# Why aren't incompetents held accountable? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 7, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-incompetents-held-accountable/556375 "2010-10-07T16:53:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-incompetents-held-accountable/556375/21 "2010-10-08T20:55:11Z")
I think if he doesn’t like the service, he should start up his own transportation company. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-incompetents-held-accountable/556375/22 "2010-10-08T21:08:54Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > I usually go to the “Y” from 1-2:30, and get picked up about 11:30, so when they were late, I called, and was told htey thought I was going at 9! So they weren’t late, they were _early_! That’s not incompetence, that’s superior service, you ingrate. Obviously they excelled at the ‘exceeding expectations’ module of the team building program. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-incompetents-held-accountable/556375/23 "2010-10-09T00:44:05Z")
What is SO critical about going to the “Y” at EXACTLY 11:30 anyway? At that time of day, wouldn’t you be at work? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-incompetents-held-accountable/556375/24 "2010-10-09T08:34:35Z")
I see this as no worse than people freaking out about having to stay at the doctor for too long, stand behind people in line who havn’t gotten out their money yet, wait on someone to get out of the way, or whatever. Lots of trivial things make the Pit. Usually, the OP doesn’t get knocked around right out of the gate without having said something offensive. Also, I thought we stopped having pit cops. My guess is that what is critical is that it is difficult to get dressed. It’s also really, really frustrating to be stuck in your house and having to rely upon others for transportation, and them not even getting the simplest of instructions right. And, while I’m at it, what are you doing on a board to fight ignorance if you can’t understand the OP? It’s like shouting “Look at me! I’m so smart I can’t read anything that’s not perfect English!” Yeah, let’s brag about our ignorance, or, worse, stupidity. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-incompetents-held-accountable/556375/25 "2010-10-09T12:19:56Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > I think if he doesn’t like the service, he should start up his own transportation company. He should start his own Y, too. Speaking of that, what is the OP doing at the Y for that long? Having lunch? ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-incompetents-held-accountable/556375/26 "2010-10-09T13:35:30Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > > [@SteveG1](#): > > > > I think if he doesn’t like the service, he should start up his own transportation company. > > He should start his own Y, too. > > Speaking of that, what is the OP doing at the Y for that long? Having lunch? I asked, because in another thread, which he started, he was telling us how to be “good little robots” and do some kind of “teaming” thing at work. So, I asked about his work. One of his “sayings” was “if you don’t like it get out and start your own company”. So, I’m saying if he doesn’t like the transportation that the state provides him, he can suck it up and start his own transportation company. And yeah, if it’s lunch, he can stop bitching about the “truck driver” and make his own lunch. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-incompetents-held-accountable/556375/27 "2010-10-09T13:38:24Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I see this as no worse than people freaking out about having to stay at the doctor for too long, stand behind people in line who havn’t gotten out their money yet, wait on someone to get out of the way, or whatever. Lots of trivial things make the Pit. Usually, the OP doesn’t get knocked around right out of the gate without having said something offensive. > > Also, I thought we stopped having pit cops. > > My guess is that what is critical is that it is difficult to get dressed. It’s also really, really frustrating to be stuck in your house and having to rely upon others for transportation, and them not even getting the simplest of instructions right. > > And, while I’m at it, what are you doing on a board to fight ignorance if you can’t understand the OP? It’s like shouting “Look at me! I’m so smart I can’t read anything that’s not perfect English!” Yeah, let’s brag about our ignorance, or, worse, stupidity. I understand him fine. I’m calling him a whiny little hypocrite. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-incompetents-held-accountable/556375/28 "2010-10-09T14:02:29Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > One of his “sayings” was “if you don’t like it get out and start your own company”. I fully understood that, I was just taking it a step further. > [@](#): > > And yeah, if it’s lunch, he can stop bitching about the “truck driver” and make his own lunch. I disagree here. Lots of people like to eat out at the Y, and I see no reason why disabled people shouldn’t also enjoy it. And even though they wrote that famous song, something tells me that the Village People probably didn’t enjoy eating there… but that’s for different reasons. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-incompetents-held-accountable/556375/29 "2010-10-09T14:12:40Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > … the Village People probably didn’t enjoy eating there… but that’s for different reasons. They probably didn’t have to, once the dollars started coming in from that record 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-incompetents-held-accountable/556375/30 "2010-10-09T14:39:46Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > My transportation FUCKED up! (full disclosure, I assumed they had gotten it right, so I didn’t check up on them) I usually go to the “Y” from 1-2:30, and get picked up about 11:30, so when they were late, I called, and was told htey thought I was going at 9! They bookings are on tape, so I’m confident my side will be vindicated. I understand they aren’t perfect, but this issue is fairly frequent, but I’m not asking htem to split hte atom. The reason they don’t hold people accountable for incompetence: they know they have us over a barrel, so good customer service isn’t worth it. So, I’m guessing you’re young, correct? Early 20’s at most? Look, dial-a-ride (or whatever they call the transport system for the wheelchair users in your area) is notoriously unreliable. That’s been the case everywhere I’ve lived in the past 30 years. ALWAYS double check, m’kay? If the issue is fairly frequent I’d think that would be obvious. And, of course, it sucks to be reliant on an unreliable service. With that said - have you looked into getting your own transportation? The last car we bought from Toyota they modified the car for my husband and didn’t charge us for the labor, just the parts. Used cars with hand controls might be out there, and even if they aren’t, ask local garages and/or dealerships if they’d give you a break to make any necessary mods you’d need. I don’t know where you live, but some cities the regular busses are often wheelchair accessible, such as Chicago. This would get you off dial-a-ride and onto regular public transit, which, yes, also fucks up fairly frequently but at least the damn busses run more often and on some sort of schedule. Have you considered relocating? That said, it would be totally wild to have a paratransit company owned by a wheeler. Better yet, use only disabled drivers. Freak out the TABs by becoming totally reliant on each other and tell them to go to hell. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-incompetents-held-accountable/556375/31 "2010-10-12T20:30:48Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > > [@SteveG1](#): > > > > One of his “sayings” was “if you don’t like it get out and start your own company”. > > I fully understood that, I was just taking it a step further. > > > [@](#): > > > > And yeah, if it’s lunch, he can stop bitching about the “truck driver” and make his own lunch. > > I disagree here. Lots of people like to eat out at the Y, and I see no reason why disabled people shouldn’t also enjoy it. And even though they wrote that famous song, something tells me that the Village People probably didn’t enjoy eating there… but that’s for different reasons. He’s just a whiny troublemaker. I say if his attitude doesn’t improve they should get rid of him. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-incompetents-held-accountable/556375/32 "2010-10-12T20:38:54Z")
Just because some people can’t hold their water… … … Oh…INCOMPETENTS. Never mind… -XT ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-incompetents-held-accountable/556375/33 "2010-10-12T21:47:22Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > Just because some people can’t hold their water… Wow. Not sure if your pun is intentionally against the OP, but either way…wow. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-incompetents-held-accountable/556375/34 "2010-10-13T00:33:42Z")
Unless you actually work for the dispatch/reservations system of the the contractor who provides ADA/Access services for your region, **etv78** , you don’t really _know_ whether the people responsible for the problem will be suffering any consequences; you only know that they aren’t going to suffer them instantaneously upon your demand. Sorry your ride was SNAFU’d, and I’m confident that you will not have a no-show attached to your file as a result. ETA: as far as good customer service not being worth it (because of having a captive customer base); it’s more likely a matter of their operating budget, and good customer service not being available at the level of compensation they have to offer their workforce. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-incompetents-held-accountable/556375/35 "2010-10-13T07:43:27Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Also, I thought we stopped having pit cops. Better than Pit nannies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-incompetents-held-accountable/556375.md?page=1)