• Timwi@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    10 months ago

    Genuine question: why can’t the train just start? Best case, the cat jumps off. Worst case, it dies through its own fault. Is there something else? Is the presence of the cat on the roof a safety issue?

    • Revan343@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      10 months ago

      The train company might not care about ethics, but they’re gonna care about PR

      • Timwi@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        10 months ago

        I would love for that to be the real reason but I severely doubt that it is. I’m curious about the real reason.

    • Madlaine@feddit.de
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      10 months ago

      This could lead to traumatized customers and a bad image as heartless company.

      (or be a total win if the cat stays on top and became the new mascot; but guess they don’t want to take the risk)

      • Timwi@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        10 months ago

        I think your answer is probably the most plausible compared to the others. It’s a public image issue. That makes sense.

    • Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      10 months ago

      Even if killing cats for any reason, either deliberately or accidentally, is legal in the UK there are still two potential problems with starting the train: Terrible PR when the story gets out and opening your company up to potential civil litigation from the cat’s human as well as anyone else traumatised actually witnessing or contractually obliged to participate in (e.g. Driver) said death of cat. In summary, your brand takes a hit and you may lose money. As an added bonus a late train is less newsworthy in the UK than a funny cat so by delaying the train you might even generate good PR at no cost.

      • Timwi@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        10 months ago

        Those are all fair points. Still unfortunate that it’s still down to money even in your explanation, but it makes sense.

      • Timwi@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        10 months ago

        No, I don’t think it’s acceptable. But my question wasn’t about me, nor about ethics. There’s no way a train operator with a timetable cares about animal well-being or any other question of ethics. I’m curious what the real reason is.

        • Skipper_the_Eyechild@lemmings.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          edit-2
          10 months ago

          Why on earth would a train operator care about timetables over basic ethics? They are human beings, not robots, you know?

          The controller and driver both get paid either way, and I’m sure the train driver is used getting home late on occasion - and I expect they get overtime pay, so he may well be laughing anyway.

          And the controller, or whatever they’re called, will just be seeing it as a PR issue. The slight lost money on the refunds (that passengers actually bother to put through) is easily worth the good PR.

          Edit: Missed random words, impatient brain running too fast for fingers.

          • Timwi@kbin.social
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            10 months ago

            I do applaud your optimism. Wish I could have that same rosy view. Unfortunately company executives have shown time and again their true motives. You are of course correct that they are not robots; however, studies do show that they are disproportionately psychopathic compared to the general population, and the behavior of companies often reflects that quite visibly. Profits and the interests of stakeholders always take priority over basic human decency. It would definitely be refreshing if that is not the case here.

            • dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              0
              ·
              10 months ago

              You’re missing a fundamental part here. The company execs are not the ones deciding whether to delay a train with a cat on the roof.

              That’s the driver and conductor, who are paid hourly or salaried. The execs don’t even know there is a cat on the roof.

        • dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          10 months ago

          My assumption is our laws don’t allow endangering animals, so perhaps they don’t care from a moral standpoint but they will care about repercussions from the law and also the optics of it.

          Also, if you’ve never been on Uk trains, we don’t need a reason for them being late. They’re oft late.

      • Timwi@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        10 months ago

        I just really don’t think that they would care. It’s easier to spin it as, “We didn’t know the cat was there, what a tragedy” than to appease all the passengers who are now late and frustrated.

        • Skipper_the_Eyechild@lemmings.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          edit-2
          10 months ago

          Why do you hate train drivers so much!?

          A small delay for a single train, on a network of thousands, is not enough for the “evil train company” employees, that you seem to think that they all for some reason.

          The world isn’t quite as black and white as you seem to believe it is!

          • Timwi@kbin.social
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            10 months ago

            One, it’s not the train drivers calling the shots here; the train drivers (like all employees) are stringently controlled by management.

            Two, it’s not “hate” to observe that companies just don’t care about ethics and well-being. I thought most of us agreed on this, even the company executives themselves: when ethics conflict with profits, profits are always the higher priority.

            Three, this isn’t what “black and white” means.