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ATW - A shout out

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headshot119

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I've sent a similar email off to customer services at ATW this afternoon, after receiving the most fantastic service I've ever had off a TOC during a period of disruption.

Arriving at Cardiff Central last night in time to catch the 21:17 to Chester, intending to change at Shrewsbury for onward connections to Wrexham, I found that the train had been cancelled. And at that point I was a little bit concerned about getting home after the last time the last train was cancelled.

The gate line staff at Cardiff Central where amazing, and within a couple of minutes they'd arranged to have a duty manager come down and speak to me and another passenger (who was going to Manchester Airport), but both of them assured me we'd get home and they wouldn't strand us.

The duty manager came down and said they'd organised onward taxis for both of us, and that Shrewsbury / Crewe stations had been informed. He asked us to travel on the 21:55 to Crewe and we'd only be home a little bit later than if we'd got the earlier train.

The stock for the 21:55 pulled in and a member of platform staff made a point of letting us know to go and keep warm and he'd ensure the guard knew our situation and what had been planned for us.

On departure the guard came round and on seeing my ticket quoted my name, and said he'd ensure a taxi was sorted out for me at Shrewsbury.

On arriving at Shrewsbury I (and two other passengers) where greeted at the door and by name, and got quickly whisked into a taxi with profuse apologies for the delay.

Every single member of staff who helped me last night was a credit to there company, everyone was so apologetic, and seemingly couldn't do enough to ensure we all got home.

It's a shame we don't see more stories like this on this forum.
 
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TDK

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I've sent a similar email off to customer services at ATW this afternoon, after receiving the most fantastic service I've ever had off a TOC during a period of disruption.

Arriving at Cardiff Central last night in time to catch the 21:17 to Chester, intending to change at Shrewsbury for onward connections to Wrexham, I found that the train had been cancelled. And at that point I was a little bit concerned about getting home after the last time the last train was cancelled.

The gate line staff at Cardiff Central where amazing, and within a couple of minutes they'd arranged to have a duty manager come down and speak to me and another passenger (who was going to Manchester Airport), but both of them assured me we'd get home and they wouldn't strand us.

The duty manager came down and said they'd organised onward taxis for both of us, and that Shrewsbury / Crewe stations had been informed. He asked us to travel on the 21:55 to Crewe and we'd only be home a little bit later than if we'd got the earlier train.

The stock for the 21:55 pulled in and a member of platform staff made a point of letting us know to go and keep warm and he'd ensure the guard knew our situation and what had been planned for us.

On departure the guard came round and on seeing my ticket quoted my name, and said he'd ensure a taxi was sorted out for me at Shrewsbury.

On arriving at Shrewsbury I (and two other passengers) where greeted at the door and by name, and got quickly whisked into a taxi with profuse apologies for the delay.

Every single member of staff who helped me last night was a credit to there company, everyone was so apologetic, and seemingly couldn't do enough to ensure we all got home.

It's a shame we don't see more stories like this on this forum.

Unfortunately many people don't advertise good service they only whine about what they think is a bad service, I see and actually act on these scenarios when there is disruption as do most railway staff. I am pleased that you were treated well and recognise this.
 

Greenback

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It's always nice when someone reports a good experience, and I believe that this sort of thing is a lot more common than people might think.

I've always been looked after when a late running train has caused ma a problem, whether it's a potential problem or a real one, and I've gone and asked any member of staff for help..
 

LNW-GW Joint

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According to RTT, the Crewe-Chester leg of the 2117 (1W78) actually ran, with Cardiff-Crewe cancelled due to an "unknown cause".
What looks like the incoming train at Cardiff, the 1730 from Manchester (1V58) arrived on time.
Good work by ATW, but it would be interesting to know what the "unknown cause" was.
 

Whistler40145

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This certainly shows Arriva Trains Wales and those members of staff involved to be extremely helpful and professional.
 

AndrewE

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... and RTT shows a 5W78 2117 Cardiff Central to Crewe arriving 30 mins before "booked" time!

I wonder what happened to the people for Manchester Airport when they got to [Virgin-operated] Crewe at 0059 though? They will have missed the 0044 to the Airport.
I've seen lots of ATW crew-changes there, but is there likely to have been anyone to look after the ATW passenger?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
According to RTT, the Crewe-Chester leg of the 2117 (1W78) actually ran, with Cardiff-Crewe cancelled due to an "unknown cause".
Good work by ATW, but it would be interesting to know what the "unknown cause" was.

no guard for the Cardiff-Crewe leg (so run it empty instead?)
 

headshot119

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... and RTT shows a 5W78 2117 Cardiff Central to Crewe arriving 30 mins before "booked" time!

I wonder what happened to the people for Manchester Airport when they got to [Virgin-operated] Crewe at 0059 though? They will have missed the 0044 to the Airport.
I've seen lots of ATW crew-changes there, but is there likely to have been anyone to look after the ATW passenger?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


no guard for the Cardiff-Crewe leg (so run it empty instead?)

The guard on the 21:55 said there was no guard for the 21:17.

The other passenger who was going to Manchester Airport messaged me on Facebook and said he'd had similar service at Crewe and had been taxid right to the terminal he needed.
 

TheManBehind

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It's more common than you think - we tend to have folks going to Liverpool a lot during disruption for some reason, so I'm developing a good working relationship with the DSMs at ManPicc these days! They're great at identifying the ones that need an extra bit of care and we organise to-door taxis for them, rather than to Liverpool stations.
 

TEW

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... and RTT shows a 5W78 2117 Cardiff Central to Crewe arriving 30 mins before "booked" time!

I wonder what happened to the people for Manchester Airport when they got to [Virgin-operated] Crewe at 0059 though? They will have missed the 0044 to the Airport.
I've seen lots of ATW crew-changes there, but is there likely to have been anyone to look after the ATW passenger?
Virgin manage Crewe station so it would have been their responsibilty to look after the passenger. At the station I used to work at we tended to do more taxis for another TOCs passengers than we did for our own.
 

D1009

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The other passenger who was going to Manchester Airport messaged me on Facebook and said he'd had similar service at Crewe and had been taxid right to the terminal he needed.

Virgin manage Crewe station so it would have been their responsibilty to look after the passenger. At the station I used to work at we tended to do more taxis for another TOCs passengers than we did for our own.
Does this not prove that the industry can work together in the interests of its customers.
 

headshot119

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Does this not prove that the industry can work together in the interests of its customers.

It also proves that you can meet some of the nicest people during disruption. I didn't even know the bloke going forward to Manchester airport before I bumped into him at the gate line at Cardiff Central.

@TDK I assume it's a Crewe man who takes the 21:55 to Crewe of an evening? Hopefully customer services pass on my thanks to all involved last night!
 

ChrisHogan

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Does this not prove that the industry can work together in the interests of its customers.

There is an obligation in most Station Access Agreements at staffed stations to look after passengers with disrupted journeys.
 

craigybagel

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Does make a nice change to see a thread like this!

It also proves that you can meet some of the nicest people during disruption. I didn't even know the bloke going forward to Manchester airport before I bumped into him at the gate line at Cardiff Central.

@TDK I assume it's a Crewe man who takes the 21:55 to Crewe of an evening? Hopefully customer services pass on my thanks to all involved last night!

Crewe guards on both the 21:17 and 21:55. Crew on the 21:17 get relieved at Crewe by Chester crew for the run to Chester, hence on the night in question when no guard was available, the service started from Crewe after an ECS run from Cardiff. The 1630 Manchester - Milford Haven was affected by the same issue, running ECS from Crewe to Cardiff to restart there with it's Carmarthen crew.

As for thanking the guard concerned, rest assured that they've seen this thread :)
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Virgin manage Crewe station so it would have been their responsibilty to look after the passenger. At the station I used to work at we tended to do more taxis for another TOCs passengers than we did for our own.

There is an obligation in most Station Access Agreements at staffed stations to look after passengers with disrupted journeys.

It was the same when I was Virgin station staff - get a phone call from control of whichever TOC was responsible, then sort out the taxi. All part of the job! And there's no shortage of taxis available in Crewe for long distance runs, they spend most of their time ferrying train crew all over the country.
 
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anthony263

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As some of the others have said its nice to see ATW getting some nice posts for a change. Good see ATW going great customer service
 

EbbwJunction1

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Good news ... I'd write to the Western Mail about it as well, so that the public know what is done.
 

headshot119

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It's always nice when someone reports a good experience, and I believe that this sort of thing is a lot more common than people might think.

I've always been looked after when a late running train has caused ma a problem, whether it's a potential problem or a real one, and I've gone and asked any member of staff for help..

Perhaps the forum staff need to open a "Satisfied and Helped" board underneath "Disputes and Prosecutions" :p

Does make a nice change to see a thread like this!



Crewe guards on both the 21:17 and 21:55. Crew on the 21:17 get relieved at Crewe by Chester crew for the run to Chester, hence on the night in question when no guard was available, the service started from Crewe after an ECS run from Cardiff. The 1630 Manchester - Milford Haven was affected by the same issue, running ECS from Crewe to Cardiff to restart there with it's Carmarthen crew.

As for thanking the guard concerned, rest assured that they've seen this thread :)
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---




It was the same when I was Virgin station staff - get a phone call from control of whichever TOC was responsible, then sort out the taxi. All part of the job! And there's no shortage of taxis available in Crewe for long distance runs, they spend most of their time ferrying train crew all over the country.

Thank you for directing him to this thread, assuming he's not you under a different name :lol:
 

pjnathanail

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As someone who works in public transport customer services (albeit buses) it really is heartening to see such good service displayed by multiple staff members of different grades in different locations. It is equally pleasing that the customers passed on their thanks - 99% of the comments I deal with are negative! This sounds like all staff did the right thing and as a result what could have been a very negative journey experience was transformed into a positive one.
 

ChiefPlanner

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Being a jaded Southeasterner - (worn down by years of Thameslnk commuting) _ i find the professionalism , courtesy and so on of ATW staff an absolute crdeit to themselves and their company. Did a trip to Aberystwyth and back this weekend - and every single on board staff member were excellent. Every single fare caught too ! ..
 
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