From the Commuter Files: Fraud is just a helping hand away

In previous posts, I've mentioned the general bootleggedness of the area commuter public transit system. Well, it's being taken to another level.

Like a lot of people these days, I hardly carry cash and prefer to do my financial transactions electronically. When there was an actual customer service building, I would use my debit card to buy my monthly pass. On the passenger bus, there is no such amenity and passengers are forced to come up with greenbacks (or multi-color backs, these days) and feed them into the fare box, which has been programmed for such purchases.

(BOOTLEG!! I cannot make this stuff up)

Anywho...yesterday morning, I overheard the "customer service" guy tell another plastic-loving passenger that he can buy his passes online and just bring the receipt, and he could pick up his purchased pass on the passenger bus instead of waiting for it to come in the mail. My ears perked up like a hound dog on point and I inwardly rejoiced. No more hustling to get to an ATM (and praying that it was my bank's ATM, lest I be jacked for a $3.00 non-customer fee on each end. But I digress.).

I went online and purchased my pass (they use PayPal! Who knew? GLORY!), printed out my receipt, and took it to the passenger bus on the way home. I just knew that purchased pass power was moments away from being mine.

Uh...no.

I give my printed receipt to customer service chick, who is speaking with one of the dispatchers, who was busy tying a plastic bag on her head--doo rag style--since it was raining outside. [I. CANNOT. MAKE. THIS. STUFF. UP.] She looks askance at me and the drama begins:

SHE: "Did you purchase this today?"
ME: "Yes, about an hour ago" (I point to the date stamp at the bottom of the printed page)
SHE: (calling customer service and asking them to find the record) "Are you sure you bought it today?"
ME: "Yes."
SHE (listening to customer service): "You sure your name isn't Jennifer Daniels*?"
ME: (giving her a fierce side eye): "I'm quite sure."

Finally, she must have gotten the okay from Customer Service because she gives me my pass--and the receipt--and informs me that I should call them after I make a purchase, to make sure the purchased pass is held instead of mailed. I informed her that the morning customer service guy didn't mention anything about calling, and there was no option to choose pickup over mailing on the website. Then she tells me, "Well, you can also use your credit card to buy it here. The credit card machine in the building is up and running, and you can just tell me your credit card number, and I'll tell the girl in the building, and she'll run it that way."

I could only stare at her in shock. She was stating that I should just call out my credit or debit card number--aloud--for the free world to hear. She would then relay this information--in public, since privacy ain't too big on their list of priorities--to someone via her personal cell phone ('cause the company doesn't provide them for employees). And, since the numbers would have to be punched in by the customer service person manning the credit card machine, the odds of my card being declined OR me being charged an insane amount of money because she punched in the wrong number (s) were extremely high.

I might as well just write my bank account number on a bathroom wall. Naw, I'll just make an ATM withdrawal and pass out money to other passengers.

This company must seriously not care about its public image: from jury-rigged passenger "facilities" (did I mention that if you have to use the restroom, you have to use one of the two Port-a-Pottys set up nearby? BOOTLEG!) to improper planning to customer service people who are obviously dim points of light. Perception is reality, and the perception is that this company couldn't find its corporate butt with a map and a flashlight.

I miss the NY Metro System (NYC), Metrorail/Metrobus (Washington, DC) and BART (Bay Area, CA).

Thanks for stopping by.




*can't be putting my government name on the 'net.