Copyright ©1997-2008 Glenn Fleishman except as noted otherwise. All rights reserved. For permission to reprint, contact Glenn Fleishman at glenn at glennf.com. Photo © 2008 Laurence Chen; used with permission.
Copyright ©1997-2008 Glenn Fleishman except as noted otherwise. All rights reserved. For permission to reprint, contact Glenn Fleishman at glenn at glennf.com. Photo © 2008 Laurence Chen; used with permission.
Turning technology from mumbo-jumbo into rich tasty gumbo
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[Letter sent to head of the Seattle Monorail and director of operations]
My wife and I live in Seattle, and we had put off taking our 3-year-old on the monorail until there had been a good unbroken period of good service. Today, with my brother-in-law in town, we took our older son, my brother-in-law, and our 3-month-old on a trip from Seattle Center to Westlake Center.
On the return trip, we waited for 30 minutes for a train without any explanation. My wife finally went to the payment booth and asked what was up. The attendant explained that one of the trains had broken down and it would be 25 minutes before the next arrived.
My wife explained to the attendant that she might make an announcement. There was apparently no one else in authority present. The attendant, a non-native speaker, made two very quiet, inaudible announcements. We walked around and spread the news since the Monorail was incapable of doing such.
With our kids overtired and having already waited 30 minutes, and my suspicion being that in another 30 minutes, we would be lucky to make it onboard the train -- and my desire to not be trapped in case it was a track problem rather than a train problem -- we walked about six blocks and caught a bus.
I didn't wait in the 100-person line for refunds. Nor did the attendant or anyone present have any information about an alternative, such as the nearest bus routes.
I would like my $6.00 back for our return trip and $3.75 for having to pay for a bus to get us back to Seattle Center.
$9.75 is sort of a ridiculous sum to ask for, but I trusted the Monorail and you all let me down. I'd be happy to send you receipts for the round-trip tickets we used half of.
There needs to be someone in charge at Westlake Center when something goes wrong--within 30 minutes, someone could have gotten from Seattle Center, if that's where operations are based, to at least explain to the crowds, numbering about 200 by the time we left.
The attendant was *still selling tickets* even as she gave refunds when we left.
Posted by Glennf at August 4, 2007 3:42 PM
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I feel your frustration. We in the USA must strive to provide better service. I see complete lack of customer services everywhere these days: from small bakeries to large chain stores. They just don't know how to serve customers in polite, friendly, professional, and efficient way.
One thing puzzled me about your post though. Why did you find it necessary to point out that the attendant was a non-native speaker? Are you implying something by that?
[Glenn responds: The point of her being a non-native speaker was that she wasn't clear on what was being asked, nor could convey clearly what had happened. She was also not confident enough in English to speak loudly or in good enough English to be heard and understood when she used the announcement system. She wasn't incompetent; she just wasn't in charge, and was put in a position that her language and customer service skills weren't up to.
[No response from the Monorail folks four days later, by the way.]
Posted by: Anna Kim at August 9, 2007 7:59 AM
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