Good CX is Often Plagued by Scams & Complaints

In this interview, Combe discusses how trust, transparency, and simple user experiences are shaping the future of digital parking payments.

Excerpts from the interview:

From your perspective, what does good CX look like in the mobility & digital parking payments industry, where scams, confusion, and complaints are often common starting points?

Good CX in any industry starts with uncompromising clarity and honesty.

That means removing jargon, pressure, and fine print so customers fully understand what they’re getting. This includes risks and limitations because trust starts with being unmistakably clear, especially when customers have been conditioned to expect the opposite.

Good CX also requires accountability when things go wrong. Problems need to be acknowledged quickly and owned by real people where necessary. 

At PayByPhone, we have support agents available 24/7, for example. Complaints should be viewed as product intelligence, not inconvenience. Good CX means using customer feedback data to improve and to redesign products and processes, not just an opportunity to placate frustrated users.

Most importantly, it’s about prioritising long-term trust over short-term wins. That means not manipulating, rushing, or selling at all costs. A calm, fair experience, even if it means a customer walking away, is the strongest differentiator. 

In industries that may encounter negative factors, good CX is less about delighting customers and more about restoring their faith that honest, respectful business is still possible.

“Simplicity” is often talked about in CX, but rarely defined. What does real simplicity look like for drivers — and where do you think the industry still overcomplicates things?

Simplicity means zero thinking for the driver. Park, pay, and leave, without guessing which app to use, decoding zones, or worrying about whether the payment worked. If the driver feels confident and moves on quickly, we’ve done our job.

In practice, that means removing friction wherever possible. For example, features like our AutoPay using ANPR allow truly frictionless, touchless payment. The vehicle is recognised by its number plate, and payment happens automatically, with no interaction with the app required. 

That’s real simplicity: the technology adapts to the driver, not the other way around.

Simplicity is also about reassurance and control. Being reminded when parking is about to expire and being able to extend a parking session from anywhere without having to return to the vehicle removes stress and helps prevent parking tickets. The driver doesn’t have to check the time or rush back to the car; the experience fits around their day.

Finally, simplicity means familiarity. Offering multiple sign-in and payment options allows people to stay within ecosystems they already trust and use every day. The industry often overcomplicates things by forcing rigid journeys or one-size-fits-all flows, designing for systems, not people.

Real simplicity is flexible, even invisible when it should be, and always focused on reducing effort for the driver.

What do you believe actually builds long-term loyalty in mobility services, especially when the customer may only engage for a few moments at a time?

Reliability builds trust when payments work every time, are being charged correctly, and protect drivers from fines; it creates confidence, even in interactions that last only seconds. This consistency matters to the customer and gains trust. 

Confidence beats features, clear confirmation, transparent pricing, while predictable rules matter more than added functionality. When drivers feel the service “did it right”, they come back. It’s not about having the most bells and whistles; it’s about nailing the basics so well that users don’t have to think twice.

Loyalty comes from removing friction over time. Fewer steps, fewer decisions, and fewer surprises across locations make a service the default. And being the default choice is the strongest form of loyalty. When using your service becomes automatic rather than a conscious decision, you’ve truly earned that customer’s trust.

In brief transactional moments, excellence isn’t about impressing people; it’s about not giving them any reason to look elsewhere.

There’s a lot of talk about Gen Z Vs. older users, but are you seeing service expectations actually converge across generations when it comes to mobility and payments?

Across generations, people want the same core things: clarity, confidence that a payment has worked, and as little friction as possible.

There’s a persistent assumption that older users can’t or won’t use digital services, but in reality, many actively choose them because they make life easier, especially when the experience is simple, reliable, and well supported. Age is far less of a barrier than poor design. 

Where expectations differ isn’t by generation, but by circumstance. Some users want everything automated and invisible; others want reassurance or human support when things aren’t straightforward. The job isn’t to design for Gen Z or older users, but to design flexible experiences that work for people in different situations. 

That’s where the industry still has room to improve.

Looking forward, what CX shifts do you believe will matter most in transportation and mobility — and where do you think many providers are still underestimating the customer?

Looking ahead, the biggest CX shift in mobility will be getting the balance right between automation and human support. Many providers still underestimate how important that balance is to customers.

The first part is automation done properly. AI has huge potential to remove friction by simplifying and streamlining everyday processes: payments, reminders, extensions, refunds, and basic issue resolution. In many cases, customers don’t need or want to speak to a person at all; they just want things to work quickly and predictably. 

When those journeys are seamless, confidence goes up, and frustration disappears. There’s still a lot of work to do here across the industry because too often layers of process are added instead of being removed.

But the second part is recognising what AI can’t and shouldn’t replace. When an issue is complex, emotionally charged, or involves vulnerable users or people who aren’t comfortable with digital payment experiences, access to a real person is what really matters.

That human interaction isn’t a failure of automation; it’s a critical part of good CX.

The opportunity most providers underestimate is that getting the first part right frees up time and capacity for the second. When routine tasks are automated properly, customer service teams can focus on higher-value conversations where empathy, judgment, and reassurance actually make a difference. 

That’s the real nut to crack; not choosing between AI or humans, but designing experiences that best serve the customer.

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