DB Holiday Cheer

(This is a true story.)

I go to the train station to buy some tickets for two up-and-coming trips to Berlin. Late Friday afternoon. Crowded. One DB employee is trying to issue an elder woman her ticket for her grandson’s visit over Christmas. 

The woman explains to the DB employee that she insists on paying one way for her grandson to come up to visit her, while his parents insist on paying for their son's return trip. The elder woman knows her grandson had a DB card (discount card), but she doesn’t know if the discount is 25% or 50%.

The DB employee patiently suggests that the woman should go home, call her daughter and find out whether it is 25% or 50%, and then come back to purchase the ticket another time. The woman is obviously distraught at the prospect of having to come back again.

The DB employee sees the elder woman’s disappointment and offers to let her call her daughter. She asks the woman for the telephone number. She doesn’t remember. Then... how about the name and address? The old woman says “Meyer” (like Smith) and the city, but she can't recall the street name. The DB employee checks an online telephone book on her computer for the name. She blinks twice. Then puts on a brave face, “Oh, there are a lot of Meyers in Fulda. Why don’t we start at the top? Does xxxx Ave. sound familiar?”

They were still working their way down the list of Meyers, after I purchased my ticket, and I am leaving. 

I’m a real Scrooge when it comes to Christmas. I’m glad the DB employee is not.

(28.11.2008)