Category: diaries

Clipper Troubles? Try Calling … Twice

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Clipper on Muni
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.

Category: diaries Tags:

Creative descriptions of eau de Muni

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MUNI F Line 1057
Photo by juicyrai

Muni is many things to many people. In addition to being a place where couples meet, where stories are shared with strangers, and where we get to see exotic animals without having to bother with the zoo, Muni is, as we’re all too well aware, a moving cauldron of odors. Sometimes good, usually bad. Of course, Muni also happens to be filled with plenty of wonderfully creative people. And they have Twitter accounts.

Here are some of the better Muni smell descriptions we’ve seen in the last month or so:

@holyempressqb: “shoutout 2 whoever that is that smells like febreeze on muni right now” on June 15.

@kkblabs: “This woman on the1 rly needs 2close her pits!! Smells like my hot yoga studio but filled w hippies+Mexi food+used diapers! :-x” on June 16.

@nikilips: “The 22 smells like chocolate raspberry deliciousness. Mmm mmm muni.” on June 16.

@NillaBeans: “Pro: 38 Limited arrived quickly. Con: It smells like a woodburning stove. The mysteries of Muni will never cease to amaze me.” on June 24.

@coreyr: “my son upon stepping onto a muni metro train thick with the smell of marijuana: dad, it smells like stinky blueberries.” on June 27.

@cwbayarea: “Public transportation is not going my way today. This muni smells like rotten hot dogs…” on June 24.

So, now that we’ve brought it up, (I’m totally gonna regret asking, but …) what does Muni smell like to you right now?

Category: diaries, Funny: Muni LOLs, WTF: Weirdness on Muni Tags:

Muni Playlist: From Joe Jackson to Flight of the Conchords

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Music Friends
Photo by WarzauWynn

Last week, we brought you the A-Side of our second Muni Playlist (see the first Muni playlist, from November 2009). As promised, today we bring you the so-called B-Side. There’s no reason to think these tracks are any less awesome than last week’s; there were simply too many excellent submissions of readers’ choice Muni-riding tunes to fit into a single playlist.

So here they are, the tracks you guys are listening to. We hope you enjoy checking out what your fellow Muni riders are listening to as much as we enjoy discovering and reporting it.

  • JimmyD This morning: ‘Role Models,’ written and read by John Waters. Brilliant! (we couldn’t find this on YouTube, so we substituted an interview with the always-entertaining Waters. -eds.)
  • smallerdemon: I tend to [listen] to podcast[s] unless there’s some specific thing I need to drown out with guitars and drums going on. SModcast, Tell’em SteveDave, Mysterious Universe, The Philosopher’s Zone, The Bugle.
  • Pappu: during my morning commute, Bollywood bhangra type songs; Bon Iver; that Lady Antebellum song, “Need You Now”– being single during Pride is not fun.
  • Francesca: This morning – “Business Time” by Flight of the Conchords!
  • Jazee I am listening to Joe Jackson. (Perhaps betraying our age, we took the liberty of choosing “Stepping Out” as the Joe Jackson track. -eds)
  • Ben: New Blitzen Trapper Album.

Enjoy, and let us know what you are listening to on Muni: muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com

Category: Aww: Cute on Muni, diaries Tags: ,
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