SunRail Pulls Out and Away From Metro Jacksonville
(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/3214446430_66RTPfM-600x1000.jpg)
Going to report on the Sunrail opening, Robert Mann gets more then he bargained for. A grandson rings in the new era with the Mayor of Debary, and a Sunrail official leaves him crying on the platform.
Read More: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2014-may-sunrail-pulls-out-and-away-from-metro-jacksonville
WOW!
Visit?
Quotetrain from hell
That about sums it up. Sorry "Steve" was such an unfriendly person. Give people a wee bit of power, and all of a sudden, well, they're naming Jazz Festivals after themselves. You know the like!
Sounds like the right messages weren't relayed to the right people. Still, a professional would've gotten to the bottom of it instead of turning you away & not responding to messages/phone calls from the offices.
A real peach, this one. I personally hope word of this gets around & the douche nozzle in question ultimately gets fired.
Quotedouche nozzle
+1, good one!
Glad you got down there to see it off Ock. The grandson was definitely a bonus.
Me thinks all the media passes were handed out but not all used. But employee Steve had been given his orders thinking there would be a crowd.
Finally, didn't they change the operating rules after the Metrolink wreck the no operating employee can use a cell while a train is in service?
That might explain Steve ignoring the messages.
Hopefully we in Jax can learn from Sunrail and AAF for our future.
Get any pictures of "Steve"? Would be great dart-board material. Or, just to publicize how friendly he is.
In a few days, call the seemingly nice ladies, and see if there is any follow-up.
So you're mad you couldn't ride a train even though you didn't have a ticket...?
Quote from: ralpho37 on May 02, 2014, 07:46:44 AM
So you're mad you couldn't ride a train even though you didn't have a ticket...?
That is kinda what I'm thinking. When did they give out these tickets to the media? It seems to me that calling two days out from the event is not a particularly long lead time. Sure, they could have gotten it done, but I don't think they deserve to be vilified for rejecting the request. Certainly some better communication between the person you talked to on the phone and the guy on-board would have been better, but this guy is simply following what he is told to do. He doesn't own the train or run the company. I don't blame him for not letting you on.
Only because they could have told me we wouldn't board when I called the first time, instead we were invited down with the caveat that 'everyone rides free for two weeks.' Almost everyone.
This was great PR to show how great this is. What a wasted opportunity.
QuoteOnly because they could have told me we wouldn't board when I called the first time, instead we were invited down with the caveat that 'everyone rides free for two weeks.' Almost everyone.
+1 - I hate it when people screw up a great opportunity! Sorry 'bout it for you Ock. Truly a wasted opportunity!
That sucks but I tell you after doing a lot of interviews for shows and such back in the day, if your name is not on a list its a crap shoot as to weather you can talk your way in, no matter who says you'll be fine. That being said thanks for making the effort.
Sorry for the experience. Great story and pics none the less.
While the situation was unfortunate - thank goodness the railroad employees aren't checking their text messages while on the job because we all know how that usually turns out.
They only stopped and celebrated 8x BEFORE my second attempt at Church St with a Sunrail rep!! Lots of time to read and respond since all he did was hang around. The conductor could have overruled his stance but was making nice with officials.
How rude of the Steve guy - what an ass! If you're a dick, the general rule is to not work in customer facing positions...
Seeing at this was MY son who was crying I can not sympathize for this man "just doing his job." Have you ever seen a 6 year old cry because he was denied his first train ride? Only because of some poor communication errors with a poorly run business? WHEN THERE WERE EMPTY SEATS!?!?
My father was told he didn't need a ticket to ride the train due to short notice, and that he WOULD BE GRANTED ACCESS, he CLEARLY writes for metrojacksonville.com , a media/press business. This rightfully gives him access to a press pass. not to mention he has been a HUGE supporter for rail transit. but unfortunately some God-Complex "Steve" ruined my sons first rail experience, and his chance at a great positive story my father could have shared. After my son woke up at 5:00 a.m. on a school day, took the day off from school, rode 1.5 hrs in a car with his grandparents ... to get told "our bad, but you're not getting on. sorry not sorry." and then went to the station in Downtown Orlando to get told no, yet again?!
SUNRAIL has many apologies owed to my family.
It doesn't take heart to run a business. but it takes a heart to run a GOOD business. With my dad's business cards he should have been allowed on this train with his family. The headquarters should have been contacted before departure. The whole thing is a shame on Sunrail experience. There is quite literally no other way to put it.
Quote from: Trilby on May 02, 2014, 02:27:06 PM
Seeing at this was MY son who was crying I can not sympathize for this man "just doing his job." Have you ever seen a 6 year old cry because he was denied his first train ride? Only because of some poor communication errors with a poorly run business? WHEN THERE WERE EMPTY SEATS!?!?
My father was told he didn't need a ticket to ride the train due to short notice, and that he WOULD BE GRANTED ACCESS, he CLEARLY writes for metrojacksonville.com , a media/press business. This rightfully gives him access to a press pass. not to mention he has been a HUGE supporter for rail transit. but unfortunately some God-Complex "Steve" ruined my sons first rail experience, and his chance at a great positive story my father could have shared. After my son woke up at 5:00 a.m. on a school day, took the day off from school, rode 1.5 hrs in a car with his grandparents ... to get told "our bad, but you're not getting on. sorry not sorry." and then went to the station in Downtown Orlando to get told no, yet again?!
SUNRAIL has many apologies owed to my family.
It doesn't take heart to run a business. but it takes a heart to run a GOOD business. With my dad's business cards he should have been allowed on this train with his family. The headquarters should have been contacted before departure. The whole thing is a shame on Sunrail experience. There is quite literally no other way to put it.
Perspective?
http://touch.orlandosentinel.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-80076743/
http://www.youtube.com/v/51l3o6HGmPs?version=3&hl=en_US
Evil Steve aside, lots of people are checking the train out. It's been so full, some people are getting pissed off..
QuoteSunRail was running mostly on schedule today, although nearly 100 passengers had to wait for another train during the evening ride home because the one they wanted was full.
"This is crazy man. They need to know better than this. This is going to lose them a lot of people," said Frank Reiffenstein, who was at the Lynx downtown station and could not get on the 4:28 northbound train because it was packed.
The 4:28 p.m. run also was 25 minutes late, but the next train arrived on time at 5:02 and Reiffenstein and everyone else on the platform were able to board. The 6:28 northbound train ran a few minutes late but had some open seats.
Passengers feared a repeat of Thursday – SunRail's opening day – which saw trains delayed as much as an hour because the system was overwhelmed by nearly 11,000 riders. SunRail expects to average 4,300 daily during its first year.
But there appeared to be fewer people riding out of curiosity today, and SunRail dispatched an extra train during the off hours, which helped keep the rest of the system on time. Officials did not issue a ridership estimate for today.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/sunrail/os-sunrail-day-2-20140502,0,2169572.story
(http://images.scribblelive.com/2014/5/1/7931f6a0-24f0-41b3-bea5-2d82ee6db32b_800.jpg)
Well....... the photos are nice!
It's a real shame your grandson's trip was ruined. And it's a shame that while Orlando audiences get to construct a fuller picture of how opening day went with a multitude of anecdotes, reports, and interviews, the big story for Jacksonville audiences is... the rudeness of Steve.
I don't mean for that to sound snarky. Your story needs to be told, but I'm frustrated that this isn't just one of several anecdotes coming from Jax-based media. News4Jax has a tiny, cringe-worthy blurb about it, of course calling it "light rail." (Wonderful reporting.) Heck, in 2009, a Times-Union writer called SunRail important for potentially paving the way for commuter rail in Jax, and they couldn't send anyone down there on opening day? Jax-based media followed the proposal, the legislative battle, the groundbreaking, the ups and downs of getting it built, and even the unveiling of the train schedules, and come opening day... crickets. Almost like they were only waiting for it to not actually happen.
If Jax truly cared about its future, it would have all eyes on how its neighbors are conquering theirs. And this was an important moment -- the country's newest commuter rail system begins operation, less than 100 miles outside Jax's borders. But countless Jaxsons are left to be surprised by its very existence in person, the next time they happen to be down there.
^Yeah, unfortunately, Jax doesn't care. If we truly paid attention to the world outside of NE Florida, we'd be doing a lot of things different.
Maybe SunRail should have promised WJXT, FCN, and Action News a gun-toting teacher having sex with a student - then the local media would have been all over it.
+1
I was in Winter Park so I decided to try out Sunrail. The plan was to take the 6:06PM southbound. After waiting 25 minutes or so I gave up but was still in the area. It did not arrive until around 7:00PM, with the 6:36PM arriving around 7:10PM. There were quite a few waiting there when I left. The Sunrail person on duty blamed it on the heavy usage. Probably not the first impression they were hoping to make.
Sounds like they've forgotten how this whole thing works.
(http://i.imgur.com/gjE63qf.jpg)
Waiting 25 minutes for a train that is running not only free but for the first time ever is not a demerit against the system.
When paying fares start and patterns emerge over the next few months, I seriously doubt you would see delays like this.
Also when the newness wears off and people start riding for a purpose train men can be way more disciplined about door closures.
Check back in 2 months. If they still have on time issues then there is an issue.
Quote from: Scrub Palmetto on May 02, 2014, 07:30:51 PM
Well....... the photos are nice!
It's a real shame your grandson's trip was ruined. And it's a shame that while Orlando audiences get to construct a fuller picture of how opening day went with a multitude of anecdotes, reports, and interviews, the big story for Jacksonville audiences is... the rudeness of Steve.
I don't mean for that to sound snarky. Your story needs to be told, but I'm frustrated that this isn't just one of several anecdotes coming from Jax-based media. News4Jax has a tiny, cringe-worthy blurb about it, of course calling it "light rail." (Wonderful reporting.) Heck, in 2009, a Times-Union writer called SunRail important for potentially paving the way for commuter rail in Jax, and they couldn't send anyone down there on opening day? Jax-based media followed the proposal, the legislative battle, the groundbreaking, the ups and downs of getting it built, and even the unveiling of the train schedules, and come opening day... crickets. Almost like they were only waiting for it to not actually happen.
If Jax truly cared about its future, it would have all eyes on how its neighbors are conquering theirs. And this was an important moment -- the country's newest commuter rail system begins operation, less than 100 miles outside Jax's borders. But countless Jaxsons are left to be surprised by its very existence in person, the next time they happen to be down there.
Be nice to have a little reconnaissance on something like this?
http://www.abccentralflorida.com/flyers/ABCBldrBrkfst_05_06_2014.pdf
"Going to report on the Sunrail opening, Robert Mann gets more then he bargained for. A grandson rings in the new era with the Mayor of Debary, and a Sunrail official leaves him crying on the platform."
It's more than, not more then.
Ock's revenge......
http://www.clickorlando.com/news/sunrail-hits-landscaping-trailer-in-seminole-county/25862902 (http://www.clickorlando.com/news/sunrail-hits-landscaping-trailer-in-seminole-county/25862902)
Oops, a new paint job needed.....