Part II, in which the MBTA rubs salt in the wound

I like the MBTA. No, really, I do. It's not just that the MBTA rescued me from teenage suburban boredom, giving me access to the big city at a price I could afford. Or that I save money by taking the T to work rather than having a second car. It's not just  I have a thing for subways (see the Streetcar! post) in general, even going so far as to buy the officially authorized font of the London Underground (it's by Edward Johnston; people often mistake Gill Sans for the official face but if you compare them you'll notice subtle difference that make the Johnston face superior, and the MBTA uses Helvetica if you're wondering which is more or less the same as Arial on Windows, the author said, pretending he knew something about typography other than what just he thinks is pretty, and by now having composed a run-on sentence and having gone way too far with this digression from the matter at hand...)

It's a combination of those things.

But lately it feels like the MBTA is not in 'like' with me. After Friday's fiasco, I decided it was time to finally look at the MBTA's On Time Service Guarantee. At first glance, it was pretty snazzy. The form can be filled out and submitted online, which means not having to delay things further by printing something out and mailing it. You're just asked to fill out this form, submit it, and verify that you submitted it. To verify, they sent you an email and you click on the link in that email. Simple, right?

I get the email about 2.7 seconds after I submit the claim-- which, in keeping with my tradition, I will now refer to only as CharlieClaim (TM).  There's the confirmation link in my email. I click on it. Does it work? Is the process simple and seamless?

Like CharlieTicket (TM), the answer is No. CharlieClaim (TM) fails:

We can't find the record based on your information.

Sorry, your claim could not be activated. Try again. Be sure the address bar contains the full URL that was sent to your email address.

I tried waiting a couple of minutes and trying again... no dice. I tried cutting & pasting the URL. No dice. I tried waiting until this morning (hey, I work in software, maybe there's a problem with the database server, right?) Still no dice.

Let's recap: I submitted the CharlieClaim (TM), I got the email, and I can't confirm because they can't find the record... even though I would have never received this email if I hadn't submitted a CharlieClaim (TM). Now, here's the rules on confirmation: "You have 14 days to confirm.  If you do not activate within 14 days, your claim will expire and you will lose your right to a complimentary fare for this delay claim."

I suppose not keeping records of CharlieClaims (TM) is one way to keep CharlieCosts (TM) down.

Comments

[Rod Begbie]

I'd always believed that the Underground typeface was Gill Sans too, but according to Wikipedia -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnston_(typeface) -- Eric Gill merely "worked on" the Underground font. Thanks for correcting my misconception!