Wizz – I think we should break up!

Because I work with sales and customer service, and have done so for many years now, I rarely like to voice out frustration over bad customer service. I know that people have can have bad days, that sometimes systems crash and every once in a while you could just get really unlucky and meet that one of many who just don’t give a rat’s ass about the company they work for or how it makes that company look.

But when I do have a bad experience, I give that company multiple chances to clean up their mess, and it just keeps getting worse… Then I will write about, tell my friends about it, and probably end my relationship with that company.

At this very moment I am in the middle of a breakup like that.

When I booked my flights for the Bucharest trip, I found some really cheap ones with Wizz Air and jumped on it. They claimed that there were few tickets left when I booked, so I felt like it was the right move. I know that booking cheap airlines in most cases gives you what you pay for and no more, but that’s fine. I’ve been flying a lot with Ryanair and have had no issues so far. Yes, the seats are a bit uncomfortable, they try to sell you tons of stuff and you have to pay extra for everything and anything, but when I’ve booked for short flights where I only travel with my backpack, it’s been perfect. It’s affordable and they’ve always been on time whenever I have traveled with them.

So  I went into this with low expectations for what I was going to get, but confident that they would get me to where I needed to go.

Little over two weeks before my departure date I got an email notifying me of changes in my flight. I’ve experienced this before, and didn’t think much of it. I expected my flight to have been changed a few hours, but extremely surprised when I found out that they had rebooked my flight to leave two days before my planned departure. TWO DAYS?! My options (as stated in the email) was to either accept the change (which would mean that I would lose 2 more days at work, and have to pay for two extra nights in Bucharest), get 120% refund in “Wizz Air credits”, or I could get a refund on what I paid for the tickets.

I thought it over and decided to cancel my outgoing flight and get the money back. I followed their guidelines, filled out the form and hit send. Then I had to book a new outgoing flight to Bucharest that cost me FOUR TIMES more than the one I had originally bought.

A week went by, and I had not received any confirmation or money from Wizz, but then I got a new email that once again told me about the same change in the same flight! Yes, the one that I had already cancelled!

At this point I was getting frustrated to say the least. But the point that really made me decide to end my relationship with Wizz was when I tried calling the Norwegian customer service number (the one on their website) and was told that the number was no longer in service!

I then had to do something that I don’t like doing, having to go and complain on social media to get their attention.

First time: Nothing.

Second time: A very generic answer telling me to check my bank account.

I hadn’t received any money.

Third time: They tell me to send in the complaint form on their website and that it might take up to 30 days for them to get back to me. Oh, and the best part: If the case was urgent they advised me to call customer service!

You mean the number that is no longer in service?!?!

I answered that tweet and told them that I thought this was unacceptable. After that there hasn’t been a single response.

So I filed the form, sent it in, and now I’m impatiently waiting for an answer and for my money.

That’s where we’re at right now. I’ve had my rant and my sharing of this experience with horrible customer service.

And to end this on a lighter note, I’d like to share one of my favorite rants about another airline giving horrible customer service:

 

Don’t bite our heads off, please…

Over the years I’ve worked in quite a few different places within retail. Most days I love being around people. They give me so much food for thought. Even though I’ve had the pleasure to work with electronics (I love me some gadgets) and books (well you know how I feel about those), I have to say that working with glasses has so far been the one that I’ve enjoyed the most. I think the biggest reason for that is that my job is to actually help people that needs it. It’s not about selling a lot of things that people don’t need, It’s about helping them to actually see! I love it!

But this post was not supposed to be a gush of my love for the optical industry. It’s a plea to a few of you customers out there.

For the customer that yells at us when we ask when you’re born. For the ones who fumes and curses when they have to wait a few minutes to get help. For those who slam their fists on the counter when their product didn’t arrive on time. Those who curse and scream and threatens.

I get it! You have certain expectations, so do I. But sometimes it feels like the expectations that are set for serviceminded people in retail can be beyond ridiculous. Want to know a secret? We’re only humans, just like you.

We have our off days. We try our best to not let it show, but sometimes our best just doesn’t do the trick. Sometimes we falter in the areas that we normally succeed in. It’s life after all.

We get sick. So when you have to stand in line because there’s only one person working in the store, don’t forget that the person standing there could’ve already been working hours overtime trying to do the work usually done by two or more.

We are here to help you. Yes, that much I’m guessing you already knew. That however, does not mean that you can bully and boss us around. We genuinely want to help, and to give you the best experience possible, but we also expect to be treated like an equal. We put a lot of work and training into what we do, even though it is “just retail”.

The customer isn’t always right. I’m sorry to burst that bubble, but someone had to.

I’ve had customers screaming in my face when I tried (calmly) to tell them the rules of warranties and tax refunds. Rules that I could point out and show them, and still they yelled at me and told me I needed to learn to do my job better, just because I couldn’t give them the answer they wanted. I’ve had customers that said such cruel things to me (completely unprovoked) that I ended up crying afterwards. I’ve also had customers that felt it was okay to stare at my body instead of making eye contact while I was talking to them. I’ve gotten sexist jokes thrown my way more times than I can count.

Working in retail and with people can be overwhelming at times. And constantly being surrounded by strangers that demand your full attention can be hard.

So when you feel frustrated; Talk to us. Ask us your questions. Listen to the answers you’ll receive. Don’t bully, and don’t be rude.

Please, do not bite our heads off. Most likely, we are just trying to help.

To end this post on a more positive note; I want to mention how grateful I am to have received so many smiles, kind words, baked goods, flowers and hugs from customers over the years. Those are the moments that I choose to hold on to. I’ve learned so much about business, psychology, human behaviour, kindness, gratitude, and heard so many amazing stories from wonderful people. People I probably wouldn’t have crossed paths with if it weren’t for my years being out on the floor in the business of retail.

It’s been a very interesting journey, and one that I’m still enjoying very much!

Be nice to one another. I guess that’s the message I’m trying to get through here.

Lots of love,

Christina ❤️