The column for anyone fed up with bureaucracy, frustrated with delays or furious with poor service. Tell us your complaint and we'll try to fix it ... Karmel Schreyer took part in this month's Macau half-marathon. When she and several other runners were approaching the finishing line at the Macau stadium, they were prevented by race officials from entering the arena, possibly because they exceeded a time limit of two hours and 30 minutes. The time limit was never announced as a policy and did not exist in the 2004 race, which she also took part in. As a result, she could not complete the race and clock her time. 'I ran the Macau half-marathon on December 4. With 300 metres to go, I, along with some other runners, was stopped and prevented from finishing the race as a result of an error on the part of one official, possibly several,' she said. 'Although no one can give me an official time now, I demand recompense. The race organisers acknowledged their error but offered me only a towel. I understand how they may not be able to refund my fee, for administrative reasons, but I am sure, as a measure of goodwill, they could let me run next year's race for free.' The half-marathon's organising committee, jointly run by the Macau Athletic Association and Macau Sport Development Board, has admitted making a mistake and has apologised. 'The complaint was raised during a committee meeting and we admit that it was a mistake not to let runners into the stadium even if they exceeded the 2 hour, 30 minute limit,' a committee spokeswoman said. Although fresh water, medical aid and other provisions were available for the late runners right next to the stadium, she agreed that they should all have been allowed to run to the finish line. 'We will allow all runners next year [no matter whether they are within the time limit or not] to enter the stadium and provide them with medical service, water, bananas, chocolate or towels. We will also study the possibility of allowing the runners [even after the time limit] to clock their running time at the finish point. We will make sure that every one of the officials implements the same rules so there will be no confusion or unfairness.' But the spokeswoman said a refund or allowing Ms Schreyer to run for free next year would not be possible. A reader who rode on a KMB bus said its driver locked her and some other passengers in after leaving the vehicle at Kwai Fong bus terminal. At around 1.25pm on November 21 she was on the upper deck of a 67M bus when it reached its terminal at Kwai Fong. Along with two other passengers from the upper deck, she prepared to follow the driver as he got off the bus. 'Though there was barely a single step between us and the driver, he closed the door right in our face,' she said. 'I could hardly believe that with the eye contact he had with me through the windscreen, he did not come back to open that door. Instead, he continued to walk away. 'I had to yell and bang the windows to catch his attention, and it was really the passengers who had managed to get off the bus, not the driver, who were trying to offer help.' She said that after she finally got off the bus, she tried to leave her contact number so she could be contacted and given an explanation, but she was ignored by a KMB staff member at the station. She persisted, and a KMB representative later called on December 8, saying the driver had been warned. 'I was disappointed that he did not make any apology and even refused to give me a reasonable explanation for the incident,' she said. 'His reply was simply that it was 'meaningless' as to why the driver would have done what he did. 'I would hate to think that the driver left us on the bus on purpose. If that were the case, KMB may need to do something more serious than simply warning the driver because what he did could be a matter of life and death in an emergency.' KMB said the bus captain in question has been reminded to follow company guidelines. 'According to our guidelines, upon arrival at the terminus, the bus captain should make sure that all passengers have alighted from the bus before he gets off and closes the doors,' a KMB spokeswoman said. 'We share the complainant's concern and have reminded the bus captain to observe the stated guidelines and to pay full attention when carrying out his duties,' the spokeswoman said. 'We will closely monitor his performance and take disciplinary action if necessary.' She said a customer service representative had apologised to the complainant and the staff of the customer service hotline had been reminded to explain KMB's complaints follow-up system to customers.
