My 2 Second Shelf Life

Free 2 B a Communist Bureaucracy



I was just going to "get over" my experience with the TTC this morning.
...but, then I read BlogTO's little blurb on another possible strike in April and just can't help myself.

I had to buy some tickets in bulk, and usually I call the order line and they deliver them the next day.
This time it wasn't so easy.
Here is how it went, Readers Digest condensed version:

4:02pm: Call order line to find that it's closed. (Yeah. Banker's hours)
4:03pm: Call information line, and am told that order desk doesn't close until 5pm.
I, assuming that information employees know what they're talking about, think that maybe I had the wrong department or something, and dial the number again.
4:05pm: Repeat 4:02pm scenario.
4:07pm: Repeat 4:03pm scenario, and speak to a person who assures me that I can buy bulk tickets at head office at Davisville and Yonge tomorrow during business hours.

Fast forward to this morning:

9:40am: Drive around in circles looking for parking that doesn't cost 10 bucks for half an hour of time.
9:50am: Miraculously find parking right on Yonge Street only a 3 minute walk from TTC Head Office.
9:53am: Stand in line watching TTC employees talking to each other, and milling about behind the glass.
9:56am: Called over by friendly young man behind the glass.
9:57am: Am told that I cannot buy bulk tickets here because; apparently, if I hog 30 sheets of tickets, I will bankrupt Head Office, and there will be none left for other people who might want to buy a sheet or two.
9:58am: I ask employee "Aren't I at TTC HEAD OFFICE?".
Employee responds that indeed I am.
I ask why I can't purchase bulk tickets in person from Head Office?
Employee says that this is ..."the way that it is".
I ask said employee how many sheets I can buy from him.
Employee responds that I can buy only 4 sheets in total.
I sigh, and agree.
Employee disappears to the other side of the office where I can see him through another glass.
10:10am: Watching employee talk to another employee, as he appears to be waiting for said sheets to be cleared with Supervisor.
10:12am: Employee returns with said sheets and a form that needs to be filled out in triplicate.
I fill out form, pay for the tickets and am instructed by said employee to call the order line as soon as I return to my office to order bulk tickets.

11:00am: At my desk, I call the order desk. I am told that I cannot pay for bulk tickets with my VISA, even though my organization has an account with the TTC. I am told that I must pay with certified cheque upon delivery tomorrow.
11:05am: I ask said employee what it's like to work for a Communist Bureaucracy.
Employee laughs heartily, and says that I'm believing the media hype.
I then proceed to tell him my experience attempting to purchase bulk tickets over the last 24 hours.
To make a long story short, I'm S.O.L. and will have to "find a way" to get a cheque certified and will be charged a delivery fee because my bulk order is under $1000.00.

The end.

Seriously.
Something needs to be done.
Simple things shouldn't be made so complicated, but this is what happens when you're a bloated unionized, government funded monopoly.
No private business could survive doing business like this.

Addendum: Addressing Glacia's hate-on for those union endorsed TTC ads. Amen.