Virgin East Coast Twitter

[Darandio]

Jonny Kyle‏ @jonnyjkyle 4h
Don't be so patronising. I don't need to, considering it's a government initiative & all the information can be retrieved via a simple FOI request. Since I'm not that sad, these screenshots should suffice. Try to "Virgin" yourself out of this one.

 

[FQTV]

A rather cheeky reply by ^KM, as usual the 'coming soon' (over a year away) Azuma is the cure for all issues.

 

[ainsworth74]

To be honest I bet that that the Twitter person is under the impression that Virgin are paying for the trains!

 

[yorkie]

Well that backfired!

 

[FQTV]

To be honest I bet that that the Twitter person is under the impression that Virgin are paying for the trains!

As a Virgin Trains East Coast person said to me fairly recently, "at the beginning, I did believe the Virgin guff. But at least with National Express, they were honest that we were in the sh*t".

Perhaps it's taking longer to filter through to Twitter Towers that it's a bust.

 

[SaveECRewards]

As a Virgin Trains East Coast person said to me fairly recently, "at the beginning, I did believe the Virgin guff. But at least with National Express, they were honest that we were in the sh*t".

Perhaps it's taking longer to filter through to Twitter Towers that it's a bust.

I’ve heard similar, it’s bad the people on the ground are starting to think that it’s worse than NXEC.

I remember when I looked at the Twitter account of the head of eCommerce around the time the disastrous new website launched. Her twitter feed was full of #VirginFamily tweets, retweets of Branson, etc. It looks like she’s starstruck with working for ‘Virgin’ (even though they’re not really) probably had no real knowledge of the rail industry before getting the job so churned out the substandard website.

They’re spending too much money on gimmicks (the innovation fund that has brought poorly thought out ideas like Seatfrog) but cutting back on things that people care about.

 

[MG11]

Are Virgin EC really doing that bad? I am led to beleive that National Express had massive financial issues...is that the case with Virgin??

 

[SaveECRewards]

Are Virgin EC really doing that bad? I am led to beleive that National Express had massive financial issues...is that the case with Virgin??

Virgincoach placed a bid that dwarfed the ones GNER and NXEC made! They’ve already tried to renegotiate with government.

 

[Chrism20]

Well that series of tweets certainly brightened up day yesterday.

Across the organisation as a whole there is far too much focus on marketing spin saying they are brilliant whilst the product quality and standards are deteriorating rapidly.

 

[ainsworth74]

Across the organisation as a whole there is far too much focus on marketing spin saying they are brilliant whilst the product quality and standards are deteriorating rapidly.

Which is what drives me up the wall! The marketing stuff they put out isn't for me I will be quite honest (they're a train company I don't want them to be my mate!) but if the standards they were delivering were maintaining the levels of East Coast (or improving on them) then I'd be reasonably content. But being told that everything is 'awesome' and about all the 'huge improvements' that they're making at the same time as everything seems to be getting worse grates massively...

 

[Darandio]

Even though it is a bugbear for a lot of us when Virgin make exaggerated claims about their investment on both sides of the country, i'd imagine the majority of us realise that the average passenger doesn't really care who pays for it, as long as they receive the service they want.

But the service in question is a real talking point right now, or the lack/decline of it. The next year is crucial, it's all well and good telling everyone how good things will be in a year but the service is deteriorating right now, that is what matters. Is it going to get any worse in the next year? Is the on board service and staff morale going to get even worse in the next 12 months? You wonder if that could even be possible! Have maintenance regimes changed so recent failures become even more commonplace as they wind down the majority of current rolling stock?

 

[SaveECRewards]

Even though it is a bugbear for a lot of us when Virgin make exaggerated claims about their investment on both sides of the country, i'd imagine the majority of us realise that the average passenger doesn't really care who pays for it, as long as they receive the service they want.

But the service in question is a real talking point right now, or the lack/decline of it. The next year is crucial, it's all well and good telling everyone how good things will be in a year but the service is deteriorating right now, that is what matters. Is it going to get any worse in the next year? Is the on board service and staff morale going to get even worse in the next 12 months? You wonder if that could even be possible! Have maintenance regimes changed so recent failures become even more commonplace as they wind down the majority of current rolling stock?

The problem is because on-board service on most operators is at best mediocre then VTEC can still be considered one of the best, but the standards are slipping dramatically recently. Those who are regulars can see this, those used to, say, Greater Anglia IC services or a GWR non-Pullman train will think VTEC has a great first class product.

I care about the East Coast service and it also makes me angry that the staff are also feeling it with the obvious drop in morale. I could tolerate the VTEC style when I thought they were doing a good job but now when things are on the decline it's like they're rubbing salt into the wounds.

 

[SaveECRewards]

More make it up as you go along. Someone asked why they don't use proper glasses...
https://twitter.com/Virgin_TrainsEC/status/931449869780373504

This was due to health and safety I believe Anneliese. ^KM

So after blaming good old 'elf and safety innit after a bit of prodding he actually obtains the correct info

I've been told that on weekends, it's plastic cups but on weekdays it should be glasses. ^KM

Sometimes he gets it right
https://twitter.com/Virgin_TrainsEC/status/931459090320187392

More like 95%. The rest of the time is dedicated to memes and GIFs. ^KM

Also I noticed Twitter now allows for longer names. I could understand VTWC not wanting to be Virgin Trains WC as it sounds like a toilet but now it's possible to fit in "Virgin Trains West Coast" and "Virgin Trains East Coast" which would help a lot.

 

[SaveECRewards]

Been blocked by VTEC again, this time because I called ^KM unprofessional because he commented on the strike (on the managements side).

https://twitter.com/Virgin_TrainsEC/status/931492238894477312

We have not yet received formal notification from the RMT about strike action but we are disappointed if this is true. We have offered members what we believe is a very fair 3.2% pay increase and we remain open to discussions with them. ^KM

It's unprofessional to comment on your fellow colleagues and their decision to strike. Of course you're not telling the whole story such as cuts to sick pay which could cause hardship if they get injured at work

Now whether for or against the strike it seems wrong that someone who's in a customer service role should be commenting on the rights or wrongs of the strike. If the management have asked he does this then they should have refused.

 

[AlterEgo]

Been blocked by VTEC again, this time because I called ^KM unprofessional because he commented on the strike (on the managements side).

https://twitter.com/Virgin_TrainsEC/status/931492238894477312





Now whether for or against the strike it seems wrong that someone who's in a customer service role should be commenting on the rights or wrongs of the strike. If the management have asked he does this then they should have refused.

That’s a problem though - their role is to communicate on behalf of the company. They’re no different in that respect to any other Communications or Marketing member of staff. It’s their job.

 

[SaveECRewards]

That’s a problem though - their role is to communicate on behalf of the company. They’re no different in that respect to any other Communications or Marketing member of staff. It’s their job.

I can't see if you're agreeing with me here or saying they're right. I'm saying with a strike they should just return factual information i.e. there's no further information at the moment. It's not their job to try and turn the public against their customer facing staff, obviously it goes both ways and they wouldn't be tweeting for the staff either!

Apart from Southern's ill fated "let's strike back" campaign most communications about strikes have always been strictly at the factual level.

 

[FQTV]

That’s a problem though - their role is to communicate on behalf of the company. They’re no different in that respect to any other Communications or Marketing member of staff. It’s their job.

Although it's a maturing corporate environment for social media, I think that a lot of organisations still aren't clear about where this kind of activity lies in the business. Typically, it comes from Marketing and PR, and that's one of the reasons why social media users feel that they get more traction with companies using this channel than traditional Customer Services.

If these organisations want their social media activity to be an alternative Customer Services channel, however, then I would argue that the social media account should reflect the same standards as CS generally would. And the latter would not comment subjectively on Industrial Relations (and many other issues).

In this particular case I would say that the tweet from them doesn't sit well in either a CS or a marketing or PR context. It's almost as uncomfortable as it would be if, on a strike day, the station PA warbled 'xxx train operating company apologises for any inconvenience caused by today's industrial action which, by the way, is totally unjustified."

I'd therefore also posit that the response was fed or sanctioned from higher up; it seems an oddly position-taking thing for a social media desk operator to do unilaterally.

 

[SaveECRewards]

Although it's a maturing corporate environment for social media, I think that a lot of organisations still aren't clear about where this kind of activity lies in the business. Typically, it comes from Marketing and PR, and that's one of the reasons why social media users feel that they get more traction with companies using this channel than traditional Customer Services.

If these organisations want their social media activity to be an alternative Customer Services channel, however, then I would argue that the social media account should reflect the same standards as CS generally would. And the latter would not comment subjectively on Industrial Relations (and many other issues).

VTEC uses Twitter for both marketing and customer relations. I would think it's fair to assume a tweet (that's not tagged as an update or service info) is marketing if it's not a reply to anyone. This particular message was a reply to a customer directly so has to be considered customer relations.

 

[FQTV]

VTEC uses Twitter for both marketing and customer relations. I would think it's fair to assume a tweet (that's not tagged as an update or service info) is marketing if it's not a reply to anyone. This particular message was a reply to a customer directly so has to be considered customer relations.

I think that's why they're in such a muddle about it: marketing and consumer public relations is about positive messages; customer relations is often about refusal and taking a position which the customer may not like or agree with; corporate communications is about messages usually sanctioned by the board and advisers, especially if it's a plc.

Believing that a single and, critically, public communication channel can handle all this is a 'brave' strategy, as Sir Humphrey may have said. Virgin train operating companies have another challenge, or course, in their attempt to standardise branding across unconnected companies, which appears to simply create even more confusion - ie the antithesis of what a brand is meant to be for.

 

[AlterEgo]

I can't see if you're agreeing with me here or saying they're right. I'm saying with a strike they should just return factual information i.e. there's no further information at the moment. It's not their job to try and turn the public against their customer facing staff, obviously it goes both ways and they wouldn't be tweeting for the staff either!

Apart from Southern's ill fated "let's strike back" campaign most communications about strikes have always been strictly at the factual level.

Let me break it down.

1. If they’re told to put out this guff then they have no business refusing. Their job is partly to communicate the business’ messages and they wouldn’t get very far refusing to tweet something quite legal but with which they disagree in principle.

2. They *shouldn’t* be asked to do this in the first place, the above notwithstanding.

I agree with @FQTV that this is unlikely to be a personal comment from the social media operator and is almost certainly a prepared line from much further up the food chain.

 

[tspaul26]

I agree with @FQTV that this is unlikely to be a personal comment from the social media operator and is almost certainly a prepared line from much further up the food chain.

I agree. The tone reads like a press release copy-pasting the company line to take.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was an express instruction to respond to any strike related enquiries using this fixed script.

 

[SaveECRewards]

I agree. The tone reads like a press release copy-pasting the company line to take.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was an express instruction to respond to any strike related enquiries using this fixed script.

I have no doubt that this was copy and pasted from somewhere but I doubt he had to say it. No one has said that during previous VTEC strike threats.

He hadn’t even answered the question that was originally asked.

Someone who later asked a question about the strike when someone else was on shift received a factual response with no corporate/political spin.

There does seem to be some freedom in how each person deals with issues like this. One person, when the shift rota changes were put in operation, insisted that these changes were to provide a better experience for everyone. Nobody else on the team said this and he no longer does so now it’s obvious that it’s made service worse.

 

[SPADTrap]

I get the impression that the franchise holders thought that by using the Virgin branding they'd get a free ride to success, because of their name. Almost like they've dropped the ball and stopped making an effort instead trying to ride on the back of their brand notoriety. Couple that with a massive over bid in a desperate attempt to get the Government's attention and you've got a failure in the waiting. I get the impression its a cult no one believes in but has to or they'll disappear.

 

[SaveECRewards]

I get the impression that the franchise holders thought that by using the Virgin branding they'd get a free ride to success, because of their name. Almost like they've dropped the ball and stopped making an effort instead trying to ride on the back of their brand notoriety. Couple that with a massive over bid in a desperate attempt to get the Government's attention and you've got a failure in the waiting. I get the impression its a cult no one believes in but has to or they'll disappear.

If you haven’t already read David Horne’s interview in RAIL issue 839. He says “We are a Virgin company and people expect a high standard of service”

As I keep saying it’s the ‘East Coast’ part that makes me expect a high standard of service. GNER had substance and style, VTEC seem to think marketing fixes everything.

 

[MG11]

Been blocked by VTEC again, this time because I called ^KM unprofessional because he commented on the strike (on the managements side).

https://twitter.com/Virgin_TrainsEC/status/931492238894477312





Now whether for or against the strike it seems wrong that someone who's in a customer service role should be commenting on the rights or wrongs of the strike. If the management have asked he does this then they should have refused.

Hi there. Are you still blocked?

 

[A Challenge]

I notice that in the reply to @Virgin_TrainsEC @Chrismackie1 has tagged @SaveECRewards so that might be part of the reason why he was blocked, or he's just becoming to useful to the passengers?

edit: why has it hyperlinked one of the twitter handles but not the other two?

 

[AlterEgo]

I notice that in the reply to @Virgin_TrainsEC @Chrismackie1 has tagged @SaveECRewards so that might be part of the reason why he was blocked, or he's just becoming to useful to the passengers?

edit: why has it hyperlinked one of the twitter handles but not the other two?

It’s hyperlinking to his RUK profile not his Twitter account, neither of the other @‘s are RUK users.

 

[A Challenge]

It’s hyperlinking to his RUK profile not his Twitter account, neither of the other @‘s are RUK users.

Whoops!

 

[SaveECRewards]

Hi there. Are you still blocked?

No, it disappeared after a few days. Usually it only takes a few hours. I think the policy is they’re not supposed to block me as it looks bad if they’re silencing their critics and I have more followers than some troll account (which they could dismiss accounts with only a few followers as).

An example @VTECwatch that only has a small following was blocked by VTEC for very little and is yet to be unblocked.

 

[gavin]

VTEC taking longer to respond to messages this morning due to staff illness