to contact for further information or additional questions, if needed.
:
TAB 2: Comments on the Draft Scope of Work- RFI 13-098 Exhibit A
TAB 3: Response to Industry Questionnaire – RFI 13-098 Exhibit
TAB 4: Additional Comments (Optional)
VII. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS:
Response Preparation Costs: The RTC shall not be liable for any expenses incurred by Respondents in the preparation of their submissions.
Intent to Issue RFP: Issuance of this RFI and receipt of submissions does not commit the RTC to issue a subsequent RFP for the goods and services described within. The RTC reserves the right to accept or reject any or all submissions received in response to this RFI.
Price Proposal: No formal price quote is requested as part of this RFI.
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RFI #13-098
Call Center- Fixed Route Transit Services
EXHIBIT A- DRAFT SCOPE OF WORK
CALL CENTER- FIXED ROUTE TRANSIT SERVICES
DRAFT SCOPE OF WORK
1. General Requirements.
The Contractor shall coordinate, manage, and control all activities necessary to perform the services as described in each element in this Scope of Work and carry out its responsibilities for each element in the resulting Agreement. Unless specifically indicated otherwise, the Contractor shall be responsible for the costs of all equipment and supplies necessary for performance of services.
2. Customer Service Call Center.
The Contractor will operator the RTC Fixed Route customer service call center that supports the telephone numbers 702-228-7433 and toll free number 1-800-228-3911 in their own facility. The call center will operate from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm P.S.T. 7 days a week, excluding Thanksgiving and Christmas days. The Contractor will be expected to answer 90% of all calls within two minutes.
A. Trained customer service representatives.
RTC will provide start up training for this contract which will take approximately 2 weeks to complete. Contractor staff assigned to this project will be fully trained in customer service techniques, phone etiquette, dealing with difficult customers, and sensitivity training for working with the elderly and persons with disabilities. All representatives will demonstrate good customer service skills by treating customers in a courteous and professional manner. Each customer service representative must be familiar with the Las Vegas, Henderson, and Boulder City areas. Within 30 days of execution of the contract, all representatives will have a working knowledge of the RTC Fixed Route system operations, RTC Transit Terminals, RTC Park and Ride Facilities, Ticket Vending Machine locations and operations, Fixed Route pass vendors and locations. The Contractor will be required to provide Bilingual representatives during all hours of operation. Failure to adequately train staff on any changes the RTC makes that affects the Fixed Routes services, prior to the changes going into effect, RTC will assess [$TBD] for each day that staff member is not adequately trained (if they are providing customer service to public during that time)
B. Project Supervision
The Contractor will provide appropriate supervision, quality control, and resolution resource to the customer service representatives during all customer service call center hours of operation. This supervisory staff will have all of the abilities of the customer service representative and is expected to assist with difficult customer, urgent situations that might require specialized transit knowledge and resolution skills, and may require communication with the Bus Operations Center (BOC) of the RTC Fixed Route contractor for resolution.
C. Equipment
The Contractor will provide PBX phone system with 24 dedicated channels, all computer equipment, necessary software, internet service provider, and related technical support to operate the call center. The Contractor will provide all phone equipment and software needed to answer the required calls. In addition the Contractor will provide the supervisory tools to monitor queue and representative information real time and also provide statistical reports. The Contractor will be required to provide voice recording software for quality assurance monitoring and provide the RTC with access to this software.
D. Fixed Route service information
The Contractor staff assigned to this project will be able to provide information including but not limited to the following: routes, schedules, fares, requirements for reduced fares and ID cards, detours, trip planning, estimated bus arrival data, bus stop locations, lost and found procedures, how to handle fieldtrip requests, how to access bus and pay fares, how to use ticket vending machines, how to board with bike, procedures for mobility devices, locations of all pass vendors, RTC Park and Ride facilities, RTC Transit Terminals, Transit Watch, S.A.F.E program, Transit Mobility Training, Seniors on the Go program, Club Ride, Points of Interest, and any proposed or implemented fare or service changes. The RTC will provide the following tools to assist with answering customer requests: access to reports that will give information based on route or problem, bus stop listing, Fixed Route transit guides, training on service or fare changes, RTCTrkr program, Ticket Vending Machine listings, and directory of all pertinent phone numbers to assist customers. The average number of these calls per month is approximately 32,000 (the exact number of call per month and daily for the past year will be attached) with an average handle time (talk time) of two minutes and 40 seconds.
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RFI #13-098
Call Center- Fixed Route Transit Services
EXHIBIT B- INDUSTRY QUESTIONNAIRE
(1) Pricing
(a) Startup Cost
§ What is the standard for pricing startup cost for a Call Center RFP, up front startup cost or the startup cost rolled into the life of the contract?
§ What cost categories typically are included in a call center start-up?
(b) Base Contract and Option Contract Years
§ What is the typical pricing structure for contract base and option years, i.e. CPI, CPI with cap, individual years priced?
(c) Fixed vs. Per Call
§ What is the standard for pricing a contract for a Call Center RFP, per call pricing, fixed pricing, or other? If you chose other please describe pricing mechanism.
(2) Training
Out of state training
§ For contracts that are provided for out of state services, what are the mechanisms used to train staff for upcoming service changes?
(3) Equipment
Contract management access to reports and recording software:
§ How does a contract administrator get access to phone reports and recording software to monitor service levels for a contracted Call Center?
§ What types of statistics are normally provided to the customer?
§ What type of phone system and recording software do you use/ provide?
§ Does customer have random access to software?
(4) Management
Supervisor to staff ratio
§ What is the average supervisor to customer service representative ratio for a Fixed Route Call Center?
(5) Location
Local vs. out of state
§ What are the pros and cons with having a Call Center located in the same city as the service vs. remote location?
(6) Liquidated Damages
Common LD’s for this type of project
§ What are some of the standard Liquidated Damages associated with a Call Center project, both categories and assessed damage dollar amounts?
(7) Industry standard for percentage of calls answered with a certain hold times
§ What are those hold time requirements and what % need to be answered within that time
Additional Questions for Call Center Service Providers:
(8) Please provide some examples where you provide call center services, in particular to support fixed route transit services.
(9) For question #8 is the services part of the fixed route contract services or a stand alone contract?
(10) What additional information should be included in the scope of work or as an exhibit or attachment to an RFP in order for your firm to submit a competitive proposal in response to an RFP for a Fixed Route Call Center?
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RFI #13-098
Call Center- Fixed Route Transit Services
EXHIBIT C- RFI PACKAGE LABEL
FOR HARD COPY SUBMISSIONS ONLY-
NOT APPLICABLE IF SUBMITTING ELECTRONICALLY
REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION OF SOUTHERN NEVADASEALED INFORMATION · DO NOT OPEN
RFI NO: / 13-098
RFI TITLE:
CALL CENTER- FIXED ROUTE TRANSIT SERVICES
DUE DATE: / 03/04/13 / TIME: / 5:00 PM
COMPANY:
RTC CONTACT / LYDIA BILYNSKY / (702) 676-1528
PURCHASING & CONTRACTS • 600 grand central parkway – las vegas, nevada 89106
The label shall appear in the upper left hand corner.
Delivery Address:
regional transportation commissionATTN: PURCHASING & CONTRACTS, LYDIA BILYNSKY
600 SOUTH GRANDCENTRAL PARKWAY, STE 350
LAS VEGAS, NV 89106
IMPORTANT:
Overnight delivery must be sent guaranteed morning delivery, before the deadline. Proposer must ensure that the Sealed Proposal label shown above is affixed to outside of the mail envelope.
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