More nonsense from the incompetent GTR "Gatwick Express" staff.

[mugam4]

the only ones we are supposed to reject are TL only tickets. On that issue I'm saying nothing.

I've yet to encounter a member of staff who's bothered about TL only/Southern only tickets being used on either off-peak. Even with TL services, the advice I've been given by station staff is

Do what you want mate, there's no guard on there to check tickets

 

[bb21]

There is an astonishing hidden fact in your post........any organisation which has so many complaints that it requires a time-delayed queue to handle must have something fundamentally wrong at its core.
Either in the way its treating customers (and so generating the complaints) or in the way its handling the complaints (and so not clearing them promptly). Or maybe both. Either way the company would appear to need a fundamental change in its practices. Or removing from its franchise

That post shows nothing but your ignorance of how things work.

Do you actually understand how long it takes to draft a well-considered and comprehensive reply to a customer? Do you understand how complicated some customer queries can be? Do you understand how in many cases people dealing with escalated complaints in specialist roles also have responsibility for other matters? I have a service level commitment and I work to that. Nature of railway operation means that sometimes there are spikes in complaints, and sometimes these targets are missed. It's life. I will try my best but we don't live in an ideal world.

Before you go down the "you need to employ more people" route, there is not always the volume to justify more than one person, and sometimes specialist knowledge is not easy to come by either. I get forwarded complaints which normally fall outside my remit but I quite happily resolve, and my colleagues are happy that they have someone who has fairly comprehensive knowledge about many aspects of the industry who they can rely on. (No, I don't know everything.)

Any more "hidden facts" you would like me to clarify?

 

[bnm]

And do you understand bb21 how frustrating it is as a rail customer to wait upwards of 12 weeks for a written response that spectacularly fails to address the specific issues raised in a complaint?

 

[bb21]

And do you understand bb21 how frustrating it is as a rail customer to wait upwards of 12 weeks for a written response that spectacularly fails to address the specific issues raised in a complaint?

Your point being?

Escalate it with your TOC. Why are you asking me?

Perhaps everyone should just email the MD. That will work. Why is your complaint more important than another person's?

 

[bnm]

I've come to learn that not one TOCs Customer Service department is worthy of the word 'service'.

The whole industry puts on a front of being caring toward it's passengers. That's all it is - a front. A sop to the franchise agreement where the bare minimum is done to comply.

 

[bb21]

I've come to learn that not one TOCs Customer Service department is worthy of the word 'service'.

The whole industry puts on a front of being caring toward it's passengers. That's all it is - a front. A sop to the franchise agreement where the bare minimum is done to comply.

There is a lot that can be improved, of course, but jumping the queue does nothing to resolve it.

I am sure the customer who specifically wrote back to me the other day thanking me for the comprehensive answer despite not agreeing with how things should be would disagree with you, but you are entitled to your opinion.

(And yes, I sent him a small goodwill gesture as a result. Refreshing to hear that from a customer.)

 

[yorkie]

Are Gatwick Express tickets permitted on Southern services or is it just that the tickets have on a Gatwick Express Barnsley stock, rather than being valid solely valid on Gatwick Express.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

Technically there isn't such a thing as a "Gatwick Express ticket"; the higher priced tickets, which are priced at £19.90 for a single from Gatwick to Victoria at any time, are routed "Any Permitted". It's very easy to undercut these fares (even for tickets with the same routeing), but of course the vast majority of tourists don't know that.

As for Barnsley stock (whatever that is), that got me thinking, the Northern services from Sheffield to Barnsley booked for 21 minutes actually average faster speeds than, for example, the 1800 Gatwick "Express". Perhaps every train averaging greater than 43mph in the country should be branded "Express" in order to mislead people into thinking they're on a fast train The whole thing is a total farce!

https://twitter.com/AmeerAliOuarda/status/803352252312330242

@GatwickExpress Let me get this straight! @SouthernRailUK Departs later, its cheaper and gets to GTW quicker than GX! It doesn't make sense!

I bet they don't answer that tweet...

They get a hell of a battering on Twitter from people talking common sense and exposing the company for their utter lies.

However if anyone dared to say those things at the gateline, and informed tourists of the truth, they'd be threatened with ejection from the station. Thank goodness GTR have no control over this forum or Twitter.

 

[MikeWh]

That is stretching the definition of overtaken. They both arrive at the same time. In reality the GX has probably got a minute padding added on to mitigate against delays. Both trains use the same track for 99% of their journey so I'd like to see one overtake the other.

 

[infobleep]

That is stretching the definition of overtaken. They both arrive at the same time. In reality the GX has probably got a minute padding added on to mitigate against delays. Both trains use the same track for 99% of their journey so I'd like to see one overtake the other.

Quite true. Still there's no denying it's officially quicker and cheaper.

They could of course remove the padding just to make it officially faster.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

 

[yorkie]

That is stretching the definition of overtaken. They both arrive at the same time. In reality the GX has probably got a minute padding added on to mitigate against delays. Both trains use the same track for 99% of their journey so I'd like to see one overtake the other.

"Overtaken" is the language used by GTR themselves, though they do not admit this to tourists when they are selling the more expensive tickets or showing departure times at station screens. The person who tweeted them was careful to avoid directly using that term themselves.

It's also surprisingly common for GX trains to wait ages for the 'right' platform to become available, especially at Victoria, where the company may be keen to ensure passengers pass through an Oyster reader which charges £19.80, rather than £8. It's possible for other trains to arrive earlier as a result of this. There have also been instances during disruption of GX trains being relegated to the slow lines, while the longer distance trains overtake, though this isn't booked to occur.

The main point though is that GTR are suggesting people can get to their destination quicker using their GX branded trains, and this is untrue. The only reason they mislead people in this way is for revenue reasons. Otherwise they'd not do it.

 

[najaB]

The main point though is that GTR are suggesting people can get to their destination quicker using their GX branded trains, and this is untrue. The only reason they mislead people in this way is for revenue reasons. Otherwise they'd not do it.

Other than the branding, are there examples of GTR explicitly claiming that Gatwick Express is the fastest option? If so, the ASA might want to get involved.

 

[bnm]

They claim to be the fastest on average across timetabled services on their 'About Us' page on the GE website.

 

[najaB]

They claim to be the fastest on average across timetabled services on their 'About Us' page on the GE website.

That's likely to be true as a few stoppers will increase the 'non-express' average quite a bit.

 

[talldave]

Are Gatwick Express tickets permitted on Southern services or is it just that the tickets have on a Gatwick Express Barnsley stock, rather than being valid solely valid on Gatwick Express.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

In paper format, there isn't such a thing as a Gatwick Express ticket.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The main point though is that GTR are suggesting people can get to their destination quicker using their GX branded trains, and this is untrue. The only reason they mislead people in this way is for revenue reasons. Otherwise they'd not do it.

Yet they actually should. It should be the same price, but there should be u/s restrictions on the "Southern" branded services. Keep airport passengers on a dedicated service with proper luggage provision and away from commuters (yes, I know).

 

[anme]

Yet they actually should. It should be the same price, but there should be u/s restrictions on the "Southern" branded services. Keep airport passengers on a dedicated service with proper luggage provision and away from commuters (yes, I know).

Absolutely agree. The current arrangements are really stupid - we reserve the space on one of the world's busiest railway lines for a dedicated airport service with appropriate luggage provision, and then we encourage people not to use it and to clog up the overcrowded commuter trains instead.

If we have to have the dedicated airport service, let's at least get the airport passengers on to it.

 

[Sprinter153]

A colleague was refused the sale of a £6.70 Priv SDR VIC-GTW this morning at the GX ticket office, because, my colleague quotes, "it's too cheap for you to buy it at this office"...

 

[Bletchleyite]

A colleague was refused the sale of a £6.70 Priv SDR VIC-GTW this morning at the GX ticket office, because, my colleague quotes, "it's too cheap for you to buy it at this office"...

Unbelievable.

No, actually believable

If a clerk genuinely said that they should be sacked for a serious breach of the ticketing rules and a serious attitude problem.

 

[AlterEgo]

A colleague was refused the sale of a £6.70 Priv SDR VIC-GTW this morning at the GX ticket office, because, my colleague quotes, "it's too cheap for you to buy it at this office"...

Now I know why ticket clerks work behind glass.

 

[Barn]

Yet they actually should. It should be the same price, but there should be u/s restrictions on the "Southern" branded services. Keep airport passengers on a dedicated service with proper luggage provision and away from commuters (yes, I know).

You can commute from Gatwick Airport though. It has a rail commuters car park. It's also an interchange point for (e.g.) Brighton to Redhill.

 

[Bletchleyite]

You can commute from Gatwick Airport though. It has a rail commuters car park. It's also an interchange point for (e.g.) Brighton to Redhill.

True, though if you could board a non-stop service at Gatwick which didn't cost more, didn't take longer (that they do now is just recovery time) and near ensured you a seat, why wouldn't you?

 

[jacksonbang]

True, though if you could board a non-stop service at Gatwick which didn't cost more, didn't take longer (that they do now is just recovery time) and near ensured you a seat, why wouldn't you?

How great that would be. Remove/train the rude staff and get rid of the constant manual London Victoria Checkpoint and it would be quite something.

 

[JaJaWa]

Wouldn't it make more sense for the Gatwick Express to be cheaper than other services to prevent them being clogged up with airport users? Perhaps they should introduce a Gatwick Express Only ticket and remove the Not Gatwick Express.

 

[infobleep]

Surely if commuting, Gatwick Express is now more expensive from Gatwick or are there season tickets cheaper that might cause issues if using Gatwick Express services?

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

 

[jon0844]

There is an argument to just making it the exact same price, as airport users would obviously take the express service. People wanting to go further would use a Southern service.

It would surely help reduce congestion on Southern trains, and the only 'issue' is the GatEx services that go beyond Gatwick.

 

[Barn]

True, though if you could board a non-stop service at Gatwick which didn't cost more, didn't take longer (that they do now is just recovery time) and near ensured you a seat, why wouldn't you?

You would, if your destination was Victoria.

Not if your destination was Redhill, Croydon, London Bridge etc.

 

[Wookiee]

They prey on people who are passive and do NOT like it one bit when people are assertive.

Oh, and they lie a lot, in a way that is absolutely staggering, and they're also good at making false allegations.

Got to agree with this, but it's not just the Victoria staff. I had the temerity to exit at Gatwick on a Southampton to Croydon (via Barnham) season ticket a couple of years ago and was told by the clown on the gate that my ticket was only valid to change trains at Gatwick, not to exit the station. There followed a row and an eventual "I'll let you through this once"...

 

[Bletchleyite]

You would, if your destination was Victoria.

Not if your destination was Redhill, Croydon, London Bridge etc.

OK, fair point.

I suppose if it were the same price nobody would avoid it deliberately anyway, and journey planners could be tweaked to encourage its use by changing the timetabled recovery time on various trains.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

There is an argument to just making it the exact same price, as airport users would obviously take the express service. People wanting to go further would use a Southern service.

It would surely help reduce congestion on Southern trains, and the only 'issue' is the GatEx services that go beyond Gatwick.

Those make no sense and should just be branded as Southern services.

 

[jacksonbang]

"I'll let you through this once"...

I hate that. Very infuriating. A favour for the person with the valid ticket...

 

[Wookiee]

I hate that. Very infuriating. A favour for the person with the valid ticket...

Inconvenient *******s!