Virgin East Coast Twitter

whhistle · 2 Jan 2018

SaveECRewards said:
I'm saying with a strike they should just return factual information i.e. there's no further information at the moment.

Who says they should?
There are no rules that all companies must abide by when using social media. Each have their own guidelines, yes.
While I do agree with you in essence, you're not really in a position to 1) tell a train company what they should and shouldn't be doing with social media and 2) in a neutral position. You're affected by what has happened on the East Coast, so your view is skewed.

Many of their replies sound just like Virgin.
Branson has build his brand on marketing and a good image. Look at what he did with Telewest/BlueYonder, West Coast, what is happening to East Coast and why he isn't interested in Scotrail, MML or (to an extent) Great West... take something that doesn't have a greatreputation and make it good... all under the Virgin name.
Yes, the improvements to the West Coast and East Coast were always going to happen, but just as their twitter feed spouts out - it's all Virgin's doing, thus propelling their brand further.

The other problem is that despite them saying "we're a Virgin company", they're not really. Perhaps I am talking from my behind here as I don't know but with 90% stagecoach, I'd imagine the majority of the business is Stagecoach, with just the extra sparkle of Virgin put on at the end.
And from what I have seen of Stagecoach, they barely innovate or change and are simply caretakers. For example, the take over from National Express' Midland Mainline; everything is the same. Same suppliers (of uniform, stationary, even the ticket machines), same procedures, same way of sorting out Annual Leave... it wouldn't surprise me if what's happening on the East Coast is simply the same. The Virgin "magic" of the first few months is fast disappearing because it's peeling off, and underneath, it's those bright toy-town stagecoach colours with their feet plodding along.
However, as has been seen many times over the years since GNER, the East Coast seems to be much harder work than any other main line out there.

RailUK Forums

96tommy · 2 Jan 2018

Not East Coast, but noticed this on Virgin Trains Twitter. Someone asked "thank you for being so helpful to my family who are trying to get home from Liverpool after the horrendous fire at Echo Arena! tickets in the hotel which has been evacuated but have proof of purchase but staff still refusing to let the travel!!!"

And Virgin replied with "Appreciate that. I'm afraid if you have Advanced tickets then a new ticket would need to be purchased to travel today"

Disgraceful.

96tommy · 2 Jan 2018

MG11 said:
Are Virgin EC really doing that bad?

Yes. They think they can fix everything by saying Azuma or Amazing this, amazing hat etc... In the national express days I never stopped travelling with them. I have however stopped travelling with VTEC now using Hull Trains or Grand Central to complete my journeys between Yorkshire and London.

DarloRich · 2 Jan 2018

96tommy said:
Not East Coast, but noticed this on Virgin Trains Twitter. Someone asked "thank you for being so helpful to my family who are trying to get home from Liverpool after the horrendous fire at Echo Arena! tickets in the hotel which has been evacuated but have proof of purchase but staff still refusing to let the travel!!!"

And Virgin replied with "Appreciate that. I'm afraid if you have Advanced tickets then a new ticket would need to be purchased to travel today"

Disgraceful.

agreed - but factually correct information. We often complain when we perceive such information to be wrong.

As an aside I doubt the operator of twitter at silly o'clock has the power to change the rules. Surely that has to come form someone higher up?

deep south · 2 Jan 2018

DarloRich said:
As an aside I doubt the operator of twitter at silly o'clock has the power to change the rules. Surely that has to come form someone higher up?

In that case, the "operator" should have consulted with someone higher up to see whether it might a good PR response (or even just a kind response) to allow some flexibility, given the VERY unusual circumstances?

crehld · 2 Jan 2018

Speaking of Virgin Trains EC's Twitter, here's how they responded this morning when a customer complained about how a member of staff spoke to them:

When virgin trains mess up and the older male train manager in the resulting conversation dismisses you with that hideously patronising word women shudder at in contexts such as these: "honey" @virgin_trainsEC.

Sorry for the mess up Emily, would you prefer "pet" or "love" next time? ^MS

Putting aside the initial complaint, the response on Twitter is wholly inappropriate. It's dismissive, unprofessional, makes no attempt to understand the customer's complaint or find out what went wrong, makes no attempt to empathise with the customer's grievance and, quite frankly, it's offensive.

DarloRich · 2 Jan 2018

deep south said:
In that case, the "operator" should have consulted with someone higher up to see whether it might a good PR response (or even just a kind response) to allow some flexibility, given the VERY unusual circumstances?

Good luck. Its late o'clock at night on new years eve. That might take a bit of time. We can hardly complain if the Twitter typist fell back on standard and factually correct operating information even if just as a holding response.

Odd we seem happy to complain when people give both correct and incorrect information! Is it possible to win?

DarloRich · 2 Jan 2018

crehld said:
Speaking of Virgin Trains EC's Twitter, here's how they responded this morning when a customer complained about how a member of staff spoke to them:

Putting aside the initial complaint, the response on Twitter is wholly inappropriate. It's dismissive, unprofessional, makes no attempt to understand the customer's complaint or find out what went wrong, makes no attempt to empathise with the customer's grievance and, quite frankly, it's offensive.

oh dear. a poor attempt at humour. Hardly worth all the forth and wibble. BTW - I call women love all the time.

Via Bank · 2 Jan 2018

So they responded to a woman complaining about being fobbed off by a man… by fobbing her off with an uncomfortable misogynist undertone.

Especially considering today is fares rise day, that’s a shockingly unprofessional way to speak to a paying customer.

yorkie · 2 Jan 2018

Very poor under the circumstances.

But typical of Virgin Trains (and their East Coast suffixed counterparts)

700007 · 2 Jan 2018

The tweet has since been deleted to not 'cause more offence', however it's already been shared around social media hundreds of times. Not a good start for VTEC this morning.

DenmarkRail · 2 Jan 2018

Lighten up a bit.

96tommy · 2 Jan 2018

A poor 24 hours on social media for the worst operator in the country

AlterEgo · 2 Jan 2018

Via Bank said:
So they responded to a woman complaining about being fobbed off by a man… by fobbing her off with an uncomfortable misogynist undertone.

Especially considering today is fares rise day, that’s a shockingly unprofessional way to speak to a paying customer.

Yes, I agree. Not too bothered about the initial compliant myself to be honest, but when someone comes to say saying they’re upset about that, you can’t go back with more patronising drivel. It’s unfunny and inappropriate.

VTEC really do have some pretty dodgy responses on that desk. I’ve done that social media job before and I was pretty good at it (if I may say so myself).

A social media operator does have options open to them beyond giving answers from a rule book parrot fashion. They have the authority to amend bookings and issue Authorities to Travel (ATT). I’d have given that woman caught up in the fire an ATT, just DM her discreetly and ask for a phone number and sort something out. This is 100% doable even when it’s busy, even when it’s late. It’s laziness to not do this.

GatwickDepress · 2 Jan 2018

DarloRich said:
oh dear. a poor attempt at humour. Hardly worth all the forth and wibble. BTW - I call women love all the time.

Its not addressing women in those terms that's the issue, but the context it was used in. Incidentally, I hate being called "honey". Its always used in the most patronising or sleazy circumstances; from both men and women.

You do not talk to a customer in a way that you wouldn't talk to them face to face, and that includes bumbling attempts at emulating the Wendy's Twitter account.

George Moore said:
Lighten up a bit.

Why should she lighten up? A customer was apparently treated rudely by a member of staff and a complaint/comment about that was mocked. If I did that at work, I would be for tea and no biscuits.

Mintona · 2 Jan 2018

That’s a horrific reply. Shame on the twitter desk.

DarloRich · 2 Jan 2018

GatwickDepress said:
Its not addressing women in those terms that's the issue, but the context it was used in. Incidentally, I hate being called "honey". Its always used in the most patronising or sleazy circumstances; from both men and women.

You do not talk to a customer in a way that you wouldn't talk to them face to face, and that includes bumbling attempts at emulating the Wendy's Twitter account.

agreed it was both a bad initial statement and a poor follow up. I can't think I have ever called anyone honey but I do call people love all the time. I have several colleagues who call people ( both men and women) duck. It isnt patronizing it is just normal where I come from. I think that bit of understanding is often missing. Not everyone is a metropolitan socialite! I will happily call women love when dealing with them. It drives the southerners mad

PS I would point out we don't know the context of the conversation in which the phrase was used.

AlterEgo said:
Yes, I agree. Not too bothered about the initial compliant myself to be honest, but when someone comes to say saying they’re upset about that, you can’t go back with more patronising drivel. It’s unfunny and inappropriate.

I agree - even if you think the issue is trivial it should be deal with correctly and in a professional manner. This was clearly a misplaced & poor attempt at humour to lighten the mood.

I am sure, however, it will generate all manner of right on wibbling!

AlterEgo said:
A social media operator does have options open to them beyond giving answers from a rule book parrot fashion. They have the authority to amend bookings and issue Authorities to Travel (ATT). I’d have given that woman caught up in the fire an ATT, just DM her discreetly and ask for a phone number and sort something out. This is 100% doable even when it’s busy, even when it’s late. It’s laziness to not do this.

I didn't know that - I assumed they were low level PR drones with little autonomy or authority.

takno · 2 Jan 2018

GatwickDepress said:
Its not addressing women in those terms that's the issue, but the context it was used in. Incidentally, I hate being called "honey". Its always used in the most patronising or sleazy circumstances; from both men and women.

The twitter response might have been more appropriate (or at least in line with their usual cheeky banter) if the word used had been a UK regional phrase like pet or duck. To me honey isn't in the same category in that it's patronising and not just normal language for a given area, which made the tweet a lot worse. The person doing the tweeting probably had about 2 seconds to think about it though, categorised the word wrong in their mind, and went for a stock response which was inappropriate.

gavin · 2 Jan 2018

VTEC apology

"We apologise unreservedly for this tweet and for the offence caused. To avoid causing more offence we have deleted the original post."

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/ne...irgin_Trains_apology_over_misogyny_complaint/

Mojo · 2 Jan 2018

Here’s further details and screenshots for those who missed it: http://www.itv.com/news/2018-01-02/virgin-trains-patronises-woman-after-sexism-complaint/

Marklund · 2 Jan 2018

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42542640

Virgin Trains has "apologised unreservedly" for a tweet which some social media users described as "sexist".

In response to a passenger complaint about being referred to as "honey", the official Virgin Trains East Coast Twitter account asked if she would "prefer 'pet' or 'love' next time".

The passenger, Emily Lucinda Cole, 27, said she was "stunned" by the response.

Virgin Trains East Coast subsequently deleted their original tweet.

Ms Cole was travelling on a busy train from Edinburgh, where she had been visiting friends and family for Hogmanay, to her home in London.

"They were telling passengers at the front desk and on the platform that they can sit in the basically empty first class coach and pay the weekend upgrade," she told the BBC.

"It was only after the train set off that they told us they'd all made a mistake and we had to move to try and find seats with all our luggage in the packed train.

"The first person to check my ticket was very abrasive. His response to my explaining the situation, politely and honestly, and that I wanted to complain, was 'you go ahead honey'.....

Good job Virgin Twitter. Confirms most of what's been said about the complete lack of professionalism in that Social Media team.

Via Bank · 2 Jan 2018

gavin said:
VTEC apology

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/ne...irgin_Trains_apology_over_misogyny_complaint/

No. What they should be apologising for is the TM patronising and rudely fobbing off a paying customer, and then the Twitter operator (a) failing to address her complaint and (b) patronising her again with gendered language ON A PUBLIC FORUM.

This isn’t even basic customer service or basic professionalism, it’s called “acting like an adult in 2018.”

Chrism20 · 2 Jan 2018

Oh dear, not a good start to the year for someone.

Unfortunately it was only a matter of time until something happened that offended someone and it blew up.

Harbouring · 2 Jan 2018

The latest tweets are hardly a surprise if you’ve been following this thread, very poor customer service. Like it’s being run by 6th formers

Merseysider · 2 Jan 2018

Harbouring said:
The latest tweets are hardly a surprise if you’ve been following this thread, very poor customer service. Like it’s being run by 6th formers

It could well be!

gavin · 2 Jan 2018

Plenty of media are linking 'Virgin trains' rather than 'Virgin Trains East Coast' on social media seems the media get just as confused as passengers with the social media handles

MG11 · 2 Jan 2018

crehld said:
Speaking of Virgin Trains EC's Twitter, here's how they responded this morning when a customer complained about how a member of staff spoke to them:

Putting aside the initial complaint, the response on Twitter is wholly inappropriate. It's dismissive, unprofessional, makes no attempt to understand the customer's complaint or find out what went wrong, makes no attempt to empathise with the customer's grievance and, quite frankly, it's offensive.

The correct response would have been:- "Sorry if you felt you were addressed in-appropriately, if you wish to make a staff complaint, please email [email protected]."
IMO, 'love','honey','darling' or 'mate/pal' are all in-appropriate terms to address people you don't know. I understand that Virgin likes to be "friends" with customers, but personally, I prefer the good old fashioned 'madam' and 'sir'.

Merseysider · 2 Jan 2018

gavin said:
Plenty of media are linking 'Virgin trains' rather than 'Virgin Trains East Coast' on social media seems the media get just as confused as passengers with the social media handles

Indeed. The two Virgins could have avoided this a long time ago by adding ‘West Coast’ to one handle... :rolleyes:

SaveECRewards · 2 Jan 2018

Via Bank said:
No. What they should be apologising for is the TM patronising and rudely fobbing off a paying customer, and then the Twitter operator (a) failing to address her complaint and (b) patronising her again with gendered language ON A PUBLIC FORUM.

This isn’t even basic customer service or basic professionalism, it’s called “acting like an adult in 2018.”

Pet or love is not gendered language. There used to be a woman used to work in the restaurant car on East Coast services who'd always refer to the regulars (male and female) as pet. She was great, loved her job and always delivered excellent service. Not sure what's happened with her, I've not seen here since the restaurants stopped in 2011.

Although he does say the odd inappropriate thing ^MS is better than most in their social media team. At least he will check things if you ask him rather than guess and make it up like certain others.

Convenient though that the press are making such a big deal of this. Most complaints to VTEC today have been regarding this tweet rather than the fare increases which is what you'd expect from today (even though they shouldn't be a surprise).

JaJaWa · 2 Jan 2018

Bad enough there’s a link at the top of their Twitter to another Virgin brand’s that opens their description in the same way

Virgin East Coast Twitter

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