Miami Beach Marlins Fans Say 311 Service Routed Them To Wrong Stadium
MIAMI (CBS4) -For some Miami Marlins fans, navigating to the new ballpark may be confusing. Apparently, it is to 311 operators too.
When Marilyn Carroll and her daughter Susan got tickets to a Marlins game earlier this month, they called 3-1-1 to find out which bus route to take to the ballpark from Marilyn's Miami Beach condo.
Marilyn said she was told to get on the number 99 bus at Aventura Mall, but she wasn't on the bus too long when she realized something was wrong.
"It made a few turns and then I notice it's going North, and I think how could this be," she said.
Then she realized the bus wasn't going to the new Marlins Park, it was going to Sun Life Stadium about 15 miles North of the new ballpark.
The Carrolls got off the bus and took a cab to the game, but they say that cost about 50 dollars.
"It was just a very harrowing experience and very unnecessarily stressful," said Susan, who was visiting from New York at the time.
Miami-Dade 311 admits its mistake.
"It seems like the person in their head was thinking Sun Life Stadium while the other person obviously was talking about the Marlins and sent them a little too north than they needed to go," said 311 spokesperson Liz Silva.
She said when the 311 agent typed in "stadium", the computer pulled up Sun Life. While the Carrolls ended up on the wrong route, 311 says thousands of Marlins fans got correct information.
The call center worked with the transit department to update its database with new routes. Operators say about 10,000 people called about the new ballpark in its opening weeks and this was the only complaint about an incorrect route.
The operators say they're glad the Carrolls let them know what happened.
"We appreciate when customers tell us something went awry or we gave wrong info it's the only way we can fix it," said Silva. After hearing from Marilyn Carroll, 311 has updated its system.
Now when someone types in "stadium," Marlins Park comes up closer to the top of the list.
