A Call from Broward County (Transit??)

This morning I got a call which my caller ID identified as Broward County EOC which I believe is the Emergency Operations Center that deals with public emergencies and FEMA etc.

The call was pertaining to a complaint I made on October 31 to Broward County Transit!!  Big questions: why is the EOC calling me about that?  Second, she had absolutely no information about the complaint, so why did she call me in the first place?  To issue platitudes to keep me happy?…as if that were possible on Broward County Transit.  Third, really?  It takes over a month to get called about an issue??  If Broward County Transit was privately owned, that would NEVER happen.

I told the young woman that I am waiting for replies on several different complaints to BCT, that I write a blog about this very subject, and that I would certainly be writing about this issue.  As I couldn't access my information about complaints when she called, I asked her to give me her name, which she failed to do, and that she should call me back when she was informed about the complaint and what will be done about it.  I shake my head even now wondering why she even bothered to call me.    She took my contact information and said her supervisor…what, at EOC??…would call me back in nine or ten days.  Of course, common sense forces me to wonder why she needed my information again; she called me and asked for me by name.   How ridiculous are these people and these organizations?  Taxpayers pay for this ineptitude.  What a waste of money!  How many ineffective calls do these people make each day?  What problems are they part of solving?  It's hard to imagine that they help solve any problems when they don't even know why they are calling.

I finally received a reply from Timothy Garling that answered none of my questions directly.  It was all government-ese and frankly, I intend to compare what he wrote to what I actually asked him on this site.  That's a bigger job than I have time for right now.

Until then, I remain

Condemned to Broward County Transit

Updates on Broward County Transit Response,

Here's a vague email I received recently from Dwann Jackson at Broward County Transit.

From: CService <cservice@broward.org>
To: '--------aol.com>
Subject: RE: Broward County Transit Comment

Good Afternoon. Thank you for contacting Broward County Transit. I apologize for the issues that you have encountered. I will forward your complaint to the appropriate office so they can address your issue. If you need further assistance you can contact our customer service department at 954-357-8400.

Dwann Jackson, Transit Operations Senior Agent
Customer Relations and Communications
Broward County Transit Division
1 North University Drive
Plantation, Fl. 33324
Office: 954-357-8400  Fax: 954-357-8446

Trip Planning: www.google.com/transit
Website: www.broward.org/bct

Hey, Dwann, which complaint??  Could this be more cookie-cutter?  There's no mention of the nature of the complaint, what will be done, or to which department my complaint was sent.   I'm guessing that's because he/she does not intend to do ANYTHING about ANYTHING and my complaint was sent to the circular file.   

So, I tried to reach Dwann by telephone today; he did say in his email to call.  I was actually transferred to Operations of which he is a Senior Agent, but the rude dude who answered said there is no one by that name in that department just before he pretended to transfer me but actually hung up on me.  The second time I called the person who answered told me Dwann was out of the office and would "try" to transfer me to his voicemail.  At least this guy thought he'd heard of Dwann.  He was eventually successful at transferring the call..WooHoo!  I left a message and am looking forward to the speediest of replies.  Yeah, right...

I've also written to Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca regarding his lack of advocacy.  Here's that email:

Commissioner,

What is the status of my response from Timothy Garling to my letter dated September 22?  That was over two months ago!!  What has your office done to get me the answers I requested from him?  If  you've done anything, why hasn't he responded?  Is this level of disrespect for the Broward County Commission acceptable?  Or is this just disrespect for the riders of Broward County Transit by both Broward County Transit and the office of Chip LaMarca?  

Condemned to Broward County Transit

In addition, I resubmitted the original letter which was posted on this site in September  It would nice to hear back from LaMarca or someone from his staff, but judging by what's been done or not done, I'm not too hopeful.  

I remain,

Condemned to Broward County Transit