I used to be a flequent railway traveller. I used to spend between 2500 and 3000 Euros per year on tickets and other products sold by the German Bahn. However the behaviour of the Deutsche Bahn Customer Relation Management has forced me back on the road.
Travelling with the German railway was for a couple of years now my most frequent way of travelling: flexible, comfortable, and increasingly faster. And environmental-friendly. Yes, it was also increasingly more expensive. But often it was worth it: I could use the Bahn for working, travelling, getting in touch with people.
Now I am not using the Deutsche Bahn anymore. Now I stick to hitch-hiking and airplanes. Now I am more happier to sit cramped up in an old vehicle with a bunch of smelling teenagers on the highway between Berlin and Munich then sitting in the comfortable chairs of the German high-speed train ICE.
What has made me revert my thinking? Well, I still think that railways are the future method of mass travelling. And I would like to contribute to a change in how young people perceive their mobility. But I do not want to put up with the arrogance of the Customer Relation Management.
How did it start? A few years ago, the German Bahn created its Bahn.Comfort program. It pretty much worked like the ordinary Mile-Collect-System of any airline: for any Euro spend, you would receive one point. If you collect more than 2000 points, you would get access to the lounges available at each station and other benefits.
I was one of the first customers to enter the Club. The benefits (a free coke or a newspaper) did not count for much, but it was great to consider oneself as a strong supporter of a clean way of transportation. Yet from the very beginning the system had flaws:
If you had forgotten your Bahn Card (with your number on it), you could not collect points, even if you identified yourself at the purchase of the ticket or to the train conductor. Also you had to pay the double prize and could get a refund after paying a fee of 15 Euros. So unlike airlines where the check-in staff does not even need the Miles-and-more-Card, the Bahn made it unnecessary difficult to use its program.
After using the Bahn Card for more than ten years now and being a member of the programme for more than five years, I had a lengthy row with the Customer Relationship Management this summer.
It all started when I lost my Bahn Card on a trip to Poland. I still had a month left until the validity would run out and I would have bought a new Bahn Card valid for another year.But the Bahn Card Service simply resfused to print a new one - even though it is contrary to their Terms of Conditions.
In phone and email-conversations I pointed out that I would still spend another 500 Euro in the remaining month - but given the problems with the collecting of Bahn Comfort Points and the 15 Euro fee I was not inclined to spend more than I need without any benefits.
The Bahn Card Service finally agreed to send me a new Bahn Card, a 100 Euro voucher and have me stay in the Bahn Comfort Club. However, when I received the card, they only gave me the normal kind. Now, I am not an elitist or normally ask for any kind of special treatment - but I think that a commitment made by a company should be honored.
I called them again and said that they have not send me what they have agreed for and that I will refuse to pay for something that I did not order. I said that I will have not use the Bahn Card and continue to travel by hitch-hiking (the only exception was when I cashed-in my voucher).
Now, after four months of silence, the German Bahn has gathered their Inkasso-Sharks which want to claim the money for the unsusable Bahn Card plus lots of additional fees. Well, we’ll see, I can’t wait to to settle this issue in front of a court.
I hope this draws attention to a Customer Relation Management that scares away those customers which are most loyal.
