Adventures in "Customer Service"

After leaving work today, I had to go do some last minute shopping. I am not a huge fan of shopping in Dublin because the customer service is usually bad. By bad, I mean employees may ignore me or be downright rude.

Before heading home, I went to the train station. I had purchased a one-day bus and train ticket earlier this month but hadn't used it. The tickets similar to these I have purchased before were from the bus company. So, I went to put my ticket in the ticket machine to let me into the area so that I could go to the platform to wait for the train. I put the card in. It beeped and said something about being expired. I looked closer at my ticket. It had a date stamped on it that was the date I got it. Since I was late for my chiropractor appointment, I just paid in cash to get on the train.

When leaving the chiropractor office, I told the man at the train station about the ticket. He said that the train company (who I purchased this one from) always stamps a date on their tickets. If it was not today's date, there was nothing I could do. He also asked me why I purchased it for that day. I tried to explain that no one told me it was for a specific day and when you get the tickets from the bus company, they don't have a date on them. Basically, he expected me to somehow know that there would be a date on the ticket even though in the past there hadn't been. He then explained that the bus and train are different companies and therefore do things differently. He would not let me on the train without paying an additional fee. Therefore, I am out 8.50 because the train company does things differently than the bus company and I am expected by the train company to know when I plan to use a ticket that should be able to be used for a day of my choosing (without advance planning).

Anyway, after getting into city centre and going to the bank, I went to my next errand. I went into the mobile phone store to get a charger and try to get my phone unlocked so that I could make calls and send texts while I am in America. I waited in line (with the people behind me so close that they kept bumping into me) to explain what I wanted. The woman took my phone, looked at it a bit, and then turned it off. She took out the battery and said that it wasn't the right type of phone to work in America. She then got another guy who said that the only way I could use a phone of theirs in America was if I had monthly bill pay (I pay as I use the phone). He said that there was no roaming agreement with the U.S. and this is clearly stated online. He said that Vodaphone has never had a roaming agreement with the US even though multiple people in other stores have told me otherwise. He was not going to do anything to my phone (even though it is locked to not allow me to make certain calls like those in the U.S.). He just kept saying the same things over and over in a more agitated way. I rolled my eyes and then turned to the woman and told her that I still needed my phone charger.

While I was waiting to pay for the phone charger, a woman tried to return her phone. The salesperson asked why she wanted to return the phone. The customer tried to explain. The sales lady then turned to another salesperson and asked if he could understand the customer because she couldn't understand a word the customer was saying. She said this in front of the customer! The customer still tried to explain why she didn't want the phone. When this didn't work because the sales lady just kept saying "huh" or "wha?" she started using one or two word answers.

On a more positive note, the rest of my shopping went better.

On an update, I can definitely receive phone calls and texts while in America. I haven't tried sending anything yet. Vodaphone may be sophisticated enough to not let me do that...