In this case, I'm sure that if the ticket-taker had allowed the woman to use the ticket with the extra payment, she'd have gotten in trouble for not enforcing the rules.
Rules? The TTC has rules?
I ask sarcastically because in my experience, rules can be made up on the spot, or not. I ride the streetcar every day. Some days, when the streetcar is full, the driver will invite people to stand on the steps. The next day it's a different driver, who won't move forward until every atom of every passenger is behind the white line. Some drivers will suggest (others will order) passengers with passes or transfers to use the back doors to board. The next day, someone uses the back door to board and the driver will act like a terrorist just snuck on board through a window. And so on. My guess is that some ticket takers probably accept the temporary tickets at face value, some expect an extra quarter, and some won't accept them at all.
I place this at the feet of management.
Agreed. The TTC could really use a customer service department. Have you ever made a complaint to the TTC? I have. They have (or had) a web form that you could use to send them feedback. I assume it's then promptly routed to /dev/null, because I certainly didn't hear anything back from them. It would be very helpful for drivers and collectors if they could say "Phone this number to speak to someone who might actually be able to help you with this".