I made my way home tonight after a weekend at Gatekeeper's.
I always have a bit of an adventure when I travel on the train, and tonight was no exception.
When the train pulled into Union Station in Toronto, we stayed on it, but the train's number and crew changed over. Some of the passengers were asked to move to other cars. I showed my ticket and the guy even read my destination out loud, and I was asked to move back from car 3 to car 6.
Almost an hour into the trip, they finally started taking the tickets, and I was told I should be up in car 3.
I was not happy, and I wasn't exactly pleasant, but I tried not to be too sucky, even though it really was their fault. (I was tired and my leg was really sore, and my suitcase was heavy, so I think I was a little grumpy, and I kept catching the darn thing on people's seats and legs, and I kept apologizing amid a whole bunch of dirty looks.)
While we were at Union Station, though, I texted Gatekeeper and told her that confusion reigned and SC's prevailed.
First, we had the lady with the walker. She needed a lift to get off the train, but had neglected to tell anyone that fact. Rather than wait until the end and let everyone else off, she parked herself right in the aisle at the front of the line, holding up the rest of the people who needed to get off to meet their connecting train. (To be fair, I assume they had to use a lift to get her on the train, so one would think they would radio ahead to the station to make sure a lift was ready when the train came in, but still, she could have let others go ahead, since it was going to take her a little longer to get off.)
Then we had a gentleman that I referred to as "Plague Guy" when I PM'ed Gatekeeper from the train.
He was in the aisle seat with the inside seat free, but he didn't want anyone to sit with him.
He kept asking the crew if the train was going to be full, and was repeatedly told it probably would be a sold out train and he might be asked to let someone into the other seat.
Whenever anyone came near him, he started up with this phlegm-filled coughing and hacking and spitting, and everyone kept a wide berth, even 2 girls who were sitting in seats behind him and across from him moved. (I swear he did it on purpose, because once the train was underway, I didn't hear him cough once.)
One girl accidentally stepped on another guy's foot as he was coming down the aisle. It was obviously an accident, but the guy shouted an obscenity at her. Jerk!
The last noteworthy SC was the $100 bill lady. When the guy was giving the demo for the safety procedures, he had asked for everyone's attention, but she just continued to gab on her cellphone, ignoring the guy. He made her hang up.
A while later, he came back around, and she and her daughter had crammed a luggage cart into their seat area. He told them they would have to move it, as it wasn't safe. He said it could fall over onto the people across the aisle, and since I was one of those people, I was hoping she would do as he said.
All they did was take one bag to the luggage area and move a couple of things into the storage compartment above, and left the cart in the same spot with a bag still on it. Not what the guy told them to do at all.
When he came around with the refreshment cart, it took her forever to order what she wanted, (naturally), as she changed her mind back and forth, and when she went to pay, all she had was a $100 bill. Who the heck gets on the train with a bill that size and expects them to have change for it in their pocket?
One of the crew had to call ahead to the next station and alert them that she had a large bill needing change, and when we pulled into the station, she had to jump off and get the bill broken down before we could move on.
There were a few more less noteworthy moments of suckiness all around, but I didn't stop to make a note of it all.
People are stupid and customers really do suck!
I always have a bit of an adventure when I travel on the train, and tonight was no exception.
When the train pulled into Union Station in Toronto, we stayed on it, but the train's number and crew changed over. Some of the passengers were asked to move to other cars. I showed my ticket and the guy even read my destination out loud, and I was asked to move back from car 3 to car 6.
Almost an hour into the trip, they finally started taking the tickets, and I was told I should be up in car 3.
I was not happy, and I wasn't exactly pleasant, but I tried not to be too sucky, even though it really was their fault. (I was tired and my leg was really sore, and my suitcase was heavy, so I think I was a little grumpy, and I kept catching the darn thing on people's seats and legs, and I kept apologizing amid a whole bunch of dirty looks.)
While we were at Union Station, though, I texted Gatekeeper and told her that confusion reigned and SC's prevailed.
First, we had the lady with the walker. She needed a lift to get off the train, but had neglected to tell anyone that fact. Rather than wait until the end and let everyone else off, she parked herself right in the aisle at the front of the line, holding up the rest of the people who needed to get off to meet their connecting train. (To be fair, I assume they had to use a lift to get her on the train, so one would think they would radio ahead to the station to make sure a lift was ready when the train came in, but still, she could have let others go ahead, since it was going to take her a little longer to get off.)
Then we had a gentleman that I referred to as "Plague Guy" when I PM'ed Gatekeeper from the train.
He was in the aisle seat with the inside seat free, but he didn't want anyone to sit with him.
He kept asking the crew if the train was going to be full, and was repeatedly told it probably would be a sold out train and he might be asked to let someone into the other seat.
Whenever anyone came near him, he started up with this phlegm-filled coughing and hacking and spitting, and everyone kept a wide berth, even 2 girls who were sitting in seats behind him and across from him moved. (I swear he did it on purpose, because once the train was underway, I didn't hear him cough once.)
One girl accidentally stepped on another guy's foot as he was coming down the aisle. It was obviously an accident, but the guy shouted an obscenity at her. Jerk!
The last noteworthy SC was the $100 bill lady. When the guy was giving the demo for the safety procedures, he had asked for everyone's attention, but she just continued to gab on her cellphone, ignoring the guy. He made her hang up.
A while later, he came back around, and she and her daughter had crammed a luggage cart into their seat area. He told them they would have to move it, as it wasn't safe. He said it could fall over onto the people across the aisle, and since I was one of those people, I was hoping she would do as he said.
All they did was take one bag to the luggage area and move a couple of things into the storage compartment above, and left the cart in the same spot with a bag still on it. Not what the guy told them to do at all.
When he came around with the refreshment cart, it took her forever to order what she wanted, (naturally), as she changed her mind back and forth, and when she went to pay, all she had was a $100 bill. Who the heck gets on the train with a bill that size and expects them to have change for it in their pocket?
One of the crew had to call ahead to the next station and alert them that she had a large bill needing change, and when we pulled into the station, she had to jump off and get the bill broken down before we could move on.
There were a few more less noteworthy moments of suckiness all around, but I didn't stop to make a note of it all.
People are stupid and customers really do suck!
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