Whenever the holidays rolled around my parents always reminded my brothers, sister, and I that “It’s always better to give than to receive.” As a kid, I’ll admit, I always thought this statement was funny. It was always better getting presents than giving them, and it was hard for me to understand what my parents meant.
Growing up, I can’t remember a Christmas where Santa didn’t bring me the must-have gift I asked for – no
matter how outrageous. This still amazes me today. My parents had five children to make happy, and yet no matter how tough times were my parents still managed to make Christmas magical for all of us.
Even more amazing is that the people at the Central Union Mission in Washington, D.C. do the same thing year after year, only for more than 2,000 children of all ages. However, they can’t do it alone – they rely on the generosity of the community around them to help make the holidays magical. That is what the D.C. Tweet Drive is all about – taking the time to give back to the community and help make the holidays magical for those less fortunate than ourselves.
On Wednesday, December 22, join us at BlackFinn American Saloon from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. to celebrate the holidays and give back. We ask that you bring one new toy or article of clothing for a child aged infant to 17 years (Note: The Central Union Mission is in the most need for gifts for older children) and then spend the evening in the company of good friends. I know I’ve been lucky to experience many special holidays throughout the years, now what makes the holidays special for me is knowing that I’ve helped make it magical for someone else. Now I see the truth in my parent’s words – it truly is better to give than to receive.
The Tweet Drive is a nationwide toy drive happening in 25 cities across the country, each doing a little part to give back to their community. You can visit www.tweetdrive.org for more information about the nationwide initiative, or follow us at @DCTweetDrive for updates on our local toy drive.
Dear Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority [Metrorail Division]:
You do a great job.
You get millions of Washington residents and tourists from Point A to Point B efficiently and safely every day. The video display alerting riders of the schedule, upcoming maintenance and delays is an incredible way to disseminate information. The fact that you haven’t sold that space to advertisers shows restraint and respect to your customers. Stations and trains are clean and crimes are virtually non-existent. Officials are, for the most part, helpful and friendly. There is never a hint of graffiti or loitering along the system. For that and more, we thank you.
But you are NOT perfect.
An old saying says that “the Devil is in the details,” and that, sadly, is where you are falling short right now.
Earlier this year, you increased fares.
Since then, I don’t think I’ve had one day where every escalator I take (Columbia Heights, Gallery Place and Metro Center) have all worked. One broken escalator at Gallery Place now has a sign proudly saying it should be working by January 2011. I guess the sign is an improvement.
The late, great comedian Mitch Hedberg had a joke about escalators never really being broken. He claimed that escalators temporarily become stairs. “Sorry for the convenience.”
During a rush hour commute, a “stairs” escalator actually has two-way traffic creating a major safety hazard. Not very convenient, eh?
Should I even mention the escalator malfunction that sent people to the hospital before the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear?
I know I could use the exercise, so walking up some stairs isn’t the end of the world. But…
It boils down to this: As Metro is an underground service, escalators and elevators are an expected part of the service we riders are paying for. Having them out of service so consistently is a slap in the face of the paying customers.
If you subscribe to a newspaper and that day, they forgot to include the sports section, would you expect them to charge the same price for it?
Or better yet: If you went to a restaurant that had a special 3-course menu that, whoops, only featured two courses that night, would you be happy to pay the full price?
No and no.
On the hottest days of the year, you had major air conditioning issues inside the stations and the cars themselves, to the point that many riders felt like they needed to shower and change before showing their face at their office.
The resulting “there ain’t much we can do” only fanned the heat, literally and figuratively.
On a much lower scale, the drabness of the stations – the dark, dingy nature – is unbecoming of the most powerful city in the world. When I was a kid, I thought it was neat that the subway system felt like the Batcave. As an adult, I find it depressing at both the beginning and end of my workday.
I’m also not a big fan of: mumbly sound system that makes it VERY difficult to hear the conductor, stopping in the middle of a tunnel for long periods of time, 20 minute waits for trains on Friday and Saturday nights.
I don’t mind paying top-dollar for a top-notch system. However, I feel that the service you’ve been providing of late is far from top-notch. And with the recent fare increase, I find myself feeling cheated by the system. I’m paying more and getting less value. And I know I’m not the only one.
None of these issues will keep me from riding the system, at this time, since it is the fastest and safest way for me to get to and from work every day.
However, there are people that have a choice in their commute, especially with a new bike-share program gaining popularity across DC. With HDTV, onDemand, RedBox, Netflix and other services, entertainment options at home are getting better and better, meaning fewer trips to the cinema.
And, truth be told, on nights and weekends, taxis are much faster, a premium I pay for to make a dinner reservation or scheduled appointment with friends.
I urge you to give a bit more to your regular riders in terms of service and communication.
Here are some of my ideas:
- Fix everything. Don’t do anything NEW until the current problems are fixed.
- Get the entire underground system hooked up for cell/wifi reception.
- Mobile App instead of the clunky mobile website.
- Twitter account covering outages and delays.
- Increase advertising inventory (like you recently did at Gallery Place) across the system to place part of the cost burden on advertisers, who would jump to be a part of new advertising opportunities.
- Rider Appreciation Days – coupons from partners for local products. Or how about a “no-charge” day for SmartTrip card holders?
- Brand the Stations – give the highest-traffic stations a unique personality or feature so you KNOW that’s where you are. Maybe Chinatown has Chinese lettering or U Street has creative murals or Navy Yard is all about the Nats. Woodley Park looks like the Zoo and College Park has a collegiate feel.
Those are just a few ideas that can instantly improve the riding experience, top to bottom.
You see, I don’t hate the Metro. I LOVE the Metro. I want it to be a subway system all Washingtonians can be proud of.
And I don’t think I’m alone in this sentiment.
Thank you for your excellent service and I look forward to it’s continuing improvement.
Customer relations and public relations are very, very similar. Really, the only difference is that PR is meant
to reach a general population, whereas in customer relations, the population has greater definition – your customers!
The core mission of both is to keep your audience engaged, informed and happy.
Recently, I had dinner at one of my all-time favorite DC sushi restaurants – Saki in Adams Morgan. Their food happy hour is incredible – a party of four can gorge themselves on various rolls and pieces for under $10 a person – including drinks! I’ve gone there for well over a year, probably totaling 30-35 visits in that span. (What can I say? I like sushi!)
However, despite my love of their food and ambiance, it may be a long while before I go back.
During my last visit, I experienced a major, major customer relations fail.
The waitress came to our table to remind us of the happy hour food and drink specials and take beverage orders. One of our friends ordered a beer, another a Diet Coke. My wife stuck with water and then it was my turn.
I politely asked if they served Sprite Zero.
[Background: Sprite Zero is the no-calorie version of Sprite. Tastes good enough, fills the carbonation need without sugar or caffeine. Available in every supermarket, convenience store and gas station in the United States, with an increasing presence in vending machines. Recently, a growing number of quick-casual restaurants have begun carrying it as a fountain drink. And some sit-down restaurants serve it. So, Sprite Zero is a common beverage.]
The waitress squinted her eyes, made a face and said “Are you SERIOUS?”
I didn’t ask for any of the following items:
- Monkey blood
- Pig urine
- Crystal Pepsi (now THAT was NASTY)
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- An expensive bottle of wine
No, I asked for a highly-distributed beverage from the Coca Cola Company.
Instead of kindly saying with a smile, “Sorry we don’t carry that,” or “Oh man, I love that, but we don’t have any in stock,” I was snapped at.
I then asked if they had iced tea, another beverage commonly available around the globe. Naturally, they did not.
The real shame of it is that I’ve been a brand ambassador for them. When friends come to visit, we take them to “the best sushi place in town!” It’s one of our go-to haunts.
And, unfortunately, for the next little while, whenever anyone asks me if I want to go there, my only answer will be, “are you serious?”
For registration purposes, please join the DC Flacks group and RSVP for the event. DC Flacks is a TERRIFIC group that all DC folks should be a part of anyway!
No matter if you are a seeker or a hirer, come ready to meet some amazing people!
Several reports have linked the current weather pattern that has dumped over 50 inches of snow over parts of the Mid Atlantic region to a familiar enemy…EL NINO!!!
After a record-setting storm dumped over 30 inches in and around Washington, DC., my beautiful wife and I attempted to dig our car out of our back alley driveway. The results? Well…see for yourself…
