Yesterday, Erin and I tried to purchase two one-way train tickets from Oslo to Bergen. We attempted to pay, as we do for numerous purchases, with a credit card…the same card I’d used at a Lowe’s store less than an hour prior to this attempted clusterf—k. There was a problem with completing the transaction, which we’d verified with our credit card company, was not being declined by them.
The problem, though a not so very challenging process of elimination, appeared to be on their end. Since the website at nsb.no, the Norwegian rail company, offered a chat with a customer service representative, I figured the problem would be easily addressed and resolved.
Good Lord, I can be SO naive at times….
7/26/2015 1:00:57 p.m.Welcome to NSB Customer Service. Please note that this conversation may be recorded for training purposes.
1:00:57 p.m.Hi. My name is Christina. How may I help you?
Customer
1:02:03 p.m. I’m trying to purchase two one-way tickets from Bergen to Oslo, but I keep getting this message when I attempt to pay with my Visa card: Fault occurred while processing.: Feilmelding fra PayEx [Feilkode: OK, Beskrivelse: OK, ThirdPartyError: ] A technical error occurred. My bank tells me it’s not on their end. Can you help?Christina
1:02:49 p.m. The message indicate that your payment is being rejected.Customer
1:03:33 p.m. Yes, I understand that…but my bank is telling me that they aren’t declining the transaction.Christina
1:03:51 p.m. I am afraid I cannot take booking over chat, but you may call us on phone +47 or 0047 61051910.Customer
1:04:47 p.m. I don’t think I should have to pay for an international call in order to book a train ticket.Christina
1:04:57 p.m. Then you card might be blocked because we do have restrctions on cards from the USA and Canada, Asia, Africa and Spain.Customer
1:05:23 p.m. So how do I complete this transaction?Christina
1:05:37 p.m. If you do not wish to call I recommend that you try paypal.
1:05:51 p.m. If you do not have paypal account you have to register.Customer
1:06:35 p.m. So if I create a profile, I’ll be able to purchase the tickets?Christina
1:09:00 p.m. You might, paypal is a solution for customer with blocked credit cards.Customer
1:11:41 p.m. My credit is not the issue here. All I want to do is buy two train tickets. Why is this so difficult to do?
1:11:58 p.m. I registered, and I still get the same response.Christina
1:12:38 p.m. When you bougt the ticket at nsb.no with your card did you confirm the payment with a personal code?Customer
1:13:16 p.m. I haven’t purchased the tickets yet…your system won’t let me. If I
1:13:34 p.m. If I’d been able to purchase them, we wouldn’t be having this chat.Christina
1:14:24 p.m. I do not know why you get this error messages, but if paypal do not work the only solution is to call or purchase the ticket at the station.Customer
1:16:44 p.m. I realize this is not personally your fault, but I find the customer service to be no help at all. All I want to do is buy two train tickets and pay for them with my VISA card, which I do for many other things I purchase. My bank is not declining the transaction. The error message is on your end. Yet your response is that I need to pay for an international call or use PayPal? That’s not helpful at all.Christina
1:18:28 p.m. I sorry, but that is the solution which is left.Customer
1:19:48 p.m. “Fault occurred while processing.: Feilmelding fra PayEx [Feilkode: OK, Beskrivelse: OK, ThirdPartyError: ] A technical error occurred.” is not my bank declining the transaction. Wow…that’s some astonishingly poor customer service. I’ve just wasted 45 minutes trying to complete this transaction. Thank you for turning it around and making it my fault. Unbelievable….Christina
1:21:05 p.m. I am not saying it is your fault and telling you the solution to get your ticket. If you do not like the solution I am afraid we cannot help you.
1:21:25 p.m. Have a good evening.
1:21:31 p.m. Kundebehandleren har forlatt samtalen.
1:21:31 p.m. You have been disconnected from the chat
1:21:55 p.m. Your session has been disconnected. Please refresh the page and start a new chat.
Yep, Christina hung up on me. It’s a tactic straight out of the customer service handbook: If you can’t be bothered to work through a problem, if assisting a customer is just too damned much work, hang up on them. Problem solved, eh?
Fortunately, I was able to purchase the tickets through RailEurope, but it cost more and I wasn’t presented with nearly the options I was through the Norwegian site. I also didn’t have Christina essentially telling me I could go pound sand. We’ll get where we need to go (from Bergen to Oslo)…but I can’t help feeling that the process of purchasing two one-way rail tickets shouldn’t have been so difficult and unpleasant. If there was another rail option available, I would’ve been all over it…but there’s just the one option, so it’s not as if I could take my business elsewhere.
I was dumbstruck when Christina disconnected the chat. Of course, I have no idea who or where Christina is, but I do know that her customer service skills leave something to be desired. The problem with her actions (or lack of them, to be honest) is that figuring out how to reach a supervisor in order to lodge a complaint would be far more trouble than it’s worth.
I’ve worked in numerous customer service environments over the years, and my current job is customer-facing…so I know of which I speak. Because of my experience, I’m generally willing to cut customer service reps some considerable slack. I’ve been in their shoes, and I know it’s not fun at times. That said, that’s no excuse for being rude, disinterested, and dismissive. If you think that’s providing good customer service, might I suggest that you find another line of work?
I can only hope that our time in Norway will more pleasant than my experience with nsb.no probed to be.
