Jackie Danicki

This morning I boarded the Caltrain at my usual station and felt quite relieved that I’d got a monthly pass last week. I take pleasure in little things like not having to open my handbag, whip out my wallet and root through my seventeen debit cards and forty-six loyalty cards just to buy a train ticket.

When the guard came by, I handed him my pass. Turns out that the passes are not - as good sense would dictate - valid for one month from the date of purchase. No, they’re specific to each calendar month. I hadn’t purchased a September pass last week, but an October one.

I explained that I had just started commuting by Caltrain (Qik recently moved offices) and that I was new to the area (he had asked to see my ID, which was clearly from out of state), but the guard wrote me a ticket anyway. Now I have to go to court and see how much of a fine I get.

Nevermind that it was obviously an honest mistake - who pays $60 for a pass if they’re trying to pull a scam? - and that I would have happily paid for a ticket or handed over for validation the ten-ride ticket I had also purchased. The guard decided that punishment was in order for this paying customer who is on course to spend more than $700 with them over the course of twelve months. Going legal was his first and final choice.

(Aside: My employer pays for either our monthly Caltrain pass or monthly parking. We’d tried to order passes in bulk, but Caltrain actually returned the quite sizeable check we’d sent and refused to give us passes in this way. This was after they said they could do it, but only if all of us requiring passes signed affidavits - I shit you not - swearing that we were commuters and specifying which stations we’d be using. This is why it took me so long to get a freaking pass in the first place, and why I had been spending $2.25 each way to get to and from the office while we waited.)

Contrast this with my experience with my local supermarket, Lucky (owned by Albertson’s, from what I can gather). On Sunday, I did a long overdue shop, which clocked in at just over $300. When I got home, I found that the laundry detergent I’d purchased - as per my receipt - never made it into my bags.

Tonight, I happened to be in Lucky and talked to Jeff, the head clerk. I explained that I’d accidentally left the detergent behind, and wondered if anyone had put it in the office in case I collected it. They hadn’t, but Jeff told me to go ahead and take from the shelf whatever it was I’d paid for - no forms, no hassle, no treating me like a freaking criminal. He didn’t even ask to see my receipt.

I kind of want a neat way to wrap this up, but the upshot is pretty simple: Caltrain’s pass system is illogical and they have some real jerks working for them, so watch out. Lucky seems to allow employees to use their own autonomy and good judgement, so shop there if you get the chance.

Filed under: Life