Avanti - very disappointing first class service

[Howardh]

Last Weds (sorry to just be writing it now but I have been otherwise engaged) came back from Euston to Manchester on the 7.20pm.
Had a seat booked, on my table was a cup and no glass - the seat next had glass but no cup. Not a very impressive start.
Came round and filled my glass (I swapped with the bloke sat next) with red quite early which was good, but the mediterranean Whatever food I asked for was appalling, a few sticks, olives and a gue which I couldn't identify. If I'd known what was inside the packet I'd have plumped for a nice filling ice-cube.
Then I asked do we get a refill, "yes"....it arrived just leaving Stoke.
To top it off the Avanti table mat is as dull as it gets.
The trip was supposed to be a nice break but I haven't had a worse experience on a train in First; and I certainly won't be booking first again unless these reports improve.
But in fairness the train did leave and arrive on time, just wish I hadn't slummed it in first and paid less for second.
But it's not just me.....read some of this lot...
https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/avantiwestcoast.co.uk

First Class Rip Off - what are you up to Avanti?
What has happened to this service since Avanti took over?
I've been travelling from London to Manchester for over 20 years for work and never had a problem with VT.
First Class is now a rip off joke - there is no FC service any more.
The trains are dirty with mess left on the tables, glasses are grubby and that's if you can find one, the loos are filthy, the staff have been changed for the worse, their customer service is simply appalling.
A truly dreadful experience since this company took over, and note that I travel twice a week and have done so for 20 odd years.
They've only been going a month and I hate them already.
I'm going to start driving as I can't give this shower another penny.
I wish I could give them zero stars

Avanti - Demise of the West Coast Line
Second trip with Avanti - wish it was the last. What a comedown in service after Virgin. Don’t bother with first class at the weekend as it’s waste of money. Lack of staff and a miserable stale croissant on offer for breakfast but you can buy a hot bacon roll in the shop - another rip off. Wonder which government minister benefited from selecting Avanti as it certainly isn’t the travelling public.
Bring back Virgin

Terrible Mistake Dropping Virgin - Avanti is Awful
I travel regularly between Liverpool and London. Never had a problem with Virgin, apart from the odd delay.

The drop in service levels on Avanti is astounding; in just a couple of months they've taken all the joy out of the journey.

Trains are never fully staffed; those that do work are very mixed, with some making the best of it and others not bothering at all.

First class is pointless. Never any service or food, just a standard announcement directing you to the onboard shop.

Virgin had a 90% approval rating. The DfT should have thought about customers before dropping it.

Do they think they have a captive market and don't want to try??

 

[Bletchleyite]

Do they think they have a captive market and don't want to try??

Does FirstGroup *ever* "try"?

 

[47271]

As I write I'm in Avanti First and that Onion Bhaji wrap has got to be one of the most disgusting things on rails since the VTEC James Martin 'gourmet' sausage roll. The steward is excellent however and free booze is flowing every half hour or so, but he's probably working in contravention of orders.

I'm on a Voyager so the interior isn't quite as decrepit as on the Pendolinos, those wonky antimacassars on every third seat or so are an insult.

Why would anyone expect First Group to produce anything better on the West Coast than they do on GWR, surely this is exactly what we all saw coming?

 

[Howardh]

As I write I'm in Avanti First and that Onion Bhaji wrap has got to be one of the most disgusting things on rails since the VTEC James Martin 'gourmet' sausage roll. The steward is excellent however and free booze is flowing every half hour or so, but he's probably working in contravention of orders.

I'm on a Voyager so the interior isn't quite as decrepit as on the Pendolinos, those wonky antimacassars on every third seat or so are an insult.

Why would anyone expect First Group to produce anything better on the West Coast than they do on GWR, surely this is exactly what we all saw coming?

I'll give first class a miss in future, take my food and wine in standard and deprive First Group of my hard earned pennies. Or fly. Pity there are no evening flights back to Manchester.

 

[CrispyUK]

I don’t have any experience of the Virgin service to compare to, but was impressed with Avanti First Class when taking an early morning train from Rugby to Euston on 3rd January. We’d barely started moving when tea, coffee, juice, toast, croissants came through and food orders taken, Eggs Benedict served within 10 minutes of departure and another drinks run followed a bit later

 

[AndrewE]

I'll give first class a miss in future, take my food and wine in standard and deprive First Group of my hard earned pennies. Or fly. Pity there are no evening flights back to Manchester.

First class or standard... Get your Samosas and Bhajis/Pakhoras from the shops in Drummond St (Gupta for me) plus a few cans and you will have eaten a far better meal than any of the other travellers relying on the stuff on offer on the train... and feel well satisfied before their is even served!

 

[WesternLancer]

As I write I'm in Avanti First and that Onion Bhaji wrap has got to be one of the most disgusting things on rails since the VTEC James Martin 'gourmet' sausage roll. The steward is excellent however and free booze is flowing every half hour or so, but he's probably working in contravention of orders.

I'm on a Voyager so the interior isn't quite as decrepit as on the Pendolinos, those wonky antimacassars on every third seat or so are an insult.

Why would anyone expect First Group to produce anything better on the West Coast than they do on GWR, surely this is exactly what we all saw coming?

Have you tried the hot food offer on selected XC services? That's pretty bad - one time I had a meal the steward opted not to charge me for it - I was not on long enough for it to be a free entitlement.

 

[47271]

I

Have you tried the hot food offer on selected XC services? That's pretty bad - one time I had a meal the steward opted not to charge me for it - I was not on long enough for it to be a free entitlement.

I've seen it, and that's enough. A cup of coffee is as much as I would consume off the trolley on Cross Country.

 

[vlad]

I wouldn't say things have changed much since Virgin days....

 

[yorkie]

Loads of people are complaining on Twitter.

Here are just two recent examples from yesterday:
https://twitter.com/neilunde/status/1219330902939095042

My mother has just returned from using your service from Euston to Glasgow and was very disappointed with how the first class service compares to Virgin.

https://twitter.com/Rudd670/status/1219138084618559488

@AvantiWestCoast service gone down hill since you’ve taken over 05:36 Crewe to Euston late 3 times and now no breakfast service. Bring back richardbranson and virgin trains.

Avanti is 70% owned by the notorious FirstGroup plc, so I would be extremely surprised if the service wasn't inferior than it was before.

See also: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/why-has-avanti-west-coast-got-rid-of-the-seat-selector.196410

 

[Merle Haggard]

I wouldn't say things have changed much since Virgin days....

Although it sounds controversial I feel the same. After all, the on board staff all transferred from Virgin, and it's difficult to see how their attitudes could be dramatically lowered in a couple of weeks - does 'Dr Death' even still work for First? Weekends were hit and miss in Virgin days, too.

Something puzzled me about the first weekend service in Virgin days. I was told by several different crews that they only worked Monday to Friday, and the weekend crews were new recruits, in effect on probation' you might think that they would be eager to show their enthusiasm, but this did not always seem to be the case. Although sometimes the weekend service was good I have also experienced some really bad examples - for instance, on a down morning Manchester on a Saturday with about a dozen passengers in 1st there was only one round of tea/coffee or the occasion riding in Coach K when someone in steward's uniform spent the whole journey reclining in the seat adjacent to the kitchen intent on his 'phone and no service at all. Maybe on those occasions they were working their notice...

edit - typo

 

[47271]

Although it sounds controversial I feel the same. After all, the on board staff all transferred from Virgin, and it's difficult to see how their attitudes could be dramatically lowered in a couple of weeks - does 'Dr Death' even still work for First? Weekends were hit and miss in Virgin days, too.

Something puzzled me about the first weekend service in Virgin days. I was told by several different crews that they only worked Monday to Friday, and the weekend crews were new recruits, in effect on probation' you might think that they would be eager to show their enthusiasm, but this did not always seem to be the case. Although sometimes the weekend service was good I have also experienced some really bad examples - for instance, on a down morning Manchester on a Saturday with about a dozen passengers in 1st there was only one round of tea/coffee or the occasion riding in Coach K when someone in steward's uniform spent the whole journey reclining in the seat adjacent to the kitchen intent on his 'phone and no service at all. Maybe on those occasions they were working their notice...

edit - typo

It's more the revolting food and the half cocked interiors that I have a problem with, I agree that the service is pretty much unchanged. As I posted last night, the guy who was serving on the Voyager was superb.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Although it sounds controversial I feel the same. After all, the on board staff all transferred from Virgin, and it's difficult to see how their attitudes could be dramatically lowered in a couple of weeks - does 'Dr Death' even still work for First? Weekends were hit and miss in Virgin days, too.

The attitude of the Twitters (who are the same people) has certainly visibly changed. No Virgin pleasantries, just abrupt and sometimes inaccurate answers. The glitz has gone, far quicker than I even imagined it would. Crikey, it took Abellio more than a couple of weeks to ruin LNR...

 

[Scotrail314209]

A major difference I’ve noticed are crews. When I did London - Birmingham and back in First last week, the train crew heading south were alright, but going north one of the hosts were extremely cold and unpleasant, as well as looking extremely unkempt with her uniform. To top it all off, some seats had First Class headrests, yet some didn’t. Huh??

 

[Mag_seven]

To top it all off, some seats had First Class headrests, yet some didn’t. Huh??

By headrests I think you mean antimacassars - we really are in trouble if they start taking actual headrests off!

 

[Howardh]

A major difference I’ve noticed are crews. When I did London - Birmingham and back in First last week, the train crew heading south were alright, but going north one of the hosts were extremely cold and unpleasant, as well as looking extremely unkempt with her uniform. To top it all off, some seats had First Class headrests, yet some didn’t. Huh??

The whole thing's shoddy and I felt the same about the staff.
Avanti - "We Couldn't Be Arsed"

 

[47271]

A major difference I’ve noticed are crews. When I did London - Birmingham and back in First last week, the train crew heading south were alright, but going north one of the hosts were extremely cold and unpleasant, as well as looking extremely unkempt with her uniform. To top it all off, some seats had First Class headrests, yet some didn’t. Huh??

When they took over they seemed to stick antimacassars on around a third of seats on the Pendolinos, and those that were done were bunged on wonky. It really does say it all about their attitude, and I think is a tiny glimpse into a shoddy future for the route.

To be fair I was in First on an Avanti Voyager for the first time the other day and that was a lot better.

 

[Scotrail314209]

I think the whole “WOW WE WORK FOR VIRGIN” thing has now worn off, it seems very bland right now

 

[Bletchleyite]

Worse than GWR by far, at least that has its West country personality.

 

[Felix A]

Would just like to make a few comments on the level of service recieved by myself on Avanti's first class.

My first journey with them under first was on the 11th January from Crewe to Lancaster. It was a weekend breakfast service so for the most part I wasn't expecting much on the food front. However the croissant provided was very nice and enough to keep me going for the next 5 hours or so. In addition the staff seemed very friendly, contrary to alot of the things previous posters have said. This was a quiet service and i had the front coach to myself. One thing I noted was that roughly only one in ten of the seats had the new headrest! And let's be honest, alot of what we pay for is just the satisfaction of travelling with that extra luxury, which I think is materialised by the big piece of cloth indicating this above your head.

My second journey was a bit longer, from Preston to London via Birmingham. Once again a top quality journey, with prompt service. In addition, despite being a weekend service, we were given the Pastrami Pretzel rolls, which I'm certain were only available under weekday first. Another nice suprise on this service, and I've had reports from friends confirming that this is a reccuring pattern under Avanti, is the availability of orange juice, lemonade and Pepsi in the fridges, where previously only water would be found. If this is to be something to stay I believe it is a profound advantage for the service.

I don't like to think it but I fear AWC will end up retracting itself to a GWR style first class, with no proper meal service and a distinct lack of ammenities provided on the service. One other general comment that I am sure others will agree with is that I am overjoyed (and that's an understatement) that Avanti have decided to keep the contract with Lilly O Brian's(?) meaning they continue to serve Uglies onboard, and the edited blue packaging was a nice touch as well.

 

[NoOnesFool]

Worse than GWR by far, at least that has its West country personality.

GWR has a great food supplier with knowledge of food travel, unlike these parcel courriers.

 

[Merle Haggard]

It's more the revolting food and the half cocked interiors that I have a problem with, I agree that the service is pretty much unchanged. As I posted last night, the guy who was serving on the Voyager was superb.

The only meals I have are breakfasts (which are pretty much unchanged, I think) but I'm interested to hear what's wrong with the other meals. The announcements seem to list the same options as in Virgin days.

I don't understand the antimacassars situation in the Pendos because all the Voyagers I've travelled on have new and immaculately positioned Avanti ones.

I'm no great fan of First. Northampton buses were bought by First and a friend was a senior manager when they took over so I know of the bullying and foul language and difficulty in the acceptance of reality. First bought it for about £5 000 000, demolished the operation until it was worthless, and withdrew. That was some time ago though and, on the other hand, travelling on Great Western HSTs at the end of their days, the standard of presentation continued to be very good right until the end, putting the Stagecoach EM Meridians (threadbare upholstery, collapsed seat backs and squabs) to shame. Equally, in the past I've used Virgin Records stores and had a Virgin Sun holiday, and cannot say that these represented a perfect customer experience either.

There was a steady reduction in level of service once VWC had the extensions, I thought. Long and enthusiastic announcements about the two choices of fillings for what amounted to a single sandwich latterly sadly contrasting with the afternoon meals once offered. The snack boxes which steadily reduced in size; the last ones I saw were about the size of a pack of playing cards, the biscuits therein consisting of two 10p-size cheese crackers together with a pack containing half a dozen raisons. I think that they have disappeared altogether.

There may well be a decline in service with First but I'm trying to distinguish between changes for the worse and the inevitable day-to-day variations some of which may be caused by factors which previously existed with Virgin.

 

[47271]

I don't understand the antimacassars situation in the Pendos because all the Voyagers I've travelled on have new and immaculately positioned Avanti ones.

At the risk of obsessing over the non-subject of antimacassars, first world First Class problems, the Voyager ones are integral to the retrimmed leather seat whereas the Pendolino ones are just velcro'd on. The point of course is that carelessness with something like this is a sign of much worse in the business.

With the exception of their management of the previous Scotrail franchise, I'd struggle to think of an example of First Group doing anything other making a mess of everything they touch. Other views may be available from other posters...