Meet the Team: Abbie Spector

Abbie leads the Customer Success team at Jawnt, and we joined her on her daily bus commute to ask her some questions about life at Jawnt, commuting in Philly, her hopes for the future, and more. Read on to learn more about Abbie!

‍When did you begin working at Jawnt? 

It's been over a year and a half. I joined in July 2024.

How did you find Jawnt? 

I wanted an in-person job in Philly, at an early stage startup, doing something tangible for the city and its people, but I couldn't find a lot of that. And then one day I saw a LinkedIn post about (Jawnt’s co-founders) Jeff and Will on the Philly Founders podcast. Someone in my network had liked it, and I thought, “huh, in all of my job search, I've never heard of this place.” I looked on the website and thought, ‘I have to work here. This is so cool.”

Why did you want to work in-person? 

I've mostly worked in-person with the exception of 2020, when it was very hard for me to be remote. I'm very motivated by people and energy, so the idea of being in my apartment all day just is not something I'm interested in. I was excited, especially building a local product or service, to be surrounded by people and be out in the community. 

What's the best part about working at Jawnt? 

The people and what we're doing, and that what we're doing matters. It's by people, for people. And I don't think you can say that about that much work today. 

And I love that we have a tangible impact. I love that we know our riders, we know what using Jawnt means – it is a way to get around your city. The local community aspect infiltrates everything we do, and I love that. 

When you started, you were hired as Chief of Staff, and now you are leading Customer Success. What's been the biggest adjustment in your new role? 

I made the transition because I wanted to be in a more community-based and customer facing role. Chief of Staff is a really interesting role; it's super variable, but a lot of it is very behind the scenes. So I think both the adjustment and what's been so invigorating about the new role is working directly with the people that we serve, working with a team who is conversing with those folks every day. One is not more important than the other. But again, I thrive on that energy.

What’s your favorite human interaction from your time on the support queue? 

Someone sent us an email, a chat, and a voicemail. She was very angry that her Jawnt Pass was not working. I looked in the system, and determined it was because her card was not activated. When I called her back, she was fuming. By the end of the call, I had assured her that we had figured out together how to activate her card, she had funds on it, and she was ready to use it. At this point, she was so excited about Jawnt that she asked if we were hiring!

Why do you think that people have a good experience with our support team?

Oftentimes people are expecting that we're a bot and they can't believe that we're really humans. And then they learn we're not just a real person, but we take transit every day and can relate to them.

We've all had experiences in customer service where it's so script-based, even if it's a human, that it feels so hard to get to a resolution because you have to go through so many steps. We’re just people trying to help people in our community. And so if you have a problem, we're gonna get straight to the point and not go through all the baloney. 

How do you pay for your commute? 

I pay for my commute with my Jawnt Pass, which is awesome. I find that since I started Jawnt, I take SEPTA a lot more because Jawnt is subsidizing $100 a month for me, and so I don't question my rides anymore. So before I might think, ‘oh, it doesn't make sense to spend $2.90 when I could walk a few blocks. But hey, if it's raining out and it's going to make my morning better, I just tap on with my Jawnt Pass. 

Do you thank the bus driver? 

Always. 

‍Last question. What do you hope for this year, either for Jawnt or for your life? 

I have a lot of hopes for this country and the world, but in my own life, I’m excited to keep building community at work and home, and also keep exploring. I’m excited for more adventure, transit and otherwise!