Baboy wanted to keep the problems with the cargo bikes secret: employees had to lie to customers

“We always had to lie,” an employee of Babboe BV told RTL News. “I wrote the customer a story: ‘This will never happen,’ and gave them a free rain tent and a free pad.” Another adds: “A new guy came to work for us. He said to one client: ‘This happens every day.’ Then they said: ‘You should never say that.’”

One of them also says: “Directors and directors were always telling me to keep my mouth shut, otherwise people would laugh stupidly.”

From conversations conducted by RTL Nieuws' investigative editors, the impression emerges that the tire problem was also known to the top of the company. For example, eleven out of twelve employees reported that management was aware of tire breaks. Sources describe that the problem within the company seems to be the most normal thing in the world. For example, every week an old ironmonger would come to collect broken tires. “In my role, I had access to HR files and saw that an employee had been reporting this for years,” says a former employee.

When asked, Baboy did not elaborate on what the staff shared with RTL News, but said: “We take the situation seriously and all aspects are part of our ongoing investigation.”

Duty of confidentiality

The names of all employees are known to the editorial staff of RTL Nieuws, but they only wish to speak to us on condition of anonymity. Employees' employment contracts contain a confidentiality clause, as shown by several contracts seen by RTL Nieuws. “An employee is prohibited from making negative comments about my papacy to third parties,” the letter read. This condition applies during and after the expiration of the employment contract. The employer threatens a fine of €5,000 for each violation and €500 for each day that the violation continues.

Several current and former employees point out that they once delivered flowers to a customer who was injured after a fall due to a problem with a Babboe cargo bike. At such times they did not admit that such problems often occurred. “No, no, I didn't say that. Your income depends on it, your rent, your kids have to eat. You're actually in a closed loop with your secret,” laments a former employee who left because of the quality. For the product. “I wasn't allowed to say whether it was our fault or the customer's fault. That was kept secret.”

“Tears on the face.”

After the employee became frustrated, he told his manager that he was “very angry.” I felt like I was lying because I wasn't allowed to say what happened. Then you have someone standing in front of you with their face all messed up, with tears on their face, but that's your job.”

Katelijne's cargo bike also broke down: “The handlebars suddenly started shaking,” she says in the video below.

responsible:

Recently, RTL Nieuws' investigative editors spoke one or more times with 12 current or former Babboe employees. The names of all employees are known to the editor-in-chief. Numerous employment contracts were viewed and documents exchanged proving that employees were working for Babboe.