Rude security guard at Pilgrim Office

[Washie]

I have just arrived at the Pilgrim Office after completing the Camino Finisterre and the last 100 km of The Camino Portugues. I did not want a certificate but wanted to visit the Pilgrim Office to ask a question about lost and found items. I was treated very badly by the security guard to the point that he was downright aggressive to me and made my son cry. Very poor welcome and treatment of tourists. Thankfully it is the only time I have ever been mistreated on any Camino but a very upsetting experience for us nonetheless.

 

[Kathar1na]

@Washie, sorry to hear about your upsetting experience. Did you want to ask about a lost Compostela document?

Today must have been a busy day at the Pilgrim Office. I see on their website that they received over 2700 pilgrims so far and the day is not yet over. Fridays are always very busy in summer.

 

[Washie]

@Washie, sorry to hear about your upsetting experience. Did you want to ask about a lost Compostela document?

Today must have been a busy day at the Pilgrim Office. I see on their website that they received over 2700 pilgrims so far and the day is not yet over. Fridays are always very busy in summer.

No. I was asking about a general lost and found item. I wanted advice and to show my son the pilgrims office and gardens.

 

[Roland49]

Sad to hear about such a mishap.
I was there 3 weeks ago very early and the security and helpers were very sweet and helpful.

Maybe they were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of pilgrims, I can imagine, that sometimes it is frustrating to have an overlook and be in charge for the security of the pilgrims and the whole building.

 

[rojasa]

Wow, 2700 pilgrims in one day! I suspect if I were in those shoes, I’d have very little bandwidth left for a tourist wanting a tour at that point, too…

 

[Pathfinder075]

Wow, 2700 pilgrims in one day! I suspect if I were in those shoes, I’d have very little bandwidth left for a tourist wanting a tour at that point, too…

Not to provoke rule 3, but he isn't (a tourist). He isn't looking for a tour, he wanted to ask a question. There is a difference. Not to mention having walked a camino which by definition makes him a pilgrim.

The solution dare I say it is to claim your Compostella, Washie. You might not want it, but it will get you through the door. Bureaucracy at it's finest. Then you are free to show your son the garden. Don't let the actions of one bad apple screw up your Camino. Play the game and jump through hoops to achieve/get what you want.

Honestly if you go to the Pilgrims Office and have a stamped credencial, I think it's irrelevant if you want to claim a compostella or not. You have the golden ticket and should be able to access the chocolate factory (sorry bad analogy). The document that allows access to pilgrim office is the credencial.

I would make a complaint at the cathedral, maybe cc the Vatican too. People are employed to do a job, in the case of a security guard that is crowd control, but you don't have to be an idiot while doing it. I have worked in that area and while it can be stressful, you have to detach yourself from the situation and be helpful.

 

[trecile]

Wow, 2700 pilgrims in one day!

More than that - the Pilgrim office website is showing 2855 for today!

 

[Bradypus]

I would make a complaint at the cathedral, maybe cc the Vatican too.

cc the Vatican??? Perhaps an overreaction.

 

[Pathfinder075]

cc the Vatican??? Perhaps an overreaction.

Yeah I know. Kinda like going over your bosses head to middle management, except that's kind of like going to the company director.

Still it does irk me a little as by working (in any position) for an organisation, you represent that organisation and your behaviour good or bad reflects on it. Maybe he was having a bad day, but nevertheless projecting that on to someone innocent is really not on.

 

[Tincatinker]

Odd innit. Likely if the OP had simply produced their credencial and stated “requiro solo un sello” they’d have been waved through.

Never confuse a security guard with a question

 

[Kathar1na]

No. I was asking about a general lost and found item. I wanted advice and to show my son the pilgrims office and gardens.

Were you allowed into the premises in the end and could you ask your question or did you have to go elsewhere? I think it is the local police in Santiago who runs the Lost Property office? I hope there was a happy ending.

 

[Washie]

To answer the above questions. Yes, I had my pilgrims passport with me and showed it to him. As I knew I was going to be asking a question I delayed going to the pilgrims office until quite late. There was no queue when I was there. I also went on the advice of the tourist office in Finisterre with my question. The security guard was unnecessarily rude and quite aggressive for no reason to me and my son. He directed me to the area to get the certificates but I asked him should I take a numbered ticket as normal first. He shouted at us to go on through and when my son got confused by the shouting he seemed to charge at him which was down right frightening. When we got to the desks, they said we needed a ticket so we came back out to get one and the security man then shouted at us again to go back in. We sat in the garden in shock then spoke with the staff briefly about lost and found and then walked out in fear of the security guard. It was genuinely quiet all the time I was there. I have been in contact with the office several times in the past as a pilgrim, as a professional and as an academic. I am aware this is a one off and the security guard no doubt had a long day but I am old enough and experienced enough to know when behaviour is so bad that I have to draw attention to it. I am a small woman by the way......but that should make no difference.

 

[Pathfinder075]

Then I would make your complaint to the police. This guy should not be in security work and definitely shouldn't be in the Pilgrim Office.

In the UK that level would be enough for you to lose your license.

 

[dbier]

Just as a note/question...does the Pilgrims Office actually report to the Cathedral or to the local archbishop? If not, then going to the Vatican (or even to the archbishop) is jumping the wrong chain of command...
Not to justify bad behavior, but if it is to be reprimanded, ya gotta find the right boss...

 

[Pathfinder075]

Just as a note/question...does the Pilgrims Office actually report to the Cathedral or to the local archbishop? If not, then going to the Vatican (or even to the archbishop) is jumping the wrong chain of command...
Not to justify bad behavior, but if it is to be reprimanded, ya gotta find the right boss...

When i said about cc'ing the Vatican, it was a bit more tongue in cheek. Like the proverbial nut and sledgehammer.

I think your choices for the Pilgrims Office are either the Cathedral or the Xunta. One or the other must control it. @t2andreo would know.

 

[Bradypus]

Just as a note/question...does the Pilgrims Office actually report to the Cathedral or to the local archbishop?

The chapter of the cathedral.

 

[truenorthpilgrm]

Wow, 2700 pilgrims in one day! I suspect if I were in those shoes, I’d have very little bandwidth left for a tourist wanting a tour at that point, too…

Not a tourist wanting a tour.

I have just arrived at the Pilgrim Office after completing the Camino Finisterre and the last 100 km of The Camino Portugues. I did not want a certificate but wanted to visit the Pilgrim Office to ask a question about lost and found items.

 

[Pathfinder075]

Not a tourist wanting a tour.

At what point did the OP ask for a tour? They wanted to ask a question and take their son in the garden, neither is asking for a tour. They had also done a camino, so not a tourist. You can be a pilgrim and not want a compostella, because sometimes getting one is pointless, especially if you already have many on your wall, or even one.

 

[Kathar1na]

does the Pilgrims Office actually report to the Cathedral or to the local archbishop?

To the dean. It is also his signature that is on the Compostelas, currently: José Fernández Lago.

 

[rojasa]

Hi Washie, I am truly sorry you and your son had such a lousy experience. You’re right, people have bad days and behave badly, even on the camino and at the pilgrims’ office. That level of rudeness, especially after the magic of the Camino culture, can feel shocking. I’m sorry if I came across as belittling your experience. I can relate to your son’s tears. Here’s a story:

Over the course of one evening on Camino, a particular hospitalero in a donativo made a series of astonishingly inaccurate and, frankly, inappropriate comments about “la americana” - me - to the group staying that particular night. Some pilgrims laughed at the first couple of asides, but eventually it got uncomfortable for most of us. By the end of our community meal, I knew I needed to call a halt to the commentary (surprise! I speak Spanish! I AM Spanish!), and said some strong stuff that shut it down. I felt pretty awful about the whole thing. Even cried on my mat before falling asleep.

The next morning it came to me that I was to seek him out to make amends for my words, and to ask what was behind the behavior. However, before I finished packing, he approached me. We both had tears in our eyes, and apologized to each other. I asked him if he could tell me anything about the root of his opinions. Turns out he’d had some really negative encounters with otros americanos the previous few days that left him feeling humiliated and angry, but realized that taking it out on me was wrong. We ended up hugging each other…. even teasing each other about regional traits (my family is from one region, his from another. Now THAT could’ve gotten out of hand, too, but it was time to walk, after all, so, buen camino! Adiós! ) The incident remains a real Camino lesson in forgiveness and compassion. For me.

Hope by now you are able to release and move forward. And my prayer for grumpy bullying security guard is that he finds some compassion, too. Buen camino!

 

[truenorthpilgrm]

At what point did the OP ask for a tour? They wanted to ask a question and take their son in the garden, neither is asking for a tour. They had also done a camino, so not a tourist. You can be a pilgrim and not want a compostella, because sometimes getting one is pointless, especially if you already have many on your wall, or even one.

Yes I know that, which is why I pointed it out in my comment!

 

[Pathfinder075]

Sorry, I need to step back. I took your comment and arrow the wrong way. As more of an inflective question and not as you intended it.

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

Then I would make your complaint to the police. This guy should not be in security work and definitely shouldn't be in the Pilgrim Office.

In the UK that level would be enough for you to lose your license.

Look at it from the other side, last year I volunteered for 2 weeks on the 1st floor of the Pilgrims Office and then the guards were also yelled at . Myself and one off the Sisters where also yelled at and the police was called several times. It's not ok from the guard, but if you've been through everything that day, I can imagine it.

 

[TravellingMan22]

I think the guard should certainly be reported. If he’s been rude to you he will have been to others. Letting his colleagues down too, as well as customers. Maybe with feedback can improve.

 

[JabbaPapa]

I ended up going twice to the Pilgrims Office last year ; first time just to make an enquiry of the security guard and also to eyeball the queue situation.

The guy was perfectly civil to me personally on both occasions, but on my first visit he was clearly stressed out from managing so many people (the queue was pretty long, and the people in it themselves gave a general impression of being impatient and frustrated), and likely stressed out also from having to deal with multiple languages simultaneously (that would give me a headache too), and he was treating some people with a consequent degree of impatience AKA rudeness ; so my guess is that your poor experience was a result of his stressful working conditions.

Which is of course no excuse whatsoever for the behaviour you describe ; have to say though, I had the definite impression that the fact that I was speaking to him in fluent Spanish rather than some other language really did help with the guy.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Just as a note/question...does the Pilgrims Office actually report to the Cathedral or to the local archbishop? If not, then going to the Vatican (or even to the archbishop) is jumping the wrong chain of command...
Not to justify bad behavior, but if it is to be reprimanded, ya gotta find the right boss...

In theory, given that it's purely organisational and only marginally religious, the top Authorities are the Archbishop, the local Chief of Police (at a stretch the Interior Minister, the PM, and the King -- but that would be seriously pushing it beyond the very local and individual nature of the affair), and the Mayor.

De facto, neither the Holy See nor the Pope are responsible for the Pilgrims Office, although both could if they wanted exercise some extraordinary oversight upon it.

More realistically, the top man for some disciplinary affair of this sort is the boss of the Pilgrims Office itself :

https://oficinadelperegrino.com/en/pilgrims-reception-office/

The Pilgrim’s Reception Office is run by the Cathedral church of the Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela. The Director of the Pilgrim’s Reception Office is traditionally a Canon of the Cathedral. The present Director is Segundo Pérez López.

And yes, his Boss is the Archbishop ; except if he reports to the Vicar General instead ; or to the Archpriest of the Cathedral Parish, if there is one. The supervising Office is anyway that of the Cathedral Parish rather than the Episcopal Palace.

Common rudeness is however hardly a Police matter in Spain, unless it amounted to serious incivil behaviour ; which realistically, this behaviour does not.

 

[Kathar1na]

To the dean. It is also his signature that is on the Compostelas, currently: José Fernández Lago.

As so often, the website of the Oficina del Peregrino is massively out of date.

Segundo Pérez López was dean for eight years from 2013 until 2021 - which is why his signature is on the Compostela of most of you. His successor and current dean is José Fernández Lago.

News article from February 2021: Segundo Pérez bids farewell as dean of the Cathedral. The article describes the dean's tasks within the hierarchical structure of the Chapter (Cabildo) and says in particular:

As indicated in the statutes of the Cabildo, his responsibilities in this area include promoting pilgrimages to the tomb of the Apostle, especially in the Holy Years, and arranging for the reception of pilgrims with the necessary personnel for human and pastoral care, as well as granting the Compostela to pilgrims, functions that Pérez has been carrying out since the death of Canon Genaro Cebrián in 2013.​

​

PS: The email address is dean@catedraldesantiago.es. See contact details on the Cathedral's website: https://catedraldesantiago.es/en/contact/

 

[sarahchicago]

In summer 2022 the security guard was quite rude to me when I misread my number and had missed my turn (had lost my reading glasses) In 2023 same guard was very abrupt bordering on rude but I knew where to go so didn’t ask him any questions. However, as I waited for a friend, I witnessed him being very rude to an older couple who spoke what sounded like an Eastern European language. Fortunately an office volunteer intervened and helped them Both times I politely greeted him and spoke in Spanish, both times were pretty busy. That job must be hard, but it also should be staffed by folks who can manage to be a public representation of the pilgrim office. The lovely volunteers are exemplars of warmth and welcome. @Washie , while I don’t know if this is the same person, I am very sorry to learn you and your son had such a jarring and unhappy experience after your Camino.

 

[Pathfinder075]

Look at it from the other side, last year I volunteered for 2 weeks on the 1st floor of the Pilgrims Office and then the guards were also yelled at . Myself and one off the Sisters where also yelled at and the police was called several times. It's not ok from the guard, but if you've been through everything that day, I can imagine it.

To me that isn't a bad day. A bad day is running a team of 20 security officers, guarding a festival with 30,000 drunk people generally running amok. Had the unfortunate pleasure of doing that at a well known UK festival many years back. We still acted professionally after many incidents, like 100+ in a day, people fighting, there were several stabbings that year, people OD'ing all over the place, just general mayhem for 12 hours, then next day rinse repeat. It's a job, you do it in a professional manner, it ends you move on. It isn't emotional, it's just calm and methodical.

It sounds like they need a better security guard. Nightclub door staff or similar. A real beef monkey, maybe ex military. Someone who knows how to act, how not to act and how to handle themselves. Working a busy location is not a job for a wannabe who is incapable of self control, nor has the experience to back up their actions. They tend to get scared and then bad things ultimately happen and the place they are guarding ends up in the local rag for the wrong reasons.

Common rudeness is however hardly a Police matter in Spain, unless it amounted to serious incivil behaviour ; which realistically, this behaviour does not.

But I suspect physically threatening a small female is and definitely isn't the image they want to portray. We already know the police are cracking down on unruly pilgrims, so how about a bully security guard who likes to pick on women?

If they had a quiet word, it would probably be enough. A small nudge to say stop being a d*ckhead and act professionally.

 

[JabbaPapa]

But I suspect physically threatening a small female is and definitely isn't the image they want to portray. We already know the police are cracking down on unruly pilgrims, so how about a bully security guard who likes to pick on women?

If they had a quiet word, it would probably be enough. A small nudge to say stop being a d*ckhead and act professionally.

I agree -- but I'd suspect that the guy is more on the receiving end of casual verbal abuse than he is on the distribution sector.

I also suspect that far too many non-Spanish pilgrims are insufficiently cognizant of the particular manner of respect that is expected during their conversations with persons in authority positions.

 

[dougfitz]

I think it would be good if we can tone it down. Some of the suggestions here are bordering on forming a lynch mob. Unless and until the other person has had the opportunity to tell their side of the incident, it is completely inappropriate for any of us to make any suggestions about how they should be dealt with. And there is no reason to think that they will do that on this forum, so I don't expect we will ever know.

That is no reason not to support the OP in their distress, and to console and perhaps counsel her about how she might resolve that. Some posts have, and I am pleased that there are some members who have had the sense to do that. It is unfortunate that not everyone has taken this path.

 

[Washie]

I am home now and reflecting on another wonderful Camino. Whereas the office was quiet when I was there at the end of the day, it must have been a very tough day for all staff. Judging by comments of others here who witnessed poor behaviour by a security guard I reckon it is likely the same man. No doubt management are aware of it and maybe it just takes someone to point it out before something can be done. I did tell one of the staff members at the desk about it and left my details too. They apologized for my experience but I said it was just that individual and no need to apologize. I hope they pass it upwards. No doubt the man was exhausted after nearly 3000 pilgrims went through the door but they may need to check their reactions going forward. Incidentally, at the beginning of my walk yesterday.....just before Padron, the local Police were stamping pilgrims passports outside a church and posing for photos with Pilgrims. I thought it was a lovely touch. Looking forward to my next Camino on the Norte next year. My other older son is on it now doing it backwards straight after his Finisterre walk.

 

[TravellingMan22]

I am home now and reflecting on another wonderful Camino. Whereas the office was quiet when I was there at the end of the day, it must have been a very tough day for all staff. Judging by comments of others here who witnessed poor behaviour by a security guard I reckon it is likely the same man. No doubt management are aware of it and maybe it just takes someone to point it out before something can be done. I did tell one of the staff members at the desk about it and left my details too. They apologized for my experience but I said it was just that individual and no need to apologize. I hope they pass it upwards. No doubt the man was exhausted after nearly 3000 pilgrims went through the door but they may need to check their reactions going forward. Incidentally, at the beginning of my walk yesterday.....just before Padron, the local Police were stamping pilgrims passports outside a church and posing for photos with Pilgrims. I thought it was a lovely touch. Looking forward to my next Camino on the Norte next year. My other older son is on it now doing it backwards straight after his Finisterre walk.

Nice one @Washie . Well done for flagging it to the office, and taking a measured response. 1 bad apple can make a difference to an experience, and taint an otherwise great groups of folks. On the other hand some people aren’t aware of how rude they can come across and once told are able to change. Bit of a stretch in this case of maybe but who knows.

As always ‘don’t let other peoples attitude spoil your day’ which you seemed to have done with ease!

 

[t2andreo]

In theory, given that it's purely organisational and only marginally religious, the top Authorities are the Archbishop, the local Chief of Police (at a stretch the Interior Minister, the PM, and the King -- but that would be seriously pushing it beyond the very local and individual nature of the affair), and the Mayor.

De facto, neither the Holy See nor the Pope are responsible for the Pilgrims Office, although both could if they wanted exercise some extraordinary oversight upon it.

More realistically, the top man for some disciplinary affair of this sort is the boss of the Pilgrims Office itself :

https://oficinadelperegrino.com/en/pilgrims-reception-office/

The Pilgrim’s Reception Office is run by the Cathedral church of the Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela. The Director of the Pilgrim’s Reception Office is traditionally a Canon of the Cathedral. The present Director is Segundo Pérez López.

And yes, his Boss is the Archbishop ; except if he reports to the Vicar General instead ; or to the Archpriest of the Cathedral Parish, if there is one. The supervising Office is anyway that of the Cathedral Parish rather than the Episcopal Palace.

Common rudeness is however hardly a Police matter in Spain, unless it amounted to serious incivil behaviour ; which realistically, this behaviour does not.

Jabba Pappa is mostly correct about the chain of command. However, the Dean of the Cathedral, Don Jose Fernando Lago, reports directly to the Archbishop. The Archbishop's direct superior is the Pope - in Rome.

There are no secular persons in rthe chain of command over the Pilgrim Office. There are, however, some secular officials in the administrative hierarchy. The management at the Pilgrim Office answer to the Dean, Don Jose. He answers to the Archbishop. And He answers to Pope Francis.

The secular staff at the Pilgrim Office report to the Dean of the Cathedral overseeing all things pilgrim related. That is Don Jose Fernando Lago.

If you have a specific complaint, that is where you should lodge it.

Hope this helps.

Tom

 

[oursonpolaire]

@t2andreo 's comment that the Archbishop's direct superior is the Pope - in Rome reminded me of a well-known scholar who noted that Santiago, considering itself to be an apostolic see with its own dignity, never felt a need to respond promptly and alertly to missives from Rome. In any case @Washie seems to have handled it appropriately, so we can leave Pope Francis to deal with other dossiers.

 

[joramos]

Regardless of the mitigating predication of the bad and unprofessional behavior of the security guard, there is no room and no excuse for it in any, any peoples environment.

Likewise, any problem in or about any organization must be rectified by the cognizant lowest segment of the chain of command or administrative echelon. Only officers at the bottom are fully aware and knowledgeable of the nuances and delicate daily ongoing in an office. Going directly to the top ultimately create greater problems that otherwise should not exist.

 

[dfox]

Were you allowed into the premises in the end and could you ask your question or did you have to go elsewhere? I think it is the local police in Santiago who runs the Lost Property office? I hope there was a happy ending.

#1) I'm not sure if the Pilgrim Office is the right place for "lost and found" items.
#2) Maybe due to high/huge number of pilgrims in the Pilgrim Office the day for their "certifications", the security guard was busy monitoring the number of pilgrims inside/outside the office, aka "mob control" for lack of better words.

 

[Theatregal]

But I suspect physically threatening a small female is and definitely isn't the image they want to portray. We already know the police are cracking down on unruly pilgrims, so how about a bully security guard who likes to pick on women?

I am saddened by some of the responses in this thread and really... is it necessary to embellish / speculate and make up things that were never said in the OP or in other posts? The above quoted post (and some that I haven't quoted) are sensationalizing and bordering on trolling.

As others have said in more measured responses, can we not just sympathize with the OP, acknowledge that we also don't know the guard's side of the story and accept that we're all human beings who have difficult days. Please drop the rabbal rousing.

 

[henrythedog]

I had some pretty awful jobs in my distant youth; but standing up for eight hours or more on minimum wage dealing with a succession of people who may not speak my language thankfully wasn’t one of them.

I’m sure we would all like to be greeted by relaxed, friendly multi-lingual assistants; but equally understand why that isn’t necessarily the case.

 

[Kathar1na]

am home now and reflecting on another wonderful Camino.

@Washie, thank you for sharing and describing your experience of an event that was clearly upsetting for you and your son.

There is one line in your last post that appears to corrobate @rojasa's description of what she observed at another time. You did not come here to just vent, you took active steps that may help to improve things.

Reporting such incidents in a calm and clear manner to the appropriate person(s) is the right thing to do so that an employer can act responsibly - responsibly both towards their staff and their 'clients' - and look for remedial action. And by that I don't mean the fantasy scenarios that have been developed in this thread ...

Buen camino (even when you are already back home)!

 

[Damian27]

Yeah I know. Kinda like going over your bosses head to middle management, except that's kind of like going to the company director.

Still it does irk me a little as by working (in any position) for an organisation, you represent that organisation and your behaviour good or bad reflects on it. Maybe he was having a bad day, but nevertheless projecting that on to someone innocent is really not on.

Just a reminder that there are TWO sides to a coin, and we don't know the story from the other side. jus sayin

 

[JabbaPapa]

Regardless of the mitigating predication of the bad and unprofessional behavior of the security guard, there is no room and no excuse for it in any, any peoples environment.

Yeah well, things work out differently in Mediterranean and near-Mediterranean Southern Europe.

Including because the basic Catholic attitude is one of forgiveness, not spite.

I'm glad anyway that OP @Washie has been helped by this discussion of her unpleasant experience.

 

[dougfitz]

Two points:

• when I have visited the pilgrim office recently, once in 2022 and twice in 2023, the security guard appeared to be an employee of a security firm. Any discussion of reporting this to the archbishop or the pope appears to me just so much imaginative nonsense. There will be a dispute resolution mechanism in the contract that will be initiated by the contract manager for that contract, most likely someone in the cathedral administration if it is part of a broader contract covering the cathedral, museums, etc covering the cathedral and its precinct.
• as much as @Washie deserves our sympathy for actions that she clearly found distressing, the other individual in this has two rights which some of you are trampling all over. These are the right to the presumption of innocence, and a right for any decisions to be made in accordance with the principles of natural justice. Irrespective of whether this is an administrative, employment, matter or there might be some civil infraction involved, they deserve to be treated fairly having both these rights acknowledged. More, I think it is possible to both support @Washie and to respect that individual's rights.

I just wonder if some of you were treated the same way you are proposing whether you would be running as fast as you could to complain the the UN Human Rights Commissioner.

 

[Pathfinder075]

If this was reported to his superior, then so be it. It is for them to investigate the issue and deal with it.

As for the other stuff. Well if it was one report of rude and threatening behaviour, fine, maybe an anomaly. But two or more people report the same behaviour and we are now in different water. Anyone that is employed to deal with people is paid to be a professional. Not being a professional once can be explained/addressed, but when it happens a lot, then it needs to be addressed by management and if it isn't then it needs to be addressed by someone higher up.

At the end of the day, the guy is employed to work security for a busy office. I find it highly unlikely he wasn't aware of his exact assignment before starting and if he couldn't deal with it, he shouldn't have taken it or should have asked for a different assignment.

So it's all second hand to me, but I will be at that office in 5-6 weeks and I can assess the situation first hand.

 

[JabbaPapa]

So it's all second hand to me, but I will be at that office in 5-6 weeks and I can assess the situation first hand.

Well, hopefully without letting any confirmation bias colour your judgment ?

 

[Pathfinder075]

Well, hopefully without letting any confirmation bias colour your judgment ?

No, I will detach all emotions, etc. I will go there like I have never been there before, be happy and friendly, ask for help, where should I go? All the normal stuff that people ask when they go to get a Compostela. First Compostela I will do first thing in the morning, the second one in the evening to get a good comparison between the two.

If it's a pleasant experience then fine, someone dealt with it or the guy sorted his sh*t out. If it isn't well the first email goes to the cathedral, the second goes to his boss in Italy. Somewhere between management and middle management, hopefully a solution is found. I don't have any ill will towards the guy, but for me if you do a job as a professional, you do a job as a professional.

I don't think I am unreasonable in this thinking. If a military person decided he was going to go around shooting civilians because he was having a bad day, would that be ok, or if a policeman decided to take back handers from criminals, would that be ok. You do a job, all jobs have rules and regs, you break the rules and regs you get a disciplinary or you get fired. It's the way of civilisation (maybe).

 

[henrythedog]

I’m intolerant, impatient and despite my education and upbringing, occasionally impolite; but still optimistic that society in general would judge me fairly for my occasional lapses.

I’m reconsidering my optimism.

Am I alone in really having had enough of much of the above?

‘Security guard offends member of public’ wouldn’t attract a crowd with pitchforks and flaming torches where I live; and nothing newsworthy has happened here since the dissolution of the monasteries.

 

[JabbaPapa]

No, I will detach all emotions, etc. I will go there like I have never been there before, be happy and friendly, ask for help, where should I go? All the normal stuff that people ask when they go to get a compostella. First compostella I will do first thing in the morning, the second one in the evening to get a good comparison between the two.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Am I alone in really having had enough of much of the above?

I'm not much enamoured of the "cancel culture" either ..

 

[henrythedog]

I'm not much enamoured of the "cancel culture" either ..

I know, I’m conflicted also. I’d much rather let everyone say what they think so that I can make my own judgement about them - (which I am rapidly doing) - but that’s not the ‘house style’ here where we are achingly polite.

 

[SabsP]

No, I will detach all emotions, etc. I will go there like I have never been there before, be happy and friendly, ask for help, where should I go? All the normal stuff that people ask when they go to get a compostella. First compostella I will do first thing in the morning, the second one in the evening to get a good comparison between the two.

For your information: it is called Compostela.

Buen Camino.
May you find kindness and compassion while walking this pilgrimage.

 

[Pathfinder075]

For your information: it is called Compostela.

Duly noted.

 

[dougfitz]

No, I will detach all emotions, etc. I will go there like I have never been there before, be happy and friendly, ask for help, where should I go? All the normal stuff that people ask when they go to get a compostella. First compostella I will do first thing in the morning, the second one in the evening to get a good comparison between the two.

If it's a pleasant experience then fine, someone dealt with it or the guy sorted his sh*t out. If it isn't well the first email goes to the cathedral, the second goes to his boss in Italy. Somewhere between management and middle management, hopefully a solution is found. I don't have any ill will towards the guy, but for me if you do a job as a professional, you do a job as a professional.

I don't think I am unreasonable in this thinking. If a military person decided he was going to go around shooting civilians because he was having a bad day, would that be ok, or if a policeman decided to take back handers from criminals, would that be ok. You do a job, all jobs have rules and regs, you break the rules and regs you get a disciplinary or you get fired. It's the way of civilisation (maybe).

I don't know that any of your previous postings on this thread give me any great confidence that you will be able to do any of this in any unemotional and rationally detached fashion. As someone I think has been leading what seems akin to a social media lynch mob when the OP, @Washie, might have been happy to have a little sympathy and support, you are now far from the person I think anyone should trust to provide an unbiased account. Why don't you drop this, and just enjoy your Camino, and don't treat your visit to the Pilgrim Office as is you were some investigative journalist.

 

[Pathfinder075]

It's dropped.

 

[Kathar1na]

Am I alone in really having had enough of much of the above?

There are at least two of us.

The thread is about a pilgrim who described how she and her son experienced a visit to the Pilgrim Office and what she did - or what she could do to prevent that future pilgrims have a similar experience. It turns out that she did already undertake the necessary steps. This did not surprise me because she had mentioned that she been in contact with the office several times in the past as a pilgrim, as a professional and as an academic.

Instead of focusing on her experience ie how she experienced it, we get scenario after scenario - I called them fantasy scenarios because I tried to be polite (I wanted to write grotesque fantasies) of what some posters would do or think should be done and speculation after speculation about a person about whom we know nothing zero nada.

 

[dougfitz]

Am I alone in really having had enough of much of the above?

No.

 

[natefaith]

Thanks to everyone who tried to bring the thread back to the OP's original concern. I'll close the thread now.