Trent Barton - excellent "customer" service

[Harpers Tate]

"Customer" in quotes because, in fact, I wasn't a customer at all.

On Friday, I travelled into Nottingham using a Stagecoach service, and had bought a Stagecoach-only "Explorer" ticket to cover my round trip (four buses in total).

When I got back to the Victoria Bus Station and approached the stand for my (two-hourly) service back the way I came, I was approached by a member of Trent Barton staff who advised that the bus had broken down and wouldn't be operating.

She then began to suggest alternative routes back home, none of which involved services on which my ticket would be valid. I explained my ticket situation, expecting really to have to wait two hours for the next bus back.

However, she was insistent that I could do something else, and because it was raining I decided to listen. Another member of TB staff arrived and eventually it was decided that my best option would be to take Trent Barton's "Red Arrow" service to Chesterfield and then find my way back from there. But, of course, my ticket would not be valid on the TB route.

In a wholly surprising (to me) move, this second staff member disappeared off to their little office and returned with a Trent Barton "Mango" card (Smart Card ticket) loaded with £5 credit. Enough to get me to Chesterfield. And gave it to me, free.

Excellent service and wholly unexpected.

With hindsight, in fact, I'd have been no worse off waiting for my next "proper" service, but nevertheless, I was still hugely impressed with their attitude and willingness to (at least try to) help.

 

[DaveHarries]

Good to hear of a bus op doing its best to help its customers! That wouldn't happen here in Bristol, I reckon.

Dave

 

[TheManWho]

Whilst I don't live in TrentBartonLand I have always been impressed with their levels of customer services, whether it's through reading through their Twitter or Facebook page. Certainly, a significant part of the bus (and rail) industry could learn a lot from TB.

"Customer" in quotes because, in fact, I wasn't a customer at all.

On Friday, I travelled into Nottingham using a Stagecoach service, and had bought a Stagecoach-only "Explorer" ticket to cover my round trip (four buses in total).

When I got back to the Victoria Bus Station and approached the stand for my (two-hourly) service back the way I came, I was approached by a member of Trent Barton staff who advised that the bus had broken down and wouldn't be operating.

She then began to suggest alternative routes back home, none of which involved services on which my ticket would be valid. I explained my ticket situation, expecting really to have to wait two hours for the next bus back.

However, she was insistent that I could do something else, and because it was raining I decided to listen. Another member of TB staff arrived and eventually it was decided that my best option would be to take Trent Barton's "Red Arrow" service to Chesterfield and then find my way back from there. But, of course, my ticket would not be valid on the TB route.

In a wholly surprising (to me) move, this second staff member disappeared off to their little office and returned with a Trent Barton "Mango" card (Smart Card ticket) loaded with £5 credit. Enough to get me to Chesterfield. And gave it to me, free.

Excellent service and wholly unexpected.

With hindsight, in fact, I'd have been no worse off waiting for my next "proper" service, but nevertheless, I was still hugely impressed with their attitude and willingness to (at least try to) help.

 

[radamfi]

Surely it is unacceptable to cancel a bus that runs every 2 hours? If necessary, hire a bus from another company, or at least transfer a bus from a more frequent route. Why would a cancellation of a bus operated by Stagecoach be known to Trent Barton - is there real time information on the particular route?

Obviously this is criticism of Stagecoach not Trent Barton.

 

[MCR247]

Trent Barton would've known because the route is operated jointly between Stagecoach and Trent Barton or because Stagecoach told Trent Barton as they have a drivers depot and customer office thing at the bus station so that they can tell passengers.

The bus isn't two hourly, it is every ten minutes, but this incident wasn't during daytime hours I presume, and so as you can imagine it wouldn't have been easy to find another bus

 

[transmanche]

"Customer" in quotes because, in fact, I wasn't a customer at all

No but I bet you (and/or some of the people you tell) will be in the future. The best advert a company can have is a customer that's a promoter.

Cost to the company = nothing. Benefit to the company = customer loyalty.

 

[Mitch in Notts]

Trent Barton would've known because the route is operated jointly between Stagecoach and Trent Barton or because Stagecoach told Trent Barton as they have a drivers depot and customer office thing at the bus station so that they can tell passengers.

The bus isn't two hourly, it is every ten minutes, but this incident wasn't during daytime hours I presume, and so as you can imagine it wouldn't have been easy to find another bus

If it was the two hourly stagecoach service out of Nottingham surely more likely to have been the Sherwood Arrow than Pronto. The biggest Pronto gap is an hour and the OP says he was aiming to make his way back from Chesterfield once the Red Arrow got him there. Worksop perhaps?

 

[WillPS]

Trent Barton show how customer service should be done. In a city dominated by an operator who can hardly be arsed to even acknowledge their customers (leave alone give change) it really shows quite a contrast.

 

[edwin_m]

Trent Barton show how customer service should be done. In a city dominated by an operator who can hardly be arsed to even acknowledge their customers (leave alone give change) it really shows quite a contrast.

I presume you're referring to NCT?

A couple of months back I collected a prescription before boarding a bus to the station for a work trip to Manchester. When I got home that evening I realised I no longer had the medication. I was just contemplating whether to start phoning the train and bus lost property and/or the doctor to get a replacement, when the doorbell rang. They'd found the medication (complete with address label) on the bus and a NCT man with a van came out to deliver it personally.

I now believe there is more than one good bus operator in Nottingham.

 

[Harpers Tate]

My intended service runs only every two hours - yes it's the Sherwood Arrow and yes, to Worksop. Trent Barton have (as far as I know) nothing to do with it; but they evidently knew of the failure.

And, yes, Stagecoach should have done better to address the issue. For example, there is another service which follows a similar route with a different destination, ONE hour later. They could have sent something to meet that at the point where the two routes diverge.

 

[Jordy]

Trent Barton show how customer service should be done. In a city dominated by an operator who can hardly be arsed to even acknowledge their customers (leave alone give change) it really shows quite a contrast.

Not all of the NCT drivers I've encountered are as friendly as Trent Barton seem to be, but they're generally fine and I think overall they are an excellent bus operator (I'm guessing your reference to 'an operator who can hardly be arsed to even acknowledge their customers' refers to drivers, if it's something else then I'm really not sure what you're talking about). The exact fare policy may not be ideal in some situations, but given the very limited range of fares in the city zone, it's not particularly unreasonable. Indeed, it certainly speeds up boarding times in the majority of cases and the policy is widely known about in Nottingham, it only really catches out visitors or those who don't use the buses regularly.

Having had two years of living in NCT land and then spending a year suffering the joys of Stagecoach in Cambridge, it's fair to say I was glad to move back to somewhere with a decent and reliable bus service!

 

[34D]

Don't give change

Are any other operators like this?

(says me who was quite happy to accept a £50 note on my bus the other day)

 

[MCR247]

Yes, but they do have an exact fare policy

 

[Jordy]

Yes, all single tickets in the city zone are the same price so it's not exactly complex. On routes that go outside the city zone (such as Navy Line 1 to Loughborough via East Leake), change is given.

 

[radamfi]

Don't give change

Are any other operators like this?

Exact change is not a new concept. It has been around since the 70s. The companies who still use the concept have generally consistently used it since then. Glasgow, Edinburgh, West Midlands, Reading, Preston and Dublin also use the system.

The debate about exact change has been going on for a long time, with supporters on both sides. The advantages of exact change are quicker boarding and fewer assaults and thefts from drivers, as drivers cannot access the money. You would have hoped that smartcards would have reduced cash payment (exact fare or not) to a trickle by now. Cash payment on the bus on busy urban services really is a bad idea, which is why it is uncommon in mainland Europe.

 

[Rich McLean]

The speed pax board the buses in Birmingham city centre, with the exact fare system in place, and the location of the ticket printer means there is a steady flow of passengers onto the bus, instead of stop and wait for the diver to issue change

 

[AnonymousUser1]

NCT have had exact fare policy for 30+ years - they used to have some kind of hopper system for a cashbix and the drivers had no access to the cash

 

[MCR247]

NCT have had exact fare policy for 30+ years - they used to have some kind of hopper system for a cashbix and the drivers had no access to the cash

Yeah they still have the hoppers except for on routes that leave the city boundary which give change.

 

[Deerfold]

Yeah they still have the hoppers except for on routes that leave the city boundary which give change.

Except on route 26/26C.

http://www.nctx.co.uk/assets/TT100_Jan13.pdf

 

[WillPS]

It's not just the giving change thing, it's the general attitude towards customers which that is a symptom of. I've also endured some terrible customer service at the Information Centre in the past, which itself is (or at least used to be) insufficient for its purpose. The drivers themselves vary but skew towards generally not caring.

It used to be the case that all NCT vehicles (so notably not the two South Notts Olympians which were operating the 1 well in to the 00s) were fitted with a vault, but Gotham vehicles (except those assigned to the 48) additionally had a change desk. When operating on the 1 they'd put a bag over the hopper.

 

[34D]

Exact change is not a new concept. It has been around since the 70s. The companies who still use the concept have generally consistently used it since then. Glasgow, Edinburgh, West Midlands, Reading, Preston and Dublin also use the system.

The debate about exact change has been going on for a long time, with supporters on both sides. The advantages of exact change are quicker boarding and fewer assaults and thefts from drivers, as drivers cannot access the money. You would have hoped that smartcards would have reduced cash payment (exact fare or not) to a trickle by now. Cash payment on the bus on busy urban services really is a bad idea, which is why it is uncommon in mainland Europe.

I'm well aware that it has been around for many years. I am however surprised that it is still continuing.

Bradford abolished it in the 1990s.

 

[Hyphen]

It's not just the giving change thing, it's the general attitude towards customers which that is a symptom of. I've also endured some terrible customer service at the Information Centre in the past, which itself is (or at least used to be) insufficient for its purpose. The drivers themselves vary but skew towards generally not caring.

I grew up in Nottingham, always living somewhere in #trentbartonland, and compared to TB I always considered NCT to be the bad guys. Then I got to know First Cymru, First SYorks and Stagecoach Yorkshire. I now no longer consider NCT to be poor at anything! I admittedly don't like the exact change policy, but I've never had an issue with this myself as I'll always buy a Kangaroo onboard a TB service if I ever need to go anywhere on NCT.

Harpers Tate - glad to hear you're happy with TB. I've got a number of my own happy stories with them and yes, with the odd exception they are stellar at what they do. It's always a pleasure to travel with them when I'm back visiting the family. Please do pass your thanks onto their head customer service department (email/twitter/FB) - they always try where possible to pass on your thanks to the appropriate staff members

 

[WillPS]

Let me be clear. NCT run a good, comprehensive service across the City of Nottingham. They always run to time, their fares are good for regular users and their timetables are flawless.

Their customer service leaves a lot to be desired. Anecdotal evidence suggests former municipal operations generally tend to be poorer than their ex-National counterparts.

 

[tbone]

I grew up in Nottingham, always living somewhere in #trentbartonland, and compared to TB I always considered NCT to be the bad guys. Then I got to know First Cymru, First SYorks and Stagecoach Yorkshire. I now no longer consider NCT to be poor at anything! I admittedly don't like the exact change policy, but I've never had an issue with this myself as I'll always buy a Kangaroo onboard a TB service if I ever need to go anywhere on NCT.

Harpers Tate - glad to hear you're happy with TB. I've got a number of my own happy stories with them and yes, with the odd exception they are stellar at what they do. It's always a pleasure to travel with them when I'm back visiting the family. Please do pass your thanks onto their head customer service department (email/twitter/FB) - they always try where possible to pass on your thanks to the appropriate staff members

I understand that the commercial director has been made aware of this thread on twitter so no doubt the relevant praise will be given!

The vast majority of trent barton staff that I have encountered, both driving and support staff, have been very friendly and helpful too, they generally seem a good bunch!