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And it may have been me. I feel bad about this - I never use profanity, but this guy was just...so rude to me.
This'll be a bit long. For starters, my flight home from Greece was Thursday. I had two layovers, each abut an hour long, with two flights being Alitalia.
Well, between Rome and Naples, Alitalia managed to not only lose MY bag...but the bags of everyone else on the plane.
I was staying in a hotel that night, and my husband was bringing me a second suitcase which had extra clothes in it the next morning (he was on a military flight and could check more, so he took one of my bags). SO, totally cool.
Anyway, I filed the necessary claims report, and the employee at baggage claim told me, "We'll call you, you can come pick it up." He gave me no further instructions; the paper he gave me was not a claims form. This is important.
So, the next day my husband and I were doing our errands after he picked me up from the hotel, when the airport calls. They have my bags! Hooray! He drops me off at the airport, and then goes to get an item we forgot while grocery shopping.
I go in and find that the baggage claim counter is closed. Information tells me, "Oh, just knock on the door."
So, I knock. Nothing. I notice a bell next to the door, and ring that, and an angry little Italian man comes out, sticks his finger in my face and tells me very rudely, "You wait a minute."
I stand there in total shock as he closes the door. Another person has come up during the time, sees that I haven't been helped, and decides to ring the bell again.
The Little Italian Man opens the door again, looks at the other guy, looks directly at me, and snaps, "I SAID WAIT."
Finally, he comes out, gives me a disgusted look, turns to the other guy, and says, "You first."
The guy gives him his name and information. He then disappears again into the room, then comes out a good five minutes later and tells the poor guy he'll have to wait because his bags haven't unloaded yet from the plane.
He finally turns to me says very rudely, snapping his fingers at me, "Give me your baggage claim form."
Now, I have had enough. I have had my luggage lost, been bulllied by taxi drivers (another story), stayed in the effing Bates Motel, have NOT had a decent shower, had this LIM stick his FINGER in my face, been snapped at both verbally and physically, and ignored. Remember when I said above that I hadn't even received a claim form?
I'm done.
I snapped and said, "I don't have a d*** claim form. You people called me and told me to come, so HERE I AM. No one said anything to me about a d*** claim form."
He looks very bored and goes, "Well, it'll be very difficult to find your luggage without a claim form. It will take lots of time and-"
I yanked out my military ID and said, "Here's my ID. My name is right there. Now go get my f***ing bag."
I guess seeing that I wasn't a tourist (and associated with the military that works jointly with the airport) made him do some kind of 180, because he went back in his office and came out two seconds later with my claim form, got my bag, and didn't say another word to me beyond, "Have a nice day".
Bonus
The taxi story:
My hotel was ten blocks from the airport. By the time I filed a claim for my lost luggage, it was midnight, and I didn't particularly feel comfortable walking in the dark in Naples.
I went out to the airport curb and asked one of the drivers how much he'd charge me for the ten blocks. (The taxi drivers here don't use meters; they're notorious for ripping off tourists.)
He tried to tell me ten euro (I could have talked him down), then his coworker/boss/friend/whatever came over and interrupted.
"No, not ten. It's twenty. You could get raped and no Superman will come save you."
I was remarkably calm about it. I said blandly, "I'll walk." As I marched off, the first guy started shouting angrily at the second guy, then shouted at me, "Only ten! ONLY TEN!!"
I didn't see any rapists or Supermen on the way to the hotel.
This'll be a bit long. For starters, my flight home from Greece was Thursday. I had two layovers, each abut an hour long, with two flights being Alitalia.
Well, between Rome and Naples, Alitalia managed to not only lose MY bag...but the bags of everyone else on the plane.
I was staying in a hotel that night, and my husband was bringing me a second suitcase which had extra clothes in it the next morning (he was on a military flight and could check more, so he took one of my bags). SO, totally cool.
Anyway, I filed the necessary claims report, and the employee at baggage claim told me, "We'll call you, you can come pick it up." He gave me no further instructions; the paper he gave me was not a claims form. This is important.
So, the next day my husband and I were doing our errands after he picked me up from the hotel, when the airport calls. They have my bags! Hooray! He drops me off at the airport, and then goes to get an item we forgot while grocery shopping.
I go in and find that the baggage claim counter is closed. Information tells me, "Oh, just knock on the door."
So, I knock. Nothing. I notice a bell next to the door, and ring that, and an angry little Italian man comes out, sticks his finger in my face and tells me very rudely, "You wait a minute."
I stand there in total shock as he closes the door. Another person has come up during the time, sees that I haven't been helped, and decides to ring the bell again.
The Little Italian Man opens the door again, looks at the other guy, looks directly at me, and snaps, "I SAID WAIT."
Finally, he comes out, gives me a disgusted look, turns to the other guy, and says, "You first."
The guy gives him his name and information. He then disappears again into the room, then comes out a good five minutes later and tells the poor guy he'll have to wait because his bags haven't unloaded yet from the plane.
He finally turns to me says very rudely, snapping his fingers at me, "Give me your baggage claim form."
Now, I have had enough. I have had my luggage lost, been bulllied by taxi drivers (another story), stayed in the effing Bates Motel, have NOT had a decent shower, had this LIM stick his FINGER in my face, been snapped at both verbally and physically, and ignored. Remember when I said above that I hadn't even received a claim form?
I'm done.
I snapped and said, "I don't have a d*** claim form. You people called me and told me to come, so HERE I AM. No one said anything to me about a d*** claim form."
He looks very bored and goes, "Well, it'll be very difficult to find your luggage without a claim form. It will take lots of time and-"
I yanked out my military ID and said, "Here's my ID. My name is right there. Now go get my f***ing bag."
I guess seeing that I wasn't a tourist (and associated with the military that works jointly with the airport) made him do some kind of 180, because he went back in his office and came out two seconds later with my claim form, got my bag, and didn't say another word to me beyond, "Have a nice day".
Bonus
The taxi story:
My hotel was ten blocks from the airport. By the time I filed a claim for my lost luggage, it was midnight, and I didn't particularly feel comfortable walking in the dark in Naples.
I went out to the airport curb and asked one of the drivers how much he'd charge me for the ten blocks. (The taxi drivers here don't use meters; they're notorious for ripping off tourists.)
He tried to tell me ten euro (I could have talked him down), then his coworker/boss/friend/whatever came over and interrupted.
"No, not ten. It's twenty. You could get raped and no Superman will come save you."
I was remarkably calm about it. I said blandly, "I'll walk." As I marched off, the first guy started shouting angrily at the second guy, then shouted at me, "Only ten! ONLY TEN!!"
I didn't see any rapists or Supermen on the way to the hotel.
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