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1. Seat battle: from free seats to scanning code to pay
Walking into the waiting hall of Tai'an high-speed rail station, you will notice a strange phenomenon: passengers wander between the seats, their eyes full of predators' alertness.
Only this time, their prey is a gem to sit on – a free seat.
Once upon a time, there were as many seats as TV station auditors, free and comfortable, and there was something for everyone. Now, however, to sit down, you have to play a "scan war" with your phone.
The winner's trophy is the half-hour vibrating massage in the massage chair, while the loser can only stand by the wall and enjoy the silence of the forgotten corner.
It's a revolution, or rather, a revolution from free to paid. The seats in the waiting area of the high-speed rail station used to be a harbor in the fatigue of travel, but now they have become the world of massage chairs.
Of course, the introduction of massage chairs is not without its benefits, and it does provide a little comfort during the trip.
But when these chairs have become almost mainstream in the waiting hall, and free seats are disappearing like rare animals, it begs the question: are we here for a high-tech massage, or are we just looking for a place to sit and relax?
The essential function of the waiting chair is redefined, and behind it is a complex business and social problem.
Every massage chair in the waiting area is a small money-collecting machine, and it is undoubtedly a profitable business for the operator. However, the needs of the average passenger seem to be left behind.
Once upon a time, the elderly could take a nap in these seats, and weary travelers could take a nap here.
Now, they have to play a real-life version of the musical chair game in a hall packed with massage chairs, but this time there is a fee for admission to the game.
Humorously, even the winner may not be able to experience the "joy of victory" in this game. Because, when you wake up from exhaustion, you will find that your wallet has also been "massaged" with you.
In this case, the behavior patterns of passengers are also quietly changing.
Some people are looking for places outside the waiting area, such as restaurants or cafes, to escape the scuffle of seats. And these places often also need consumption to be seated, which invisibly increases the cost of travel.
In this context, one can't help but reflect: are the chairs in the waiting hall for making money or for providing services?
Whose victory is this "seat revolution"? Is this change at the Tai'an high-speed rail station just an isolated phenomenon, or is it a nationwide trend?
Second, the "horns" of the high-speed rail station: the helplessness of passengers looking for seats
At the corner of the Taean high-speed rail station, you will see a group of travelers who seem to go against the massage chairs, choosing corners, floors and even stairs as temporary resting places.
With a glittering massage chair on one side and travelers sitting against the wall on the other, the scene is so contrasting that it almost looks like some kind of social experiment.
But in reality, it's just a game of finding a seat, but the rules of the game are laughable – if you want to sit, you have to pay, or you have to step aside.
In this game, there is no irony for passengers in the waiting area, whose seat choices seem to be dominated by massage chairs, and the right to choose freely is hijacked by strings of QR codes.
If someone wants to sit down, they have to be a prepared warrior, with their phone and wallet ready and seated in a QR code scanning posture.
Those who are unwilling or unable to pay can only retreat to the "horns" of the platform, where they sit in a variety of postures, some like Xi lotus sitting in yoga, and some trying to support the wall, everyone is interpreting the art of "sitting" in their own way.
This layout does make one think: are travelers in every corner making silent protests, and their inconveniences, compared to the prosperity of the massage chair area, undoubtedly reveal the rift between the service concept and the needs of passengers.
Here, everyone seems to be a potential consumer, rather than a traveler who needs to rest. The essence of the service is replaced by the logic of the market, and the rights of the traveler, here it seems, can only be measured in money.
In this unequal game, passengers have had mixed reactions. Some reluctantly accepted, while others began to look for new strategies, such as arriving early or entering late, to avoid seat battles during rush hour.
But these expedient measures do not solve the fundamental question: has the basic right of passengers to rest in the station become a luxury?
In this commercially reimagined waiting hall, does the size of your wallet determine your sitting posture and comfort?
These questions, like an invisible chain, are wrapped around everyone waiting for the train, making people ask: should the high-speed rail station be the starting point to the destination or the springboard to commercial interests?
3. Revenue or service?: The pain of commercialization in the waiting hall
In the waiting hall of the Tai'an high-speed rail station, rows of massage chairs flashing "Please treat me as an ATM" quietly replaced the once free seats.
Some people say that the massage chair is a good thing, giving the tired body a temporary habitat, but this habitat is piled up with money, and people who don't have a QR code may only be able to stand and look up at the "sky of the seat".
This wave of commercialization has led one to wonder if the waiting hall should also have a "service manual" warning passengers that your comfort level will be determined by the size of your wallet after entering the station.
When facing the invasion of massage chairs, some passengers even joked, "It is more difficult to find a place to sit than to find a seat, do you have to take a magnifying glass to find the 'rare resources' in the waiting hall?"
And the management seems to be secretly stepping forward to justify the massage chair: "We are providing a 'premium' waiting experience. But behind this "premium experience" is the shrinking of the rights of ordinary passengers.
In this profit-first layout, the dissatisfaction of passengers is gradually heating up, and they begin to ask: "Are we here to enjoy the service, or are we here to be served?" This contradiction makes the atmosphere in the waiting hall even more tense than the top of Mount Tai in the afternoon.
However, the management seems to have taken a "go your own way" attitude towards this dissatisfaction of passengers, as if to say: "We have received your dissatisfaction, but the solution may depend on the sky." This is reminiscent of the old saying, "The customer is God." ”
Now it seems that in the high-speed rail station, God has to top up before he can enjoy the heavenly treatment.
This revenue-driven service model not only makes passenger comfort a tradable commodity, but also challenges the principles of public service. After all, a waiting hall is not a shopping mall, and passengers should not be forced to become consumers.
Such a scene inevitably makes people think about whether the publicness of public space is discounted when comfort and service are no longer basic rights, but paid services.
Did the station management really hear the passengers, or were they just counting the increase in revenue from each massage? Will the passengers be able to find a reason to "sit" before the next train arrives?
4. Passengers' Rights and Responsibilities of the Station
In the waiting hall of Tai'an high-speed rail station, "sitting" has become a luxury. The rise of massage chairs, which seems to be a business innovation, has quietly commercialized the basic needs of passengers.
People are starting to wonder if even the air you breathe will have a VIP version, billed by the minute, where you have to pay not only for comfort, but also for patience in finding a nook and nook that doesn't cost money.
The management patted its chest and assured that it was an "upgrade service" for passengers, but this so-called upgrade seemed to forget the first step to comfort - to sit down. Passengers looking for a seat circle around the waiting hall as if playing a real-life version of the "chair game", and when the music stops, oh no, when the bank balance is low, you can only stand obediently.
Such a scene is simply unbearable, the waiting hall has become a "stand" hall, standing with a sore back, I am afraid that I have to go to the massage chair again to "make up a coin".
However, after laughing, the helplessness and anger on the faces of the passengers were real. The duty of the station should not be to raise the banner of commercialization, but to find a balance between providing basic comfort and dignity for passengers.
Of course, who doesn't love the feeling of a massage chair being in place, but the problem is that this service should be add-on, not a substitute for basic treatment.
In the pursuit of profits, the station management seems to have forgotten the original intention of public service, and accidentally printed the words "serving the public" as "serving large amounts".
The question of social responsibility is magnified here. Every change in public space should be premised on the well-being of all, not just the needs of paying passengers.
The contest between ordinary seats and paid massage chairs is not only a war of comfort, but also a tug-of-war between public rights and commercial interests.
Nowadays, passengers can't help but put a question mark in their minds: At the modern intersection of high-speed rail stations, do we want to go to the left to the right, or to the right?
What will be the next step in this chair war? What will be the response of the station? Can the voices of passengers be truly heard? Or will we continue to search for the reason for "sitting" in the background music of grief?