I was on my way to work (4.4.08), as usually carrying my coffee mug. The bus was 111 leaving from Kamppi. When I stepped in, bus driver said that I could not go into “his” bus with my coffee mug, that it is forbidden. The funny thing is that there was someone else drinking coffee inside the bus. The driver turned his head to the opposite side and left me no option than getting out of the bus and leave my coffee mug on the floor (no garbage bins).
Funnily enough I use public transportation many times a day and people do take coffee mugs with them, either to sip on the way or just to drink at work. I called the customer service of Westendin linja and spoke to Mr. T. V. (Liikennepäällikkö) who listen to me and reacted in the following way:
- He asked me if I had a lid on the mug – I did have. (How relevant is this?)
- He told me that it is not allowed to eat or drink in Westendin Linja buses and that’s up to the driver to apply the rules.
I told him that I perfectly understand that rules are to be followed (even though I do see plenty of people every morning heading to their works with coffee mugs on, simply common). But rules should be applied FOR ALL! He kept saying that rules are rules; the person did not make any mention to apologize or did not show any sympathy, did not ask my name, did not mention to investigate what was going on, simply nothing! Mr T.V. completely ignored my case. I just wanted to know “why the rules applied to me and not to the rest of the passengers?”
Do I feel like a victim of discrimination because I had to get out of the bus and leave my coffee outside while others were sipping their coffees inside the bus? Yes, I do. Do Westend Linja rules apply only to foreigners? Did the driver choose me, the only dark skinned person on the ride?
Explaining this to Mr T.V., he kept repeating that rules are rules. When I mentioned that the driver smelt quite strongly like alcohol at 9.30 am, Mr T.V said that it is time to stop the conversation and hang of the phone in my ears. Congratulations Westend Linja, for the good customer service, professional drivers and even more professional managers. Perhaps you should considerer changes in your organogram.
Funnily enough I use public transportation many times a day and people do take coffee mugs with them, either to sip on the way or just to drink at work. I called the customer service of Westendin linja and spoke to Mr. T. V. (Liikennepäällikkö) who listen to me and reacted in the following way:
- He asked me if I had a lid on the mug – I did have. (How relevant is this?)
- He told me that it is not allowed to eat or drink in Westendin Linja buses and that’s up to the driver to apply the rules.
I told him that I perfectly understand that rules are to be followed (even though I do see plenty of people every morning heading to their works with coffee mugs on, simply common). But rules should be applied FOR ALL! He kept saying that rules are rules; the person did not make any mention to apologize or did not show any sympathy, did not ask my name, did not mention to investigate what was going on, simply nothing! Mr T.V. completely ignored my case. I just wanted to know “why the rules applied to me and not to the rest of the passengers?”
Do I feel like a victim of discrimination because I had to get out of the bus and leave my coffee outside while others were sipping their coffees inside the bus? Yes, I do. Do Westend Linja rules apply only to foreigners? Did the driver choose me, the only dark skinned person on the ride?
Explaining this to Mr T.V., he kept repeating that rules are rules. When I mentioned that the driver smelt quite strongly like alcohol at 9.30 am, Mr T.V said that it is time to stop the conversation and hang of the phone in my ears. Congratulations Westend Linja, for the good customer service, professional drivers and even more professional managers. Perhaps you should considerer changes in your organogram.
Vastaukset 8
Vanhimmat
That was not racism, that was only customer service.
You should learn that Finnish people are rude but not racist.
Driver might dislike you, not because your colour, but because yourself.
Of course it is racism, if the application of the rules depends on skin color...
Finns tend often to seek the cause for problems either in the foreigner him/herself or just explain that "Finns tend sometimes to be rude". blablabla...
But if the driver allows white people to drink the coffee and dark skinned are not allowed to do the same, then he is a god-damn racist and there is no excuse.
Also the way the "customer service" deals with the matter by just ignoring the complaint of employing racists is absolutely disgusting - Only explanation could be that racism is part of their company policy...
Oh you *poor one*, idiot! If you have nothing clever to say, just be quiet. Your poor opinion does not add anything to this conversation. And you are the one that should learn that all Finnish people are not all rude (as you seem to be) and why should the bus driver dislike him/her? Only because of a cup of coffee? Get a life dude.
Oh you *poor one*, idiot! If you have nothing clever to say, just be quiet. Your poor opinion does not add anything to this conversation. And you are the one that should learn that all Finnish people are not all rude (as you seem to be) and why should the bus driver dislike him/her? Only because of a cup of coffee? Get a life dude.
Taas ei mitään uutta...
Oolemme Suomessa, missä asiakaspalvelu harvoin pelaa. Joskus hävetttää olla suomalainen.
Hi there
I take my coffee to work every morning and no one has ever said anything. You should go to Consumers´s agency and ask advice on how to proceed, especially if you did not intend to drink your coffee in the bus. I agree with you: if there are laws, they should apply for all. Perhaps if you were an alcoholic you could sip your coffee or kossu anywhere, anytime without being bothered. Sorry to say but customer service in Finland is generally very poor. It is a pity that companies do not realize that good/bad customer service is closely connected to reputation.
Tsemppiä!
Don´t mess the racism debate here. It has nothing to do with this. I can bet my lunch money that the whole thing has nothing to do with racism. The only thing that is probably going on is really poor customer service. I get that on me every day of my life here in Finland. And the two things that launch that type of behavior are frustration and waking up on the wrong foot. We Finns are known of unintentional rude behavior and also of being shy. So if the driver did nothing to the other person on the bus he just could not do anything, because that would require him to leave his spot and walk up to that person and encounter him.
HJALMAR
Here in Finland we have this thing called "Reilu meininki". "Fair Play", or something ike that... I think some addvertising company made that slogan.
Even native finns get a load of this "reilu meininki". This country is full on clitfaces. Get used to it.