No goodwill for senior citizen (84) He followed the app and was fined - is SBB losing its good image?
An 84-year-old trusts the SBB app, takes an alternative route - and is fined. The case causes outrage about the rail company's approach. SBB takes a stand and explains why it's not easy for its staff either.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- An 84-year-old pensioner was fined by SBB because the app took him to a route with an additional fare zone due to a delay.
- The public reacted with outrage - communications expert Patrick Senn accuses the railroad of "criminalizing its customers".
- SBB shows understanding, but sticks to its standard practice and refers to subsequent goodwill decisions.
- The technical problem remains: The app still does not recognize whether a ticket is valid on a changed route.
Following the recent reports in the "Tages-Anzeiger" newspaper about an 84-year-old pensioner who was fined for changing his route and was even entered in the fare dodger register, the outrage is great.
The man had relied on the SBB app after missing his connection due to a delay. The app suggested an alternative route - but this took him through an additional fare zone. Instead of 7.90 francs, the journey actually cost 9 francs. The surcharge: 75 francs.
Social media and comment columns are abuzz. Many criticized the lack of humanity on the part of the railroad. Former journalist and current crisis communications specialist Patrick Senn also sees the discussions about the "criminalization of passengers" who are simply making mistakes as a threat to the image of public transport.
"SBB could lose goodwill"
Senn warns that this uncompromising stance could jeopardize the reputation of public transport in the long term. He recalls the major power outage at SBB on June 22, 2005: at that time, the damage to the company's image was minimal because "SBB's reputation account was well filled". A railroad with broad social acceptance can afford to make a mistake. A "customer-unfriendly zero-tolerance policy", on the other hand, could damage the goodwill of the population - and this in a country where public transport is a regular topic at the ballot box.
«If you are well positioned, the public will forgive even the occasional blunder.»
Crisis communication specialist
SBB explains its approach to blue News. Spokesperson Reto Schärli says they know that customers "can feel unfairly treated" in such cases. However, train staff are often unable to tell at the time of the check whether it was an oversight or a deliberate breach of the rules. "That's why we need a uniform basic rule - with the option to review the case retrospectively," says Schärli.
Customers who are fined must defend themselves
In concrete terms, this means that anyone caught with a ticket that is only partially valid must pay a surcharge in case of doubt. Or at least receive a demand for it.
"On the train, staff are often unable to check all circumstances conclusively," explains the railroad spokesperson. Examples include app problems, errors when purchasing tickets or unclear proof. In such cases, the facts are noted and a surcharge is levied - only later can the case be examined in more detail.
«If we don't succeed in doing this in all cases, we are unhappy about it too.»
SBB spokesperson
Schärli rejects the idea that hardly any goodwill is shown afterwards. "Goodwill decisions are part of SBB's practice and are made retrospectively in thousands of cases every year," he emphasizes. However, it is difficult to draw the line: it is not easy to distinguish between an oversight and deliberate behavior. In addition, equal treatment of all passengers must be guaranteed. "If we don't succeed in doing this in all cases, we are also unhappy about it," says Schärli.
Anyone who feels unfairly treated must therefore take action themselves. The first step is to contact the SBB Service Center, after which you can turn to the Public Transport Ombudsman or take legal action under civil law. The Federal Office of Transport (FOT) could also intervene under supervisory law - but has not made use of this option in the last ten years.
SBB emphasizes that it wants to learn from every incident. With around two million customer contacts per day, errors can occur, says Schärli. Disputes are discussed internally because they show "where rules, processes and user experience clash in everyday life". Staff are regularly trained to react more appropriately in such situations.
Case could happen again
The fact is, however, that the case of the 84-year-old could happen again at any time. The SBB app still does not warn users if an existing ticket is not valid on an alternative route. There is no automatic comparison between the connection and the ticket, even if a ticket is purchased at a ticket machine and loaded onto the digital Swisspass account. The railroad spokesperson points out that "improvements have been initiated at industry level" in order to create more clarity in digital ticketing.
EasyRide remains the only partially secure solution: after check-in, the function automatically calculates the route traveled and the appropriate price - provided the Internet, battery and location function on the cell phone are working.
