Poor replies from customer services

[Failed Unit]

This thread is really a compliation of replies we get from TOC which have no relevence to the point you raised, or avoid the issue.

I am not talking about
Complaint - EMT trains between Nottingham and Liverpool are overcrowded.
Answer - We don't have enough stock to lengthen services without moving the overcrowding elsewhere.

I am talking about ones like this.
Some gems from East Coast
Complaint - Journey times in the evening between London and Edinburgh have increase. Both the 1700 and 1800 service times have increased breaking connections at Edinburgh Waverley that have been in place since 1991 for Fife and Central Scotland.
Answer - The new timetable offers faster journey times for many including a 4h "flying Scotsman" and later journeys to Edinburgh.
My point - What relavance is that to people who used the 1800 service but now take a lot longer to get home.

Complaint - 2 Sandwiches is not a what I consider a meal on a journey time longer than 4 hours.
Answer - We have done a lot of research into our new catering offer and 50% of passengers said they wanted more complentary food with the remaining passengers expressing no preference.
My point - Did they ask the passengers if they wanted the at seat dining was going to be replaced by 2 sandwiches on many long journeys

Complaint - If you are wanting to increase the number of passengers in first class why have you reduced capacity in first class on the 1700 and 1800 service from London Kings Cross? Both of these trains often had difficult accomodating the demand in the past.
Answer - A HST has more seats than a Mk4 set
My point - Not in first class it does not!

From Central Trains
Complaint - I am very disappointed that Lincoln - Birmingham journeys will no longer be possible, with the poor timekeeping on this route the risk of getting stranded at Nottingham is greatly increased.
Answer - Lincoln will now have direct trains to Syston, Borrow-on-Soar, etc
My point - Why does that matter to someone from Lincoln who has lost a direct train to somewhere they want to go and gained on to somewhere they don't

Complaint - the overcrowding on the 1003 Market Rasen - Lincoln service is not acceptable, passengers are getting left behind.
Answer - We do passenger counts, monitor ticket sales and this train is not overcrowded.
My point - The gaurd sells the tickets on this service, so how full the train is when they can't physically get down it to either count passengers or sell tickets! Luckily in this case the local press took some photo's of the overcrowding and the amount of people left behind and the 153 was replaced by a 156!

Any other little classics

 

[michael769]

Compliant - Season tickets issued at Waverly only last about 2-3 weeks before they stop working in the barriers. Is it possible to provide tickets that can last the full lifetime of the ticket?
Response - Barriers help to prevent fare dodging.

Complaint - Why do Waverley issue annual season tickets on orange stock only for the train crew to challenge them as begin the wrong colour.
Response - Season tickets are printed on different coloured tickets to help prevent misuse.

Complaint - Why are none of my complaints properly answered unless I escalate the matter to Passenger Focus?
Response - Complaint forms can be obtained at any staffed station.

I swear their complaints are answered by a machine!

 

[StrollerEd]

so you think they are using an RRG?

 

[Flamingo]

Automated replies to buzzwords in the complaints. Saves time and effort. What's the problem?

 

[ainsworth74]

I've had a good one from TPE I sent a query like this about one week before I travelled:

Me: Is it possible to upgrade a standard class advance to first class and how would I go about doing this?

Three weeks later:

TPE: I'm sorry we were unable to reply to you before you traveled and hope you were able to find the answer elsewhere.

 

[Failed Unit]

Automated replies to buzzwords in the complaints. Saves time and effort. What's the problem?

None at all if they make sense as I said, you Swansea - London train is always overcrowded a good response is it is ran to the maximum length we can. But in some cases it only provides ammo to commedians and makes you wonder what the point of complaining to the TOC was.

 

[AlterEgo]

Most if not all ToCs use the same complaints handling software. All of those responses would have been compiled by a human being! Standard paragraphs are often used, particularly with common enquiries and complaints.

Whoever is signing the letter should obviously double check that what they are sending is relevant to the original query!

 

[WestCoast]

Most if not all ToCs use the same complaints handling software. All of those responses would have been compiled by a human being! Standard paragraphs are often used, particularly with common enquiries and complaints. !

I have often found that a letter carries more weight when you are complaining about something, rather than an e-mail.

 

[Tom B]

Automated replies to buzzwords in the complaints. Saves time and effort. What's the problem?

What's the point in even sending a reply when the company doesn't bother to address the issues raised?

I've found that even when you specifically say "I'd like to know why X" they will not answer at all, and just copy and paste the generic press release.

Particularly with East Coast, they often don't reply to complaints and it takes a second email/phone call to get a response, presumably in the hope that people won't bother.

 

[stut]

Some websites can do the 'buzzword recognition' better than others, and will parse the message before sending, and offer you an explanation there and then. If you're happy, then great! If not, you can send the message anyway. Seems a smarter way of doing it, really.

My last exchange with FCC was an example of "read it, go to some effort, but still fail to get the gist":

Me: Your promotion where Super Off-Peak tickets are available in school holiday weekdays is great! However, the ticket machines don't sell them during the week, and my station has limited hours - are you going to update them so we can get them without buying online?

Them: We have spoken to the staff at your station, and they assure us that Super Off-Peak tickets are indeed available from the ticket machines at weekends, but can be hard to find if you're not used to it.

 

[tbtc]

The TOC are never going to be honest and say "your journey isn't really that important to us, so we didn't feel we needed to maintain the direct journey/ connection that you've been using for years" though...

 

[Failed Unit]

The TOC are never going to be honest and say "your journey isn't really that important to us, so we didn't feel we needed to maintain the direct journey/ connection that you've been using for years" though...

I must admit CT had a rock in a hard place as DFT told them to split the route, I doubt CT would have done that themselves because of all the flows lost such as Loughborough - Birmingham, Nottingham - Nuneaton etc.

East Coast situation is a little worse considering the main selling point of the new timetable is that they have speed up the timetable, but the lost connections are because the trains are actually slower than they used to be (mainly because of padding)

But back onto topic, I do know of replies where they have said that they need to take the over network into consideration such as conflicts at junctions etc. Again CT did this when I asked why a train couldn't leave Newark 2 minutes later to make a valid conection from the mainline. The reply is feasible and very few people could contridict it. You may have a freight train run 10 minutes behind it at Market Rasen but who knows what would happen at Barnetby if that train freight was 2 minutes later.... But equally it could be we don't want you business

 

[RYS]

I don't post here much but I'm glad this thread has come up. I recently sent a message to First Capital Connect asking if they could explain to me why services on the Great Northern route finish so early (when Thameslink services are basically 24 hours) and stating that I thought slightly later trains would be well utilised.

I realise the answer is probably simply "business/technical reasons" but I was interested in what their explanation would be.

The abysmal reply was basically just "I'm sorry you are unhappy with our current timetable, we make the best use of resources available to us. Your thoughts have been passed onto our train planning department."

I didn't even say I was unhappy. I just asked some questions which they ignored.

 

[Lampshade]

i have often found that a letter carries more weight when you are complaining about something, rather than an e-mail.

+1

 

[Failed Unit]

I don't post here much but I'm glad this thread has come up. I recently sent a message to First Capital Connect asking if they could explain to me why services on the Great Northern route finish so early (when Thameslink services are basically 24 hours) and stating that I thought slightly later trains would be well utilised.

I realise the answer is probably simply "business/technical reasons" but I was interested in what their explanation would be.

The abysmal reply was basically just "I'm sorry you are unhappy with our current timetable, we make the best use of resources available to us. Your thoughts have been passed onto our train planning department."

I didn't even say I was unhappy. I just asked some questions which they ignored.

I guess again if they had replied, we would like to run services 24 hours per day but because of the intensive use of this line, we can't reliably plan services because of frequent engineering work between 0000 and 0400. There are very few diversion routes and we can't split off the services because of the track formations. Something that is feasible to most people and looks like someone has looked at the problem.

 

[tinselworm]

If I were you, i'd contact someone like national rail instead, heres an email i sent them a few days ago;

Hey, I cannot buy a return to london with a travelcard on my railcard, I travel from worle. Is there an error in the website or something?

Reply;

Thank you for your email. I understand that you are unable to get a Railcard discount on a Day Travelcard from Worle to London. I apologise for any inconvenience caused to you.

Having investigated the issue, I can confirm that there is an error in the ticketing database and I have reported this to the relevant department. They will investigate the issue further and rectify any errors found.

I have also contacted First Great Western and reported the issue. They have confirmed that there is an error and they will get it rectified at the earliest.

We welcome all customer feedback, particularly suggestions that would help us to improve the service we provide. Thank you again for getting in touch; I appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback with us.

 

[Skimble19]

I guess again if they had replied, we would like to run services 24 hours per day but because of the intensive use of this line, we can't reliably plan services because of frequent engineering work between 0000 and 0400. There are very few diversion routes and we can't split off the services because of the track formations. Something that is feasible to most people and looks like someone has looked at the problem.

The last train leaves KGX at 01:36, the next one isn't until 05:23.. meanwhile the last train leaves PBO at 23:39 with the next one being at 03:25. Engineering work on the GN is usually done on saturdays/sundays, very rarely during the week.

 

[causton]

I presume these trains wouldn't make enough money, with increased staffing, maintainence, and the fact that there won't be much revenue coming in as people will usually not buy a ticket at that time of night.

I believe the reason the Thameslink route is open longer is because it links 2 airports with Central London

 

[Furrball]

Seating preference cannot be guaranteed due to a number of reasons, the common being that train sets are often changed from Mallards to HST’s and vice versa at short notice

I clearly stated that the journey was London to Inverness

If you had spoken to the guard onboard during your journey and explained the situation, I would have expected he would tried his best to resolve the issue with other seats been found for you if possible in the accommodation of the ticket entitlement.

I also clearly indicated that the journey had not yet occured

 

[dmacw]

Where do I start with First Great Western...

They added a 's' to the end of my surname in their last reply to me.

Our 04:43 service was disrupted as it was following a late running service ahead of it. I apologise for the inconvenience this caused.

My reply stated that the 04.43 was the first train of the day, so what was it following I've asked.

Whilst we do pay compensation for a delay of an hour or more, our records show that this service arrived 17 minutes late.

As I clearly stated at the time I told them the train was delayed for about 17 minutes, the delay caused me to miss a connection which meant the next train was a hour later.

 

[HSTfan!!!]

My reply stated that the 04.43 was the first train of the day, so what was it following I've asked.

Freight or an ECS move most likely, this information should be attributed to your delayed service in the TRUST system but it doesn't always happen.

 

[dmacw]

Freight or an ECS move most likely, this information should be attributed to your delayed service in the TRUST system but it doesn't always happen.

I was getting the 04.43 from Wokingham to Guildford. It starts at Reading at 04.34. 17 minute delay, following what from Reading Depot to just east of the station? Doesn't really explain the delay does it. I was at the station and saw no trains before mine.

 

[185]

Wrote to East Midlands Trains, re-Hope Valley shut - no trains Sheffield-Stockport.

So trains could run Norwich-Nottingham-Sheffield and could run Stockport-Manchester-Widnes-Liverpool

"AN ADEQUATE NORTHERN RAIL ALTERNATIVE TO WIDNES IS PROVIDED"

err, no. Northern Rail were on strike. Had been planned for 4 weeks.

Reply from East Midlands Trains Derby? just like their trains, it failed to show up.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I find that if you use really arcane words in your letter (provided that you know the correct meaning of these words), the system cannot cope with this and you actually receive a well written reply from someone who has had to really think about the meaning of your letter in composing a reply to it. It can take longer than normal to receive a reply.

 

[northwichcat]

I contacted TPE about the lack of Advance tickets on their services on a route where the standard fare is set by Virgin. They replied with something along the lines of "We cannot answer your query. We have forwarded it to Virgin Trains for them to respond."

I contacted ATW, when their 175s were in FNW livery and they didn't use the destination displays, about their services causing confusion to passengers at stations that Northern Rail also serve. Their response was "We have forwarded you query to Northern Rail and asked them to sort it out."

 

[Bill Badger]

A friend was travelling from Guildford to St Pancras, via Wimbledon and the FCC Wimbledon to St Pancras services was cancelled. He complained to FCC, who claimed they didn’t operate this service and referred the complaint to SWT. SWT then replied saying they were looking into issues raised!

 

[cuccir]

Can I include national express coaches in this thread? I once wrote to ask why their Wembley Stadium services don't include the North-East of England (or for that matter, North Yorkshire and Humberside) and got the response

"I do not know why this service does not encumbers the North East".

I felt like replying to say that, on the contrary, the service does encumber me in getting back to the North East after England matches, but thought better of it!

 

[trickyvegas]

I find that if you use really arcane words in your letter (provided that you know the correct meaning of these words), the system cannot cope with this and you actually receive a well written reply from someone who has had to really think about the meaning of your letter in composing a reply to it. It can take longer than normal to receive a reply.

I like this suggestion, would make writing a complaint much more fun.

 

[philjo]

We found that East coast advance tickets were not opening the barriers at our FCC station (despite it being the same station as the journey origin printed on the ticket). Wrote to FCC & they replied saying that the tickets were issued by East coast (yes, I had bought them online from EC website) so they had forwarded the complaint on to East coast. (the tickets were EC & connections as had to use FCC to get to Stevenage to join the EC service)

Received a subsequent letter from EC saying that as the barriers were managed by FCC they had forwarded the matter on to FCC who claimed it was an EC problem.
As far as I know the tickets still don't work in the barriers.

 

[jon0844]

The answer I've been given from FCC (when they used to properly answer questions on their online forum, thanks to it being attended by key staff - timetabling, engineering etc) is that Network Rail takes possession of the lines at certain times from King's Cross, irrespective of whether work takes place.

As such a later train is not possible, even though Elaine Holt had said to me in person that they wanted to run later trains from King's Cross.

I don't know if they ever thought of running 24 hours, but at weekends (and in particular Saturday night/Sunday morning) you'd think there would be scope to run trains until 0230-0300 or so.

FWIW, Sunday mornings are the same on TL where trains stop earlier and start later for engineer working - whether it happens or not.

It's a real shame that Network Rail couldn't try and work towards having a way of keeping at least two lines (possibly even one single line!) operational at night while still being able to do work. Obviously at times you'd need bus replacements, but not that often.