The challenges facing the United States economy have created enormous pressure and hardship for all business. The tolling industry has also been swept up in this challenge. Rising fuel prices, loss of investment capital, unavailable highway dollars, and increasing unemployment have created an often chaotic and difficult operating environment. The NTTA, has a responsibility to deliver to service to their customers and stakeholders regardless of the economic environment. The NTTA is committed to providing the “highest level of service for the least amount of cost that is valuable for its customers and responsible for the NTTA. Having committed to an All Electronic Tolling (ETC) strategy, the NTTA customer experience has become a much larger challenge. The elimination of toll booths, the implementation of ZipCash payment systems and new facilities have put increased volume and pressure on all customer touch points. These include call center services, storefront TollTag stores, IVR, Web site and roadway customer service. A 20% increase in customer contact volume in uncharted electronic tolling waters risked stretching the limits of the customer service infrastructure. The NTTA needed to respond to these challenges yet be responsible in an economic environment where survival was paramount and not growth and innovation. Seeking a solution to the pressure of providing value added services with less resources and capital, NTTA turned to an unlikely partner: their customers. NTTA put their “customers to work” providing advice, coaching employees, auditing customer experience and training NTTA personnel. And not just a “couple” of customers helping out “every once and a while”, thousands of NTTA customers provide valuable coaching, advice and insight daily throughout the agency. Utilizing a technology platform called CDM (Customer Driven Management), NTTA can access customer’s 24x7 for input. What is significant is this platform solution crosses all levels of the organization and most importantly is provided individually. Customers are working in tandem with NTTA managers and front-line supervisors. This means that in some instances hundreds of customers are assisting one individual (and their manager) in addressing a specific performance area by providing coaching, advice, encouragement and training. This customer engagement is unparalleled in the tolling industry and the private sector as well. The impact is seen in reduced expenses, customer loyalty, streamlined process, changed behavior and perhaps most importantly a dramatically improved customer experience. Imagine - Customers and a public agency working together for the people of North Texas. Partnering with their customers is not a new concept for the NTTA. NTTA for the past three years has engaged their customers in a unique “Mystery Driver” program. Unlike most mystery shopper programs engaged around the world NTTA uses their actual customers to provide feedback and direction for the agency. In addition to synchronizing with customers, the NTTA also leverages CDM to facilitate virtual focus groups. The NTTA was considering two sign designs to communicate a rate change based on vehicle axles. Instead of using a traditional focus group, the NTTA was able to use this technology to get feedback regarding the two signs. These customers viewed the designs online and provided enough detailed feedback and advice that the NTTA was able to produce a third and final design that is in place today. A similar process was utilized that was able to produce a third and final design that is in place today. This process ensured clear invoice changes were made that customers would understand. These two instances alone save tens of thousands of dollars in traditional focus group costs as well as reducing contact volumes and their associated costs. NTTA increased their level of service at a minimal cost. This solution transformed NTTA’s perspective on customer service.