Shame on you ÖBB - customer experience at its worst
Vienna - Villach 16:25 , 28. Dec 2016, a trip Österreichische Bundes Bahn should learn a lesson from. Two hours in to the journey all passengers were asked to leave the train as it could not continue due to trees on the tracks. We were asked to get on a train to Gloggnitz. No information was added in English for the numerous non German speaking passengers. Once arrived, I followed the seemingly confused crowd to the main entrance, where most of us waited an hour to get a bus to mürzzuschlag. Take note, no information was given by anyone, but had to search our way through the öbb web site. Not at any point in time was there öbb staff to take care and guide 100 people nor give any information. Finally arriving in mürzzuschlag we desperately were seeking öbb staff which at first were not onsite. Then they came in groups ... but no one had any information about the onward journey to villach. For more than three hours we waited in a freezing entrance hall where children and elderly people were literally like ice cubes until the train finally arrived. Writing this, I am on the train, hoping that no more mishaps will happen the next 2 hours so I can finally fall into a warm bed. ÖBB has clearly demonstrated that they can't do crisis management , because I still want to believe they care. They cannot communicate and they leave their ground staff with no authority and no information. 1) why were the passengers not kept on a warm train until the bus and solution was clear? 2) why could nobody communicate the information and solution timely and frequently to the people? I am assuming because there was no plan and solution. Somebody did not think at all when kicking off this journey of hell. 3) why was there not sufficient staff onsite? 4) why did the passengers have to wait an hour in snowstorm for a bus? 5) why was there no warm place for people to wait and no warm drinks served to keep people warm? 6) why was the staff unaware of a plan and when the next train would be there? How damn difficult can it be to get an extra train when your core business is traintraffic? So many why questions and so little answers. Oh and calling your hotline number from a mobile phone is impossible and your twitter account is not monitored... shame on you ÖBB, you didn't get a single action right today and you really showed us that you are incapable of handling anything outside the ordinary.
