METROLift fucked up trying to take a picture of me two weeks ago downtown for my ID card ("Q Card"), and were unable to detect that fact on screen immediately after they took the picture. (Or so they claim. They wouldn't show me the display when I asked at the time. Personally, I suspect they failed to save or subsequently deleted the photo. They vehemently denied that allegation, claiming faulty equipment that day.)
I could scan and email them my driver's license so that 1) they would have a picture of me, and 2) they could see the identifying information on the license, all without my wasting most of a day traveling downtown. But noooo... I have to come in. I have to waste a day... they do not do any business by email. How nice for them.
GODDAMN BUREAUCRATS ANYWAY!
A service whose entire reason for existing is service to the mobility and transportation impaired...does not do business except in person.
ReplyDeleteWe must be in Texas.
Constance, I asked them about that on the phone earlier in the week, when I was wondering where my not-yet-arrived ID card had gotten to. They claim they had a wave of fraudulent applications a few years ago, and the only way they could make sure they serve only disabled people is to see the disability for themselves. At least they gave me a ride down to headquarters (downtown, perhaps 10 mi. from here) via MetroLift for the in-person interview. But between the rides to and from, the interview, and standing in line to buy tickets, I did not get home until 4:00pm. I expect the same on Wednesday when I go down to have the pic taken again. At least I don't have to have an appointment this time.
DeleteYes, we are in Texas. Surely all cripples are libruls, and reel Texans like Gov. Goodhair hates them some libruls. That said, MetroLift has been a real life-saver and money-saver... without it, it would cost me almost $20 a day in cab fare to get to and from physical therapy; with it, it costs me $2.30 a day. I can handle that.
They don't think, do they? Give them paperwork and a desk, and everyone has to come to them, come hell or high water. Logic or compassion do not apply to bureaucrats.
ReplyDeleteellroon, see my reply to "c" below. I can't fault the clerk; it would have been worth her job to defy the rule. The real bureaucrat was a couple of levels up the hierarchy from her.
DeleteSome people just beg to be slapped . . .
ReplyDeletec, the Metro employee on the phone was perfectly polite, even apologetic at the end. She surely doesn't set policy any more than I do. Faced with a highly annoying rule, she told me what I needed to know, so I could set aside a day to waste in going down to Metro main offices. I do have to have the card: I can ride MetroLift with just a driver's license and a ticket, but some of the services... MSP, for example, a cab subsidy by voucher, which runs well outside normal hours... require a card, and nothing else will do. Yes, I was furious when I saw the letter. No, I don't feel a desire to slap the poor clerk. Her boss's boss, maybe...
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