'We certainly need to do better': BC Ferries addresses communications fiasco
Frustration is mounting with BC Ferries following a communication disaster on Tuesday when the company posted wrong information about sailing wait times on its website and Twitter account, which had prospective passengers cancelling plans or diverting to other terminals.
“I would wholeheartedly agree that as a company, we certainly need to do better for our customers," said James Tan, the company's chief information officer.
He explained its current conditions webpage isn't all that accurate because instead of providing real-time information, the system predicts what's available.
“Part of the challenge is that we’re trying to predict the best we can on information, however, until each sailing happens, we won’t actually know what’s going on the ground," he said,
Tan admits the system is flawed and outdated and can't keep track of the travelers who don't show up for their reservations.
“We are cautiously pessimistic and conservative in how we forecast simply because we don’t overbook our sailings because we want to make sure that every customer that has a reservation has the ability to get on," he said.
“There’s a complexity there that we’re still grappling with. What’s the best way to convey this? Because it’s very difficult and challenging to predict, for example, how many no-shows you get. And from a policy perspective, we don’t overbook. So we don’t want to oversell and commit to customers," he continued.
Alyn Edwards, a communications consultant with Peak Communicators, told CTV News that BC Ferries needs to do better, especially since its online social media team was repeating the errors on the website.
“The communications team needs to push back on management and say, 'You can’t give us wrong information. Don’t give us any information if you don’t have guaranteed bonafide information that we can give the public because it’s embarrassing,'" he said.
"It’s embarrassing for the public relations people. It’s embarrassing for the government. And it’s really embarrassing for British Columbians because we’ve invited the world here to travel to beautiful British Columbia and it’s just not working," he continued.
At a news conference in Victoria about electric buses, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Rob Fleming faced a flood of ferry-related questions.
“Yesterday, we potentially turned away loads of customers. People were relying on inaccurate information, making travel decisions based on that. That can’t happen," he said.
"And I know the CEO and the team there are working on ensuring that it doesn’t happen again for the remainder of the summer," he continued.
He said an update in technology and a complete overhaul is part of their investment plan and admits it can't come soon enough.
“We’ve got to be 100 per cent in vessel capacity, crewing options and making sure that we’re getting people where they need to go," Fleming said.
The problem won't be solved overnight, but officials said it's looking to improve the system and better communicate with customers.
BC Ferries announced on Wednesday that the Coastal Celebration – which was taken out of service for repairs, decreasing capacity on the most popular route -- is expected to be back in service by Friday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6941344.1719400735!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
She's still busy at 105. What secrets and science are behind Canada's 'super agers'?
There is ongoing research to better understand the relationship between social connection and healthy aging, and why the brains of super agers look different compared with their peers.
'7 years of regret': Raunchy leg piece wins bad tattoo competition at Edmonton Expo Centre
Friday night was a celebration of mistakes for a small group of body art enthusiasts.
An unknown Newfoundland soldier killed in the First World War is being laid to rest
The remains of a soldier from Newfoundland killed in the battlefields of France during the First World War will be laid to rest in St. John's Monday, bringing an emotional end to a years-long effort in a place still shaken and forever changed by the bloodshed.
Man in his 70s struck and killed by a vehicle on Montreal's South Shore
A pedestrian in his 70s was struck and killed at an intersection in Brossard, on Montreal's South Shore.
Nude beach etiquette: Lose your clothes, not your manners
Most of us have felt the freedom and delight that comes with stripping down to a swimsuit on a sunny day and wading into a cool sea, the horizon twinkling in the distance.
Who are the richest people in Canada? Here's how many billionaires there are
If you gathered all the wealth that billionaires currently have worldwide, you would have about US$14.2 trillion, according to Forbes Magazine. But what about in Canada alone?
A study identified 6 types of depression. Here’s why that matters
Scientists may be a step closer to that reality, thanks to new research that has identified six subtypes — or 'biotypes' — of major depression via brain imaging combined with machine learning.
How will Louisiana's new Ten Commandments classroom requirement be funded and enforced?
Even as a legal challenge is already underway over a new Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms, the details of how the mandate will be implemented and enforced remain murky.
The new airline rivalries: Air Canada vs. Porter, WestJet vs. Flair
In a country traditionally dominated by two national airlines, a new set of aviation rivalries has emerged. Porter is increasingly moving in on Air Canada's home turf of Central Canada as well as cross-country routes, while WestJet seeks to counter the threat of Flair Airlines in a shift from the decades-old industry dynamic of sparring between the two biggest carriers.