...the reality is if the "customer" is unhappy with the service he doesn't have an alternative.Walk in my TTC shoes, Sue-Ann
Re “The better way? Ask the riders” (Jan.21): How many more times will Sue-Ann Levy write about “surly useless employees ready to be put out to pasture”? When has she ever spent an hour with a collector in the booth who’s being used as a doormat, answering inane questions that could be solved by reading the posted sign, all the while multitasking on the phone to Transit Control, selling fare media and dealing with impatient customers who want their “effing money back” because the train is delayed as another suicide has taken place on the tracks? Do not take into account that 60% of collectors are disabled from health, accidents, workers comp, amputations or emotional trauma. I invite Levy to join me at Kipling Station and spend a few hours observing just how useless I am.
In 23 years as a Bus Operator and Collector I cannot remember how many crimes I have stopped or dealt with as the victim has come running to me for help. Clean up? These buses and subways are thoroughly cleaned every night by hard-working employees. The reason they appear unkempt at times is because the public throws garbage on the floor, and the vehicle has been in service for 21 hours. On Wednesday evening at Islington Station, I had five people tell me they needed a free ride because they lost their ticket, were homeless, had no money, or would pay tomorrow — and the greatest excuse I have ever heard: “The subway was free on New Years Eve, so I am taking my free ride now, OK?” A young woman was robbed on the bus platform of a station where I worked this week. The perpetrator said he had a gun. Can a bank of token machines comfort her, call the police, keep her safe inside a fortified room and provide a ride home for her in her shocked emotional state?
A. Shydlowsky
Mississauga
(Sounds like you’ve seen — and heard — it all, but have you seen Page 1 of our paper?)
1 comment:
it's a case of a small handful, who make things look bad for the other hardworking ones.
I know a couple guys who drive streetcar. That's not a great job by the abuse they suffer daily, and that's an understatement. Perhaps the driver who was blinded by a bullet can fill you in.
Post a Comment