First posted: 24 december 2009
I don’t know why but whenever I travel by Trenitalia (the railway major company of Italy) something strange happens to me and, then, I need to write a short article about this “wondefull” company.
I’ve spent Seventy minutes waiting for “Frecciarossa” (the highest speed train here), in december, and this long waiting time in Bologna station (the city where i live at present) couldn’t even be compared with my arrival (by train) at Milan’s.
I’ve spent Seventy minutes waiting for “Frecciarossa” (the highest speed train here), in december, and this long waiting time in Bologna station (the city where i live at present) couldn’t even be compared with my arrival (by train) at Milan’s.
Obviously, I lost the coincidence (another quick train) to go to Genoa (my final destination). By chance there were two other train types (an intercity and a regional one): I started running, in a rush, (and I’d better inform you that the station itself was so crowded that sometimes I had the impression of a “procession” being the only one way to walk around through the hectic and nervous persons, move and reach the first available train) to take the first of them but it was blocked on the railways with 45 minutes late. The hilarious excuse, invented by the staff, was: “We couldn’t find the engine” … I suppose maybe someone had taken it putting it in his pocket and bringing it at home by mistake: after all, it’s so little that losing it is a normal event.
Before “throwing” myself into a regional train, which stopped in Genoa Principe (only 10 minutes late), I tried to ask the staff how to redeem the amount of money difference I lost (regarsing my original ticket) due to the huge delay forcing me to take another type of train, much cheaper than the previous one (thus wanting to receive a refund as soon as possible, after all the issues and problems I had to face during my travel, a sort of improvised odyssey through the italian disfunctional railways system). I asked it a group of five people about it; who they were chatting in front of the train that i was going to take: they looked at me without answering.
Then I found a guard who, to get rid of me, told me: “It’s better for you to take the regional train because we had to cancel the intercity departure, I don’t know anything about your ticket”.
When I arrived in Genoa Principe, I asked the information staff how to get refunded. Now I shall tell you something: here in Italy ordinary staff (in offices, customers services, public places, etc.) is often unkind, superficial, lazy… This time i met the so called “Kindness of strangers” (in this case, the behaviour of the staff lady), apart from the fact that there was no kindness at all. This time, the staff (“embodied” by that lady) was even worse than other times; she was totally distant, cold and For example, that predictable and boring lady kept repeating me (in a sort of hypnotic lullaby, as if she could use just two/three words to explain such a complicated and difficult situation where customers were totally disappointed by the italian railways system and paid services had been a failure without any apparent reasonable excuse) random sentences, involving the fact that extraordinary events (is winter snowing an extraordinary event in a civilized western country?) had caused all the problems and I couldn’t even hope for a refund.
I had paid and bought the tickets through on-line services and payment options so that “smart and professional” lady told me that for on-line services there are particular options making the refund really complicated to achieve. Well, in this contemporary era of new techs her lacking of professional skills and partial knowledge sounded really incredible and awful to me. She tried to persuade me that on-line services are considered to be an alternative way of payments so I had to apply for a special procedure to get my refund. Well, I tought, hasn’t the railways system and company received my REAL money through online payment? Are online billings and services virtual and holographic? Isn’t real money sent through those types of payments? I was furious and also very tired… so I gave up for the moment.
Later I checked, just to know, if I could do it (the procedure to get the refund) but it was impossible: the company site requires the ticket’s PNR (the code of the on-line tickets) but its program is automatic (it’s a browser page ruled by internal hidden codes of selection about who deserve or not the refund).
The apotheosis came when I had to take a train to come back to Milan (to take a “coincidence” to Venice) and Trenitalia guaranteed that all their trains during the afternoon were on time and regularly scheduled but, “magically”, they cancelled the train for Milan of the 16.10.
I decided to travel back the day after, in the morning and, obviously, the information staff said to me again to ask for the refund with the on-line procedures, so I did it immediately.
But, surprise! The internet site didn’t accept the refund request about the cancelled train and, of course, it retains 20% out of the other ticket price amount (like the legal contract of the company said but in that case, because of the snow problems, the CEO of Trenitalia communicated (while being interviewed at a prime time news tv broadcasting) that the company was planning to refund all the customers.
So, I decided to write a letter to the complaints: they replied me assuring and confirming that they would refund that all the tickets without the deduction in my credit card but I haven’t got any money til now.
A final advice to all the users who buy tickets on-line through Trenitalia: If you are not sure that you can leave or you already know that there will be problems related to delays and connections you’d better opt for the for the traditional regular ticket (bought by the station offices).
Before “throwing” myself into a regional train, which stopped in Genoa Principe (only 10 minutes late), I tried to ask the staff how to redeem the amount of money difference I lost (regarsing my original ticket) due to the huge delay forcing me to take another type of train, much cheaper than the previous one (thus wanting to receive a refund as soon as possible, after all the issues and problems I had to face during my travel, a sort of improvised odyssey through the italian disfunctional railways system). I asked it a group of five people about it; who they were chatting in front of the train that i was going to take: they looked at me without answering.
Then I found a guard who, to get rid of me, told me: “It’s better for you to take the regional train because we had to cancel the intercity departure, I don’t know anything about your ticket”.
When I arrived in Genoa Principe, I asked the information staff how to get refunded. Now I shall tell you something: here in Italy ordinary staff (in offices, customers services, public places, etc.) is often unkind, superficial, lazy… This time i met the so called “Kindness of strangers” (in this case, the behaviour of the staff lady), apart from the fact that there was no kindness at all. This time, the staff (“embodied” by that lady) was even worse than other times; she was totally distant, cold and For example, that predictable and boring lady kept repeating me (in a sort of hypnotic lullaby, as if she could use just two/three words to explain such a complicated and difficult situation where customers were totally disappointed by the italian railways system and paid services had been a failure without any apparent reasonable excuse) random sentences, involving the fact that extraordinary events (is winter snowing an extraordinary event in a civilized western country?) had caused all the problems and I couldn’t even hope for a refund.
I had paid and bought the tickets through on-line services and payment options so that “smart and professional” lady told me that for on-line services there are particular options making the refund really complicated to achieve. Well, in this contemporary era of new techs her lacking of professional skills and partial knowledge sounded really incredible and awful to me. She tried to persuade me that on-line services are considered to be an alternative way of payments so I had to apply for a special procedure to get my refund. Well, I tought, hasn’t the railways system and company received my REAL money through online payment? Are online billings and services virtual and holographic? Isn’t real money sent through those types of payments? I was furious and also very tired… so I gave up for the moment.
Later I checked, just to know, if I could do it (the procedure to get the refund) but it was impossible: the company site requires the ticket’s PNR (the code of the on-line tickets) but its program is automatic (it’s a browser page ruled by internal hidden codes of selection about who deserve or not the refund).
The apotheosis came when I had to take a train to come back to Milan (to take a “coincidence” to Venice) and Trenitalia guaranteed that all their trains during the afternoon were on time and regularly scheduled but, “magically”, they cancelled the train for Milan of the 16.10.
I decided to travel back the day after, in the morning and, obviously, the information staff said to me again to ask for the refund with the on-line procedures, so I did it immediately.
But, surprise! The internet site didn’t accept the refund request about the cancelled train and, of course, it retains 20% out of the other ticket price amount (like the legal contract of the company said but in that case, because of the snow problems, the CEO of Trenitalia communicated (while being interviewed at a prime time news tv broadcasting) that the company was planning to refund all the customers.
So, I decided to write a letter to the complaints: they replied me assuring and confirming that they would refund that all the tickets without the deduction in my credit card but I haven’t got any money til now.
A final advice to all the users who buy tickets on-line through Trenitalia: If you are not sure that you can leave or you already know that there will be problems related to delays and connections you’d better opt for the for the traditional regular ticket (bought by the station offices).
No comments:
Post a Comment