It was snowing two days before Christmas. I could feel the snowflakes on my face when I was walking from my apartment in downtown Madison to Memorial Union. But I couldn’t remember the temperature that day. It wasn’t my first freeze in Madison.
Before I got my bus to Chicago, I stopped at Walgreen’s to buy an ear bud. I don’t like Chinese product but I thought it would help me when traveling in the winter.
After I arrived in Mega Bus’s stop at Union Station Chicago, I walked through the wind and night to the Greyhound bus station. I had to continue my journey to Washington D.C. It took more than 20 hours to arrive in D.C., a place where I spent my winter break by doing an internship at International Broadcasting, Voice of America. That’s my first time entering a private bus station in the U.S. It was like in my country, Indonesia. Here, the toilet is cleaner. People from different colors and destinations filled the waiting area. I came three hours before my departing schedule (11:20, Chicago-DC).
When the bus came, I made a line. I asked the door staff to make sure that even I already saw the word Washington on the front glass of the bus. He requested me to go back to the line. I tried to ask other passengers and later asked again to the man. I couldn’t understand his explanation. He just said another bus to DC would come. I assumed that he let some people in to the bus even they didn’t go to DC because the bus would transit in several cities before the final destination. Did they over sell the tickets? I don’t know. Did I have a right to leave Chicago based on the printed schedule? Yes.
I wasn’t the only victim. And I didn’t hear any information or apologize from the Greyhound. I decided to meet the customer service. I asked the reason and when the promised bus would come. She demanded me to understand the situation. But honestly, I didn’t understand. As a costumer, I needed clear information. The guy beside her said that it was same like the airplane business, delayed. He also added that first come first served. Both the reasons wasn’t make sense. “Can I meet the customer service?” I asked the same lady. “You are speaking with.” was a proximate quote I can remember. I tried to ask her name but she refused and she brought a security to me. Did she do her job as CS?
A big guy came and I looked his eyes and asking the same questions. He pushed me to answer only YES or NO from his short closed sentence question. Sorry, I couldn’t put the exact quote. But if I said NO, he promised to kick me off from the station. “I am sorry, I don’t understand sir.” An honest sentence from me who really couldn’t’ understand the situation. He supposed to kick me off but he explained that it was a holiday season; some drivers need a rest, so it affected the bus.
I totally couldn’t accept the answer. So, I went back to the line with more than ten passengers who were waiting for the next bus. In Indonesia, you might find some delayed buses. But I have never found such a rude staffs that didn’t care with their customers. The bus came more than two hours later. And I heard the first gentleman apologize from the bus driver. He made our journey more comfortable.