Many of us consider that it is much easier to go to the Bucharest Nord station in order to find out the necessary information about the departure time of a certain train that to attempt for hours and hours to reach the 952 – CFR Information Line. I have to admit that this happened to me too. From curiosity, and because my job allows it, I have decided to go straight to the telephone information office. Maybe they had troubles with their lines and the employees didn’t know about it. I arrive in front of the huge building named Gara de Nord and I start to ask about the ways to reach the above-mentioned office. Finally, after being sent numberless times from one person to another, I succeed in finding the place. Honestly, once entered, the seen things astonished me. Maybe you, the readers, are asking yourselves which was the source of my astonishment. For the beginning I will try to describe the room that is not bigger than the sleeping room of a usual flat: two desks with nine phones and one locker. On the right wall there are stuck two posters with the train timetables, necessary for offering the information about the itineraries and the connections of the trains.

This was the source of my astonishment, because I was expecting to enter a room endowed with computers and phonically isolated booths. I have found out that, in few months, in the same time with the finalization of the upgrading works, this service will be moved in a new office and will be endowed with modern equipment. Now, after finding out about the working conditions of these employees, you will want to find out why the 952 line is almost all the time engaged. Very simple, dear readers. Each employee has on her desk three phones that are ringing once hanged up. Because they did not have time to take care about me during the few hours when I was with them, I sited quietly and noted everything that happened during this time. Besides that fact that the phones were ringing continuously and the information flew, the noise coming from outside was amplifying the hot atmosphere inside. I have to admit that in order to figure out which were the questions that the employees were “bombarded” with, I should have been very attentive. You cannot say that I was too indiscreet, but only a little curious. Most of you don’t put more questions than necessary but, however, there are many persons that succeed to do it. Maybe because of the fact that they are very upset, or why not, angry, they don’t realize that some information may be found out in the stations, when they reach their destinations. In order for you to give me right, I’ll give some samples: ”Is the train on schedule?”, “Which are the reasons why the train is not on schedule?”, “Are there any other connections between the town X and Y?”, “With which train I could come back and when?”…and such examples could go on but I prefer not to go further.

At the end, I would like to add that these employees that are doing their best for giving us the necessary information, don’t have lunch break, don’t benefit from any substantial facilities (only a 10% hardship allowance), but, on the other hand, after 12 hours of work they reach their homes completely exhausted just like I reached the editorial office after few hours spent with them.

Magdalena Stanciu