We had a frustrating experience a few months ago in Valencia, Spain, where I was speaking at a conference. The morning after we arrived at our remote beachfront hotel, we thought we would take the bus into downtown Valencia. Since we had just arrived, I didn’t have any euros yet, so I went online and found an official Valencia Metro app where I could load money and use it to scan the bus fare. I loaded 8 euros, thinking that would cover a few trips and I could always add more later. Being familiar with mobile application development, I thought the app looked really great. It had a constantly updating QR code and seemed really high-tech. Exciting!
Right before we left, a friend loaned me a 20 euro note just in case I needed some cash in town. How little he knew I would need it much sooner than that.
We went out to catch the bus and it came by just a few minutes after its scheduled time. I presented the fancy app with the QR code and the bus driver just looked at me blankly and said “No”. I don’t speak much Spanish so I decided not to push it and I pulled out the €20 note. He looked at me again and repeated “No,” as though I had asked to eat dinner at 6pm.* I shrugged my shoulders and stared him down, until he begrudgingly found enough change to break my twenty.
Later, on our trip back to the hotel, I didn’t even try to use the app because I could see that it was the same type of bus and it didn’t have a scanner. I am trainable.
However, the next day we were going to a different location in Valencia, one that would need a transfer to a different bus. We boarded the first bus and I was careful to get the receipts for the transfer.
Once in town, we waited for the bus for the second leg of our journey. The first one came by and was getting pretty full, and when we were just inside the door the driver looked at us with a thousand-yard stare and said “No.” We backed off the bus and the door closed in our faces.
The second bus had more room, so we were able to board and I presented the tickets for the transfer. The driver looked at us, lips curled at the crossroads of indifference and disdain, and said “No.” I thought, okay, transfers don’t work as advertised, but at least maybe I can use my QR code on this fancy downtown bus. I presented the app and the driver again said “No,” as though I had offered him some paella with chorizo.**
Wow, this amazing Valencia Metro app was really letting me down.
But I had one last trick up my sleeve. A couple of days later, we were ready to head back to the airport on the subway. I thought surely the app would work there, and I could at least use up the eight euros burning a hole in my app. I went to the customer service window to ask how to use the app. The woman behind the glass looked at me as though I was wearing socks with sandals (I wasn’t) and said “No.” She must have seen the deep disappointment in my eyes, so she relented and offered one more piece of advice: “Only for buses.”
But I had the last laugh. When we got home, I contacted my bank and reversed the $9.10 charge. Sure, it took me a while to find the customer service number, call it, listen to hold music, and explain that no, my card wasn’t lost or stolen, and yes, it was really me and I did make the purchase, but no, I didn’t receive what I had paid for. One could argue that it wasn’t worth my time and hassle for that amount of money. A lot of people wouldn’t have bothered.
But I’m the kind of person who will push back. Because if I don’t, then systems and people that are incompetent or unfair won’t pay the price, and I want to try to make the world just a tiny bit better for everyone.
Are you the kind of person who will push back just on principle? Tell me your story!
* No self-respecting Spaniard would eat dinner before 9pm.
** According to Valencians, authentic paella only contains certain ingredients, and none of them are chorizo.
