Another one bites the dust

"Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury)
05/06/2019 at 23:33 • Filed to: None

I do not take kindly to threats.

I had to fire another operator today. Yes, we give them a route at the start of their shift, but in our world things change minute by minute and you need to adapt - it’s part of the job. If things went perfect we wouldn’t need dispatchers to monitor and correct problems, but that’s not realistic. If you’re running late we may move trips off of you, and if you have slack time you may get a few trips tossed your way. Nobody is doing anybody any favors, and if you get a trip added don’t expect some sort of reward for doing your job.

Last night one of her trips was canceled because the customer didn’t come out in time. We sent her to her next pickup, but then the customer called back and needed his ride. If we take someone somewhere we are obligated to get them home, but if they’re at home when they miss their trip they’re SOL. We sent her back and then the customer called back saying he didn’t see her. I asked if she was at the front of the building and she got all testy, saying that it was a house and there was no front or back. When I questioned her further it turns out that she went to the customer’s destination, not their pickup location. It’s right there on her terminal in the vehicle, with GPS guidance, so there’s absolutely no excuse for doing something so incredibly stupid. C’mon - how are you going to drop the passenger if you haven’t picked them up yet???

When I told her that she needed to go to the correct location she kept telling me that I owed her. No, I don’t owe you shit. I didn’t say that, but I reiterated that she needed to get to the pickup location before her next trip. She then stated that she wanted to be re routed back to base and that she was going to turn in for the night. Uh, no - it doesn’t work like that, not if you want to keep your job . After giving her a direct order to pick up the customer she still refused and now we had to find other people to handle her trips, a tough task late on a Sunday night.

And so she’s gone. We may be short on staff, but we don’t need this kind of attitude infecting the operation. It’s not like she’s a grizzled veteran with connections in high places - she’s a newbie, still on probation.

Good fucking riddance.

DISCUSSION (13)

NKato > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
05/06/2019 at 23:56

What business is this? Sounds like Taxi-lite, but not quite U ber.

dumpsterfire! > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
05/06/2019 at 23:56

Buh-bye. If you don't have a work ethic, does that make you unethical?

Tristan > dumpsterfire!
05/07/2019 at 00:00

If you have no work ethic, you’re basically saying you want something for nothing which is theft, so yes.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > NKato
05/07/2019 at 00:10

It’s the paratransit division of a municipal public transportation agency that caters to the physically and mentally handicapped. It’s a challenging environment , and you have to have a certain mindset and accommodating nature to survive in this operation. She obviously didn’t, and I’m just glad we found out that she was not going to be a good fit before her probation period was over.

wafflesnfalafel > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
05/07/2019 at 00:18

new CDL license person?

AestheticsInMotion > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
05/07/2019 at 00:26

My mom did dispatch for Hopelink, handling the drivers and clients for Dart and a few of the other large groups. Seems like an incredibly draining job on the worst days

NKato > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
05/07/2019 at 00:27

Reminds me of Everett Transit's own paratransit service. I was wondering if it was really a service provided in many towns.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > AestheticsInMotion
05/07/2019 at 00:30

And today was one of those days, but even on a good day it’s a stressful job . When I came back from lunch I found out that we had 4 accidents/incidents in a one hour period, and the supervisor took a driver out to the scene of one without doing anything about her route, leaving half a dozen people looking for their rides. It was a challenge, but somehow we muddle through.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > NKato
05/07/2019 at 00:33

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) it’s mandated by law and we are to provide service equal to, but not better than, what you would get on regular public transit, but needless to say our customers need a little more help than the average rider . It’s a money-losing operation, but necessary, and I’m proud to be part of it.

NKato > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
05/07/2019 at 01:56

Yeah, of course it’s a money losing operation. Disabled people aren’t millionaires, usually.

Thank you for being part of a valuable service.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > NKato
05/07/2019 at 02:14

We charge $4 for a ride pretty much anywhere in the county. I have lots of people whine about that, but I have to resist the temptation to inform them that their trip is actually costing us about $70. Not that they would care. But I love my job and the service we provide so I let the complaints wash right over me.

shop-teacher > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
05/07/2019 at 07:10

Good riddance!

carcrazydan738 > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
05/07/2019 at 08:26

You sir are a total hypocrite because it sounds like you’re putting out the same attitude as she did right here.