Service of Misinformation
November 17th, 2022
Categories: Misinformation, Subway, Transportation
A friend is a Dolly Parton fan. I read in timeout.com that I could pick up a special edition Dolly Parton MetroCard at Grand Central Terminal, so I hotfooted it over there thinking “What a fun surprise for him!”
In my search I was sent from pillar to post, ending up in the basement and before heading over to one of the many kiosks that sell MetroCards I asked a man behind what used to be called a token booth if he sold them and if not, which kiosk did.
He said he didn’t have any. As for the kiosks, “Try any of them. It’s a kind of lottery. But they are only good until November 15.” This didn’t sound right.
I lost the lottery getting ye olde standard card. I only tried once. I figured how many $6.50 full-priced transit cards did I need? They charge $1.00 for each new card with minimum purchase of two rides at $2.75 each. None of the coverage about the special edition cards I read mentioned you had to luck into getting one.
But that wasn’t the end of it. I received more incorrect info from a salesperson at the Transit Museum on the ground floor. He stood at the door and wore a branded T-shirt. The store sells all kinds of subway iconography-inspired paraphernalia from socks and coasters to umbrellas and toys—but no MetroCards. He told me that the cards were to be discontinued by the end of this year. I suggested he meant 2023 but he was adamant. I wasn’t going to argue—even though I’d recently written about the development here and the end date was fresh in my mind. There’s a good reason: Credit card companies need the time to upgrade the technology of extant cards so that their cards can suck money out of bank accounts. [I dread my future credit card bills that might be pages long reflecting every bus or subway ride. I wonder how companies were bamboozled into agreeing to take over a responsibility that belongs to the Metropolitan Transit Authority.]
Have you been disappointed by faulty information when you tried to buy something? Were you misled by people who should have information yet spread incorrect warnings?
Tags: Dolly Parton, Grand Central Terminal, MetroCards, New York Transit Museum
Nancie on Facebook: I tried too! They never existed I was told.
Nancie,
Holy smokes. I wonder what PR team placed this not only in TimeOut New York but on Google, I noticed other well-regarded venues as well!
Nancie on Facebook: I saw the announcement on Facebook.
Linda on Facebook: I heard they’ll only be available at 34th Street Penn Station and Herald Square. But a very limited supply so don’t hold your breath.
Linda,
GCT was listed by Timeout NY and why would the token person send me to kiosks?
The whole thing is an example of the left and right hands have no clue what’s going on.
Linda on Facebook: Totally.
All the time! But that’s life these days.
Faulty info all the time on the major news outlets!
I believe little to nothing of what I hear, figuring the better it sounds, the bigger the lie. Unfortunately, I’m usually right.
The Dolly Parton card is a promotion to celebrate the launching of one or two of her newest albums. They may be found at locations named by Facebook searchers as well as at unnamed subway stations. Grand Central was not mentioned. I looked this up, so it could also be a lie. As much as I like Dolly, I’m not about to shlep to a number of locations to find out!
Lucrezia,
I wasn’t dreaming when I saw GCT on the list. And the token man didn’t send me to another station.
If I didn’t think I’d be wasting my time I’d have gone elsewhere just because I think that the surprise would have made a friend smile.