Unsuck DC Metro: Finders, Keepers?

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Finders, Keepers?

From C:

At approximately 4:15 p.m. on July 4, my friends and I returned to Huntington after the Nats game. We got up to the vehicle when my friend B, realized that his phone was missing.

The train was still in the station, so he ran down the escalator and back to the car we were in. He returned without his call phone.

We went home to track his phone using the "Find My iPhone" GPS tracking software online. It told us that it was still at Huntington, so B and another friend, K, went back to the station to find it.

B spoke to one attendant, and another remained in the booth. He asked if anyone had reported a missing, white iPhone 4S. He said, "No."

So, B called me using my fiance's phone (that he borrowed) and asked us to refresh the "Find My iPhone" link. This time it said it was in Eisenhower station. So, B asked the attendant how we could get to the Eisenhower station where they take the trains out of service.

I was on the phone with him the entire time and could hear the conversation.

Well, [at the same time] B's cell phone received a text message. His text message tone is the very distinct "Go, Go, Power Rangers" tune.

He heard it and immediately knew his phone was in the pocket of the attendant who had been in the booth, and now was standing and talking to them.

I heard B say: "That's my phone." And, the attendant say: "Take your hands off me" after K had reached for it.

The attendant gave him some b.s. about how he usually likes to hold lost phones for a week to see if anyone claims it, even though he heard B looking for his phone.

If his ringtone hadn't gone off, B would NEVER have gotten his phone back.

Happy 4th of July from WMATA to a Navy veteran. How horrible!

I've left my wallet in a grocery store and had my wallet and all of its contents returned to me the NEXT day. My friend left his phone on the Metro for LITERALLY moments, and it was taken without the intent to return it.

Comments (68)

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+34 Vote up Vote down

John Antonelli · 663 weeks ago

Someone nees to call the transit police.

8 replies · active 662 weeks ago

+43 Vote up Vote down

jkuchen · 663 weeks ago

I would have called the Transit Police right at the station in front of the attendant.

+10 Vote up Vote down

Anon · 662 weeks ago

That number again is 202 96 something something something something

-3 Vote up Vote down

Sizzle · 663 weeks ago

Except the station manager stole his phone.

+3 Vote up Vote down

jkuchen · 663 weeks ago

Please reread--B had C's fiance's phone at the time. Then again, would B have known the number?

+20 Vote up Vote down

F'n JD · 663 weeks ago

Call the transit police NOW. That employee should be terminated immediately.

+17 Vote up Vote down

@VeggieTart · 662 weeks ago

This is Metro. You think they're going to can someone for trying to steal a mobile phone?

+8 Vote up Vote down

insider · 662 weeks ago

YES! Call transit police, write down the Station Manager's name, time and location take a photo of the Station Manager and demand he call a Rail Supervisor and ask what is the name of the Rail Supervisor and what is the Rail Supervisors division manager's name.
THIS MAKES ME furious! This is theft, it is wrong and to follow procedures he should have called a supervisor! Period,. Never is lost property to be placed in someone's pocket. They write out a Lost and Found Card and place it in the Lost and Found bag.

Write a complaint letter to the GM, Sarles.

+4 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 662 weeks ago

I heard about a woman who worked there and reported theft of her own things and they turned the tables on me and fired her! Crooks are hired and promoted there, Beware!

This is a company where honesty, integrity and fairness is NOT the word of the day.
Criminals, felons are promoted, drug addicts are in charge and lying
is a way of life/business for the Union and the Company. If you do not LIE do not think you will get promoted. Instead of Metro it should be called WeLIe.

+20 Vote up Vote down

Mike · 663 weeks ago

Horrible story, but don't misuse Neil deGrasse Tyson's meme!

1 reply · active 663 weeks ago

+11 Vote up Vote down

unsuckdcmetro 92p · 663 weeks ago

I realize the meme has a different meaning, but the gesture is also what I would imagine the Metro employee doing.

+14 Vote up Vote down

Cooter Jenkins · 663 weeks ago

I'm little confused on this one. How is it that the "find my iphone" link put the phone in Eisenhower station when it was right in front of his face in Huntington?

1 reply · active 663 weeks ago

+2 Vote up Vote down

Anon · 663 weeks ago

I have noticed that the find phone thing is not always accurate.

+6 Vote up Vote down

Bigger · 663 weeks ago

Write a letter to your representatives in the Congress otherwise WMATA won't do any investigation.

3 replies · active 663 weeks ago

+7 Vote up Vote down

Ever n Anon · 663 weeks ago

Good point. Everyone's up PEPCO's butt on stuff but none of Congress will dare take on Metro...?

Side note - Anyone know why an above-ground station would smell like fish first thing in the morning? LOL! Really.

+3 Vote up Vote down

jkuchen · 663 weeks ago

Actually, a representative from New Jersey tried to reduce WMATA's funding, citing some of the issues with their service. What the representative failed to recognize was that the funding is the bundle that MD, DC, and VA match, so killing that pot would have unforseen consequences.

+9 Vote up Vote down

guest · 663 weeks ago

On your side note: Thats the grinding of the second hand brakes pads metro likes to use on their trains... I am not even kidding

+12 Vote up Vote down

Kara · 663 weeks ago

Is anyone really that surprised?

1 reply · active 663 weeks ago

+35 Vote up Vote down

Frequent red liner · 663 weeks ago

Surprised, no. Pissed, yes. So on top of some station managers being rude, lazy, condescending, and completely incompetent, we have to worry about them being thieves. Can you imagine how many lost items that should/could have been returned to their owners if not for the thieving hands of someone without a good moral compass? Let me get this straight: I have a chance to go to work, eat/sleep/play/do anything else besides my real job, and then go home with new presents that I found? Where do I apply?

+10 Vote up Vote down

horseydeucey · 663 weeks ago

"Watch out, we got a thief over here!"

+4 Vote up Vote down

@VeggieTart · 663 weeks ago

I wonder how many people are putting distinctive notification ringtones on their mobiles today. Which isn't a bad idea, given the dishonesty of Metro employees. And I guess the next time a phone is lost like this, having someone call it isn't a bad idea either.

1 reply · active 663 weeks ago

+5 Vote up Vote down

Jason · 663 weeks ago

My ringtones and notification sounds on my phone are pretty distinctive. I do often have my phone on silent, except my ace up the hole is that I have Where's My Droid on my phone (you can use it for a few things, I mostly use it for the utility of overriding the silent mode and ringing as loud as possible, using a white noise sound)...and the fact that I use the whitelist function in WMD to accept alerts ONLY from my Google Voice number.

+22 Vote up Vote down

Matt · 663 weeks ago

You should have called the Metro Police while standing there in front of the jerk. Of course, even he was arrested, Queen Jeter and thugs would ensure he kept his job and had no record of it.

+19 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 663 weeks ago

I'll just be the dick here who asks the question: how is veteran status relevant here? This is a shitty thing to do to any customer (or human being). It doesn't make the story any sadder just because the guy is a vet.

13 replies · active 662 weeks ago

+9 Vote up Vote down

Rory · 663 weeks ago

Yes, I agree, (BTW I served in the military for 4 years)

It has no bearing on whether this metro guy is a dishonest, immoral thief. What would he did would be egregious no matter if the phone's owner was a Medal of Honor winner or an ex-con. The point is he is in a position of responsibility and has zero character and has shown proclivity to criminal activity.

+17 Vote up Vote down

Coco · 663 weeks ago

You're both absolutely right, it is a crap thing to do to anyone. I was highlighting the fact that it was the 4th of July, we were enjoying the day, celebrating indepedence and it was extra aggravating to ME that this happened to my friend, who also happens to protect the freedom that we were enjoying on that hot ass day. I don't see anything wrong with that.

-11 Vote up Vote down

JRo · 662 weeks ago

Being anti-war is still allowed in this country, right? It's a distraction and bothers those of us that do not support warfare.

+10 Vote up Vote down

Reader · 662 weeks ago

Yes, you can be anti war, but just remember it's service people who have defended that right for you. Without them you may well not be able to express yourself freely without consequence.

+7 Vote up Vote down

Rory · 662 weeks ago

I hear ya.

If your friend was an army (and not navy) vet he would have taken better care of his gear. :)

And this is not the time or place, but I must add I served in Iraq and what I did and saw us doing there (and sacrifice and work going on there by our troops was tremendous for the most part) had nothing to do with 'protecting' our freedom. A immensely expensive misadadventure. We may be less free and safe, as a result of that war, but we are a trillion more in debt, are hated more than ever, and managed to lose thousands of great young men.

Okay, rant over.

-24 Vote up Vote down

Anony · 663 weeks ago

Exactly. Makes me actually feel less sympathy for him as it is a signal that he is a person who likes to play that card.

+39 Vote up Vote down

Coco · 663 weeks ago

In response to the negativity... My friend, who had the incident happen to him, did not write this. He did not call the cops. Nor did he report the station manager after he had very sketchily pulled him off to the side to return his phone out of the view of the first station manager he was talking to. He said nothing. Not because he was a coward, or whatever negative comments anyone else wants to put up here on this reply. He was just happy to have his phone back and not have to pay $$. He has no affiliation with this post, nor did he approve any of the content. I wrote this because I was furious that this even happened. I highlighted his veteran status because it also happened to be the 4th of July, and I saw some irony in the situation. It's not about the sympathy card. It's about airing grievances as I saw them. As a witness, and a friend. I reported it because I felt that it shouldn't be another one of those things that immoral public servants get away with. Who knows how many times that this has happened?

+15 Vote up Vote down

Mother hen · 663 weeks ago

Hello, K here. Considering I was there when it all happened let me set some things straight. A) he never played the "I'm in the military card" that was the writer noting a observation showing how ironic it was for B to get ripped off on a holiday celebrating the sacrifice our service members make to secure the nations freedom. She was not saying it makes the action worse because B is in the service. Stop trying to make some philosophical conversation out of a simple story about theft. B) Why does it upset you if he did play the military card? Its not like he played the race card.

-11 Vote up Vote down

Anony · 662 weeks ago

Should the punishment for the Metro employee be any different if the guy he stole from was a decorated military hero or Jerry Sandusky (i.e., despicable hated man)? No. It's irrelevant. That's the point "Guest" was making.

+7 Vote up Vote down

Another vet · 662 weeks ago

"on a holiday celebrating the sacrifice our service members make to secure the nations freedom"

I think you are a little foggy on the meaning of the 4th of July. The 4th celebrates our nation's independence - it has nothing to do with service members or their sacrifices. I think you may be confusing the 4th of July with Veterans Day or Memorial Day.

+9 Vote up Vote down

Sarcasm · 662 weeks ago

Pretty sure England didn't just hand over our freedom. Now, I wasn't alive, but I heard there was this war where servicemen lost their lives to get us the freedom we have today. The American Revolution???

But I could be wrong.

+16 Vote up Vote down

j_dortmunder · 662 weeks ago

Yes, but the holiday doesn't commemorate the war, it commemorates a bunch of the American aristocracy getting together in Philadelphia to write a harshly worded letter to a mentally ill German in England asking him to kindly 'get stuffed'.

+1 Vote up Vote down

@dcxopher · 662 weeks ago

While I take your larger point, actually July 4th doesn't celebrate "the sacrifice our service members make to secure the nation(')s freedom" but it celebrates the birth our our nation. The holiday you are referring to is in November and is called "Veteran's Day".

+5 Vote up Vote down

bll · 663 weeks ago

Slightly off topic, but I found a Smartrip a few weeks ago at a bus stop in my neighborhood. I've posted the lost Smartrip on our neighborhood listserve, but have yet to get a response. Although it's not a cell phone, I'm hesistant to turn it into WMATA for the same reason as above. Has anyone lost their registered Smartrip and then received a credit for the balance on a new card? I envision them using lost Smartrips for games of 3 card monte...

1 reply · active 662 weeks ago

+1 Vote up Vote down

Andrew · 662 weeks ago

I found a Smartrip card a few weeks back outside a grocery store. I was reluctant to hand it in to WMATA for the same reasons above, and posted a message on the Craigslist lost & found section. Didn't get a response so called the Smartrip phone number and was told to hand it to a Station Manager. By this time 2 weeks had passed, so I was hoping that whoever had lost the card had cancelled the lost one and had the $$ transferred to a new card. That made me less upset about handing it to a Station Manager.

+6 Vote up Vote down

Coco · 663 weeks ago

Yeah, I'm the one who sent the complaint in. I don't know why it said it was at Eisenhower. I think the signal might have been bouncing between towers. So, that was frustrating. I also sent in a complaint to the wmata site about a week ago and never got anything back.

1 reply · active 662 weeks ago

+6 Vote up Vote down

Sam · 662 weeks ago

For how close Eisenhower Ave and Huntington are, I wouldn't be surprised if both are served by a single tower. I don't know if the app works via GPS or tower-based positioning, but if the latter, it wouldn't be unreasonable for the location to be off by up to a mile and the two stations are only about 2,000 feet apart.

+21 Vote up Vote down

Ryan · 663 weeks ago

If I had to depend on a Metro Station Manager on a matter of life and death, I would just assume kill myself and save the time.

-14 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 663 weeks ago

Why do you have to use a drawing of a Black man in this story? This blog is racist!

4 replies · active 662 weeks ago

+9 Vote up Vote down

guest · 663 weeks ago

The man in the image is as white as a sheet of white paper.

+10 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 662 weeks ago

So is the MLK statue.

+2 Vote up Vote down

Anonerly Ever · 662 weeks ago

Perhaps a line-drawing of a bald man would be more to your taste? Perhaps the general idea of someone with their hands up (e.g., "being robbed") was slightly pertinent to the story... a metro employee trying to steal a phone from a customer. Just a thought.

+5 Vote up Vote down

n2deep · 662 weeks ago

i thought it was Rev. Al! He was OUTRAGED!!!! not at the guy getting his phone stolen but that a black station manager was being harassed by the white man.....again.

+10 Vote up Vote down

Fed Up Rider · 663 weeks ago

This is ridiculous...But sadly, not shocking.

But am I the only one who is also disturbed that your friend's ring tone is "Go, Go, Power Rangers"?

2 replies · active 663 weeks ago

+14 Vote up Vote down

Coco · 663 weeks ago

Yes. I am disturbed and give him crap about it. But, at least it got him his phone back. I bet he won't change it now. :)

+17 Vote up Vote down

anonamouse · 663 weeks ago

I'm mostly just pissed that that song is in my head now.

+26 Vote up Vote down

Blue Liner · 663 weeks ago

The working man can't keep what he finds on the job? Apparently you believe in slavery.

+10 Vote up Vote down

John · 663 weeks ago

Thanks for not calling the police, getting this guy's name, or at the very least filing a massive complaint with WMATA. Another metro employee gets to abuse his power and commit crimes on the job. Glad to know this guy will still be around in the event that I happen to lose something!

Well done!

6 replies · active 662 weeks ago

+11 Vote up Vote down

YTK · 663 weeks ago

Amen. The guy's name should have been plastered all over the net. The transit cops SHOULD HAVE BEEN CALLED. The Washington Post and News Media should have been alerted.

+1 Vote up Vote down

@VeggieTart · 662 weeks ago

Even if OP or B had, do you think that would have done any good? There is ZERO accountability.

+6 Vote up Vote down

John · 662 weeks ago

Yeah, but when you involve the police, its a whole different matter.
At the very least he'll have to go to court for theft.

+1 Vote up Vote down

Ever n Anon · 662 weeks ago

Agree with VeggieTart. The metro cops are too busy playing games on their laptops to actually do anything for the paying public.

0 Vote up Vote down

Vienna Bound · 662 weeks ago

Agreed. The kiosk manager might have gotten a verbal reprimand and paid leave while the matter is investigated. Certainly disappointing that I wonder if the lost items I found left on trains and given to station managers ever find their way to the real lost and found and back to the rightful owner.

+7 Vote up Vote down

John · 662 weeks ago

Cool, lets just accept this.
Hey everyone, instead of being PROACTIVE in these situations, just sit back and do nothing. Continue to allow station managers to try and steal your stuff. Great!!!!

Lets be as lazy as metro employees are!!!!

+12 Vote up Vote down

John · 663 weeks ago

Mr. Unsuck:
Can you dedicate an article as to how people should proceed with these incidents? Ie. people need to take pictures, videos, etc of these encounters? I've commented about this about a thousand times yet people bring up these stories and all they can say is... "Whoops! Didn't get a picture, name, etc!"

1 reply · active 662 weeks ago

+6 Vote up Vote down

Blue Liner · 662 weeks ago

John is correct. You need to get info. But if Metro was proactive (which of course they are not), they would be able to look into the story using video camera.

+3 Vote up Vote down

JimS · 662 weeks ago

Given that a Metro police officer was recently convicted of stealing hundreds of thousands from station farecard machines, I'd have second thoughts about getting them involved. I would have called Fairfax County police and explained to them exactly why I wasn't comfortable reporting a Metro employee's theft to an armed Metro employee.

1 reply · active 662 weeks ago

+13 Vote up Vote down

Ratatat · 662 weeks ago

And Fairfax County has never had an officer arrested? Please......! I'm betting more than MTPD has. So that means they're all crooks? Of course not.

The station interior is MTPD jurisdiction and that's who would handle the call for service. Believe it or not Metro employees have been charged with crimes by MTPD.

It sounds like the phone was turned in by someone else on the same train as the phone's loser was on and that the employee recieving it pocketed the phone. If police were called, I can see the scene: Guy outside the kiosk denies any knowledge and the guy inside plays dumb with the "holding on to it for safekeeping" nonsense. BUT, he's in direct violation of WMATA's SOPs. He has to log it in ASAP and place it in his trap bag to get turned in to Lost & Found (unless the owner returns before the system closes--he can retrieve it in that case by signing for it). So, even if he was able to _legally_ weasel out of it, administratively he was in violation and would face some kind of disciplinary action (suspension, maybe).

+6 Vote up Vote down

Mike · 662 weeks ago

I lost my glasses yesterday on the metro and the website says you have to go to the office to look for them...well, its not convenient at all, especially since its doubtfull any employee or rider would bother returning them. "The Lost and Found Office is conveniently located near the Prince George's Plaza Metro station at 6505 Belcrest Rd. 5th floor. room 500 West Hyattsville, MD 20782." what's convenient about that?

3 replies · active 662 weeks ago

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n2deep · 662 weeks ago

where ever the lost and found is located is inconvenient to 99% of the people. simple logistics

+7 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 662 weeks ago

Not true - a lost and found at Metro Center would be significantly more convenient than a station near the end of the Green line, unless you think 99% of folks don't transit through Metro Center/the core each day....

0 Vote up Vote down

Mike · 662 weeks ago

You missed the plot here

+2 Vote up Vote down

One take · 662 weeks ago

On a trip back from the eye doctor my brand new glasses in their fanshy shmancy aluminum hard case must have fallen out of my bag during my return trip home. When I returned home and found that my glasses were no longer with me; I called Metro‘s Lost and found hotline.
To my glee and surprise, I was told that a metro employee had found them and turned them in. I am not sure how this action was witnessed and/or documented, but apparently it was.
Happy and relieved, I got back on Metro and rodedown to Lost and Found office at WMATA.
Only to find upon the return of my property, that my glasses had been broken clean down the middle of the nose rest and someone had taken my above mentioned fanshy shmancy aluminum hard case and replaced it with an equally attractive, almost better plastic leather case with some kind of yellow sticky residue in the bottom.
Well, at least they didn’t steal my glasses.