Judge my rage

[Fidatelo]

I had an incident this morning that has made me question my own state of mind, and whether my level of annoyance/rage was appropriate for the situation or if I am losing it.

It started with me being late getting out of the house on the way to catch the bus for work (dog knocked over a sugar bowl, slowed me down by a few minutes). Anyways, I run towards the stop all the way from home, and as I get to the corner of the street I see the bus letting people on at the stop. I start to run faster, but I'm weighed down by my laptop bag and the sidewalk is covered in ice, so it's more like a fast jog than a real sprint.

Regardless, I'm givin' 'er. I get about 15-20 feet from the stop and the bus starts moving. I flail my arms as it goes past, driver doesn't flinch. So I turn, and notice the light at the corner is red so I book it back the way I came. I catch the bus at the light and hammer on the door, which opens.

I get both feet inside, and am greeted with this comment:

"This bus isn't gonna stop for you if you're just gonna walk down the street like that".

Now, I'm currently huffing and puffing, having just ran a few blocks, including the entirety of the time the bus was in view. So I respond, somewhat breathlessly:

"Actually I was running the entire way"

"Oh ya? I must not have seen you then"

"Then why would you say that I wasn't running?"

No response. I reach into my wallet, grab my ticket and drop it in the box, fuming. As I put my wallet back in my jacket, I say "Nice attitude you got there buddy".

"You better watch that attitude of yours or you're not getting on this bus again!"

Now, at this point I'm already walking to the back so I decide not to respond, but I'm pissed off. I spend the rest of the ride fuming and debating the question that I now pose to you: who is in the wrong on this one?

Normally I'm a very level-headed and non-confrontational person. My "nice attitude, buddy" comment was way out of line for me, and I think the stress that I'm going through now contributed to me saying it(getting married on the weekend, so things are pretty crazy the last couple weeks). So I'm wondering if I am in the proper frame of mind to judge this.

Yet I can't help but feel that this a-hole of a driver is just some bitter little bus jockey that deserves to have a complaint filed his way with the head office.

[scooper]

I've worked for a bus company before in the marketing communications dept. When they were out, we covered the customer service phones. I can tell you this, you have no argument. Not that you're wrong, but most transit companies need the help so bad that there is nothing they can do for a complaint such as yours. At our company, the lack of quality drivers and a strong union made it almost impossible to discipline drivers.

Seeing as you are the customer, you are in the right here. But I'd suggest using this rant to get it off your chest and letting it go.

[rkmsuf]

serenity now

let it go man

[dawgfan]

My brother drives for Metro Transit in the Seattle area, so I've heard all kinds of stories about driver-rider interactions as well as the bus service policies. In this particular instance, you have every right to be pissed-off and complain. Doesn't matter whether anything comes of it or not, but the bus service should be aware that one of their drivers is acting like a jerk to riders (and he was). According to your account, you never swore at him, doesn't sound like you yelled at him either. On the other hand, he was a sarcastic jerk from the start.

File a complaint.

[JonInMiddleGA]

If filing a complaint will make you feel better, I'd say have at it ... but:
a) if you weren't at the bus stop, you're probably lucky he let you on at all
and, more importantly,
b) it won't do one damned bit of good, partly because of the reason Scooper pointed out & partly because they aren't likely to give a big fat damn. Typically, bus companies tend to have a monopoly on service so it's not like customer service is a real big deal for them.

[panerd]

serenity now

let it go man

serenity now

insanity later

[Swaggs]

Being late is often a fear and cause of great stress for me.

If you would have been at the bus stop on time, the situation would not have occurred like that, so I don't think you really have much to complain about. I would say you need to allocate more time in anticipation of things going wrong (dog stuff, bad weather, etc.) if you are having to run down the bus to avoid not missing/being late for work.

[rkmsuf]

kick the dog

you'll feel better

[sovereignstar]

Cock the hammer.. cock the hammer, it's time for action.

(okay, I'm kidding - just happen to have some Cypress Hill in my head)

[Schmidty]

1. Find out when this guy's shift ends.
2. Go to the Bus Depot.
3. Follow the guy to his car with a bag and a baseball bat.
4. Do what feels natural.

[rkmsuf]

4. Do what feels natural.

How is playing with himself in front of the guy going to help?

[Schmidty]

How is playing with himself in front of the guy going to help?

It might give him a heart-attack.

[Glengoyne]

How is playing with himself in front of the guy going to help?
This is a good solid question.

[Fidatelo]

1. Find out when this guy's shift ends.
2. Go to the Bus Depot.
3. Follow the guy to his car with a bag and a baseball bat.
4. Do what feels natural.
Ha! That stiffly stifferson, I'll prank him good! http://dynamic.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif