"Charging for the effort" Swiss Post demands new service fee - if you need help, you have to pay
More and more companies are charging customers who need help with self-service machines - including Swiss Post recently. This is leading to discussions.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- An increasing number of self-service printers in post offices and self-service photo machines are charging a fee of five francs if customers require assistance from staff.
- The fee is necessary to compensate for the time spent by employees.
- Swiss Post is endeavoring to make the printers as user-friendly as possible.
Recently, customers of Swiss Post, photo providers and other companies have had to pay a fee of five francs if they need help from staff with self-service printers. Swiss Post now also charges fees in certain situations.
The introduction of the five-franc service fee has led to discussions among customers. Jacqueline Bühlmann, media spokeswoman for Swiss Post, explained to blue News that this step was necessary in order to compensate for the increasing time spent by employees.
"The printing service was basically introduced as a self-service so that customers can operate the printers themselves. However, if help is required, a small service fee of five francs will be charged," explains Bühlmann.
The background to this measure is clear: some customers need help operating the printers, even though they are designed to be as "user-friendly as possible" - which increases the time required by employees.
Fees for telephone service
"The fee of five francs is generally based on a time value of two minutes. If the customer advisor has to provide support, he charges for his time and effort," explains Bühlmann. This decision is intended to ensure that the self-service concept is maintained and that staff deployment remains efficient.
Similar fees are also being discussed in other areas. Cembra Money Bank, for example, charges five francs for certain telephone service requests in order to promote the use of digital solutions and relieve the telephone queues.
Swiss Post's telephone message also states: "Of course you can also place your request with us by telephone for a flat fee of five francs," writes "Nau".
Alternative: more staff
Not all customers show understanding for this new regulation. "Between 30 and 50 percent of customers don't understand the fee and are annoyed", reports branch manager Besjana Ahmetaj from Copy Quick at Bern station to "Nau".
However, Ahmetaj adds that no fee is charged for short questions, but only if the customer advisor is actually used for longer. Because: "Otherwise, self-service wouldn't make sense if it was the same price. And we would need more staff to handle all orders for all customers."
The introduction of such service fees shows a trend towards more self-service and cost efficiency in various sectors. While some customers welcome this as it can improve service and reduce waiting times, others are critical of these fees because they have to pay for a service that used to be free and that many people take for granted.
And at the post office? Jacqueline Bühlmann explains that no further charges are currently planned for other services.
