SaveECRewards
Member
- Joined
- 22 Jan 2015
- Messages
- 737
PayPal has vanished off the VTEC website
5 months and still no seat selector map for the Hull service.
I guess I shouldn't have expected any more, but that page is useless! I'd like to have been able to select from items from the Foodbar individually rather than some pre-selected meal deals. The biggest positive pre-order would have provided for me would have being able to order Hop on Board in advance but it doesn't even offer a bottle of beer with the sandwich deals. Sometimes with Hop on Board it's so popular it runs out before you have a chance to buy it, other trains no one buys it, I was hoping pre-order could have provided certainty.PayPal is back.
One of three bookings that I have just made has flagged up as being eligible for food pre-order.
Three sandwiches, crisps and still/sparkling water or red/white/rose wine.
This is the selector page:
View attachment 41167
Isn't that more expensive than just buying the meal deals on the train? I had (perhaps rashly) assumed it might be a special offer for people willing to plan ahead, not another plan to fleece the unwary...PayPal is back.
One of three bookings that I have just made has flagged up as being eligible for food pre-order.
Three sandwiches, crisps and still/sparkling water or red/white/rose wine.
This is the selector page:
View attachment 41167
I guess I shouldn't have expected any more, but that page is useless! I'd like to have been able to select from items from the Foodbar individually rather than some pre-selected meal deals. The biggest positive pre-order would have provided for me would have being able to order Hop on Board in advance but it doesn't even offer a bottle of beer with the sandwich deals. Sometimes with Hop on Board it's so popular it runs out before you have a chance to buy it, other trains no one buys it, I was hoping pre-order could have provided certainty.
This current implementation means weirdness like if you want a tuna sandwich with still water that's fine, but you can't have it with sparkling water whereas you can have the chicken salad sandwich with sparkling water but not still.
All I can see is this pre-order make people think "well I can get a meal deal at the supermarket for £3, why pay £6 for less choice". It needs to offer things like hot food, served at a chosen point in the journey (if you're on a 4+ hour trip you might not want to eat upon boarding). In its current form, almost useless.
Isn't that more expensive than just buying the meal deals on the train? I had (perhaps rashly) assumed it might be a special offer for people willing to plan ahead, not another plan to fleece the unwary...
All I can see is this pre-order make people think "well I can get a meal deal at the supermarket for £3, why pay £6 for less choice". It needs to offer things like hot food, served at a chosen point in the journey (if you're on a 4+ hour trip you might not want to eat upon boarding). In its current form, almost useless.
Food pre-ordering was a franchise commitment
I suggest you read Roger Ford's article in Modern Railways.Paying £3.3bn was a franchise commitment, and we're seeing about as much of that as a Falafel Wrap and a can of Fanta.
I suggest you read Roger Ford's article in Modern Railways.
Food pre-ordering was a franchise commitment
Food pre-ordering was a franchise commitment
A very good idea IMO.PayPal is back.
One of three bookings that I have just made has flagged up as being eligible for food pre-order.
Three sandwiches, crisps and still/sparkling water or red/white/rose wine.
This is the selector page:
View attachment 41167
A very good idea IMO.
It's now imposing a minimum two hour prior to departure purchase deadline.
Bought an East Coast ticket on the West Coast site last night, as the latter quite happily sold a ticket for departure within forty minutes.
The key thing was that, although it was (obviously) a walk-up fare, the last departure was less than two hours ahead, so effectively the site had given up selling on-the-day tickets for the last two hours of service.
Help, I have just booked a return trip to London in June and it reserved the seats. However I wish to change my seats to another option and following their own advice it says I can edit my seats. However it offers no seating plan where i can drag my new reservation to (like the old site). If you try and edit the seat it does not give you an option to change and I got a processing circle for about a minute then another email with a different seat, which again I didn't want. Is the seat selector broken and who can I contact to actually ask for a specific seat number, like the old (excellent) website offered. Sorry if may have been answered already but I had a quick search and couldn't find it. Thanks in advance.
And still the seat selector is non existent on my route. 7 months so far?? I don't see what the big problem is. They had it sorted well before this long the last time it happened, and the time before that, and the time before that.
We were looking at this today and may have found the reason why this is happening.I couldn't change my seats last night either. The seat selector came up but gave an error if I actually tried to change seats.
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I'm sure that they would have the right to pay Stagecoach to use the booking engine and whether they did would be a financial decision. However, I suspect that Stagecoach are not as close to the exit door as some sections of the media are keen to suggest.Back to the 2007 era site, what would happen to it if the government or another company takes over the ECML franchise? Do they automatically have the right to use the booking engine or is it owned by Stagecoach?
Yes, but First Group obviously didn't want to pay Stagecoach Group for their product.Could SWR have kept the SWT booking engine if they wanted.
The call centre is part of VTEC, not a subsidiary company. Under GNER the call centre was part of Sea Containers, and after National Express/NXS it was outsourced to Serco.Also the callcentre, when it was brought back in-house is it owned by East Coast Main Line Company Ltd (t/a VTEC) or another company? When NXEC lost their franchise they continued to own the call centre that East Coast used as the callcentre was owned by National Express Services Ltd (NXS) and not NXEC. So as NXS was contracted by NXEC the contract passed to DOR and they were paying NXS for the callcentre until the contract finished and then East Coast outsourced to someone else (that's when customer relations address changed to Plymouth). So hopefully now it's back in-house that it is actually run by VTEC not another Stagecoach owned company as it may cause complications.
I guess nobody knows for certain, until yesterdays news my feeling was that VTEC would run to 2020, then end up getting a direct award until at least 2023 until the government worked out what they're doing. The news yesterday sounded like something needed doing sooner but of course they could just keep VTEC on a management contract (or running it on a non-profit basis as Grayling tries to spin it).I'm sure that they would have the right to pay Stagecoach to use the booking engine and whether they did would be a financial decision. However, I suspect that Stagecoach are not as close to the exit door as some sections of the media are keen to suggest.
Presumably they wanted to be consistent with other FirstGroup franchises and stick with WebTIS.Yes, but First Group obviously didn't want to pay Stagecoach Group for their product.
I think that's good news. Bringing this all in-house was one of the decent things VTEC did.The call centre is part of VTEC, not a subsidiary company. Under GNER the call centre was part of Sea Containers, and after National Express/NXS it was outsourced to Serco.