Chicagoist: Oh, The Mysteries of the CTA

leomemorial

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 22:36:41 -0600

to the potential mystery shoppers - if you ride the "wet dog aromatic line" aka blue line, please make sure to wear a complete toxic waste protection suit, boots, googles and gloves. you should be fine...

I_h8_toyota_and_BT

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:38:32 -0600

you could fill them out in advance, and then just jot in the bus/train number before you board.

smussy

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:50:16 -0600

i'm just going to start carrying those cards with me everywhere i go.

DNashty

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:02:27 -0600

The times I'd want to notify the CTA of something, it's over more specific incidents than are covered by that flyer. (Like this morning when some bum snuck onto a #148 bus on Michigan Ave by the back door without paying. The driver called the bum out over the P.A. system, but the bum of course wouldn't budge, saying it was too crowded to get on in front and he'd "pay later when he got off." I felt bad for the driver, trying to do the right thing but obviously if he'd prolonged it he would've delayed the already slow crowded bus and annoyed the rest of us even more, so he just drove on.)

Margaret Lyons

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:20:58 -0600

I don't even think it's very glorified. It appears to be simply a comment card.

mich

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:06:09 -0600

this is nothing more than a glorified comment card.

JuliaPorter

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:49:15 -0600

I'm torn on this. On the one hand, the people who volunteer to be mystery shoppers are probably the same people who voluntarily call or email the CTA, and they clearly don't have the desire or ability (or either, really) to look into those complaints and stop people from pissing in the hobo car. Plus, it doesn't take a mystery shopper to know that the Red Line is disgusting, the Blue Line is marginally better, and the lesser trafficked lines are mediocre, for the most part. On the other hand, they clearly don't really listen to the calls/emails, and their employees don't seem to be invested in making sure trains aren't toilets on wheels (though certainly there may be institutional factors affecting their performance...i kinda doubt it, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt), and maybe this will improve things. I really don't think it will, though, and it'll end up being a big waste of time and money.

peteypants

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:15:09 -0600

i appreciate the CTA's interest in customer feedback but this program seems unnecessary. everyone knows in what ways the CTA is unpleasant and unreliable. people have been complaining about for them for years. they should skip this step and get on with the improvements. also, their incentive (a CTA pass worth 1 full fare) is a joke.

mike_thoms

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 11:51:49 -0600

do any of us know who Margaret is though? It's like me saying i'm a mystery shopper...who am I? No one really knows. And if I was I'd probably fudge my findings to make sure they knew about all the fucking crazy homeless people who sleep on the trains, piss on the trains, harass paying customers etc....

ThisGuy

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 11:46:51 -0600

margaret...if we all know you're a mystery shopper then it sorta defeats the purpose...doesn't it?