Culture Nudge

In Europe, “Fast service is considered rude service,” per Rick Steves¹. In France, “It’s often frustrating to get even minor issues resolved,” claims blogger Diane². Before Karen and Chad got ugly with customer service in America, Americans got ugly in Europe. Life moves at different paces, or so I’ve read. Different continents. Different cultures. We have learned that we should expect life in Europe to be different.

We haven’t arrived in Europe yet, and haven’t experienced any culture shock . . . yet. But we’ve gotten a little culture nudge that indicates we’d better reframe our expectations. Twice now, we’ve received email cancellations for events we’ve booked. Both times, luckily, they’ve offered us alternate times for the same experiences, which we have thankfully snatched.

Another odd experience. Football, as in the sport where you kick, not carry, the ball, reigns supreme in Europe (and the rest of the non-US world, frankly). What experience could be more European than attending a football game? When we discovered that FC Barcelona would be playing a match, we started to buy tickets . . . and then realized that the time for the game hadn’t been set. Since we planned to arrive in Barcelona on the same day as the match, we hesitated. What if the game started before we even arrived in the city? Then we looked closer, and realized that the date of the match hadn’t yet been set. The game is less than a month away, and they don’t yet know what day they’re going to play it on? How does that make sense? A couple days ago, they managed to determine the date and time. We bought tickets, and on Sunday, October 23rd, at 21:00, we will be in the stands to cheer on FC Barcelona vs Athletic Club.

The last example carries the most frustration. We booked a river cruise on the Seine, noting the promise that cancellation was easy. As our schedule firmed up, we realized that we’d chosen a bad night for the cruise, and should change the date. I checked the openings, saw a date that worked better for us, and emailed. I explained the situation, and would they please change the date? I heard nothing for a week. Just as I was summoning my courage to telephone, I received an email that, so sorry, they could not accommodate my request because the alternate date I’d chosen was completely booked. OK, perhaps it was now, but it wasn’t when I first emailed. Swallowing my irritation, I sweetly requested (OK, so I’m a bit afraid of the French) that they reschedule our cruise for a different alternate date. And I waited.

The next day, they emailed back. Quick response! They had indeed graciously rescheduled our cruise to the second requested date. In a twist, however, they had rescheduled for a later time that carried twice the price tag, despite my explicit request to retain the same time (and price). Only a little daunted, I emailed back, thanking them for accommodating the date change, and would they also, s’il vous plait, restore the earlier time? OK, so I didn’t say “please” in French, not sure if that would improve or deteriorate relations. They responded that yes, they would restore the time, and they reissued the entire reservation, with the correct date and time. Hooray!

Today, I received an email from the cruise company, telling us how excited they are to welcome us aboard . . . on the original date. Sigh. I’ve felt more cared for by Comcast. I’ve emailed again. Let’s see what they say.

Update (Oct 3): River Cruise company emailed, and we are booked for the correct date!