frustration

[spatch]

Today I left home at the exact same time I did yesterday. Yesterday, I arrived at work 10 minutes early. Today, I arrived ten minutes late.

It's gotten to the point where the MBTA's horrible management and completely unpredictable service is no longer funny to me, especially in a job where you can get canned for too many late arrivals, regardless of your excuse.

(T) is for Terminal Unreliabili(T).

Comments

[reveritas.livejournal.com]

i had that problem here with muni. i even talked to my boss (at the newspaper; same policy re: late arrivals) about it. i said "if i leave the house at the same time, every day, and it's a matter of muni fate whether i get here on time, why not allow a grace period of ten or fifteen minutes on the arrival times?" what she said to me was to just plan to get here early, every day. that way if muni goes tits-up, i'll still be ON TIME.

were they going to PAY me for the extra 15 minutes i spent at work? goodness, no.

[heathbar27.livejournal.com]

But then you'd get to LEAVE 15 minutes early, no?

[yuda.livejournal.com]

This is pretty standard procedure. Your commute is your own concern, but you have to make sure you're at work on time. If that means building in a cushion to deal with potential public transport or traffic problems, that's the way it is.

The newspaper's deadline doesn't change just because Muni was running late. Likewise, the people on the shift Spatch is replacing shouldn't have to stay late because the T was running late. When you have defined hours that you are expected to be at work, it's your responsibility to make sure you're there.

[spatch]

I replace nobody in the morning. I join three people already on the phones. Call volume is low before noon, anyway, since our clientele at this point is mostly West Coast-based. I won't talk about staying late because this department pretty much requires overtime to be put in (and thankfully they pay us overtime.)

However, we adhere to the same rules that every other department in this call center must adhere to, and I really have no beef with that. But when I am reliant on public transportation (RELY being the key here!) and I cannot accurately pinpoint on any given day WITHIN TWENTY MINUTES when I will arrive, there's a problem here. And it's not with my company's policies.

It just absolutely infuriates me to be continually adjusting my schedule, pushing my commute time back and back and back, only to have the T keep putting me in later. That's just not cool.

[pecosy.livejournal.com]

It sucks to be reliant on mass transit, especially one so screwed up. But it sounds like adding in a bigger cushion to your commute is your only option, short of firebombing the T (bad idea), hiring a personal rickshaw guy to pull you around (great idea!) or rising up to become a powerful dictator who can make the trains run on time (best idea).

[spatch]

The best idea is very appealing except for the inevitable "hung by my heels" ending.

[hyperina.livejournal.com]

The same rigorous standards should apply to the freakin' T then, don't you think so? Especially since so many people depend on it.