The Human Transit blog has a provocative piece about how crucial it is to heap praise on transit systems to make them work better and feel better about themselves. Apparently, the non-D.C. resident author of the post thinks Metro needs to have its ego stroked.
The sentiment seems to come from the same, odd place as Greater Greater Washington's amazing "is the Post too hard on Metro?' item.
I do think praise of individual Metro employees who go above and beyond is great, and I pass it along or amplify others' praise when I see it.
My @wmata driver got off the bus to help a blind man across the street. I've never seen anything like that from a bus driver. No complaints.
— Alan Blinder (@alanblinder) May 2, 2012
Saw #wmata bus driver help blind lady walk thru Vienna construction. Good job!
— dcmetrosucks (@dcmetrosucks) March 20, 2012
I'm less clear how a sclerotic bureaucracy like WMATA responds to praise, if it does at all. That said, I don't know that the criticism offered up by this blog has made much of an impact either.
Metro seems immovable. They do what they want to do no matter what.
Contrary to Human Transit's notion, Metro does not have a self esteem deficit. If anything, Metro is an egomaniac, and that is probably because it heaps enough praise on itself for five transit systems.
Just check out this press release about Metro's self graded report card. (dive in deeper, to page 29 here and find that actually, train delays were up 8 percent.)
If you don't want to read the release, here are the grades Metro gave itself:
Metro graded itself again: Rail - B+;Bus - C; MetroAccess- A-; Escalator - B+. bit.ly/IS9b09 #wmata
— Unsuck DC Metro (@unsuckdcmetro) May 7, 2012
Or, you can check out the City Paper's despin of Metro's report card.
Other items:
Neighbors oppose crash victim memorial (Examiner)
Logging you in...
Oct. 11, 2012
February 21, 2012
March 4, 2010
Posts
.svg){kind=link}
@Hell_on_wheelz · 671 weeks ago
We have suggested Metro do this for bus/rail positions at Board meetings. So far this has been sporadic and only done for Metro employees how have taken VERY heroic actions. These hero awards have been handed out at monthly Board meetings.
horseydeucey · 671 weeks ago
Today: broken escalator at King St., the other escalator was converted to stairs for our convenience.
L'Enfant had the escalator converted to stairs for the track crossing, and one of the three long escalators leaving the station was down... again, you know the one, the rally for reason log flume.
B+ indeed.
Hey, I should be thankful no one was catapulting flaming shit at my head I guess.
John · 671 weeks ago
"What's embarassing to some is a B+ to others" - Dan Stessel
@Hell_on_wheelz · 671 weeks ago
Since the end of March, when I started, the #StationFailRate has never been below 32%.
And 68% working stations is a D- at best.
Most often the #StationFailRate has been in the 40's and twice 50% or better of all stations have failed Metro riders.
DC Denizen · 671 weeks ago
I guess I just wish WMATA would at least acknowledge that it hears us on these issues instead of playing only defense with denial, pencil-whipping, or glossing over the ugly bits. I think that if I at least saw some acknowledgement of accountability, I might not feel so negative towards WMATA and I might be inclined to be more patient with the BS that is inherent with overhauling a major transit system.
John · 671 weeks ago
Anony · 671 weeks ago
Red Line · 671 weeks ago
nate c. · 671 weeks ago
lmnop · 671 weeks ago
The Anti-TB Guy · 671 weeks ago
The web site, blog, YouTube channel, Twitter feeds, and e-mail advisories all seem genuinely upbeat and high morale: http://www.youtube.com/user/BARTable/videos http://twitter.com/sfbart http://twitter.com/SFBARTalert
SFBART's blog ("Not quite as official as www.bart.gov") http://sfbart.posterous.com/
[E-mail msg.] The May BART Times is out with great info on Bike to Work Day. Dust off your helmet and bike to BART Thursday, May 10! There's also news on taking BART to the San Francisco Asian Heritage Street Celebration and Carnaval SF 2012. Check out the May BART Times online today.
Each edition of BART Times even includes a Good Times calendar http://www.bart.gov/news/barttimes/
Is this what hiring alleged PR guru Dan Stessel was supposed to bring to WMATA? BART certainly is an excellent example of how a transit agency SHOULD communicate with its customers / riders...
Todd · 671 weeks ago
I think if you send in a compliment it goes in their file ... but complaints ... probably into Metro's black hole.
Stan Dessel · 671 weeks ago
@ChrisHowdy · 671 weeks ago
Guest · 671 weeks ago
UnSuck Fan · 671 weeks ago
Ahem.... Part 1:
“Thanks SO incredibly much by being SO proactive in making sure this is THE.best.transportation system.EVER!”
“Thanks for making safety your NUMBER ONE priority and then doing EVERYTHING in your power to make sure you keep your promise!”
“Thanks for the derailment! It’s nice to know that someone thinks it’s important that I feel alive!”
“Thanks for those nonsensical surveys! At least I can make sure my penmanship is still legible!”
““Thanks for listening to us when we call with problems/concerns and reading our e-mails when we let you know of these problems/concerns!”
“Thanks for those ASTRONOMICAL fares we have to pay for such FABULOUS, ON-TIME service, especially with the much needed fare hike coming July 1st!”
“Thanks for charging us twice if we try to leave the system immediately after entering if there’s an unbelievably extra long delay because of breakdowns and backups!”
“Thanks for those simple fare charts that even Einstein or a rocket scientist can’t read!”
“Thanks for Rush Plus/Crush Plus!”
“Thanks for the breakdown of trains especially during POTP/Rush Plus/Crush Plus!”
“Thanks for all of the train delays especially during POTP/Rush Plus/Crush Plus!”
“Thanks for taking trains out of service during POTP/Rush Plus/Crush Plus! Never mind that workers should have made sure that all problems were resolved BEFORE putting the trains in service!”
“Thanks for those train operators who may or may not relay to us that there is a delay and what the status of the delay is and how long we may or may not be!”
“Thanks for all of the offloads especially during POTP/Rush Plus/Crush Plus!”
“Thanks for making sure the trains have pulled all the way up as the train operators aren’t sure whether they are operating a 6 car train or 8 car train (seriously?)! [It especially makes sense at stations where an exit/entrance is beyond the last car so when everyone runs to catch the train, the ONLY car everyone can pile into is the very last car which is always crammed with people!]
“Thanks for making sure the doors open on the correct side of the train when it’s time to open the doors!”
“Thanks for closing doors ON riders!”
“Thanks for not keeping the doors open long enough for transferring riders to change lines!”
“Thanks for the wheels falling off of the trains!”
“Thanks for those organic brakes, but reassuring riders that it’s really sewer smell!”
“Thanks for all of the hot stations/cars in summer & all of the cold cars in winter!”
“Thanks for having most of the escalators & elevators out of service!”
“Thanks for the grand escalator party!”
“Thanks for not having workers fixing said escalators & elevators to have them operational!”
“Thanks for not having enough trains operating especially before/after major events!”
“Thanks for having major track work every weekend (Yes, I know it needs to be done, but thanks for telling everyone else that they will need to add ONLY 10 extra minutes to their travel time EXCEPT for those on the Green line; they need to add 50 minutes to their commute. Poor Green liners!)!”
“Thanks for those station managers who are asleep in their booths!”
“Thanks for all of the station managers who think we’re such a nuisance and refuse to help us when we have problems!”
“Thanks for all of the station managers who insist that some riders need to bend their SmarTrip cards practically in half in order for them to work and then do nothing or blame us when our card breaks!”
“Thanks for making sure that all fare gates are operational!”
“Thanks for making sure the number of fare gates are set to let us in/out of the system is the same!"
“Thanks for making sure that the operating escalators are moving in the most beneficial direction!" (Yes, I understand that it’s not easy to change the direction of the escalators, but thanks for letting us know by not posting signs indicating the problem and was done in an attempt to resolve this problem.)
Just Me · 670 weeks ago
UnSuck Fan · 671 weeks ago
“Thanks for practically running over pedestrians, bicyclists, or anyone else who is not aboard a Metro bus!”
“Thanks for blocking intersections so no one can move!”
“Thanks for making sure we all feel the WMATA luv by flipping us off or cursing us out!”
“Thanks for making sure all of the buses are on time!”
“Thanks for making sure all buses actually stop and pick up ALL passengers!”
“Thanks for making sure that your bus drivers know their route and know where they are going!”
“Thanks for making sure that when the buses are late they don’t bunch up!”
“Thanks for making sure your bus drivers get their necessary bathroom breaks. Hey, it’s ONLY a necessarily evil (kind of like breathing)!”
“Thanks for making sure that it’s super easy for the physically challenged to navigate throughout the system and thanks for making sure the system is set up like an obstacle course so they spend more than half of their day just trying to get into work. (Never mind the headaches they face trying to get home. It can’t be any easier trying to get home than trying to get into work!”)
“Thanks for teaching your employees how to park without having to feed the meters!”
“Thanks for making sure all of your employees (plus their friends and families) ride Metro in one form or another and that they PAY for their trip!
“Thanks for making sure that any employee who gets “fired” has a guaranteed job and that their position will be held until they return!”
“Thanks for hiring Dan and Brian and their oh-so-“special” communication skills. I guess I need to improve my non-verbal communication skills because I don’t understand what the sound of chirping crickets means!”
“Thanks Dan, for reassuring the riders that one person’s sexual harassment is someone else's way of flirting!”
“Thanks WMATA for sticking your head in the ground when there are problems. It’s probably much better than sticking your head where the sun doesn’t shine!”
“Thanks for all of the cronyism! At least we know that everyone working at WMATA is part of one big, happy family, that everyone gets along, and that there’s no special treatment of anyone in your organization!
“Thanks for constantly passing the buck! We have to save money somehow, somewhere!”
“Thanks for being a beacon of light in the customer service industry! No other organizations can hold a candle to you, WMATA!”
“Thanks for letting me know that slavery is still alive and well because I believe that all of my complaints and concerns are important and valid and they will be addressed IMMEDIATELY!”
And MOST importantly………
“Thanks for letting me know that everything that Dr. Gridlock and Greater, Greater Washington say is THE word and that UnSuck DC Metro has no clue what he’s saying and is completely wrong! It’s so refreshing to be shown a ray of hope in this dark, dismal world we call WMATA! Thanks for the lively discussions about WMATA and what a FANTASTIC organization it is with a problem-free system! I have officially left the Dark Side of UnSuck DC Metro, renounced my worshiping of his blog, and have been completely and irrevocably brainwashed by both Dr. Gridlock AND Greater, Greater Washington!! *Cough cough* [Don’t worry; it’s only brake dust that’s making me cough! ;-) ]
DC Denizen · 671 weeks ago
UnSuck Fan · 671 weeks ago
Guest · 671 weeks ago
guest · 671 weeks ago
but i have to admit, the ride in from glenmont has been generally nicer and quicker than the ride in from twinbrook.
Guest · 671 weeks ago