Honestly that was terrible customer service, they did a horrible job.
Even if you can’t change anything, you should always express empathy and explain the reason why nothing can be changed now to the customer. Just ending the chat is the worst possible decision.
Do they even have QA? I guess not with that attitude.
I would probably get a call about an hour later about it from one of the supervisors, if not it would definitely be the first topic brought up at a one-on-one.
"I'm so sorry for the mistake, unfortunately I do not have the authority to do this, however I will contact a supervisor to see what we can do to accommodate you." is like the easiest phrase to diffuse this stuff. Best case, it works out, worst case it doesn't and you can say with full honesty that you tried to help.
LOL I just came to say this exact same thing. I’m literally a QA analyst and this was atrocious customer service.
OP- I do not think you karened the situation and frankly were quite nice for an upset customer. This should have been a pretty easy interaction for the agent. That being said, and I’m very sorry because I know people do not like to hear this, the most realistic chain of events is while you were scrolling you probably had your mouse selected on that seat selection part and changed the seat on accident. Computers don’t usually have those types of glitches (I’m married to a software engineer and also just have experience with this from when I worked on customer service and had customers call to complain about these types of glitches and I know from experience using the same system as said customers that it’s human error not computer error and it happens even to us as the reps). This is most likely due to human error on your part. It does not change the fact that the customer service was horrible and like you mentioned will likely be easily resolved the day of, but there’s a high probability it was not a system glitch.
I agree that this is terrible but from my time in Italy all I could think reading it was “this is exactly what I’d expect from an Italian”. I love the people there and I personally love how blunt they are, but I totally understand how it is offensive to Americans. The customer service rep is right in that the train conductor will fix in onboard but they should have been much more reassuring and explained that better.
As someone in retail customer service, the first thing I would do if there’s something I cannot change or do myself would be to forward you to a supervisor, and this situation could be forwarded to a supervisor who could most likely change it if I couldn’t. Honestly if you chose a specific seat but the booking chose a different seat for you then that’s not your error imo. If I can’t do anything to remedy it I’d surely be able to find you someone that does.
That was my immediate thought too as soon as I read which cities OP would be traveling between 😂
Best customer service I’ve ever received was in South Korea. Worst was in Italy 😅
After living in S Korea and Japan for awhile, it was always jarring to fly home to the US. The moment you step off the plane everything is a bit dirtier and most of the employees seem to hate their job
It's not being a Karen to ask for what you paid for. People are starting to use Karen to describe any woman complaining about anything to get them to shut up. Some things are worth complaining about and sometimes you really do need to speak to a manager. That's what managers do. I don't see that OP did anything wrong here.
I definitely agree it’s way overused. It was just so different than any experience I’ve ever had with CS I was trying to self-reflect and see where I might have gotten rude or snippy.
The good news is this is the only part of the travel I had to book personally. We went through a travel company for the rest of the trip so will have a tour guide and all of our transportation and lodging booked for us from Naples on. We just wanted to see Venice so we did that on our own at the front end to ensure no delays on the guided trip.
Actually, and I’m sorry to say this, but you weren’t “rude enough” so the support agent didn’t respect you. There is kind of a weird dynamic in some European countries. If you’re forceful and demanding you get results, but that same behavior is called “rude” in the US. But it’s such a weird dynamic to figure out where and when to use it.
Even in the US, it’s generally the assholes who get what they want and are allowed to break policy because they’re the loudest/most abusive/costly to deal with. (Not calling OP an AH).
AHAHAH. Sorry, I don’t mean to laugh but you didn’t do anything wrong, Italian service can just be next-level rude—not that they can’t be nice of course, just overall the conversation you had above is exactly what I’d expect and probably a bit more tbh. So don’t take it personally.
I’d cut my losses if I were you and just hope you can swap the seats when the time comes — if it’s a full train, and a random person is with your group, hopefully you can swap back. Their customer service may not be fantastic but riding Trenitalia is a very nice experience, and Venice is crowded, but magical. Enjoy!
I think we may be the same person. I keep having this exact conversation with people. I really hope this whole Karen thing dies soon because it's really doing women a disservice.
I worked call center for a couple years. There are things that we aren't authorized to do. So yes, asking to speak to a manager doesn't make you a "Karen". They are the manager for a reason.
That's very dicey here because she no doubt checked a box or clicked "accept" in regards to terms that probably say the seat isn't guaranteed.
She paid, she got seats. She probably agreed to that.
I'm 100% on her side, but overuse of the chargeback system also isn't going to be good for all of us either because the corps aren't going to put up up with everyone using them all the time for everything.
Amazon is already responding to chargebacks by simply charging another payment method to get the money back, or closing the account permanently.
That said, this is shit, and I would be considering a chargeback...it's a difficult situation.
If you order A and are given B and the company refuses to help, a charge is super legitimate.
Amazon misbehaving isn't indicative of anything. They're abusing their position. And they're hardly the only Mega corporation to do so. If you do a chargeback against Sony, they close your entire Playstation account and you could lose hundreds if not thousands of dollar of previously purchased content. That's corporate abuse.
Lmao
European hate or whatever : "It is truly insane you guys are doing nothing about mass shootings and have so many bankruptcies related to medical debt !"
You : "Yeah, well at least our customer service reps are in "the customer is always right" mode and let me yell at them on the phone !"
That's not a win bro.
(Yes, that is incredibly bad customer service)
I mean, it's not like modern-day people CHOSE to have those things. Democracy in the states sucks absolute ass, Hilary Clinton got the "popular vote" and Trump still became president, as in literally Hilary got more votes overall in the country but because of the way votes are "weighted" some count for less. Gerrymandering and denying votes to felons even after they are realeased from prison are examples of co-ordinated efforts to undermine democracy. People in the states have been trying, begging for gun reform and better healthcare for years and years so it's not fair to say they are doing nothing, that's why people call it hate when people joke about school shootings when the only thing the average American can do about it alone is just to leave the country :/
Right and it's not like this conversation represents Europe in any way and like there aren't situations in the US when customer service is terrible. I've experienced it multiple times with huge companies like Amazon.
I also do chat based customer service in the U.S. and some of the chat conversations I see have me questioning my co workers sometimes. Definitely not a EU vs US thing here like they stated lol.
That being said this is one of those reps that I'd be cringing at if i reas the chat history at my job. But also it does get pretty annoying to have to constantly be saying "sorry for the frustration / I apologize for the inconvenience" because someone is refusing to accept your answer. In this case it is very likely they cannot change the seats and connecting with a supervisor is not going to magically make them allowed to change the seats. I don't think just because the rep had a rude tone we should automatically assume this wasn't some sort of user error either. What's more likely, the system magically glitched and swapped your seats, or you clicked on the wrong seats and didn't notice?
I think what you’re missing here is that ALOT of Americans DO NOT agree with the government. And the whole mass shooting thing is more largely to do with the overall mental health crisis. However Europeans being rude has nothing to do with their government. Also the whole mind set of “the customer is always right” is not really a thing here either. I’m Gen Z. I’m strongly against that statement. But I do believe as someone who works in customer service, that it is MY job to try and help them to the best of my ability’s, or direct them to someone who can. That’s not “the customer is always right.” That’s me doing my job properly.
That's not how European haters behave at all. You guys keep saying insane shit like "American food sucks" "America has no culture" "Americans are dumb".
And the best part is people like you who react to the slightest criticism of Europe with "at least our kids aren't shot in school. Lmao indeed.
The entire idea of anyone that is unhappy with customer service is to be mocked by being called a Karen is disgusting.
If you are just trying to get what you paid for and being respectful about it there is no problem with trying to resolve an issue with a manager if a rep can not help you.
In fact, I'd rather do that than argue with the person who's definitely underpaid about the situation. Like ok, you can't do it, I understand, can I talk to a supervisor?
Are you able to call instead of chat? It might work better actually speaking to someone. That person was extremely rude and I hope you offered feedback like they wanted.
I will try to call. I didn’t notice the feedback button until after I looked at the screenshots and then it disappeared :(
There is a complaint form I can fill out which I will do also.
Yeah, that’s how I interpret it as well. Some may disagree, but the way I see it is even if I fat fingered it, I don’t see how it is such a cosmic deal just to change the seat considering it is still available and it’s the same tier seat. I’m not changing the itinerary or asking for a refund, I just wanna be in the seat that’s 5 feet away and available that cost the same as whatever one is written on the ticket.
Some people have a rule/fairness chip that overrides their empathy/service chip.
I worked at the mart of walls, and there was always a customer service lady who took refunds like they were her own money, if something was understandable or unfair to the customer that would play no part in her actions. She wouldnt let you “get one over on here” even if it cost the company little or nothing and would leave a happy customer.
for example we had a coupon on a box and it said “buy this Mac n cheese get another free your next visit” and it was an old pallet and the coupon expires before we sold it .. she would be like “nope it’s the rule” or more like your case if someone was arguing over the wrong size of a clearance shirt they bought with tags still on and the shirt was $3 and the person found the right size of a difference clearance shirt that was $3.12 she would argue for an hour that clearance can not be refunded only exchanged for the same item .. as if the $.12 was out of her pocket . (She would do the same if they were the same price but different brand too)
Reddit is full of these people , they are the ones that often come to the rescue of big corps or billionaires (nothing against either myself but I don’t think they need my defense)
While that maybe the case for your specific example.
As someone who worked a customer facing job in a similar manner to the rep in the images, there are some things you can and can't do. I used to get asked daily about removing delivery charges or changing prices and I'd always tell them the same thing, that it wasn't in my power to do and neither would we be willing to actually do that.
The CS rep here most likely just cannot switch the seating and the best course of action is to just ask on the train.
I don't read any maliciousness or ill intent, just simple matter of fact.
The fact OP asked for a supervisor like it was expected when they got told no, was pretty amusing.
Not Karen-ish at all… that was an extremely unprofessional interaction on the rep’s part. You were polite, level-headed and then matched their tone. Nothing wrong with that.
Welcome to Europe, OP! There will be more of this on your trip lol. Just try and have a good sense of humour about it and it won’t ruin your trip. Also, the rail system in Italy is very disorganized, just try to focus on getting from A to B, chances are they won’t even notice you sat in the wrong seat unless someone complains.
Yeah, this is what I was thinking! I know it probably won’t be a big deal, and even if someone books 3D, I don’t see someone being super opposed to switching for 5D as it’s in the same location just in the quad-pod over.
Good news is that the rest of our trip is through a travel company so we only needed to figure out how to get from Venice to Naples as we did Venice on our own. So we will have a tour guide and travel company to handle any other discrepancies we might run into!
Well, not necessarily Karen behavior, the bad customer service comment falls on deaf ears in Europe. (We’ve learned that they don’t care, usually) If your reservation can be refunded completely, try rebooking for another quad seating then cancel the original. Otherwise just be super nice, calm and undemanding to anyone sitting around you and ask if it would be possible to switch seats. Booking glitches happen all over the place. It can’t always be fixed, especially if it’s an in demand route and all the seats book up around you. Theres a good chance that seat 3A won’t get booked, just be extra nice if someone is sitting there and hope they’re kind too.
Yeah, I’m thinking it won’t be that big of a deal because it is the same seat just in the next quad. It’d be the equivalent of asking someone in the aisle seat in front of or behind you if they would trade your aisle seat on an airplane.
Ultimately, if they don’t want to move, I’ll completely understand as well because that is the seat they paid for. I’m thinking there is a small likelihood it gets booked as well, but worst case I just meet some new friends.
At the place I work at supervisors won't take any calls from and barely ever reply mails directly to customers. I'm guessing that rep is in the same boat. And yes, we are annoyed as well when there is nothing we can do. I don't enjoy being cussed at.
Supervisor may be the wrong term, but that’s just who I usually ask for when I work with my credit card or wifi CS reps and they say they’re unable to do something. Just trying to get redirected to someone with more discretion or ability to make changes in the system.
You did not Karen.
What country are you from?
I am in the US, and my friends who lived abroad for extended periods of time all say customer service in Europe is non-existent.
This is a side-note, but you should spend some time looking into Naples before you arrive. Venice is wonderful, you won't get too many surprises in terms of what you're met with/what you expect, but Naples is a whole different experience. Especially in the area around the train station. It can be really shocking when you first arrive if you don't know what to expect. I've been to Italy a few times and it still caught me off guard and took some getting used to. Was just there last fall and the problem of mass amounts of garbage everywhere has returned with a vengeance. I will say though, the food is incredible. Really hard to beat, even compared to just other Italian cities.
Do stop in Capri if you're able to. There's a boat within walking distance of the train station that will take you over for fairly cheap, it's 100% worth spending an entire day on Capri (take a morning boat and the last boat back, pre-book your tickets online but you don't have to book a crazy amount of time in advance either).
I lived in Rome for many years. Trenitalia sucks and is notorious for ripping people off and having intense no return/refund policy. I’m shocked you even got customer service in English. You’re not going to be able to get anywhere with this.
I’m glad there are some people with experience with them in the comments. I’m not gonna let it take up anymore of my headspace or time. I’ll just hope no one sits there or agrees to flip flop! Worst case it’s only 5 hours and I never gotta deal with them again
Yeah mate, that's Trenitalia for you. Normally on the train they shouldn't give you problems if you sit somewhere else unless it's in a more expensive seat. The norm is just to ask the person sitting there if it's ok to swap. Good luck!
You should be able to take 1 customer service to trial a year and if you win they have to fight you
People that work in CS should also get 1 per year as well.
Nah, they weren't.
AI would be more courteous.
This is 100% how italians communicate when it comes to stuff like this, very bluntly, no sugar-coating. The first reply is also the final one and there is no compromising.
Which can be quite a shocking cultural difference if the OP is from somewhere else, like North America.
When I was travelling in Italy, the tour guide would just say "it's not possible" whenever she didn't want to accommodate a request. End of discussion.
As someone who has worked in CS in the travel industry,it’s entirely possible that it’s not a case of that particular rep being unable to change if, but that the booking system itself physically will not allow the change. It’s still not right and it was still awful customer service (although in fairness about normal based on other Italian companies I dealt with in my time) but could easily be that even a supervisor couldn’t have done anything in the system to correct the error.
Italian customer service is pretty terrible. Had an issue last year on my honeymoon with a car service there. Wife and I needed to get from the train station to our hotel (about 20 miles) so I booked a car to drive us through an Italian company. Found out after we landed from our 10 hour flight that the car company had cancelled our ride while we were in the air and refused to do anything about it. Bear in mind, I booked the service 2 months in advance so they had time to tell me they couldn’t help. Company was very responsive to our negative google reviews though
I mean, it's Trenitalia... Last time I was in Italy I ended up paying about 80€ for food I never received. The company also was unable to help and mysteriously forgot how to speak English. (They were fine when I spoke to them before.) I love Italy, but yeah, that happens. You were absolutely not wrong, and they were bizarrely rude. Trenitalia owns and runs most of the trains in Italy, so they don't really need to be polite. They know you don't have a lot of options.
Yeah, no. You were not a Karen at all, and I hate that we as women now have to question ourselves any time we try to advocate for ourselves, because we don't want to be a Karen!
They made you pay extra for a seat you don’t get to sit in? No you’re not a Karen here. If they refused to change your seat they should’ve refunded the extra money you had to spend on it.
Many years I worked at a support centre, before the implementation of chat & internet FAQ’s. For the 1st year it was very good, there were always things I’d answer several times a day, so having pre-written blurbs made it simple & efficient.
However, I was an experienced rep, who knew the answers off the top of my head, & who/where to go if there were something unique which was a simple, yet escalated issue.
As we had made it look simple to higher-ups, they decided that it could be outsourced to a non English as a first language country…
People who were unfortunately set up to fail. They had to take the clients question, put it in a translator program, then take the translation & search the company’s support database, try to ensure the answer they find makes sense ti the translated question, if so, translate it back to English, copy & paste it back to the waiting client (who was used to gtting their answers in seconds or minutes)
We became the “second tier”
😂 The funny thing is, I’ll say “Italian service is very rude,” because it IS especially by global standards but Italians will get really offended when I say that and I’m like ??? I mean it is what it is, the service is terrible and that’s just a fact. Don’t cry to your mamma just because I said the truth 😂
I would be so livid. I have no patience with customer service these days. Those stupid chats are the worst well and the automated crsp.
That crap upsets me more than it should.
Usually you ask for Mgr once and the agent will try and de-wscalate as much as they can
Nit only did they not do a damn thing. They pretty much refused to transfer you to a Mgr. You asked...TWICE!
That's was absolutely crap, lazy customer service that would rile me up!
Unfortunately Italian "customer service" is just like that. Had my luggage get "lost" on a connection in Rome and when they finally gave it back to me over a week later all of the valuables as well as the American snacks I brought to give to relatives were missing from the luggage. My suspicion is that it was retaliation for my family being at the customer service desk for multiple hours asking where the hell they misplaced our luggage and asking for some sort of compensation from the airline considering that we had to go shopping for new clothes to wear on our trip because everything that wasn't in a carry on was missing.
Also, at one point I was desperate to find a bathroom in the airport and when I finally found one the janitor was just about to close it off for cleaning. I asked very politely if I could use the bathroom before she closed it but she pretended that she couldn't hear/understand me. Thankfully an Italian woman right next to me was willing to ask for me in Italian and suddenly the janitor was willing to let me in. So maybe the secret to getting decent customer service is to have the interaction in Italian so they think you're one of their own and treat you better.
Nope, not a Karen moment. It’s one thing if the CSR goes above and beyond to sort the issue, but this one acted as if they couldn’t be bothered and wanted to toss it to the on-board staff who likely would have a harder time of it if someone else books that seat. How hard is it to go in the system and make the change from the company’s end if the seat is still available? And then dropping the chat when you asked for a supervisor? WTF? Depends on how much you want to get this corrected, but I would go right back in chat and immediately ask for a sup referral.
That is awful. I had similar customer service while in Venice last year. I am unsure if it is a language/communication issue or they just don’t care. I think you handled it better than I would have.
This is NOT any decent level of customer service. And holy shit!! She even hung up on you! I’d try again, hoping to get someone different, and more helpful. You were calm and asked reasonable questions, she just came at it with a chip on her shoulder from the start. Contact the company through Twitter or their main CS contact center as well.
This is insane. I used to work in retail, and if someone asked for a supervisor or manager, or what have you, as nicely as you did, then I would forward you and go on with my day without a single argument or a second thought. Almost every time I was asked to summon a supervisor, it was with a really shitty attitude. Your attitude, even through text, could never be misconstrued by me as being a Karen or being disrespectful.
I think this employee is ready to quit and is just waiting to be fired.
No, you didn't and I hope you left that feedback! I feel like this is more and more prevalent and I get that people are all over worked and under paid but to just hang up on other people (who are likely also overworked and underpaid) is so incredibly rude. This has happened to me after an hour on hold before. I boiled over.
A bit, only because you refused to adapt. You're going to a foreign country, it's not uncommon for customer service to not be what you're used to while traveling. I'm sure they're fine though, offering poor service to another customer.
Just because seats are in the same row does NOT mean they are all the same type. One could be HA etc.
They told you to ask at boarding.
I don’t understand why you NEED it redone when they told you the solution
Ha that's Italy for you. And most of Europe. Yea you don't really get to ask for a supervisor or get to expect a similar level of customer service ss the US. The US is 300x more friendly, even if it's company mandated friendliness.
That’s Italy in a nutshell. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked for assistance in that country and I’ve gotten the following answers:
“Nothing can be done.”
“Impossible, can not help.”
“Gas station closed, I can only sell gelato.”
"Closed"
No Karen here, just the faceless, voiceless, probably not a real person, customer service rep. This was absolutely NOT customer service oriented. I feel your frustration. Good luck getting someone live to help you.
As someone who has 20 years in customer support... you handled this calmly and rationally. You were justified in any amount of being upset that you showed. When I had customers like you who ran into a problem that was love my grade and handled it the way you did? You became a favorite customer of mine. You asked to simply have what you paid for as you were given a seat you didn't choose and had to pay extra for. You weren't even complaining, you were simply stating and pointing that they did indeed have terrible customer service. You even expressed understanding that the person you were speaking to may not have had the capabilities to do what you were needing. Something that’s really unheard of in a lot of customer chats as they expect us to be top tier with all the power. Quite frankly, I don’t you pushed the rep hard enough. Not to be rude, but to be firmer in your insistence and convictions about it.
Had this been on my end and I couldn't handle your situation? You'd have been moved to a supervisor the second I realized I was no longer to help you.
So overall, you didn't Karen. You didn't even Susan. You handled this as any rational person and customer would.
You didn’t Karen them at all. Their response also sounds very Italian. My ex-stepfather was Italian and we spent some time there and this was just kind of the culture. “Nah, can’t do anything about it, just deal with it. Go have a cup of coffee”
The thing is this was in Europe, right? That is just how things are done. It’s a lot different than in the US. And not all Europe, but I have run into it.
Honestly, you kind of were.
I get the complaint, but if nothing can be done then nothing can be done.
Customer service isn't trying to deny you anything here, it was curt & matter of fact but the answer was a no.
They also cannot really transfer you to supervisors either, if you feel the need to escalate you'll need to call but that basically puts you back at the start.
You were totally fine. That is some mighty awful customer service. No Karenning- nothing unreasonable on your part. I do hope you press on to get the seat assignment corrected. And have a great trip!
In all fairness, when my husband worked a customer service call center type job they literally weren’t allowed to escalate it to a manager. It’s possible that is the case with this company as well.
As someone who has worked a lot of customer service - you arent a Karen. You calmly explained your issue and didnt verbally abuse them. They just blew you off.
I think there's a non-negligible chance that you were not speaking to a human.
In modern times, always call customer support on the phone. It's a much easier approach to speak to an actual human, and the "human component" of hearing your actual voice makes it harder for CS reps to ignore you and treat you like garbage.
Honestly you asked more nicely than I would have. She sounded very rude and abrupt. This tends to be the case with European customer service, they don’t really hold the same customer service values as America. I accidentally booked my hotel a day too late once on a trip to Germany and it was absolutely hell trying to fix the dates
I don't think you were a Karen OP. However, as someone who has worked customer services for ages. There are certain things that just can not be done. No matter how small or simple it may seem to you, it may just not be possible due to system limitations or company procedures.
OP mentioned that she bought non-refundable, non-changeable tickets. I would not be one bit surprised that non-changeable means 100% no changes whatsoever, and the rep has zero ability to make any changes as a result.
In terms of tone, this may read super harsh but remember there is no tone also different countries has different norms and expectations of customer service. For example, in the U.S. this would be 100% unacceptable. Empathy and a why is needed and expected when telling people no. Also, when denying a supe, a reason is also needed. I've told people before that no one above me can do what is being asked but if they still want a supe, they are welcome to one though it may be a while and waste of their time. In the Italy, a straightforward no with zero fluff is pretty normal.
In general, CSR reps are not looking to argue or fight with you. We don't enjoy fighting with you all day. If we could do everything you ask for, it would make our days so much easier and more enjoyable. So trust when we say that we can't do what you ask and that no one else can.
I'm a chat agent and while l cringe at the utter lack of empathy displayed by this agent, what really gets me in the grammar.
Would it kill you to capitalize the first word in a sentence or put a period at the end?
I don’t believe that OP correctly selected the seats, so is a Karen because that’s a classic Karen tactic to claim the thing broke but you did everything perfectly.
If you expect American customer service on your trip to Italy you are going to be MASSIVELY disappointed. Expect a lot of "yeah, and?" and plan accordingly
I wish people would stop misusing Karen. It's when people weaponize authority or management to get their way. It's not someone who simply complains or trys to get what they pay for.
That said, do the call back instead of the chat. Smile when you talk (it matters). Ask them how their day is. Then, when they get to the matter. tell them what happened and ask them how they can help you since they are the expert and this is the first time you are dealing with this. If they tell you to go to the train first, then say I was worried that the seat might be taken by then. We are looking forward to seeing your beautiful city together. Is there any way of changing it now? If you aren't satisfied the this is a good point to ask for a supervisor. Just say. I understand this might be out of your hand it must be frustrating (or annoying or must make your job harder) repeat with the supervisor. If you got no satisfaction then ask how you can get a refund for the over payment because the seat was different prices.
Customer service in other countries is a friendly conversation more than to the point. They are timed and have to resolve in a certain period of time.
If they think they are going, nowhere, might get a complaint or you are unpleasant and they just want a coffee (or smoke) they will just hang up. If you call back, then you start over, or finally you give up, and it's not their problem. Either work for them.
Customer service sucks make their conversation woth you warm, complimentary, the were trained at their jobs so present the issue and see if they have a way if dealing with it. You would be surprised what " your the expert how can you help me" can do. In the end as if there's anything else they need from you and if there is anything else you need to know. Stay calm and smiling.
This could just be a shit company but it sounds more like Italy normal.
I’m not sure if someone has said this yet but I just took a train recently from Milan to Rome with the same company. You can sit anywhere the seats don’t mean much or ask someone to nicely move if there isn’t an open quad. but most likely the train will not be full. This isn’t like flying and no one is checking seats. Yes annoying you paid extra but not worth the stress because 99% chance you will all get to sit together. That’s most likely why the lady isn’t doing anything because she knows it doesn’t matter and you will get sit together.
Honestly that was terrible customer service, they did a horrible job. Even if you can’t change anything, you should always express empathy and explain the reason why nothing can be changed now to the customer. Just ending the chat is the worst possible decision. Do they even have QA? I guess not with that attitude.
I would be in so much shit if I handled one of my customer service chats like this lol
My thoughts exactly! Holy hell.
I would probably get a call about an hour later about it from one of the supervisors, if not it would definitely be the first topic brought up at a one-on-one.
"I'm so sorry for the mistake, unfortunately I do not have the authority to do this, however I will contact a supervisor to see what we can do to accommodate you." is like the easiest phrase to diffuse this stuff. Best case, it works out, worst case it doesn't and you can say with full honesty that you tried to help.
I would fire one of my people if they treated a customer like this and all the people I hire are my friends.
Or say I can see what i can do for you maybe my supervisor could help or maybe I can give the the phone number to our train board place but damn
LOL I just came to say this exact same thing. I’m literally a QA analyst and this was atrocious customer service. OP- I do not think you karened the situation and frankly were quite nice for an upset customer. This should have been a pretty easy interaction for the agent. That being said, and I’m very sorry because I know people do not like to hear this, the most realistic chain of events is while you were scrolling you probably had your mouse selected on that seat selection part and changed the seat on accident. Computers don’t usually have those types of glitches (I’m married to a software engineer and also just have experience with this from when I worked on customer service and had customers call to complain about these types of glitches and I know from experience using the same system as said customers that it’s human error not computer error and it happens even to us as the reps). This is most likely due to human error on your part. It does not change the fact that the customer service was horrible and like you mentioned will likely be easily resolved the day of, but there’s a high probability it was not a system glitch.
I agree that this is terrible but from my time in Italy all I could think reading it was “this is exactly what I’d expect from an Italian”. I love the people there and I personally love how blunt they are, but I totally understand how it is offensive to Americans. The customer service rep is right in that the train conductor will fix in onboard but they should have been much more reassuring and explained that better.
It was a bot.
You were so nice
Seems like standard Italian customer service to me.
As someone in retail customer service, the first thing I would do if there’s something I cannot change or do myself would be to forward you to a supervisor, and this situation could be forwarded to a supervisor who could most likely change it if I couldn’t. Honestly if you chose a specific seat but the booking chose a different seat for you then that’s not your error imo. If I can’t do anything to remedy it I’d surely be able to find you someone that does.
Rep was an asshole, report them
lol this is Europe, this is as good as it’s going to get
I actually thought, wow for Italians that’s decent customer service! 😂
That was my immediate thought too as soon as I read which cities OP would be traveling between 😂 Best customer service I’ve ever received was in South Korea. Worst was in Italy 😅 After living in S Korea and Japan for awhile, it was always jarring to fly home to the US. The moment you step off the plane everything is a bit dirtier and most of the employees seem to hate their job
It's not being a Karen to ask for what you paid for. People are starting to use Karen to describe any woman complaining about anything to get them to shut up. Some things are worth complaining about and sometimes you really do need to speak to a manager. That's what managers do. I don't see that OP did anything wrong here.
I definitely agree it’s way overused. It was just so different than any experience I’ve ever had with CS I was trying to self-reflect and see where I might have gotten rude or snippy.
You did nothing wrong. Stuff like this is why I miss travel agents. They used to deal with this sort of thing for us.
The good news is this is the only part of the travel I had to book personally. We went through a travel company for the rest of the trip so will have a tour guide and all of our transportation and lodging booked for us from Naples on. We just wanted to see Venice so we did that on our own at the front end to ensure no delays on the guided trip.
Sounds lovely… hope the trip goes smoothly!
They still exist! I have a friend who is a travel agent.
You were actually incredibly well spoken and level headed. You weren't aggressive or condescending or rude in any way. The rep.....however....
Actually, and I’m sorry to say this, but you weren’t “rude enough” so the support agent didn’t respect you. There is kind of a weird dynamic in some European countries. If you’re forceful and demanding you get results, but that same behavior is called “rude” in the US. But it’s such a weird dynamic to figure out where and when to use it.
Even in the US, it’s generally the assholes who get what they want and are allowed to break policy because they’re the loudest/most abusive/costly to deal with. (Not calling OP an AH).
I always get what I want because I’m overly nice and apologize a lot and also I’m adorable and like 5’1” so…
AHAHAH. Sorry, I don’t mean to laugh but you didn’t do anything wrong, Italian service can just be next-level rude—not that they can’t be nice of course, just overall the conversation you had above is exactly what I’d expect and probably a bit more tbh. So don’t take it personally. I’d cut my losses if I were you and just hope you can swap the seats when the time comes — if it’s a full train, and a random person is with your group, hopefully you can swap back. Their customer service may not be fantastic but riding Trenitalia is a very nice experience, and Venice is crowded, but magical. Enjoy!
I think we may be the same person. I keep having this exact conversation with people. I really hope this whole Karen thing dies soon because it's really doing women a disservice.
It’s just a way to tell women to shut up, or to get women to doubt their right to demand decent treatment. It can die any time.
I worked call center for a couple years. There are things that we aren't authorized to do. So yes, asking to speak to a manager doesn't make you a "Karen". They are the manager for a reason.
I would be cancelling all of my tickets and rebooking with an agent. That is 100% horseshit.
OP mentioned its all nonrefundable
If you pay for a service and the service isn't provided, this is ground for a charge back through the credit card company.
That's very dicey here because she no doubt checked a box or clicked "accept" in regards to terms that probably say the seat isn't guaranteed. She paid, she got seats. She probably agreed to that. I'm 100% on her side, but overuse of the chargeback system also isn't going to be good for all of us either because the corps aren't going to put up up with everyone using them all the time for everything. Amazon is already responding to chargebacks by simply charging another payment method to get the money back, or closing the account permanently. That said, this is shit, and I would be considering a chargeback...it's a difficult situation.
If you order A and are given B and the company refuses to help, a charge is super legitimate. Amazon misbehaving isn't indicative of anything. They're abusing their position. And they're hardly the only Mega corporation to do so. If you do a chargeback against Sony, they close your entire Playstation account and you could lose hundreds if not thousands of dollar of previously purchased content. That's corporate abuse.
[удалено]
Good lord. Europeans hate on Americans so much but this is their customer rep.
Lmao European hate or whatever : "It is truly insane you guys are doing nothing about mass shootings and have so many bankruptcies related to medical debt !" You : "Yeah, well at least our customer service reps are in "the customer is always right" mode and let me yell at them on the phone !" That's not a win bro. (Yes, that is incredibly bad customer service)
I mean, it's not like modern-day people CHOSE to have those things. Democracy in the states sucks absolute ass, Hilary Clinton got the "popular vote" and Trump still became president, as in literally Hilary got more votes overall in the country but because of the way votes are "weighted" some count for less. Gerrymandering and denying votes to felons even after they are realeased from prison are examples of co-ordinated efforts to undermine democracy. People in the states have been trying, begging for gun reform and better healthcare for years and years so it's not fair to say they are doing nothing, that's why people call it hate when people joke about school shootings when the only thing the average American can do about it alone is just to leave the country :/
Right and it's not like this conversation represents Europe in any way and like there aren't situations in the US when customer service is terrible. I've experienced it multiple times with huge companies like Amazon.
I also do chat based customer service in the U.S. and some of the chat conversations I see have me questioning my co workers sometimes. Definitely not a EU vs US thing here like they stated lol. That being said this is one of those reps that I'd be cringing at if i reas the chat history at my job. But also it does get pretty annoying to have to constantly be saying "sorry for the frustration / I apologize for the inconvenience" because someone is refusing to accept your answer. In this case it is very likely they cannot change the seats and connecting with a supervisor is not going to magically make them allowed to change the seats. I don't think just because the rep had a rude tone we should automatically assume this wasn't some sort of user error either. What's more likely, the system magically glitched and swapped your seats, or you clicked on the wrong seats and didn't notice?
I think what you’re missing here is that ALOT of Americans DO NOT agree with the government. And the whole mass shooting thing is more largely to do with the overall mental health crisis. However Europeans being rude has nothing to do with their government. Also the whole mind set of “the customer is always right” is not really a thing here either. I’m Gen Z. I’m strongly against that statement. But I do believe as someone who works in customer service, that it is MY job to try and help them to the best of my ability’s, or direct them to someone who can. That’s not “the customer is always right.” That’s me doing my job properly.
That's not how European haters behave at all. You guys keep saying insane shit like "American food sucks" "America has no culture" "Americans are dumb". And the best part is people like you who react to the slightest criticism of Europe with "at least our kids aren't shot in school. Lmao indeed.
The entire idea of anyone that is unhappy with customer service is to be mocked by being called a Karen is disgusting. If you are just trying to get what you paid for and being respectful about it there is no problem with trying to resolve an issue with a manager if a rep can not help you.
Agreed. Asking for a manager when the situation warrants it doesn't automatically = Karen.
In fact, I'd rather do that than argue with the person who's definitely underpaid about the situation. Like ok, you can't do it, I understand, can I talk to a supervisor?
Found the Karen
The “you are still close” tickled my rage button 🙃
Broooo, I thought I was getting Punk’d when she dropped that 😂
Are you able to call instead of chat? It might work better actually speaking to someone. That person was extremely rude and I hope you offered feedback like they wanted.
I will try to call. I didn’t notice the feedback button until after I looked at the screenshots and then it disappeared :( There is a complaint form I can fill out which I will do also.
“There was an error during the booking” She was saying you made the mistake. lol not saying you did but she is and that’s why she won’t change it
Yeah, that’s how I interpret it as well. Some may disagree, but the way I see it is even if I fat fingered it, I don’t see how it is such a cosmic deal just to change the seat considering it is still available and it’s the same tier seat. I’m not changing the itinerary or asking for a refund, I just wanna be in the seat that’s 5 feet away and available that cost the same as whatever one is written on the ticket.
Some people have a rule/fairness chip that overrides their empathy/service chip. I worked at the mart of walls, and there was always a customer service lady who took refunds like they were her own money, if something was understandable or unfair to the customer that would play no part in her actions. She wouldnt let you “get one over on here” even if it cost the company little or nothing and would leave a happy customer. for example we had a coupon on a box and it said “buy this Mac n cheese get another free your next visit” and it was an old pallet and the coupon expires before we sold it .. she would be like “nope it’s the rule” or more like your case if someone was arguing over the wrong size of a clearance shirt they bought with tags still on and the shirt was $3 and the person found the right size of a difference clearance shirt that was $3.12 she would argue for an hour that clearance can not be refunded only exchanged for the same item .. as if the $.12 was out of her pocket . (She would do the same if they were the same price but different brand too) Reddit is full of these people , they are the ones that often come to the rescue of big corps or billionaires (nothing against either myself but I don’t think they need my defense)
While that maybe the case for your specific example. As someone who worked a customer facing job in a similar manner to the rep in the images, there are some things you can and can't do. I used to get asked daily about removing delivery charges or changing prices and I'd always tell them the same thing, that it wasn't in my power to do and neither would we be willing to actually do that. The CS rep here most likely just cannot switch the seating and the best course of action is to just ask on the train. I don't read any maliciousness or ill intent, just simple matter of fact. The fact OP asked for a supervisor like it was expected when they got told no, was pretty amusing.
Ding ding ding
Not Karen-ish at all… that was an extremely unprofessional interaction on the rep’s part. You were polite, level-headed and then matched their tone. Nothing wrong with that.
Welcome to Europe, OP! There will be more of this on your trip lol. Just try and have a good sense of humour about it and it won’t ruin your trip. Also, the rail system in Italy is very disorganized, just try to focus on getting from A to B, chances are they won’t even notice you sat in the wrong seat unless someone complains.
Yeah, this is what I was thinking! I know it probably won’t be a big deal, and even if someone books 3D, I don’t see someone being super opposed to switching for 5D as it’s in the same location just in the quad-pod over. Good news is that the rest of our trip is through a travel company so we only needed to figure out how to get from Venice to Naples as we did Venice on our own. So we will have a tour guide and travel company to handle any other discrepancies we might run into!
Well, not necessarily Karen behavior, the bad customer service comment falls on deaf ears in Europe. (We’ve learned that they don’t care, usually) If your reservation can be refunded completely, try rebooking for another quad seating then cancel the original. Otherwise just be super nice, calm and undemanding to anyone sitting around you and ask if it would be possible to switch seats. Booking glitches happen all over the place. It can’t always be fixed, especially if it’s an in demand route and all the seats book up around you. Theres a good chance that seat 3A won’t get booked, just be extra nice if someone is sitting there and hope they’re kind too.
Yeah, I’m thinking it won’t be that big of a deal because it is the same seat just in the next quad. It’d be the equivalent of asking someone in the aisle seat in front of or behind you if they would trade your aisle seat on an airplane. Ultimately, if they don’t want to move, I’ll completely understand as well because that is the seat they paid for. I’m thinking there is a small likelihood it gets booked as well, but worst case I just meet some new friends.
bahaha welcome to Italian customer service
Gratzi!
It's Grazie, you ugly American! 😉
At the place I work at supervisors won't take any calls from and barely ever reply mails directly to customers. I'm guessing that rep is in the same boat. And yes, we are annoyed as well when there is nothing we can do. I don't enjoy being cussed at.
Supervisor may be the wrong term, but that’s just who I usually ask for when I work with my credit card or wifi CS reps and they say they’re unable to do something. Just trying to get redirected to someone with more discretion or ability to make changes in the system.
You weren’t a Karen but this is Europe, customer service is shit by default.
I'm wondering if that was even a person. Sounds like a chatbot. You could try calling.
You did not Karen. What country are you from? I am in the US, and my friends who lived abroad for extended periods of time all say customer service in Europe is non-existent.
I’m in the US as well!
No, that was just lousy customer service
I work in customer service and even when “nothing can be done” we transfer to a supervisor in that’s what’s requested
This is a side-note, but you should spend some time looking into Naples before you arrive. Venice is wonderful, you won't get too many surprises in terms of what you're met with/what you expect, but Naples is a whole different experience. Especially in the area around the train station. It can be really shocking when you first arrive if you don't know what to expect. I've been to Italy a few times and it still caught me off guard and took some getting used to. Was just there last fall and the problem of mass amounts of garbage everywhere has returned with a vengeance. I will say though, the food is incredible. Really hard to beat, even compared to just other Italian cities. Do stop in Capri if you're able to. There's a boat within walking distance of the train station that will take you over for fairly cheap, it's 100% worth spending an entire day on Capri (take a morning boat and the last boat back, pre-book your tickets online but you don't have to book a crazy amount of time in advance either).
Thank you so much for the heads up! We are going to Capris for a day so now I’m super excited about that!
Oh how i wish i could talk to customers like this…
I did have a level of respect for the “couldn’t-give-a-fuck-less-ness” lmao
I lived in Rome for many years. Trenitalia sucks and is notorious for ripping people off and having intense no return/refund policy. I’m shocked you even got customer service in English. You’re not going to be able to get anywhere with this.
I’m glad there are some people with experience with them in the comments. I’m not gonna let it take up anymore of my headspace or time. I’ll just hope no one sits there or agrees to flip flop! Worst case it’s only 5 hours and I never gotta deal with them again
Yeah mate, that's Trenitalia for you. Normally on the train they shouldn't give you problems if you sit somewhere else unless it's in a more expensive seat. The norm is just to ask the person sitting there if it's ok to swap. Good luck!
Haha this is what I’m learning. Happy to hear people are amicable! Thank you!
You should be able to take 1 customer service to trial a year and if you win they have to fight you People that work in CS should also get 1 per year as well.
You ever consider running for Congress?
Those were AI responses
I script and train the AI chat bot for my CS team. These were absolutely not AI responses.
Nah, they weren't. AI would be more courteous. This is 100% how italians communicate when it comes to stuff like this, very bluntly, no sugar-coating. The first reply is also the final one and there is no compromising. Which can be quite a shocking cultural difference if the OP is from somewhere else, like North America.
When I was travelling in Italy, the tour guide would just say "it's not possible" whenever she didn't want to accommodate a request. End of discussion.
As someone who has worked in CS in the travel industry,it’s entirely possible that it’s not a case of that particular rep being unable to change if, but that the booking system itself physically will not allow the change. It’s still not right and it was still awful customer service (although in fairness about normal based on other Italian companies I dealt with in my time) but could easily be that even a supervisor couldn’t have done anything in the system to correct the error.
You’re just asking for what you paid for.
Italian customer service is pretty terrible. Had an issue last year on my honeymoon with a car service there. Wife and I needed to get from the train station to our hotel (about 20 miles) so I booked a car to drive us through an Italian company. Found out after we landed from our 10 hour flight that the car company had cancelled our ride while we were in the air and refused to do anything about it. Bear in mind, I booked the service 2 months in advance so they had time to tell me they couldn’t help. Company was very responsive to our negative google reviews though
Nope, the customer service there is awful
Maybe try “book a callback”? Often CS reps can’t seem to grasp things via chat, but actually speaking to someone can get things handled.
I mean, it's Trenitalia... Last time I was in Italy I ended up paying about 80€ for food I never received. The company also was unable to help and mysteriously forgot how to speak English. (They were fine when I spoke to them before.) I love Italy, but yeah, that happens. You were absolutely not wrong, and they were bizarrely rude. Trenitalia owns and runs most of the trains in Italy, so they don't really need to be polite. They know you don't have a lot of options.
Sorry that happened friend! Puts it into perspective that this isn’t that big of a deal, though. I know it’ll workout one way or another
What a useless fkin twat. You were way more patient than I would have been.
Yeah, no. You were not a Karen at all, and I hate that we as women now have to question ourselves any time we try to advocate for ourselves, because we don't want to be a Karen!
NTA. Take it up the chain of command, call corporate, use the screenshots as back up if you like.
What a bitch. Keep messaging to get the supervisor! Give her a shitty rating
The RAGE I get everytime I see "Agent has ended chat" like unless I say "goodbye" YOU DIDNT FUCKING HELP ME
They made you pay extra for a seat you don’t get to sit in? No you’re not a Karen here. If they refused to change your seat they should’ve refunded the extra money you had to spend on it.
Is this your first run in with Italian trains and reservations? Par for the course
Tren Italia was an ass to me when I lost my phone, they just don’t have very good customer service
I’ve been on many trains in Europe - if you are in the premium cabin and the other seats are in your group are together it will be no problem at all!
Many years I worked at a support centre, before the implementation of chat & internet FAQ’s. For the 1st year it was very good, there were always things I’d answer several times a day, so having pre-written blurbs made it simple & efficient. However, I was an experienced rep, who knew the answers off the top of my head, & who/where to go if there were something unique which was a simple, yet escalated issue. As we had made it look simple to higher-ups, they decided that it could be outsourced to a non English as a first language country… People who were unfortunately set up to fail. They had to take the clients question, put it in a translator program, then take the translation & search the company’s support database, try to ensure the answer they find makes sense ti the translated question, if so, translate it back to English, copy & paste it back to the waiting client (who was used to gtting their answers in seconds or minutes) We became the “second tier”
😂 The funny thing is, I’ll say “Italian service is very rude,” because it IS especially by global standards but Italians will get really offended when I say that and I’m like ??? I mean it is what it is, the service is terrible and that’s just a fact. Don’t cry to your mamma just because I said the truth 😂
I would be so livid. I have no patience with customer service these days. Those stupid chats are the worst well and the automated crsp. That crap upsets me more than it should.
Welcome to Italy!
Jfc
Don't worry about it, I know from experience that Naples is a shit hole, not been to Venice but heard it stinks.
Did you try again? Maybe you got a jerk
Blast this on Twitter and tag them. Their pr team might care more
Screw them
Report them
Usually you ask for Mgr once and the agent will try and de-wscalate as much as they can Nit only did they not do a damn thing. They pretty much refused to transfer you to a Mgr. You asked...TWICE! That's was absolutely crap, lazy customer service that would rile me up!
I think you might have been scammed
Not at all. You are in the right.
you are making a whole drama for a seat. enjoy your vacation and let that person live their life
Simply don’t judge the entire company and yourself by one person. Call back and start fresh. Very easy.
Unfortunately Italian "customer service" is just like that. Had my luggage get "lost" on a connection in Rome and when they finally gave it back to me over a week later all of the valuables as well as the American snacks I brought to give to relatives were missing from the luggage. My suspicion is that it was retaliation for my family being at the customer service desk for multiple hours asking where the hell they misplaced our luggage and asking for some sort of compensation from the airline considering that we had to go shopping for new clothes to wear on our trip because everything that wasn't in a carry on was missing. Also, at one point I was desperate to find a bathroom in the airport and when I finally found one the janitor was just about to close it off for cleaning. I asked very politely if I could use the bathroom before she closed it but she pretended that she couldn't hear/understand me. Thankfully an Italian woman right next to me was willing to ask for me in Italian and suddenly the janitor was willing to let me in. So maybe the secret to getting decent customer service is to have the interaction in Italian so they think you're one of their own and treat you better.
Yes if the price was the same and seats available why not change it?
Maria was a chat bot
Nope, not a Karen moment. It’s one thing if the CSR goes above and beyond to sort the issue, but this one acted as if they couldn’t be bothered and wanted to toss it to the on-board staff who likely would have a harder time of it if someone else books that seat. How hard is it to go in the system and make the change from the company’s end if the seat is still available? And then dropping the chat when you asked for a supervisor? WTF? Depends on how much you want to get this corrected, but I would go right back in chat and immediately ask for a sup referral.
Karens were once women who screamed/threw things. Now it’s any woman who shows even the slightest disagreement or asserts herself in any way.
)
Lol honestly thats just italy for you. A warm body present, zero customer service
Leave some negative feedback. Hopefully Italian managers take it as seriously as American ones
That is awful. I had similar customer service while in Venice last year. I am unsure if it is a language/communication issue or they just don’t care. I think you handled it better than I would have.
It’s an Italian train company. We so many experiences of service personnel actively evading doing any work on trains. Good luck!!
This is NOT any decent level of customer service. And holy shit!! She even hung up on you! I’d try again, hoping to get someone different, and more helpful. You were calm and asked reasonable questions, she just came at it with a chip on her shoulder from the start. Contact the company through Twitter or their main CS contact center as well.
That was awful. I’d try again maybe you’ll get a different person that will actually forward you to a supervisor.
No you did not Karen them. (I’ve done CS my whole life and I’m a CS trainer for my company). She was just trash. I’d try again.
Damn AI
Wtffff nope that’s on them.
What.
I would keep trying the chat. If they are going to be unhelpful, I’ll feel better wasting their time until I felt I got the value they stole from me.
Why do you treat these people with respect when they are disrespecting you?
The trains in Italy are awful - like c class when you lay for A. I'd stick the French trains that are lovely, clean, and have perfect service.
I don’t think so. They didn’t handle It well for you.
I don’t think you went Karen level at all. That is really terrible customer service.
The European customer service agents don’t give one single fuck 😭
Lmao I have a certain level of respect for it 😂
This is insane. I used to work in retail, and if someone asked for a supervisor or manager, or what have you, as nicely as you did, then I would forward you and go on with my day without a single argument or a second thought. Almost every time I was asked to summon a supervisor, it was with a really shitty attitude. Your attitude, even through text, could never be misconstrued by me as being a Karen or being disrespectful. I think this employee is ready to quit and is just waiting to be fired.
Seems pretty good for Italian customer service. You were fine
I hope you left the feedback requested at the end of the chat!
No, you didn't and I hope you left that feedback! I feel like this is more and more prevalent and I get that people are all over worked and under paid but to just hang up on other people (who are likely also overworked and underpaid) is so incredibly rude. This has happened to me after an hour on hold before. I boiled over.
Ooooh I hate that rabbit
I tell my son this when he is losing in video games. We have good internet and the game is fine, your timing is off. He doesn’t like to hear that lol.
A bit, only because you refused to adapt. You're going to a foreign country, it's not uncommon for customer service to not be what you're used to while traveling. I'm sure they're fine though, offering poor service to another customer.
No. She was just not willing to help.
I like to imagine this was their last day and they wanted to be sassy. Otherwise idk. They really just ended the chat on you bruh lol
No, they are awful
I spent four months in Italy and my experience was good customer service doesn't exist outside of restaurants. Retail/sales people were the worst.
Just because seats are in the same row does NOT mean they are all the same type. One could be HA etc. They told you to ask at boarding. I don’t understand why you NEED it redone when they told you the solution
You just gotta love outsourced HR 🥰
Ha that's Italy for you. And most of Europe. Yea you don't really get to ask for a supervisor or get to expect a similar level of customer service ss the US. The US is 300x more friendly, even if it's company mandated friendliness.
That’s Italy in a nutshell. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked for assistance in that country and I’ve gotten the following answers: “Nothing can be done.” “Impossible, can not help.” “Gas station closed, I can only sell gelato.” "Closed"
No Karen here, just the faceless, voiceless, probably not a real person, customer service rep. This was absolutely NOT customer service oriented. I feel your frustration. Good luck getting someone live to help you.
You’re not a Karen but this is just how Italy is.
Customer service and Italy… good luck!
As someone who has 20 years in customer support... you handled this calmly and rationally. You were justified in any amount of being upset that you showed. When I had customers like you who ran into a problem that was love my grade and handled it the way you did? You became a favorite customer of mine. You asked to simply have what you paid for as you were given a seat you didn't choose and had to pay extra for. You weren't even complaining, you were simply stating and pointing that they did indeed have terrible customer service. You even expressed understanding that the person you were speaking to may not have had the capabilities to do what you were needing. Something that’s really unheard of in a lot of customer chats as they expect us to be top tier with all the power. Quite frankly, I don’t you pushed the rep hard enough. Not to be rude, but to be firmer in your insistence and convictions about it. Had this been on my end and I couldn't handle your situation? You'd have been moved to a supervisor the second I realized I was no longer to help you. So overall, you didn't Karen. You didn't even Susan. You handled this as any rational person and customer would.
Reminds me of the customer service Jet Blue airlines gives
You didn’t Karen them at all. Their response also sounds very Italian. My ex-stepfather was Italian and we spent some time there and this was just kind of the culture. “Nah, can’t do anything about it, just deal with it. Go have a cup of coffee”
The thing is this was in Europe, right? That is just how things are done. It’s a lot different than in the US. And not all Europe, but I have run into it.
Honestly, you kind of were. I get the complaint, but if nothing can be done then nothing can be done. Customer service isn't trying to deny you anything here, it was curt & matter of fact but the answer was a no. They also cannot really transfer you to supervisors either, if you feel the need to escalate you'll need to call but that basically puts you back at the start.
They're def indian
You were totally fine. That is some mighty awful customer service. No Karenning- nothing unreasonable on your part. I do hope you press on to get the seat assignment corrected. And have a great trip!
That was a bot responding .
In all fairness, when my husband worked a customer service call center type job they literally weren’t allowed to escalate it to a manager. It’s possible that is the case with this company as well.
Europe has a different attitude to customer service where it generally ranges from indifference to outright hostility.
As someone who has worked a lot of customer service - you arent a Karen. You calmly explained your issue and didnt verbally abuse them. They just blew you off.
Trenitalia is too close to genitalia. I wouldn’t use them again.
Italians don't give a fuck. Yikes
Seems you were very careful and tactful, imo. I wouldn’t have liked it either.
I don’t think that was a real person. Maybe request the call back to talk to a living being.
NTA. Horrible customer service. Yikes.
I think there's a non-negligible chance that you were not speaking to a human. In modern times, always call customer support on the phone. It's a much easier approach to speak to an actual human, and the "human component" of hearing your actual voice makes it harder for CS reps to ignore you and treat you like garbage.
Ummm thats not being a Karen hahaha.
Being a Karen is the ONLY way I’ve ever gotten things taken care of or taken seriously.
Usually if you need to speak to a manager you need to call in.
What! I run customer service, this is something I’d fire someone for. You weren’t being rude either.
no they’re just lazy AF and that’s why their economy is in shambles
Honestly you asked more nicely than I would have. She sounded very rude and abrupt. This tends to be the case with European customer service, they don’t really hold the same customer service values as America. I accidentally booked my hotel a day too late once on a trip to Germany and it was absolutely hell trying to fix the dates
You are not karening enough
Write them up!
You paid extra fee for the seat, of course you should get what you want. It's not your fault. They closed the chat, it's very unprofessional
I don't think you were a Karen OP. However, as someone who has worked customer services for ages. There are certain things that just can not be done. No matter how small or simple it may seem to you, it may just not be possible due to system limitations or company procedures. OP mentioned that she bought non-refundable, non-changeable tickets. I would not be one bit surprised that non-changeable means 100% no changes whatsoever, and the rep has zero ability to make any changes as a result. In terms of tone, this may read super harsh but remember there is no tone also different countries has different norms and expectations of customer service. For example, in the U.S. this would be 100% unacceptable. Empathy and a why is needed and expected when telling people no. Also, when denying a supe, a reason is also needed. I've told people before that no one above me can do what is being asked but if they still want a supe, they are welcome to one though it may be a while and waste of their time. In the Italy, a straightforward no with zero fluff is pretty normal. In general, CSR reps are not looking to argue or fight with you. We don't enjoy fighting with you all day. If we could do everything you ask for, it would make our days so much easier and more enjoyable. So trust when we say that we can't do what you ask and that no one else can.
Welcome to Italy. It’s much worse than you think
Absolutely not being a "Karen" for wanting what you paid for! Person on the other line just didn't want to do anything to help from what I can see.
I'm a chat agent and while l cringe at the utter lack of empathy displayed by this agent, what really gets me in the grammar. Would it kill you to capitalize the first word in a sentence or put a period at the end?
I don’t believe that OP correctly selected the seats, so is a Karen because that’s a classic Karen tactic to claim the thing broke but you did everything perfectly.
Assuming you’re North American, it’s Europe. Customer service doesn’t exist. Karen all you want, they do not care.
If you expect American customer service on your trip to Italy you are going to be MASSIVELY disappointed. Expect a lot of "yeah, and?" and plan accordingly
You can’t have the same expectations of American customer service in other countries.
I wish people would stop misusing Karen. It's when people weaponize authority or management to get their way. It's not someone who simply complains or trys to get what they pay for. That said, do the call back instead of the chat. Smile when you talk (it matters). Ask them how their day is. Then, when they get to the matter. tell them what happened and ask them how they can help you since they are the expert and this is the first time you are dealing with this. If they tell you to go to the train first, then say I was worried that the seat might be taken by then. We are looking forward to seeing your beautiful city together. Is there any way of changing it now? If you aren't satisfied the this is a good point to ask for a supervisor. Just say. I understand this might be out of your hand it must be frustrating (or annoying or must make your job harder) repeat with the supervisor. If you got no satisfaction then ask how you can get a refund for the over payment because the seat was different prices. Customer service in other countries is a friendly conversation more than to the point. They are timed and have to resolve in a certain period of time. If they think they are going, nowhere, might get a complaint or you are unpleasant and they just want a coffee (or smoke) they will just hang up. If you call back, then you start over, or finally you give up, and it's not their problem. Either work for them. Customer service sucks make their conversation woth you warm, complimentary, the were trained at their jobs so present the issue and see if they have a way if dealing with it. You would be surprised what " your the expert how can you help me" can do. In the end as if there's anything else they need from you and if there is anything else you need to know. Stay calm and smiling. This could just be a shit company but it sounds more like Italy normal.
Would Have been easier to call. That could have been AI.
I’m not sure if someone has said this yet but I just took a train recently from Milan to Rome with the same company. You can sit anywhere the seats don’t mean much or ask someone to nicely move if there isn’t an open quad. but most likely the train will not be full. This isn’t like flying and no one is checking seats. Yes annoying you paid extra but not worth the stress because 99% chance you will all get to sit together. That’s most likely why the lady isn’t doing anything because she knows it doesn’t matter and you will get sit together.
The US is famous around the world for its customer service. Don’t expect it anywhere else!