The worst customer service ever!

[I_heart_Fraggles]

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[I_heart_Fraggles]

So I decided to post this hear cause all my RO friends are great and I am just really mad.....So for several days now I have been working the "teen help" booth at the puyallup fair. I am a youth therapist and the place I work for always has a booth. Anyway I worked very late tonight and Jason is in Cali at a tattoo show so its just me and Fraggles. But I decided to take the fair express bus home so I could stay late. On my way to the Tacoma mall at around 10.30 I read that my bus home was no longer running.....I very politely told the driver that I would be stranded at the mall and could she please let my off at the casino when she drives by. (Which is MUCH closer to my house).....She said NO!! Telling me it was against policy to let me off before the mall.....Mind you its almost 11pm and I did not bring my wallet so no cab! I explained again how I would be totally stranded but she just kept on driving until hitting the mall.....So I had to walk almost 9 miles home!!!! In the dark!!! I was asked by four different men if I was "dating". You know I understand policy but I think this was just down right dangerous. Tomorrow I am calling them up.

 

[Kipcha]

I completely understand the position you were in (That had to be scary, being approached by 4 guys O.O) but I do understand the bus drivers position too because if you make unscheduled stops and your caught, it's an immediate job loss., no excuses or questions. I know in my position, if it was the only job I could maybe get, possibly had a family to feed, I wouldn't exactly be taking a chance on something like that either.

I highly doubt calling them up will do anything, as the bus driver was in a complicated position and in all fairness, did the right thing with company policy.

I think you both were put in an uncomfortable position and it's probably something that is just better to forget, I don't think anything will come out of calling the company except for frustration.

Glad to hear you made it home safe though, I hate being out in the dark alone after work and that's with not having met any creepers yet, and a couple of minutes max.

 

[MarisaAndToby]

That's so odd... when I used to take the buses (I take the train nowadays), I would be let off at red lights or long traffic jam stops... basically whenever I wanted as long as it was safe.

I've also had bus drivers stop and get a sub from a sandwich place a few times, took like 10 minutes of idling while on the route!

Glad you're home safe. I hate walking home in the dark. When I walk to the LRT entrance after classes at like 9:20pm I'm always scared outta my mind. Drivers' should be able to use some discretion, especially considering the circumstances.

 

[I_heart_Fraggles]

Thanks for the replies. Just to point out though that yesterday was the last day of the fair and that was the last fair bus. The person driving it was a "fair hire" meaning her job ended as soon as that ride was over. Unless the supervisor was hiding under her seat she was not going to lose her job. As it was already ended.

 

[SOOOSKA]

OMG Katie that is Discusting.

I know here in Toronto and even in my dinky town of Ajax, the Bus drivers have to stop (as long as their is no safety concern) when requested by a passenger between any scheduled stops during the night and especially for females.

I'd be calling and writing the Bus Commision and probably a local newspaper too.

I sure hope you got the drives ID number or at least the bus number.

Susan:shock:

 

[MiniLopHop]

You should have jumped out at a red light.

Sounds like they were just being mean. I'm sorry you had to walk home in the dark, very frightning. I would yell at the buss company for not sticking to the schedule since people plan around that.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Don't really give a damn about their policy--if that's it, it needs to be changed. If it isn't their policy they need to be made aware of the situation. Either way, call them. We have a gigantic TV we bought from Best Buy and got a service contract and then renewed it so it runs thru November. It started shutting itself off so we called them and got "you're contract ran out in 2008". No, we renewed it for three more years in 2008. You guys made a service call with $1000 in parts in April of 2009 and didn't charge. We went back and forth for a couple of days. The repair tech called and started to tell me how much I had to pay and when I told him the same story and that Eric, who booked the call had found our contract. He had me call a specific person at another facility to resolve it and said he'd come out anyway. I finally got the person on the line that he'd talked to and she wasn't at her desk but would call me right back. 4 hours later, I called the Geek Squad and the girl their found it and apologized for them not updating now and 2 1/2 years ago and put it in while I talked to her. 15 minutes later I finally got my call back and she was adamant that I had no contract--I asked to talk to her supervisor and she just about had a hissy fit but finally let me speak to the supervisor. I went thru all the aforementioned stuff and that two other people had found we had a valid contract and It did not take more than four hours and that I was fed up, especially with the way I was treated by their last employee--4 hours and 15 minutes for her to get back to her desk. Some great customer service there--four days, fifteen apologies and I still almost had t pay for a service I already paid to have. Best Buy is on my no-fly list as this is not the first time I've had problems with them.

 

[gmas rabbit]

That is criminal. I have had greyhound, school and city buses stop briefly at red lights or just pull over and tell me to just jump out. You need to complain loudly to the bus company. You were a female all by yourself, 9 miles from home, no money and it late and dark. The fact that it was a female bus driver even makes this worse. She is very lucky you were not accosted and hurt and had to pack that around the rest of her life. I cannot believe that anyone was that ignorant.

 

[gmas rabbit]

Larry. I don't blame you, basically had the same problem with a computer company. Sent it back and told them to keep it.Well maybe not quite that nicely. lol People get caught up on power trips and forget that it is not their money or stuff. Whatever happened to the customer is always right policy. Even if they are not it is rude to be that inconsiderate.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

It's just not as nice a world as when we were kids, but the bus drivers behavior is inexcusable. I would talk long and hard to them and demand a written apology. Usually the TV stations like that kind of thing too and even newspapers. All it takes is a call--and I wouldn't leave it alone either-keep kicking at it till you get satisfaction. Best Buy is sending me a $50 gift certificate, but I'm not buying from them again. Walmart is rather surprising in that dept. I bought a steamer to clean the bunny room with and it didn't work. I bought the 2 year protection plan for $9. I took just the Steamer back and they told me to go grab a box off the shelf and have a nice day. Best Buy also did it with a camera--all the pictures were fuzzy and out of focus. Took it back five times and the last time I made them shoot and print before I took it and left the store. Bought a new camera, but not from them.

 

[nermal71]

I don't know about city buses but school buses are NOT allowed to let students off at any stop other than their scheduled one. Not only can we lose our jobs but can face criminal charges for it. I am sure they aren't that strict with city buses but if she was a temp she may have been told these are the rules follow them...and she didn't know where she could and couldn't bend them. It sounds like something that the bus company needs to deal with policy wise and possibly revise.

 

[LadyKat]

When I lived in Toronto and took the Bus home late at night, their policy was to actually stop and let women traveling alone off as close as possible to their homes as long as it was en route, I know there was a set time this began at, I think it may have been 9:00 pm but don't quote me on that. I always got dropped off a block from my house instead of the 5 blocks away.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Yikes, Katie! I'm glad you're okay. That really is inexcusable from the bus driver since you said it was the last day and the last bus and they were hired temporarily. I wonder if there was some other reason the driver wouldn't let you off?

I once had a moron of a bus driver MISS my stop (even though I pulled the cord and then said "Excuse me, you missed my stop!"), refuse to stop elsewhere because he said he could only stop at designated stops, and dump me off 2 miles from my house on a road with no sidewalks and few streetlights at 11 pm when I was 14. Way to go, jerkwad bus driver.

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

What was the bus company? I was up at the fair one day and I know they had the fair express shuttles, but if this was a bus that has routine stops, etc, they SHOULD let you off whereever you like. I don't ride city busses, but the one time I did, there was a line along the window that you just had to pull down to get let off - and I think they would let you off anywhere you like.

I can't believe you had to walk 9 miles home in the dark! Thank gosh you made it! I would have beenscared out of my mind!

Just last Friday I went to a highschool football game and was supposed to give one of the boys a ride home; for some reason he refused to let me give him a ride, so he walked 5 miles home. He's rough and tough so I wasn't mega worried about him, more upset that hechose to have an attitude and walk home in the dark. We live in a rural little country town, and there's no way I'd walk even 5 miles HERE in the dark let alone 9 miles in the city! If I was with someone and that someone happened to be a strong guy, yes, but not by myself!

I'd definitley be calling and making a complaint!

Emily

 

[Sweetie]

Oh no Katie! I am so glad that you are okay. WOW 9 miles by yourself. Man that lady driver sure is lucky that you didn't get hurt or anything. I wish I was with you that day we could have been able to get off near your place. I am very persistant when it comes to getting the bus drivers to let me off where it is safer for me to walk home or to a friend's place.

Emily: it is usually Sound Transit that does the fair express buses. Or it could have been Metro, but Metro would have let her off a block from her place. Sound Transit is really strict about their policy.

But that late at night the driver could have let you off near your place, Katie. She was just being a rude person.

Again I am glad that you are okay and that you were able to get home safely.

 

[jeanluc_pippen_merry]

Ugh that would have been scary. Though i can understand the bus drivers reluctance because its probably not allowed. But he could have at least called his base to let the manager or someone know the deal and ask if its ok to make that stop to help a lady out. It was pretty late at night... you'd think people would be a little more helpful. >.<

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Sweetie wrote:

Oh no Katie! I am so glad that you are okay. WOW 9 miles by yourself. Man that lady driver sure is lucky that you didn't get hurt or anything. I wish I was with you that day we could have been able to get off near your place. I am very persistant when it comes to getting the bus drivers to let me off where it is safer for me to walk home or to a friend's place.

Emily: it is usually Sound Transit that does the fair express buses. Or it could have been Metro, but Metro would have let her off a block from her place. Sound Transit is really strict about their policy.

But that late at night the driver could have let you off near your place, Katie. She was just being a rude person.

Again I am glad that you are okay and that you were able to get home safely.

This year they were using school buses for the fair express though...

Emily

 

[nermal71]

If it was a school bus driver then they probably were going by what they know which is you stop at designated stops only. I know when we got events in Chicago they have school buses for shuttles and they will ONLY let you off at the designated stops. If you ask for an early spot its sorry no. That is just their policy for that and they won't bend it.

 

[slavetoabunny]

I was actually on a Delta flight that let off a passenger at an unscheduled stop. We were on our way to Atlanta and were rerouted to somewhere in Alabama due to storms and had to sit on the tarmac there for a while. Anyway, for one of the passengers on the place, this airport was actually their final destination. Delta rolled up a set of stairs and let the passenger get off there instead of having to fly to Atlanta and then get a connection back.