To Customer Relations National Express

[betty swollocks]

Dear Sirs,
I thought you'd appreciate some customer feedback regarding my embarkation experience onto the 1141 to Kings X last Friday (12th Dec) at Berwick Station.
I, with my bicycle, for which I had made a reservation, made my way along to the south end of platform 1, where previous experience on at last 20 occasions, had taught me that the guards van would draw to a halt. It did. I tried the door: it was shut, so I waited for the guard to open it. No guard came. After several minutes, the train driver got out and unlocked the door for me, so i could stow my bike. As I was carrying it on board, a female in uniform (could have been a platform attendant, or the guard - I don't know which), came running along the platform towards me and shrieked at me that I had made the train late and didn't I see the sign. She further shouted at me that I should have let them know that I had a bike. I never saw a sign and didn't know to look out for one - I'd never had to on previous occasions and therefore never knew that I had to let anyone know that I had a bike. I politely advised this lady that I had a bike reservation for this journey and suggested that this should have given her some reason to expect a bike. The lady then shouted that if I was abusive or answered her back, she would have me thrown off the train!
This was not a pleasant start to my journey.
When I was on the train, the ticket inspector, this time in much more diplomatic terms, advised me again that I should have let them know that I had a bike.
I have had a look on your website here:-
and nowhere does it say that I have to let platform staff know that I have a bike.
Your comments on these various issues, particularly with regard to the way I was addressed by the female employee, would be appreciated.
Thank you.

 

[Soltydog]

Hope you get a decent reply. I can't speak for Nat xpress, but the with the rail operator i work for customer service is a way down on their list of priorities, which is topped by PROFIT,PUNCTUALITY & PERFORMANCE. I think customer service is quite a way down the list, but slightly ahead of staff welfare facilities

 

[vernon]

I regularly use the East Coast mainline and a variety of train operating companies. I've always asked platform staff which end of the train the cycle compartment is as it can vary. On my last visit to Darlington I noticed a very prominent poster asking cyclists to make themselves known to platform staff so that they can be guided to the point nearest to the cycle storage area of the train.

The station staff are under great pressure to get trains off on time as there can be large knock on effects affecting connections and trains ahead and behind the service that has been delayed.

The lady in uniform (phwaaarrr - dominant too! ) could do with some lessons in diplomacy or not if you are called Max Mosely.

But seriously - I have been very happy with the attitude and co-operation of the all station and on-train staff that I've encountered at stations between Edinburgh and Leeds.

Allthough there's the facility to book bikes onto trains I wonder if there's a reporting system to let train staff and stations know that a bike is expected. From my observations on a range of trains - I suspect not.

 

[bikepete]

FWIW I have found the station staff at Berwick very helpful (and indeed friendly and chatty) every time I've used that station with a bike. I always tell the platform staff first - that way you can be sure someone will be there to unlock the door.

And the end at which the bike compartment arrives definitely does vary on occasion - it's usually the south end at Berwick but I've had to get on at the north end a couple of times.

It can be annoying when the staff are nowhere to be found until a couple of minutes before the train arrives... but that happens at all stations.

They could also do with updating the website to state that they DO actually take tandems, and also to suggest you make your way through to the carriage next to the bike compartment as you get close to your destination station so you can get off as fast as possible.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

I've always been pretty happy with the individual staff on the East Coast Mainline, and I have never had any problem with taking any of my bikes - it's the stupid railway franshising system and all the grasping companies involved that are the problem.

 

[Kirstie]

I've had one bad experience with east midlands trains on a train from Leicester to Sheffield. Nobody was available to tell us which end of the platform to stand, despite walking around the station and looking for someone to ask. Inevitably we went to the wrong end of the train with our bikes, whereupon a female train guard started shreiking at us too - 'you should have done x/y etc' (we had). Clearly nobody gave a toss. It took me a long time to calm down.

National express in my experience have always been really good though (bearing in mind the baseline is a totally crap service from eg cross country trains or virgin trains). They have a lot of room for the bikes on their trains, which is always a plus.

 

[ColinJ]

The first time I came up to Yorkshire, way back in the days of British Rail, I was rushing to catch a train from Leeds to Keighley and needed to know what platform it went from. I spotted a couple of BR platform staff leaning against a wall chatting and smoking cigarettes so I ran up to them and asked which platform to go to. One looked at me with withering contempt, stabbed a yellow finger towards my eyes, then towards an information board about 100 feet away and sneered "Wossup, are you f***ing blind or can't you f***ing read!"

On another occasion I was travelling on a BR train between two unmanned stations so I needed to buy a ticket on the train. I was getting close to my destination and the conductor hadn't done his rounds so I went to find him. Turned out that he was sitting chatting to another BR employee at the far end of the train. I went up to him and asked if I could buy a ticket please, because I was getting off soon. "F*** off - can't you see I'm talking to my mate!"

There might be a few dodgy rail employees now, but they generally seem much more polite and professional than they used to be.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

The first time I came up to Yorkshire, way back in the days of British Rail, I was rushing to catch a train from Leeds to Keighley and needed to know what platform it went from. I spotted a couple of BR platform staff leaning against a wall chatting and smoking cigarettes so I ran up to them and asked which platform to go to. One looked at me with withering contempt, stabbed a yellow finger towards my eyes, then towards an information board about 100 feet away and sneered "Wossup, are you f***ing blind or can't you f***ing read!"

On another occasion I was travelling on a BR train between two unmanned stations so I needed to buy a ticket on the train. I was getting close to my destination and the conductor hadn't done his rounds so I went to find him. Turned out that he was sitting chatting to another BR employee at the far end of the train. I went up to him and asked if I could buy a ticket please, because I was getting off soon. "F*** off - can't you see I'm talking to my mate!"

There might be a few dodgy rail employees now, but they generally seem much more polite and professional than they used to be.

lazy bastards too. before the days of the electronic portable ticket thing, offering to pay by credit card always got you a free ride as they couldn't be bothered to get the old card imprint machine from the guard's van.

 

[Arch]

I've had a couple of less than polite experiences with National Express staff - I seem to remember they were more helpful in GNER days (although I assume it's the same staff...) I always try to find someone to ask, but sometimes (Not in York, but at other places) there doesn't seem to be anyone about until the last minute. On one occasion, the chap who lumbered down the platform with me (he was rather rotund), was saying "I'll shut you in the van and let you through once we move off, this train's already running late" - as if that was my fault. And as soon as you ask, they tend to bark "Have you got a reservation?" at you. Probably company policy, but I bet they don't shout "have you got a ticket?" at foot passengers who make an enquiry... I always have a reservation when I need one, but this always makes me feel like I've done something wrong.

Thumbs up for Berwick, though, like Pete, I've always found them very cheerful and helpful. I expect they'll have that knocked out of them eventually.