At the Radio Shack on Oltorf & Congress:

I had to make a battery run and the person helping me got into a testy phone call while he was checking me out. I got curious when I heard him say “Convention Center,” assuming (rightly) that a South-byer needed some portable juice too. When I asked what was up, he said the person was miffed that he couldn’t tell the caller how far his store was from the Convention Center and that the caller told him, “In London, we know how far it is from here to there.” The RS clerk said he didn’t even know where the Convention Center was. Now that is scary! So, I have to wonder, if support staff who work with the public don’t have this kind of knowledge, how does Austin look to tourists? I’ve been on buses where the bus driver, when asked where a street was, didn’t realize he was driving on it. Not to diss Cap Metro drivers, because I KNOW they put up with a lot, but please. There’s something missing in the information pipeline.

This article appears in March 9 • 2007.

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