Visit your grocer and cut the red tape

I recently received a letter from the tollway instructing me to bring in one of my transponders due to end of battery life. I could either stop at a Jewel or the tollway offices. I was scheduled to visit a client in Downers Grove near the Tollway Palace the next day, so I left a little early to get the transponder exchanged.

I walked in at 8:45 a.m. and there were five people in line and three service clerks. Two of them seemed to be having problems because they kept calling the third one over every minute or so. After 10 minutes and only moving two places in line, I left so I would not be late for my meeting.

The following night, I stopped at a Jewel. In between handling phone calls and a merchandise exchange for another customer, the customer service clerk wrote up my transponder exchange and gave me a new one. I was in and out in three minutes.

Maybe it’s time to let Jewel manage the tollway system.

Peter Mayhew

Rolling Meadows