The MTA’s response

This is the MTA’s response to my email. It is actually not a bad response. They didn’t commit themselves to anything, which is to be expected, but they didn’t make it seem like a “canned” answer either.

Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support
center. Below is a summary of your request and our response.

Subject
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Courtesy Matters

Discussion Thread
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Response (Kevin Kade) – 03/27/2008 03:59 PM
Dear Mr. ****:

We have received your email detailing your impressions of the MTA Long Island Rail Road’s Courtesy Matters campaign. We appreciate your having taken the time to write.

We regret the impression you have formed about our efforts to improve the level of courtesy and simple good manners on our trains … and we appreciate the suggestions/ideas you have shared with us.

We were happy to hear that you take Ms. Bartiromo’s requests to heart … and want you and your acquaintances to know that she, and all of the other ‘celebrity’ announcers have donated their time and efforts to this effort.

Your description of disputes between customers who are boarding … as well as those between customers trying to exit trains while others are trying to board at the same time … ring true. We are addressing this kind of behavior and encouraging better behavior … but are not able to enforce courtesy or good manners.

Regarding the fliers/brochures/publications you mentioned … all of these items are designed to share/provide information that we know many of our customers either need or want. Subjects like upcoming track work, schedule changes, ticketing information, etc., will be covered in these informational items.

We hope that you accept our apology for the chatty crew members. They should be aware of their surroundings and “tone it down” when in a car that is quiet.

If you would like to discuss these matters with us, please feel free to call the Public Affairs office at 718-558-8228.

Sincerely,
K.Kade/PublicAffairs