— by Lin McNulty, Managing Editor —

Did you know that there are frogs that chirp? Others can whistle, croak, ribbit, peep, cluck, bark, and grunt. The same may be said about responses to the most recent Washington State Ferries (WSF) Ferry Riders Opinion Group (FROG).

The FROG survey polled riders for their 2019 Winter Performance Evaluation, and for the most part our Anacortes/San Juan Islands route doesn’t seem nearly as troublesome as those down sound. Conducted March 30th – April 21st, 2019, the survey reveals complaints about restroom cleanliness, crew helpfulness, parking, and people bathing in the restrooms.

Uncomfortableness of the Anacortes terminal got a significant number of mentions: “Absolutely not comfortable in a cold, driving rain — or snow — when you’re basically outside walking off the boat (and, to reiterate, every morning we have to get off from the car deck in the Winter — squeezing between large, dirty trucks to get to the front of the vessel).”

Overall, winter 2019 satisfaction (67%) with the service provided by WSF has declined significantly from Winter 2018. While still strong (36% Satisfied / 31% Extremely Satisfied) this 9-percentage point decline is in sharp contrast to steady levels seen over the last 5 years. Dissatisfaction increased 6 percentage points in 2019 to 24%, with both the extremely dissatisfied (7%) and somewhat dissatisfied (17%) being at their highest levels since 2010.

You can read the entire report HERE. If your main complaint is not listed, perhaps it’s time for you to register to participate in future FROG surveys HERE.