Unsuck DC Metro: SmarTrip Customer Service or Disservice?

Guest · 689 weeks ago

The suicide prevention program is a waste of tax payer money.

Nick · 689 weeks ago

Luckily, I haven't had any smarttrip trouble since last january. That was a pretty hilarious one: I ordered a smart-trip card online, because you could, and I naively thought it would work. It never came, and I spent probably 2+ hours on hold/being transferred before they found my transaction, and said "oh, you did buy it, and we never sent it to you." So I got the card about 6 weeks after I ordered it, and now had an additional smarttrip card that I didn't need, because I had purchased one at one of those vending machines weeks prior.

To metro's credit though, I don't think SmarTrip has anything to do with metro, they are a separate business, right? IDK, they need to unsuck though.

1 reply · active 403 weeks ago

@VeggieTart · 689 weeks ago

If you ever have family who comes to visit., the cards are great for that. Not to sound insensitive, but it's a good use for your card. I keep an extra couple of cards in my place because every couple of years, I have family visit from out of town.

@VeggieTart · 689 weeks ago

It's been a while since I lost a card, but I've been lucky in that I never had problems reporting it lost and getting a new one in the mail pretty quickly. I now keep my SmarTrip in a little plastic carrier attached to my keychain so it's harder to lose.

+5 Vote up Vote down

Katie · 689 weeks ago

Oh. God. I have had the WORST luck with this. It took over a month before my deacitvated card could have its balance transferred to a new card - I spent $50 bucks and considerable amount of time trying to deal with it. And it only took calling Metro 5 times (hey, did you know if all the lines are busy you can't hold - they literally hang up on you?) and sending two pissed off emails before someone finally got it done. But hey, it was just $50 of my own money spent putting cash on a metro card when over $200 were sitting on another!

Keep on opening doors, Metro.

guest · 689 weeks ago

I tried to register my card,. but the system was so cumbersome. At the end, it kept saying my phone number was wrong. Hey Metro, I know my phone number.

In the end, I gave up, but after thinking about it, I wondered just exactly why Metro needs all of that information anyway.

+6 Vote up Vote down

· 689 weeks ago

25 minutes on hold--click.

FU Metro

+11 Vote up Vote down

Homer J. Fong · 689 weeks ago

Try, just TRY and get someone from SmartBenefits to call you back. Call the help line (SmartBenefits® Hotline 202-962-1326 (select option 3)). They will give you their hours (from 8am to 4pm) and then ask you to leave a message. There is NO way to actually speak to someon. Go ahead. Try. Leave a message. Please let us know if ANYONE. EVER. Calls you back.

It's been 3 weeks, and I'm STILL waiting for a call back.

guest · 689 weeks ago

I have had to replace my card twice. Once because I misplaced it and the other because it crumbled into many pieces. I used the online service because I'm not really into calling 800#'s. The funds were transferred pretty quickly, no complaint there. My two issues with the whole procedure are 1) I had to go to a CVS to buy a replacement card because the machine at Greenbelt was out of service for a few days. Which was great fun when trying to leave the parking lot since the credit card machines hadn't been installed yet. And 2) My old cards that were registered STILL to this day show a balance, even though I did verify in both cases the funds were transferred. It's just annoying to see that still there. When I emailed asking why it shows that.... big surprise they didn't reply!!!

-6 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 689 weeks ago

It may very well be time to put your card in your wallet...if you're losing your card a few times a year then it's probably time to make a concerted effort to keep it in the same place so you don't. If nothing else, the rotten customer service should provide incentive.

dfsadf · 689 weeks ago

Your experience was better than mine. I never got through. My card continues to be used by some asshole in DC.

Guess Metro will eventually pick up the tab.

+7 Vote up Vote down

Anon · 689 weeks ago

David Alpert is asking "What do you want to ask Richard Sarles?" in preparation for some kind of social networking schmooze tomorrow. Unsuck fans ought to weigh in by commenting on his post.

guest · 689 weeks ago

i've had to call them a couple times, and always got thru, and they always helped me. BUT, this was back in the beginning of the program (years ago). i haven't had to call them in quite some time.

if i need help in future, it sounds like i'd be better off just walking down the street to the HQ bldg and trying to talk to someone face to face. (hey, it should be good for a giggle...)

+9 Vote up Vote down

Ex Metro · 689 weeks ago

This is another way Metro steals your money. The plan: put up every roadblock until you give up and they pocket the cash.

John · 689 weeks ago

http://live.washingtonpost.com/gridlock-0109.html

Sarles to join Washington Post Chat today!

John · 689 weeks ago

More silliness from Dr. Gridlock in his chat today. He barely answered any questions regarding metro this time, but this softball was golden!

Q.
Richard Sarles
I hope Mr. Sarles has a thick skin. He's not going to get a lot of love during his chat tomorrow.

A.
Robert Thomson :

Actually, I think he has a pretty tough skin. And this certainly isn't the first job he's had that involves discussions with transit users upset about travel conditions.

I find he handles himself very well under those conditions.

Last year, I compared him to a baseball manager who's with the team for the "rebuilding years," then retires for the next manager, who comes in and gets all the glory by taking the team to the world series.

Sarles said he was okay with being the manager for the rebuilding years. He said that during four decades in the transit business he's been both types of managers.

Metroed · 689 weeks ago

A couple of years ago I had a smartrip crack on me, when they went to the newer, flimsy style. At the Bethesda station the manager gave me a envelope to fill out and told me a new card will be mailed to me. I told him I had a new address since I registered it, so he turned the envelope over and told me to write it on the back. I asked him if he was certain they would know about the new address and he angrily told me to "JUST WRITE IT DOWN." Two months later and I call metro inquiring about my card and they tell me it was mailed certified mail a month prior and that I signed for it and that's that. They mailed it to my old address and the scumball living there signed for it (way to go, mailman, looks like metro doesn't have a monopoly on incompetent workers in this area). The person used like $150 of it. I filed a dispute claim and actually forgot about it until I read this story. That was more than a year ago.

1 reply · active 689 weeks ago

TeganAnn · 689 weeks ago

I really think the quality of the cards have gone down a significant amount. Everyone I have talked to have had cards for 3+ years. While I continually get "hairline" cracks or cards that stop working. I forgot to mention the 4 CVSs I had to go to to track down a new card since the machines at Vienna Metro have stopped working.

Sarah · 689 weeks ago

I just went through this. Filed for the new card online, waited a month for it to come in the mail (it didn't) so sent a follow up email. Then three more follow up emails over the course of the next month. Finally got a hold of a person on the SmarTrip line and was explicitly told that I should never email because I will not get an email back because that is their last priority and I will never hear back if I try to contact them via email. Lesson learned!

Guesty McGuestypants · 689 weeks ago

I lost my card and also used the e-mail system to report it lost/stolen. I, too, received an auto-generated e-mail confirming my submission. Three weeks later, I received an e-mail from an actual person "apologizing for the delay" in transferring my funds and indicating that I'd be able to manually transfer the SmarTrip balance within 5 business days at any Metro ticket dispenser. It wasn't until an additional two weeks later where my funds were actually available to be transferred.

AGDC · 689 weeks ago

I guess I have been lucky, but their online system has never faltered for me. Knowing that I lost my card, I went to CVS to buy a new one and was able to setup the transfer online. The next day I received an email that the funds were transferred and that was that. Maybe I am lucky...

Guest · 689 weeks ago

In October, my card stopped working all of a sudden. I talked to 3 Metro employees (a station manager, SmarTrip customer service agent, and a person working at the Metro Center main WMATA office) and all 3 told me different-- and conflicting--ways to get my money transferred to a new card. I was unwilling to send off a card with a lot of money on it in the mail with no clue if and when I would get the money back. The only way I found (after having spent much time arguing with various Metro employees) to otherwise get my money transferred was to call Metro customer service directly and complain until I found a lovely person who could finally help me and solve my problem. I don't know if the same procedure is in effect with the new online account system, but if you lose your card or it stops working, all I can say is best of luck!

Ever Anon · 689 weeks ago

Do not let Metro hit the switch to transfer funds from a missing/broken card to your new one before you contact your employer about your smart benefits. Metro will tie up your card for 5 days or more and your smart benefits cannot be done until it clears.

GrisMar · 689 weeks ago

-I reported a lost card in October and requested to have the funds transferred to my
new card..it's January and they have yet to do it.
-I was adding money to my card ($150) and it crapped out in the middle of the transaction and the machine ate my money. I fought with Metro for months trying to get a refund, until I finally just gave up.
I learned my lesson. I will never have more than $20 on my DumbTrip, and I will never use cash again.

Grax · 688 weeks ago

I got a card a work (D.O.L.) a couple years ago, and it stopped working in less than a year. An office in the department got me a replacement, so I didn't have to go through wmata, but the balance was not transferred. I assumed that it was due to the incompetence of employees on this end, but after reading these tales of woe, I guess it is at least as likely to have been the result of incompetence on the part of wmata. That is their m.o., after all.

Anon20009 · 688 weeks ago

For the most part I ahve had decent luck with my Smartrip cards - I've only had two since the system began. No cracks or cr*p outs; I lost the first one when my wallet was stolen. Naively I called in and reported it stolen and was told a new one would be sent to me with the transferred balance. That was December 2007 and the card still hasn't arrived. Since there was a very small balance I stopped caring a long time ago. My current card is registered only because that's required for the transit benefits at work.... I have no faith in the chance of replacing it should I ever lose this one. But that's sort of representative of where I am with Metro overall - things are passable but my expectations of them are extremely low; all I ask is they send a train (or bus) my way sometime close to when it's expected. (And at least they seem to manage that, on weekdays anyhow.)

Jenifer · 688 weeks ago

and they charge $5 "replacement" fee if your Smartrip is "cracked" or "the chip failed" BECAUSE IT IS YOUR FAULT as a customer -- when we all know they are issuing cheaper thinner plastic. The original Smartrip cards (first issue) were significantly thicker, harder to lose and didn't crack or have "chip failure."

DCRog · 687 weeks ago

I mailed back a defective SmartCard on 4/22/2011 after buying new replacement card at CVS in Rosslyn. I am still waiting for WMATA to refund the $5 from old card to my new card. The SmartTrip Adjustment Request is S691756, receipt associated with the envelope WMATA requires to be used. My Emails to RCSC@smartrip.net have not ever been replied to.
WMATA - a nightmare for the masses.