The truth about NRE...

[Tom]

In Great Britain, you can no longer telephone your local station. You have to use National Rail Enquiries. Your call will automatically be redirected to one of the Indian call centres, where it will be answered by someone living on the opposite side of the world who has never heard of the country you are living in, and attempting to travel across. In an accent you can barely understand they will give you details of a five-hour journey with four changes which includes a three-hour wait at Clapham Junction. Fares quoted may vary from those quoted last time you called, even if it was only five minutes ago. In the rare event that you speak to the same person twice, National Rail Enquiries reserves the right to give you completely different information.

 

[Guinness]

"Can you tell me the Price of a Saver from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston please?"
"From Piccadilly Circus to Euston?"
"No from Manchester Piccadilly"
"To Manchester Piccadilly?"
"No from!"
"Okay"
"The price is £189"
"That's a standard open return"
"Yes it is sir"
"I want to know what is the Saver Price"
"What is a Saver Price sir?"

At which point I put the phone down and went to an Internet cafe to check online.

 

[Mojo]

Normally when I want assistance from a company I ask them where they are, and, if necessary to be put through to a call centre in the UK.
Called Nectar Card to change my address the other day, got through to someone in India. She then put me through to someone in Liverpool, who then put me through to someone with a non-regional accent.

 

[Lewisham2221]

Normally when I want assistance from a company I ask them where they are, and, if necessary to be put through to a call centre in the UK.
Called Nectar Card to change my address the other day, got through to someone in India. She then put me through to someone in Liverpool, who then put me through to someone with a non-regional accent.

Apparently people from Glasgow have the best accentfor call centres...no offence to anybody from Glasgow, but when I've ever spoken to somebody with a Glaswegian accent on the phone I can't understand a bloody word they're saying!

 

[evil_hippo]

non-regional accent.

Blooody southerners.

 

[Mojo]

Blooody southerners.

As a fellow reader of Private Eye, Zoltan...
"It's grim up North."

 

[AlexS]

Between certain hours of the day is National Rail Enquiries not actually based in Newcastle?

 

[nutter]

Between certain hours of the day is National Rail Enquiries not actually based in Newcastle?

yep, 00:00 to 23:59

It is actrully based there , just eveyone's on the doll

 

[Craig]

"It's grim up North."

Is it?

Between certain hours of the day is National Rail Enquiries not actually based in Newcastle?

There was a NRE call centre in Newcastle a couple of years ago. I think it's still there, but dunno if it's still NRE though.

 

[yorkie]

She then put me through to someone in Liverpool, who then put me through to someone with a non-regional accent.

ROFL! Liverpool is like another country, last time I was there I showed a rover and was asked "Do you have a ticket, like?" I said "it's a rover", and he didn't really understand what a rover was but just went "oh" and moved on!

I had a Scouce French teacher in Years 7-8, (and an Irish French teacher in Year 9), needless to say I can't speak a word of French as a result

 

[HR2]

I had a Scouce French teacher in Years 7-8, (and an Irish French teacher in Year 9), needless to say I can't speak a word of French as a result

C'est La Guerre. :evil4: