Has anyone been questioned regarding East Coast Rewards?

[SaveECRewards]

http://saveecrewards.co.uk/press/59-no-one-asked-us-they-don-t-care

Virgin Trains East Coast have claimed that they did research regarding the change of East Coast Rewards to Nectar. They said East Coast customers have been asked. None of my 700 Twitter followers (or those replying to retweets) has responded saying that they've been asked.

One thing is certain, they've not asked existing members, however perhaps they asked people on the station.

Has anyone here been asked for their views by a research organisation representing VTEC?

If so:

• How was the survey conducted (at station, via email, etc)?
• What questions were asked?
• Were the schemes mentioned by name or just a description of the benefits?
• Did you think the survey was biased in any way in order to get the result they wanted?
• Are you an existing Rewards member and if so did they ask this as part of the survey?

I'm hoping at least someone on these forums has been asked. I'm curious as to what they asked.

 

[Bigfoot]

Might want to correct the thread title...

 

[Hadders]

I doubt anyone's been questioned but despite your laudable efforts to save EC Rewards it isn't going to work.

Stagecoach/VT have made their decision - time to eek out as much as we can in the last couple of weeks and then move on.

 

[SaveECRewards]

Might want to correct the thread title...

Thanks, didn't know it let you edit titles. In another forum I'm on, it appears to allow you to edit it, but you need a mod to make the change.

I doubt anyone's been questioned but despite your laudable efforts to save EC Rewards it isn't going to work.

Stagecoach/VT have made their decision - time to eek out as much as we can in the last couple of weeks and then move on.

The reason I'm asking is because yesterday on Twitter they were insistent that they hired a research company to ask real customers about the switch in loyalty schemes (info in the link I posted in post 1).

As none of my now 700+ followers or those that have seen the retweets (+ those reading here) have been asked, I'm trying to find someone that is.

If anyone reading this has been asked please Tweet me (or if you don't use Twitter hopefully someone else reading this thread will do so).

BTW if you need to top up your Rewards balance there's some advice here: http://saveecrewards.co.uk/rewards-guide/40-topping-up-ec-rewards-balance

If they did do the survey then there must be a higher chance than average that someone here was approached, as a lot of people travel East Coast here as well as spotters on the platform would be an easy target for people with clipboards asking questions.

 

[RAPC]

They did some research a few months ago. Doesn't mean they listened to the responses though....

As far as I understand it, there was a group of customers and a group of non-customers asked via email surveys. It asked about loyalty schemes and what people knew / used. When you ask questions like that, you will end up with answers that suit you rather well. i.e. people say they collect Nectar points, but they don't necessarily say they are valued.

I am sure they wanted rid of the current scheme and this validated the answers they wanted to create. Working in marketing I often find we have clients who have a clear view of what they want, then look for insights to justify the decision. This looks very much like that.

As for saving the scheme, sorry to say it, but that ship has definitely sailed from what I know, but I respect your attempts to save it. It is a fantastic scheme from a customer perspective.

 

[Clip]

The reason I'm asking is because yesterday on Twitter they were insistent that they hired a research company to ask real customers about the switch in loyalty schemes (info in the link I posted in post 1).

As none of my now 700+ followers or those that have seen the retweets (+ those reading here) have been asked, I'm trying to find someone that is.

.

I dont like your odds. 700 followers yet over half a million EC rewards members or something daft. Im crap at maths in me head but something tells me you're probably looking at an even smaller sample than was carried out by the research company.

Theyre never going to be saved. Decision has been made.

 

[Essexman]

Like the axing of restaurant cars and Travelling Chefs, the decision will have been made prior to any 'market research' and the 'research' carefully managed to get the 'right' answer.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

Like the axing of restaurant cars and Travelling Chefs, the decision will have been made prior to any 'market research' and the 'research' carefully managed to get the 'right' answer.

Indeed.
It's called "policy-led research".
It provides the policy-maker with the justification to do what they want to do.

I know it's called "policy-led research" because I instructed a policy research company to undertake a public consultation which would confirm that the sample public's view was that it should be called "policy-led research", even when that sample was offered a range of other 'titles'.

[but I still make my own point by boarding EC trains through the doors in coach K which still have printed next to them, in big white letters, the word "RESTAURANT"].

 

[yorkie]

They said East Coast customers have been asked. None of my 700 Twitter followers (or those replying to retweets) has responded saying that they've been asked.

I doubt they asked anyone.

One thing is certain, they've not asked existing members, however perhaps they asked people on the station.

Agreed. I'm not aware of anyone being asked.

Has anyone here been asked for their views by a research organisation representing VTEC?

Not that I'm aware of.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

[but I still make my own point by boarding EC trains through the doors in coach K which still have printed next to them, in big white letters, the word "RESTAURANT"].

Amusingly EC tried to deny it was a restaurant, but they were over-ruled by the editors of the National Rail Timetable (NRT), so the NRT does show the relevant trains as conveying a restaurant (source: Barry Doe's column in Rail magazine a few weeks ago).

I am sure Virgin will do their best to reduce the service further though!

 

[Chrism20]

I got one for Abellio's Scotrail bid (There were a lot of questions about HSTs etc which mirrors roughly what is planned) and also one for the sleeper (Again the proposed berths were similar to what has been announced) but I haven't seen one for the East Coast.

Both of those two came through E-rewards but there are hundreds of market research companies out there they could have used anyone. It is more than likely it's all been done online rather than people wandering about stations and onboard - chances are the current management would not have allowed it as they would then have had to allow every bidder the opportunity.

There was a woman handing out questionnaires on a train a few months back around the time of the franchise announcement but I think that was the current EC rather than Virgin.

When did the final bids have to be submitted to the DFT? At the very latest any research would have been done probably three to six months before that to allow the results to be analysed and how can I put it - refined!

 

[WatcherZero]

Indeed generally these surveys are done during the bidding stage and you may not even know what company the questions are on behalf of.

P.s. Damn autocorrect

 

[Chrism20]

Indeed generally these surveys are done during the bidding stage and you may not even know what company the questions are on behalf of.

P.s. Damn autocorrect

That was what I was thinking as I would imagine that Nectar etc was all in the bid.

It was also announced along with the winning announcement.

From what I remember about the questionnaires they didn't indicate who/what company was requesting the information - it just says "A trusted E-Rewards client". I assume it was the winning bidders due to what has been announced but I have no way of being 100% sure.

 

[yorkie]

I doubt anyone asked for the current scheme to be replaced with Nectar points!

 

[Clip]

Oh dear just looking at some of the tweets on that page in post #1 though is embarrassing

David McGuinness @davidmcguinness
Follow
@AlanRoden @askVirginEC It's not a good start when the first thing the new franchise does it cut rewards for hard working people.

@askVirginEC @lordjplumb @AlanRoden ...on this line since 2003. It's appalling how someone who's been using the line so long wasn't asked!

The OUTRAGE is amusing though I must say.

And this dude doesn't even say if he uses the line anyway!

Neil Smith @gadgetlunatic
Follow
@78_Char_87 @SaveECRewards @askVirginEC me neither and I'm a regular collector

 

[maniacmartin]

If they want to cut the rewards, that's their decision and I don't have a problem with it. But making some phony press release saying its what passengers want and it's much better annoys me. It would have been better if they had just said its changing and left it at that.

Do they really think we're that stupid? Are most of their rewards members that gullible?

 

[Mojo]

I did an accent-mr survey in Feburary 2012 regarding East Coast Trains Rewards. Is this the survey Virgin are referring to?

 

[davidgiles]

Interestingly, I've just been sent (and responded to) a survey about loyalty schemes from Crosscountry, which mentioned East Coast Rewards by name. Naturally I told them that if they were to replicate this scheme across the Arriva group of TOCs they would get the custom Virgin/Stagecoach are about to lose.

 

[JaJaWa]

Interestingly, I've just been sent (and responded to) a survey about loyalty schemes from Crosscountry, which mentioned East Coast Rewards by name. Naturally I told them that if they were to replicate this scheme across the Arriva group of TOCs they would get the custom Virgin/Stagecoach are about to lose.

Is there a general link to this survey or are they user specific? I asked CrossCountry for it on Twitter and they said I should receive it by email soon but seems it hasn't / won't come through.

 

[Saint66]

I also received that email today.

 

[davidgiles]

Is there a general link to this survey or are they user specific? I asked CrossCountry for it on Twitter and they said I should receive it by email soon but seems it hasn't / won't come through.

Unique URL, I'm afraid.

 

[jeemac]

Not EC, but I was surveyed about the Sleeper service - was approached on the platform at Euston, asked if I'd like to be involved and called by a market research company a few days later.

All seemed very proper ... except that many questions about which journeys I made were a bit 'London-centric' like 'If you were travelling to Edinburgh, what would make you choose the sleeper over flying'. Not designed for an Inverness-based customer

 

[CockneySparrow]

I doubt anyone asked for the current scheme to be replaced with Nectar points!

Must say I agree with you, as for the research being done I doubt that was carried out well on the EC model at least, if it was done and what they are saying is correct a survey was done, they I think are referring to any survey that might have been carried out based on the WC route as the new scheme has similarities to the WC rewards

 

[suzanneparis]

They haven't asked me. And I have been using the rewards system for a long time.