Unsuck DC Metro: Customer Service Line Making Great Impression

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Customer Service Line Making Great Impression

What's up with the customer service line, Metro? Not a peep from you.

Anyone else experience this? Any good experiences?

From anonymous:

Even the Metro "help" line is near worthless.

Instead of a hold sequence like most places have--you know, "expected wait time: until hell freezes over"--it just says "all of our representatives are currently busy, please try your call again later.

Maybe 10 a.m. on a Tuesday is a federal holiday I was unaware of.

Other items:
Think SmarTrip transactions online are cool? Check this. (Japan Trends h/t @meghanventura)

Comments (26)

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-26 Vote up Vote down

varun · 703 weeks ago

WHY are you still doing this to yourselves? Can't you find a friend or three to hitch a ride with to work? Or bicycle in? Or walk? Is there not something Mr. U can do to help you find alternatives?

13 replies · active 703 weeks ago

+21 Vote up Vote down

UnSuck Fan · 703 weeks ago

Wow, you're still berating us over relying on WMATA? What part of "I don't have a choice" doesn't make sense to you? There is no way I'm going to walk or bike from Maryland to D.C. More power to anyone else that lives as far out as I do or further who will do either! I am extremely lucky on days that I run into my neighbor who is driving his wife into work and is generously offering me a ride. However, this is no way I'm going to expect a ride every day. Besides, he doesn't always drive her to work; sometimes she parks at Metro and then takes the train in.

Not only that, but also not everyone's schedule allows for accommodations! What happens if you have a job where other people rely on you and they come to you at the very end of the day asking that you complete a project for them? "Oh sorry, I can't stay late. I have to carpool." Some people are okay with that and can find someone else to help them; telling that to others is almost akin to trouble (to say it politely).

Uh, I'm assuming your reference to "Mr. U" is to UnSuck? Nice try, but he has a full-time job and this blog. It's not his responsibility to help us find another way to get to and from work. That's on us if we decide to abandon WMATA. UnSuck might be able to help, but I'm guessing his plate is already full.

-26 Vote up Vote down

varun · 703 weeks ago

Almost no one has a choice right away. Even if you find that you can drive in, you'll find that finding a garage at a decent price next door to work takes time. But the point is, you have to *start* finding alternatives. I didn't find an alternative right away - it took me a few months to find it, but you if you sit there and do nothing then yes, you'll still be here bitching and whining while the rest of us go to work, go out, and come back all without relying on Metrorail or Metro bus.

And as for leaving on time at a certain time - it's a matter of discipline. People in this town more than others understand that you may not be able to stay late and finish late because you don't have a ride back. Have a spine and say, "I need to get going, but I'll do it when I get home" or "Can I please do this tomorrow, I'm going to be stranded otherwise". Or consider that if 99 percent of the time you take an alternative, then the one percent of time you *have* to take the Metro, it's not the end of the world.

He has a full time job, but he has a fantastic job with a great commentariat who might, just might, be interested in helping you find an alternative, if you ask nicely.

+13 Vote up Vote down

Radner · 703 weeks ago

You're bitching about people bitching. Nice.

+29 Vote up Vote down

Subway · 703 weeks ago

I beg to disagree that this town more than others understands when people need to leave early. Do you think that anyone who works at a law firm, consulting group, Congress, etc., can just tell their boss no when they're told they'll need to stay late? I certainly can't. I don't know of any of my friends who can. This is a town of demanding workaholics. Parking garages are often closed by the time I leave work, so carpooling and driving aren't options. I also can't bike because my office is business dress and we have no access to showers/no gym nearby. I can't walk because I can't afford to live in DC.

Don't assume everyone gets the same flexibility you enjoy or works in a place where it's accepted to tell the boss no.

+20 Vote up Vote down

BradK · 703 weeks ago

Cordially, I want to mention that if we find another way to work, we are all still paying for a service that needs fixed... regardless of weather this user complains about his trip or not, there is a problem that all of us are footing the bill for...

The solution of "find another way to work" is an irrelevant solution, as we are all paying for metro weather we use it or not.

+19 Vote up Vote down

Kara · 703 weeks ago

As for myself ...

Car: do not have one and I can not drive due to medical reasons

Bike: see car

Walking: Even in nice weather that would be 3 hours a day .... fail!

Carpool: I do not work the same schedule as most of my neighbors

I moved to this area precisely because it had public transit.

+12 Vote up Vote down

Ever and Anon · 703 weeks ago

Some of us cannot drive. Some of us do not own a car. Some of us are physically unable to ride bicycles. Some of us work 1.5-2 hours away, but not by choice. Some of us do not have adequate bus service to use other public transit except for Metro's train system. Some of us, not being able to bike, also cannot walk all those miles even if time was not an issue. Many of us do not have one single human nearby that works anywhere near our own office, so have no options of car-pooling or hitching a temporary ride. I am one of those people.

Why do you feel you have all the answers when, obviously you are not in a position to need, or have, to consider other people's situations?

Why do you feel the need to come to this excellent blog, which purpose is to improve Metro, and do nothing but berate those who use Metro? How does that serve this blog's mission? Again, why are you here? Have you anything constructive to offer for improving the Metro system?

-6 Vote up Vote down

sotiredofmetro · 703 weeks ago

Not ok to just use the excuse of a carpool to dump your work onto someone else. Figure out a way to get home and finish your own work!!

+10 Vote up Vote down

Calabria · 703 weeks ago

Yes, I will tell my patient who is about to code that I can't stay late, sorry, and leave them to stabilize themselves while I leave everybody else to scramble to save them.

I sincerely hope that you're not that patient the next time that happens.

You're being a little presumptuous and ridiculous. Just finding a ride back isn't easy a lot of the time.

+3 Vote up Vote down

DCRider · 703 weeks ago

Wow. What a snobby, arrogant prick. You sir, can fuck straight off.

+6 Vote up Vote down

Ever and Anon · 703 weeks ago

WHY are you still here?

+10 Vote up Vote down

varun · 703 weeks ago

Apparently, schadenfreude.

But you raise a good point. I think I'll take your advice and unsubscribe today. Goodbye.

+2 Vote up Vote down

@VeggieTart · 703 weeks ago

forgive me for bashing a dead subject but:

Not all of us live near people who also work near us at about the same time we do.
Things come up at work that may necessitate staying late.
Some of us live a good distance from our jobs--in this market, we take what we can get--making walking or biking impractical.
I don't own a car; I don't drive, for a variety of reasons. Nor do I ride bicycles.
Walking is not pracitcal when in August when it's roasting hot or January when it's bitterly cold.
Unsuck's job is not to help us find alternatives. This blog was set up to gripe about all the pitfalls of Metro in the hope that it will improve.

+9 Vote up Vote down

Cyclone · 703 weeks ago

Somewhere, out there is a person who is the Manager/Director/VP of customer relations for Metro. That person is responsible for the people that are supposed to answer these calls.

That person needs to be called to task for issues like this.

+6 Vote up Vote down

hrh king friday 13 · 703 weeks ago

They forgot to turn on thier blue tooths.

1 reply · active 703 weeks ago

+5 Vote up Vote down

Ever and Anon · 703 weeks ago

hah! Good one!

Their phones don't work in the underground subway system, where their secret hiding offices with color tv and wet bars are located.

+2 Vote up Vote down

Alex · 703 weeks ago

This sounds exactly like every government-affiliated "help" line I've ever experienced; DMV, IRS, etc. Nothing new to see here, move along.

+5 Vote up Vote down

mad · 703 weeks ago

This has happened to me three times in the past week. I wanted to add money to my Smartrip card online. I'd registered the card long ago, but forgotten the password. No way to reset on the website, so I called.

nada

called again.

nada

called again

nada.

F8ck you metro

1 reply · active 703 weeks ago

+5 Vote up Vote down

Taz · 703 weeks ago

I had the exact same experience: forgot password, no way to reset, can't get through to "customer service".

Worst organization ever.

+1 Vote up Vote down

drbubbles · 703 weeks ago

Eh, what's the point? The CS people never do anything anyway (OK, that's not entirely true: they do tell you they'll do something; they just don't do the something that they said they would).

So, really, they're saving your time by not letting you talk to a person at all.

+14 Vote up Vote down

Sadly True · 703 weeks ago

It never ceases to amaze me: Metro constantly trumpets that it has excellent service, that it is getting better and better, that it can handle more and more riders so come on, get on! But they can't answer the phones, they can't run trains or buses on time, they can't fix escalators or elevators, they can't even replace light bulbs. And, worst of all, they can't accept responsibility for anything or hold anyone accountable. Ever.

+3 Vote up Vote down

MetroHater99 · 703 weeks ago

Once while I HAD CUSTOMER SERVICE ON THE LINE, and they could hear the bus driver screaming over a Smart Trip failure, there was zero reaction. Nothing. Calling them is pointless.

+3 Vote up Vote down

@suzer · 703 weeks ago

I've had luck with the kiosk at metro center, sometimes there isn't a line there. For a while I had an extension of a really helpful lady in the Metro office who helped with SmartCards -- unfortunately I've moved offices and lost that sticky. But there is bound to be someone out there who knows who she is. She is truly a treasure if you can find her.

+2 Vote up Vote down

dezlboy · 703 weeks ago

Try hitting "ZERO" to get a real person.

I tried to use the METRO phone menu, and got no where. Truly the worst one I have ever encountered. Too bad because I have had really good luck once a real person comes on line.

0 Vote up Vote down

slb · 702 weeks ago

I registered a smarttrip card on wmata's site but it wasn't showing up with my name on the smartbenefits site (my HR person showed me). Called the smarttrip number, which told me to call the smartbenefits number. left 2 messages on consecutive days. never got called back. finally reached someone who was nice, but not actually able to resolve the problem--told me to try the smartrip number again. tried calling the smartrip folks and got caught in their automated menu, which has a limited number of options, none of which applied ("I need a refund," "My card was lost or stolen," etc.)

I found that if you say "I HATE WMATA" when it asks you what the problem is, you get connected to a person.