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rfmcdonaldThe picture on the left, taken around 10 pm on the 9th of January, got quite a lot of attention.
The image has been widely reproduced indeed, copied from Wieler's Twitter account to addresses all over the Internet, including my own Flickr page. The leader of the sleeper's union, Bob Kinnear, has criticized the photographer for not checking to see if the worker was OK, and it has turned out that the employee has a heart condtiion that apparently contributed to his sleepiness, but still.
This picture went viral because TTC users have tended increasingly of late to see TTC employees as bad employees, as overpaid and underworked people who are quick to be rude and unhelpful to customers while they seek outrageous job perks even as the city's budget strains to cover basic services. That's true to an extent, honestly: Bob Kinnear's seen--rightly, I think--as an arrogant man insensitive to user needs, while the recent recruitment of outside consultants to improve customer service does speak to a real problem. Then again, TTC employees also have a right to feel secure that isn't necessarily being met. In the end, everyone's perceptions are based on their onw limited recall of exceptional events in the employee-user relationship, I suspect, forgetting moments of good or at least neutral exchanges while ignoring the big picture of budgetary pressures that truly hinders the TTC, making it not as enjoyable or productive a service as it perhaps could be.
Rider Jason Wieler took the photograph on his iPhone around 10pm on January 9th at McCowan station and tweeted the image Thursday along with the caption “Yup, love how my TTC dollars R being spent …”
So far, more than 10,000 people have viewed the image on Twitter and many have left scathing comments on Twitter and local blogs.
In an interview with Torontoist, the photographer claims he posted the image with the intention of sharing it with friends, but added he also had the recent fare hike in mind. He also told the local blog he never intended to get anyone in trouble.
Wieler claims he stood by for about five minutes as the TTC employee slept in his booth and some riders passed through the turnstiles without paying.
Hours after posting the picture, Wieler followed up with the facetious tweet “So much 4 keeping a low profile. I guess there’s no hope of me getting a free TTC Pass now.
The image has been widely reproduced indeed, copied from Wieler's Twitter account to addresses all over the Internet, including my own Flickr page. The leader of the sleeper's union, Bob Kinnear, has criticized the photographer for not checking to see if the worker was OK, and it has turned out that the employee has a heart condtiion that apparently contributed to his sleepiness, but still.
This picture went viral because TTC users have tended increasingly of late to see TTC employees as bad employees, as overpaid and underworked people who are quick to be rude and unhelpful to customers while they seek outrageous job perks even as the city's budget strains to cover basic services. That's true to an extent, honestly: Bob Kinnear's seen--rightly, I think--as an arrogant man insensitive to user needs, while the recent recruitment of outside consultants to improve customer service does speak to a real problem. Then again, TTC employees also have a right to feel secure that isn't necessarily being met. In the end, everyone's perceptions are based on their onw limited recall of exceptional events in the employee-user relationship, I suspect, forgetting moments of good or at least neutral exchanges while ignoring the big picture of budgetary pressures that truly hinders the TTC, making it not as enjoyable or productive a service as it perhaps could be.
