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Rudeness at RFTA

Dear Editor:

The following are segments of an email that I posted to the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority for reasons that are apparent upon reading the missive. RFTA is basically a good and well-run company, but it has its negative side, as you can see here. It is unfortunate that a misbegotten few must ruin what is otherwise a positive entity.

To begin with, I wish to apologize to those dispatchers and supervisors to whom this does not apply. You will know that it doesn’t concern you when you do not recognize the following contents.



Some of the dispatchers/supervisors have no regard for drivers at all and consider them as cattle to be prodded. I had expected to have to deal with arrogance and condescension in dealing with the Aspen public before I took the job, but I didn’t expect to have to deal with it in the office.

To simplify things, I will refer to the dispatchers/supervisors intended in this letter as “DISSs,” since “dis” is also slang for “to show disrespect,” which is quite appropriate.




Arrogance seems to be a virtue among the DISSs. Rarely have I seen so many Little Napoleons so haughty about their positions.

It would seem that some of the DISS’s have thin and brittle egos. They are easily offended and quickly retaliatory. It often seems their paper-thin egos are more the basis for many of their actions than the good of the company is.

I have worked in places where when there is a problem one can discuss it with the dispatchers or supervisors and work it out. Imagine that! Of course I am sure that it is more fun to be demeaning to the lower level employees and snipe behind their backs.

If one is going to pride himself on being a professional DISS and have that written proudly on his name tag for the world to know, that is fine. But if he is also going to be a demeaning, arrogant creep, then by all fairness he should also have “Professional Jerk” written across it too so people will know. Being a jerk trumps whatever other professional qualities you may have.

Then there is the constant eves dropping on drivers when they are having a private conversation. Such professionalism only works for Putin’s KGB. There is also the same whining amongst the DISS’s that they complain of in the drivers. Also, the never-ending derision of employees that they seem to relish greatly. The perpetual haughtiness. The professional cut-throating. All characteristics that some DISS’s do not seem to see a hypocrisy in.

The attitudes of the DISS’s ruin a work environment that otherwise would be interesting, rewarding and fulfilling. If a driver exhibited the attitudes they have he would be ousted in no time.

After writing this, I met one of the nicer ex-dispatchers and he described his ex-coworkers as being “very rude.” A former driver on the Internet told me that after working for these bastards he made sure he became an independent driver.

Roger Freed

Columbus, Ohio