Wednesday, October 02, 2013

It Was Easy to Thank the Bus Driver in a Useful Way

Last Thursday I did something really easy and slightly useful. I went to the Metro web site and submit a brief note:
"THANK YOU SO MUCH for the bus driver on the last 21X out of 2nd and Columbia yesterday (9/26/2013).
Service was messy due to the very sad death of a motorcyclist on the Viaduct, and we were a whole crowd of worried travelers trying to get home to West Seattle. The 125 was understandably late ... probably stuck in the traffic coming back ... and we were looking for another long long wait. The driver suggested alternatives for many of us, and for myself in particular. Since it was the last run of the night, she would be heading back to the garage and the return went within a few blocks of my house. I would never have considered taking the 21X but her quick thinking got me home safely and we had a very nice chat too. THANKS!!!
 It felt kinda of odd to be so worried about getting home that night when it was all due to a guy being dead - his family must have been much more upset - but still, I needed to get home and with all the delays it was going to take hours. I was not happy!
But that driver went above and beyond and the results were exactly as stated - I got home only slightly late and so did some other people.
I felt I should say "thank you". It took only a short google to discover that the Metro has a comment form, and another minute or two to submit my story. It seemed the right thing to do.
This morning I got an email in reply that made me happy:
"Dear Mr. Winn,

Thank you for contacting King County Metro Transit.  

A commendation has been generated in your name and sent to the Driver’s Supervisor.  Your commendation will become a part of the driver’s permanent record.  
  
Again, thank you for contacting Metro Transit."
It's always best to tell the truth but it's especially good to tell the truth in a way that helps someone a little bit. The driver deserved the commendation and now it's part of her file.
It didn't even take much work - Metro's webform made it pretty effortless  - I didn't even have to spend a stamp! -  and it was a much more productive use of my time than a lot of my facebook posts.
I'm sure there's a lesson from all this, but I haven't had my coffee yet so I haven't figured it out.

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