S. of New York, NY on June 29, 2001
I am writing to complain about my treatment as a passenger on Sunday June 3, 2001. I have previously traveled many times on Greyhound, and on this same route between Philadelphia and New York, with little trouble. I did not even see fit to complain when I sat in the last seat by the window on the right side of the bus and was subjected to not only the sounds of every toilet user but also their reflection in the window.
I purchased my ticket at 8:16 p.m., paying cash. I asked when the next bus was arriving, since I noted a line already at Gate 7, where the New York bound bus departs from. I was told the next bus was at 8:30, and so I joined the line as the 15th or so passenger. The line of passengers naturally grew behind me as 8:30 came and went. No bus ever pulled in to gates 7 or even neighboring 6, and the only bus to depart from gate 8 was marked "Charlotte."
9 p.m. approached and a bus pulled in. I handed my ticket to the driver, gave my luggage with tag to the handler, and boarded the bus, sitting in about the 4th row on the right side by the window. After about 10 minutes, at which point the bus was completely full, the driver entered the bus, stood at the front and brusquely informed us "I need ten seats." Those were the only words or means of explanation she ever offered to us. She did not explain why people needed to get off the bus, she did not ask for volunteers, and she made no effort to ask those who had been last to board the bus to get off first. Instead she proceeded to make her way through the bus, handing out the tickets she had just collected to confused passengers, including myself, based either on her own arbitrary decisions or prejudices, and not on any fair or rational basis.
It was only after we exited the bus that a male Greyhound representative explained to us that the bus would be making a stop in Mt. Laurel, NJ and needed room for passengers there. He made no apology for the drivers grave error in filling the bus before realizing she would need empty seats (surely, her route or seating needs could not have come as a surprise?), nor any apology for her behavior in dealing with us. He offered us, as compensation, the chance to be the first ten passengers on the next New York bound bus, which was frankly a load of horseshit because I had been one of the first passengers on the bus I was just unceremoniously kicked off of.
He claimed that the next bus, the 10 p.m. express, would get us to New York at the same time, which is blatantly untrue. The 9 p.m. bus finally departed around 9:08, and I know from personal experience it does not take 52 minutes to make the stop in Mt. Laurel. According to your own Greyhound schedule, the stop only takes 10 minutes. A Greyhound representative blatantly lied to angry customers who were justified in demanding an explanation or some form of compensation. We then demanded to know why the 8:30 express bus had not departed as scheduled. He said he would go to check what had happenedand simply never returned to deal with us. He was later spotted in the control booth by a passenger, seemingly avoiding us.
Is this how your employees are trained to deal with customers? By running away and hiding from them? The behavior of both driver and representative were shockingly unprofessional. My story, however, does not end there.
Two of my fellow passengers went in search of this elusive representative after he had left us standing around for nearly 10 minutes, awaiting his alleged return. They found another Greyhound employee, and I could see them speaking to him through the glass doors of the station. They came back and told us that he claimed the 8:30 had departedmeaning he was either grossly misinformed, or again, lying. Every passenger there had been waiting in line prior to 8:30. As I said, I had purchased my ticket at 8:16 and was told the next bus was at 8:30and I have ridden this route at least 20 times, and saw no bus arrive nor depart. Another passenger had been waiting since he bought his ticket at 7:59 p.m. Finally, a manager or representative in a yellow shirt (going by the name Seymour, I believe) was cornered by three passengers and an explanation demanded. He was friendly, yet sadly also a shameless liar. He apologized for the manner of the driver, said he knew nothing of the 8:30 bus, and told us at around 9:25 p.m. he would put us on a bus immediately, ahead of schedule.
We boarded this bus, gratified that perhaps Greyhound was finally making up for the way we treated. How foolish we were! We were allowed to board the bus, which then made the regular 10 p.m. departure. We were all greatly inconvenienced. We were forced to wait another hour for departure after having already waited for a phantom bus that never arrived, pushing our arrival in New York to midnightrather than the original 10:30 p.m. I am not sure if you have ever been in the Port Authority at 10:30 or 12, but arriving at midnight makes a considerable difference. For instance, I had to take a taxi home rather than the subway I was originally planning on. Another passenger nearly missed a connecting bus. I might have been able to excuse being kicked off a bus I had been waiting 45 minutes for, and had boarded before at least 20 others, had the driver not been so rude, and had we not been openly and unapologetically lied to.
