Photo by AgentAkit
Muni rider Geoff (he of the “other” spelling) sends along a story that would be humorous if it weren’t too annoyingly real. Geoff had his Fast Pass set up on his Clipper Card all right and proper. Until he tried to tag his card, that is.
Being experienced in the ways of customer service, Geoff decided to call Clipper. Here’s how that call went:
Her: How can I help you?
Me: (i describe my issue with the FastPass not showing up)
Her: In looking at your account, it seems like your Fast Pass for the month isn’t activated. You need to tag your card at a station.
Me: I don’t live near a station, I catch the L out in the Sunset
Her: Sometimes you can tag it on a train. That sometimes works.
Me: You can’t active my card from the screen you’re looking at?
Her: No, I can’t. You need to tag it. Most likely you need to tag it at a station.
Me: What if I tag it, and it still doesn’t work?
Her: You’ll have to call back.
(I then go on to ask her about the $2 I was charged for when my card wasn’t activated, and how to get it refunded. She told me that I needed to fill out a form on the website and send it in for the refund.)
Me: You can’t just issue me a refund right now? You obviously can see that I shouldn’t have been charged.
Her: I can, however I still need you to fill out the form.
Me: Ok, Goodbye.
(I then go online to see what this form I need to fill out is. The only form I find is to get a refund for my whole Clipper Card, for when you decide to not use it anymore (which I briefly consider). Obviously this isn’t correct. So I decide to call back.)
And … Call No. 2:
Receptionist: Clipper, can you hold?
(I hold, and in a minute get another CS rep.)
Me: (I give the same exact story)
Her: Ok, let me look.
Some time passes…
Her: Ok, I have activated your card, it’s good to use. Also, I refunded the $2 charge you incorrectly got.
Me: Thanks!
… and I hang up. It’s amazing the difference between two different CS reps. Not sure why the first person couldn’t help me at all. The moral of the story: Call back if you get an answer that is unsatisfying! I just checked, and I still don’t see the refund, but the activation worked!
So there you have it. Moral of the story? When Clipper Customer Service knocks you down, you can pick it up and try again, try again.
