If you haven't figured it out by now, I work for the feds at one of their many BGA's. As part of trying to be secure, we all have badges with our name, picture, and all that jazz. There's also a chip in there that I get to wave by certain scanners to get into the building, or use to get up the elevator. It's great and all when it works, but boy does it suck some major ass when it doesn't.
I've had this new badge for a bit over a year now, and it has decided to randomly not work at some of the scanners. It can be rather frustrating when I'm trying to get up to my floor and of course I can't until I try another elevator.
Tonight took the cake. I got downstairs, got out of the building and was on my way to Metro when I realized I didn't have my cell phone with me. I go back in, scan in at the front door, then get to the elevator and try to scan to go up. The scanner doesn't even register that I am waving my card at it. I take the card out of it's tinfoil holder and wave it over and over, still nothing. I try a second elevator, again, nothing. I go to security and they tell me I'll have to go to the badge office in the morning since the card seems to be dead. They call for another guard to escort me to my desk and so I wait, and wait, and wait. Finally they get someone there and I get to my desk, retrieve my cell phone, and then am escorted back downstairs.
I understand we need to be secure and all, but it suck serious ass when the badge chip manages to fail in a year and I am normally supposed to keep it for five years. Apparently I'm not the only one this is happening to according to the guard. My SmartTrip card uses similar tech and it is still going strong after three years.
When I go in tomorrow to get this fixed, they had better not charge me for a new one.
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