GOOD MORNING PEOPLE!!
SO the other day I'm on the Long beach transit bus and I put in my little 4.oo for a day pass. Well the machine is broken, and does not spit out my little card. I'm in a pretty good mood today so I take it in stride and look to the bus driver to solve this issue. Even though I am pressed for time (I am trying to get to downtown LA and visit my DIVA thank u very much!), I stay cool. So the bus driver says where are you getting off at? I tell him and he goes just sit down and Ima work it out for you. Ok. I trust that. A moment later he yells out (mad loud) Hey lady (lady?!! what happened to miss?) SO I say Stacey and ignore all the stupid people staring and in my business. Usually I get all indignant and would say what the ----. But again, I am in a great mood. I got my coffee that the bus driver let me get on the bus with and a good book AND I am going to see my Diva so....
He is on the phone with the supervisor and he is describing me (not very flatteringly I might add) saying, 'yes, she has a huge orange purse (it is not that big) and she's real tall and skinny.' (did that mofo just call me SKINNY??!!) alas, I am in a GREAT mood soo...
He pulls over at an undesignated bus stop, turns to me and says, ok just wait here at the 51 bus stop and they are gonna get you a day pass. A day pass is what my 4.oo dollars was for~a pass that allows you to ride any Long Beach bus all day. SO I am a bit confused and I ask if I am supposed to get on the 51 and I explain that I was trying to get the train next so I kind of do not wanna go outta my way. He says 'Oh, no I'm sorry, (big smile) The supervisor is going to come in a white jeep and bring you one.' I get off the bus and wait and low and behold, not even 2 minutes later, a white jeep indeed pulls up and a nice man gives me a paper transfer and says that this will suffice for a day pass, just let any bus driver I come across know what happened. I was skeptical, but I DID feel like this was amazing! These guys went out of their way to compensate me and were time considerate and everything. I made the next train and went about my way.
Now, you cannot use the LB pass on LA transit so I went downtown, visited with the DIVA, (had a great time) and began my journey home. Since I had a day pass, I was going to got to the supermarket, then home. That required me taking 3 buses once I hit long beach. The first bus, no problem. they accepted my story and allowed me to keep the paper transfer; next bus, same thing. I explained the story briefly and again, no problem. I get on the last bus, and come across this old mad at the world black lady. I show her the transfer and she attempts to take it and I say, "No. you aren't supposed to keep it, the supervisor came and brought it to me because the machine did not spit out a day pass card.' She again tries to snatch it from my grasp, and I thwart her because I am swift like that, and she says nastily, 'Well let me SEE it!" By see it, I assume she means hold it because with those big thick glasses I am pretty sure she can see my skeleton so I hand it to her..
Now mind you, this is the LAST bus I need to take today. I could have easily just let her HAVE it and who cares? B U T, its the principality people! The fact that she accused me of being a liar and a con woman with her next remark...
"Well there aint nothing written on here! He aint write nothing saying it's a day pass..." She still has my paper transfer day pass in her clutches so I SNATCH it back (again, that swiftness, gotta be quicker people!) and I say to HER, "That is not my problem, maybe you can bring it up at the next meeting, but you are the only bus driver in the city making life hard when everyone else took the dang pass and kept it moving, so... KEEP IT MOVING!" and I sat down, paper transfer day pass that I didn't need anymore happily in hand smiling.
I must say that the staff at LBT went out of their way to rectify what could have been a big thorn in my side and I appreciated it up until that point. I even wrote a nice letter and mailed it to their offices. But I just wanted to share how a GREAT gesture by many could easily be undermined by one sour ole prune! But, did I mention, I maintained my GREAT mood ALLLL day!!!??
No comments:
Post a Comment