Love the ships, hate the company ?
Love the ships, hate the company ? Aug 25, 2013 12:36:24 GMT -8
Post by Low Light Mike on Aug 25, 2013 12:36:24 GMT -8
I am curious of anyone identifies with this statement, in regards to BC Ferries or Washington State Ferries. Totally or somewhat. I know that hate is a harsh word, and love is also an extreme word. So tone it down, if you wish, to "Enjoy the ships, Annoyed by the company."
For me and BC Ferries, I've been identifying with this phrase more and more lately.
I am keenly interested in the ships that are operated by BC Ferries. For many of us, an early childhood fascination with the "big ferry boats" is what started us on the path of following the ferries with more than just a casual interest. And many of us have been able to live out that fascination to new levels through more extensive travel of the ships and routes as adults. We can spend time enjoying the experience of seeing a ship from shore, and then riding that same ship. We enjoy the experience of being on the water with the other marine traffic and also enjoy the technical things like navigational routes and docking procedures.
I also have a good respect and admiration for those who work on the ships in the professions of navigation and engineering. Full of skill and experience, these professionals both young and old are entrusted with the ships that we admire so much.
But those same professionals also have to deal with unreasonable demands made by management and governors (ie. Government) of the company or agency. Forcing ship personnel to somehow make certain ships work on routes that the ships aren't suited for. Creating a culture where on-time performance can be seen to trump safe operation of the ship. Forcing crews to keep old ships barely operational with Band-Aid repairs. Forcing crews to operate ill-suited vessels such as the possible future cable-ferry to Denman Island. Showing disrespect to the travelling public by public-consultation charades over faulty ship-utilization data or over unproven and foolhardy cable-ferry plans.
And the on-shore managers can show little appreciation or understanding for maritime traditions and company history. Take a company like BC Ferries and consider the lack of maritime experience on the board of directors or at the senior management level. It's easy to see why there is so little regard for maritime traditions and history at BC Ferries; it's a top-down culture shift away from the maritime traditions that most of us love and respect.
The on-shore managers now have a security template that identifies people into only 2 categories: "Customers" and "Terrorists." The company is incapable of understanding that there are some people, who are also their customers, who have a deep appreciation for maritime transportation, culture and history. The company seems to tolerate this interest in children or in handicapped adults, where it can be seen to be helping to make someone's dream wish come true. But there is little room in BC Ferries for other people who have an interest in their ships. Not everyone on the ships is just mindlessly listening to their IPod on board or texting the time away, or reading the Globe & Mail in the SeaWest Lounge. There are some (perhaps many) people who still look at a ferry trip as a fun and fascinating voyage.
So for me, that's why I can say that with regards to BC Ferries, I love the ships and hate the company.
I find that my recent ferry photography efforts are mainly to record and preserve the history of soon-to-be-retired ships. I'm doing my part to record and preserve the history that company management likely shows no interest in.
And maybe that's a common and typical management attitude in transportation companies. I've read that Hunter Harrison (CEO of Canadian Pacific Railway) has a dislike for steam.
"I hate steam engines. They are expensive to run; the liability is too high and they serve no useful purpose"
from here: link
Maybe my attitude is tainted by my readings of history of Union Steamships, CP Steamships and the CP railway, where the grand history is available to be read in musty old books that now line my home bookshelf. I read the rich history of those other companies and then I wonder why BC Ferries is so non-maritime in its culture and image.
Or maybe what I'm reading in my old history books is stuff written by outsiders or by non-typical employees, and maybe those old companies had an upper-management who were also apathetic about history and traditions.
Maybe it means that it's people like us, and those rare employees that we sometimes meet, who are charged with recording and preserving this generation's ferry history for the coming generations?
Please share your own thoughts on this topic, as well as any feedback on what I've shared about my outlook.
Last Edit: Aug 25, 2013 12:55:38 GMT -8 by Low Light Mike
Post by Neil on Aug 25, 2013 21:43:32 GMT -8
I can identify with this statement... because I think I have the same feeling about the newspaper industry. I've always loved newspapers; when I went on a vacation with my mother when I was twelve, one that included many ferries (at my insistence), I bought a newspaper from every town we went through, from Campbell River to Spokane. Every relative who went on holidays could get away fairly cheaply on souvenirs for me- just bring back a newspaper. I still love the fact that the Co-op here on Hornby has up to five papers available, depending on the day.
From the time I started an undistinguished clerical career with the Vancouver papers in 1974, I always marvelled at the process that produced two absolutely new products, every day, and all the things that came together to put those papers on the street.
However... newspaper owners; that's a different matter. Reptilian profiteers, who frequently had no particular affection for ethics, fairness in reporting, or relations with employees. The products were a near miracle, thanks to the employees who cared, no thanks to their bosses who looked only at the bottom line.
There's a parallel with BC Ferries. As Mr Horn states, many of us love the ride, the experience... but we look at the executive end of things with a jaundiced eye.
These days, I think there's a corporate mindset which admires people who can produce and administer a product, no matter what that product is. Efficiency is transferrable from industry to industry- you don't have to have people with a maritime background to run a ferry company. In fact, affinity for a given field and respect for its traditions can even be seen as a hindrance... widgets are widgets, and marketing is universal. So you get BC Ferries run by people who largely have no background in marine transportation... as our long lost pontificator, Cascade, pointed out, in one of his rare lucid moments.
David Hahn did a pretty decent job of carrying out the government's mandate, although I believe his background was in the airline industry. But then, Gordon Campbell made it clear that BC Ferries was not supposed to be adhering to any smarmy, sentimental notions of nautical tradition, or service to communities. The recent information meeting regarding the cable ferry here on Hornby reinforced my impression that BC Ferries is a bloodless, bottom-line focussed provider of a product, which in a different industry could be wieners or hedge trimmers. There is no history or tradition; there is only what is marketable, and what is efficient.
Maybe we shouldn't romanticize Union Steamships or the old CP service. They were motivated by profit, and not always by community service, and it could be that the illusion of history was actually expediency, and the unwanted expense of modernizing. But when we look at the modern BC Ferries, I think what most of us admire and feel affection for is the vessels, and the nature of the service. We remember the crew people and the ship's officers who've been considerate in our contact with them. We don't admire- so much- David Hahn bragging about cleaner washrooms because of corporate initiative, and those of us who look closely at such things don't appreciate the fact that BC Ferries has a much higher ratio of administration to real workers than does Washington State Ferries, who carry the same number of passengers.
As for the word 'hate'... that's a bit strong. Corporatism is what it is, and this province elected the Liberals, so it comes with the territory. But, it would be seriously bizarre if we felt as good about the management construct of BC Ferries as we do about the actual operation. On one hand, you have real people going about jobs that they care about, and on the other hand, you have widget makers. Not too hard for me to decide which is more admirable.
Good topic, Mr Horn. Thanks for introducing it.
Queen of Nanaimo Teen
Mayne Queen
Post by Queen of Nanaimo Teen on Aug 25, 2013 22:19:31 GMT -8
I believe you hit the nail right on the head Mr. Horn. I agree with everything you say!
I feel that as the years go on, my love for the ferries will continue to lessen as the Queen's wither away, and all I am left with is my 5' x 5' patch of dogwood carpet, and pair of teal and burgundy chairs.
You talk about how you are preserving the history of BC Ferries (pictures and video) because BC Ferries isn't. Is this the same case with CP and Robert Turner?
For now I just have to be happy that my new house that my comrades and I are renting in Winnipeg happens to be on 'Ferry' road.
Post by mrdot on Aug 26, 2013 12:29:54 GMT -8
:)I was intreged by yesterday's province editorial on the comparison of remuniation of top end personel of our gravey=boot fleet and the evergreen fleet! the latter wins in my mind as ships of my youth like 'evergreen state' look as they did in my youth, and they soldger on in far less gravey! :)mrdot.
excapg2
Love the ships, hate the company ? Aug 27, 2013 21:18:53 GMT -8 Low Light Mike, compdude787, and 2 more like this
Post by excapg2 on Aug 27, 2013 21:18:53 GMT -8
I find it easy to identify with the statement" love the ships... hate the company" ( rather than hate, I prefer to use 'dislike strongly") As a British Columbian who has been riding ferries for almost 60 years, has worked as a Master on a ferry for 25 years and even worked for BCF, I think it's safe for me to say that I love the ships.
I am really upset by what those @#$%&*'s in Victoria have done and continue to do to OUR ferry service and also what they are doing to destroy the economy of a large portion of coastal BC. They are playing Monopoly with our money and we are losing! When the overpaid head honcho admits that he hides in off limits areas of the ferries he travels on rather than mixing with the workers or passengers to get a feel for what is going on it's easy to see how they operate. They answer to no one.
It's interesting that several of the routes were started under the Department of Highways ... now they are "money losers" for BCF. Gordo and company spent close to a billion dollars on the highway to Whistler for the Olympics, they are destroying a perfectly healthy Port Mann Bridge and spending hundreds of millions on roads in the lower mainland, yet the current government doesn't accept that the ferries are just as important a link to many communities and regions of the Coast.
I spend quite a bit of time (and money!) riding the ferries. I have friends and family that I visit on Vancouver Island and I own property on the Sunshine Coast. As a result of the rather high cost it has become necessary for me to limit my travel to much less than I used to. I was planning to retire on the Sunshine Coast .... it's not going to happen now.
My experience with the working people on the ferries has been excellent. There are a lot of good people in the company and it's a testament to their character that they put up with some of the corporate nonsense that has been foisted upon them.
I haven't ridden on every ship in the fleet but I have enjoyed trips on many of them. My view is that some of the bigger fancier German engineered ships are like high rises .... nice to look at but who wants to climb all those stairs, and I wouldn't want to pay the fuel bill. I was recently on the Island Sky ( a BC built boat) and found it to be practical for the run ( Yes, some of the light fixtures still rattle a lot!) Having worked on two of the ships that went to the Mexican breakers was a highlight for me. They were well built and comfortable to travel on but the configuration of the main car deck created some loading challenges with the bigger, longer modern vehicles. I always thought that if they had built a bunch more of the Alberni Class over the years that we would be in a lot better shape than we are now. They're very well set up for vehicle traffic, wouldn't need to have special berths built for them, and burn a reasonable amount of fuel for what they do. The crews would not have to be fammed on several types of vessel too.
Last summer, I rode on many of the Washington State ferries. I like the cost, the service, and the no frills boats. In short, Washington State Ferries are a service, BC Ferries are a very expensive money wasting nightmare which I dislike strongly!
1foot2ships
Oiler (New Member)
Love the ships, hate the company ? Jan 14, 2020 16:23:34 GMT -8
Post by 1foot2ships on Jan 14, 2020 16:23:34 GMT -8
u guys probably already know, but theres a page on fb called: Hate BC Ferries
its kinda funny cause a lot of times, their reasons are riddiculous, but sometimes, somebody has a valid gripe
twitter.com/bcferrys
(one of the best sites on-line)