Back to Reality
Two stories that I’ve meant to blog but haven’t. Both happened the week that I came back from A’dam and brought me ‘back to reality’.
The first is simply that one of my co-workers was promoted to Sales Supervisor while I was away. I told an Assistant Manager that I was surprised about this, never mind that a sales supervisor just left… He asked me why I was surprised that this guy got promoted, I then retorted that I wasn’t so much as surprised as disappointed. You know, like I wouldn’t’ve minded being promoted to Sales Supervisor based on my years of experience. Annoying, but I try not to dwell on it… too much.
The other story, is longer and got quick boil anger as opposed to my simmering annoyance of work. Ages ago I ranted about the Boston Transit System and how I hated it as they plan to raise the rates a second time in about 3 years…. Well, they proved to me how little they deserve it the Thursday after I came back.
The MBTA has decided to spend millions of dollars on a ‘transit card’, like what New York City and DC have. I was against this as soon as I read about this as I’ve had problems with the NYC cards when I visit the ‘rents, all too often the card gets scratched and you lose the value. I also would prefer they spend the money, instead of switching from tokens to transit cards, on stuff that actually HELPS commuters- like longer hours, more trains, hybrid buses and dealing with the unequal service( going into the unequal service would take too long here- suffice to say black neighborhoods are getting the shaft).
What I didn’t realize though was how bad the implementation of the Charlie Card (which is what they call the transit card based on this song.) See I’ve been buying a flat rate Monthly card. This monthly card seems to work in both the OLD stations and the NEW Charlie Card ‘renovated’ stations. However when I came back, I decided that because of my missing a week of work due to vaca, and my work schedule, that I’d just buy trips as I needed them… and that’s when I discovered the OLD V. NEW stations.
You see the station near my apartment has a Charlie Card reader- so on the Monday back here, I bought a Charlie Card. On Monday, I had walked to get a quick bite to eat, so I didn’t use my normal work T stop and thus had a rude awakening Thursday night. I tried using the Charlie Card on the Train and the driver told me that the Charlie Card didn’t work. I told him that I had PAID for the Charlie Card, and he put his hand up.
He told me that the train reader didn’t accept the Charlie Card. Now Thursday was a long day and this was at 10pm, so I pointed that I had PAID for the train.
He put up his hand.
I asked him how I was supposed to pay for the train, as there was NO TOKEN MACHINE at this T Stop.
He told me there was one “around the corner’.
I told him that while there were Charlie Card Machines nearby a) they didn’t work and b) he wasn’t accepting the Charlie Card anyway.
He didn’t care.
I got angry, and again pointed out that I had PAID for the train and he should accept it.
He put his hand up.
I cursed at him and he kicked me off the train.
I then had to walk several blocks to get to a Charlie Card Station. When I got to this station, there seemed to be one guy who job was to tell people how to use the Charlie Card (which is pretty f’ing easy). I asked him if I could buy T tokens from him. He pointed out that the station we were at was a CHARLIE CARD STATION and thus only sold Charlie Cards. I retorted, angrily, that the NEXT station on the line was a Token stop with NO token machine.
He, like the driver, didn’t give a damn.
Oh and after I went through the turnstile, he threatened to call the police if I gave him any more crap.
The upshot is I now have to have the Charlie Card for the beginning of my commute and a Token, or $1.25 in change for the way back. I have emailed and called the T people about this… and after a week I got pretty much a form letter from an underling in the department:
What I really loved was the slash there… I mean first, the the slash was in the wrong place and second was the fact that “corrective and/or disciplianary action was taken". Because you know if corrective AND/OR disciplinary action WAS taken…. They could say if it was Corrective AND Disciplinary; or if it was merely corrective; or just Disciplinary.
Dumbasses.
The first is simply that one of my co-workers was promoted to Sales Supervisor while I was away. I told an Assistant Manager that I was surprised about this, never mind that a sales supervisor just left… He asked me why I was surprised that this guy got promoted, I then retorted that I wasn’t so much as surprised as disappointed. You know, like I wouldn’t’ve minded being promoted to Sales Supervisor based on my years of experience. Annoying, but I try not to dwell on it… too much.
The other story, is longer and got quick boil anger as opposed to my simmering annoyance of work. Ages ago I ranted about the Boston Transit System and how I hated it as they plan to raise the rates a second time in about 3 years…. Well, they proved to me how little they deserve it the Thursday after I came back.
The MBTA has decided to spend millions of dollars on a ‘transit card’, like what New York City and DC have. I was against this as soon as I read about this as I’ve had problems with the NYC cards when I visit the ‘rents, all too often the card gets scratched and you lose the value. I also would prefer they spend the money, instead of switching from tokens to transit cards, on stuff that actually HELPS commuters- like longer hours, more trains, hybrid buses and dealing with the unequal service( going into the unequal service would take too long here- suffice to say black neighborhoods are getting the shaft).
What I didn’t realize though was how bad the implementation of the Charlie Card (which is what they call the transit card based on this song.) See I’ve been buying a flat rate Monthly card. This monthly card seems to work in both the OLD stations and the NEW Charlie Card ‘renovated’ stations. However when I came back, I decided that because of my missing a week of work due to vaca, and my work schedule, that I’d just buy trips as I needed them… and that’s when I discovered the OLD V. NEW stations.
You see the station near my apartment has a Charlie Card reader- so on the Monday back here, I bought a Charlie Card. On Monday, I had walked to get a quick bite to eat, so I didn’t use my normal work T stop and thus had a rude awakening Thursday night. I tried using the Charlie Card on the Train and the driver told me that the Charlie Card didn’t work. I told him that I had PAID for the Charlie Card, and he put his hand up.
He told me that the train reader didn’t accept the Charlie Card. Now Thursday was a long day and this was at 10pm, so I pointed that I had PAID for the train.
He put up his hand.
I asked him how I was supposed to pay for the train, as there was NO TOKEN MACHINE at this T Stop.
He told me there was one “around the corner’.
I told him that while there were Charlie Card Machines nearby a) they didn’t work and b) he wasn’t accepting the Charlie Card anyway.
He didn’t care.
I got angry, and again pointed out that I had PAID for the train and he should accept it.
He put his hand up.
I cursed at him and he kicked me off the train.
I then had to walk several blocks to get to a Charlie Card Station. When I got to this station, there seemed to be one guy who job was to tell people how to use the Charlie Card (which is pretty f’ing easy). I asked him if I could buy T tokens from him. He pointed out that the station we were at was a CHARLIE CARD STATION and thus only sold Charlie Cards. I retorted, angrily, that the NEXT station on the line was a Token stop with NO token machine.
He, like the driver, didn’t give a damn.
Oh and after I went through the turnstile, he threatened to call the police if I gave him any more crap.
The upshot is I now have to have the Charlie Card for the beginning of my commute and a Token, or $1.25 in change for the way back. I have emailed and called the T people about this… and after a week I got pretty much a form letter from an underling in the department:
We do haves rules on courtesy and with the badge # of the operator provided we were able to identify the employee and interview him regarding this incident and corrective/and or disciplianary action was taken. We have forward your complaint regarding the Charlie Card to the Afc Dept BSliby@mbta.com .
What I really loved was the slash there… I mean first, the the slash was in the wrong place and second was the fact that “corrective and/or disciplianary action was taken". Because you know if corrective AND/OR disciplinary action WAS taken…. They could say if it was Corrective AND Disciplinary; or if it was merely corrective; or just Disciplinary.
Dumbasses.
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