Infamy! Infamy! They've All Got It In For Me! Wales Online Get Onboard Our Push For Better Customer Service!!!

Following a brief chat with Alicia Melville-Smith, this article was published on WalesOnline!

Blog views went from roughly 89/90 a day to 1,700 in 2 days!!

And, AND, I heard someone mention it on the train this morning (when the train eventually turned up)!

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/frustrated-commuters-arriva-trains-fails-8070065

Well, well, well!

And, as if by magic, THIS appears on the ATW website today!
Signed by the recipient of my frustrations!

My favourite bits are the "low rail adhesion" attributed to "leaf fall season".
Or "autumn" as it's annually known!
Like it's a surprise!
Perhaps I was right about "rocket science" in my earlier posts, and maybe I am smarter than I've ever thought (probably not possible!).

Fear not!  These beauties are in the bank ready for my meeting with her!

I would like to think that in some small way, everyone that's read, shared, and (hopefully) laughed at this has helped!

Thanks and keep up the good work!

Apology Letter Regarding Fleet Shortages, October 2014

31 Oct 2014

Dear Customer

We would like to take this opportunity to apologise to our customers for any journeys you have made with us recently where the number of carriages we have provided has been fewer than normal. We’re also mindful that in some instances it has been necessary for a different type of train to be provided in order to avoid cancelling the service and this has meant that you haven’t experienced the usual standards of comfort on longer distance journeys. Our staff on the ground have been feeding back customer experiences from onboard the train and comments raised on our Twitter feed have also highlighted to us how frustrating this is for you.

A number of unrelated incidents have meant that we have been unable to deliver all our fleet at the right time and in the right place. Some of these issues have been caused by freight trains breaking down on our Cardiff to Manchester / Holyhead routes and this extensive disruption has led to us needing to re-start services with another train to avoid them being completely cancelled. The only way we can do this is by taking capacity from other local services, which then reduces the overall number of carriages allocated to each service. The disruption has also led to some trains finishing the day in a different location meaning they’re not in the right place the next morning and this affects the number of carriages and type of train that we can deliver at peak times.

In addition we have been unable to deliver all our trains to passenger services due to a combination of urgent maintenance or repairs to our fleet. Two of our Class 175 trains (used on longer distance routes) have been out of service for a number of weeks, one due to striking a tree on the line, but both these trains will be back in service from 03 November, greatly assisting capacity and comfort on longer distance journeys. 

We have also had several services affected by low rail adhesion, which is caused by the leaf fall season when leaves are crushed onto the railhead making them slippery, and the majority of these trains operate our busiest services on the Cardiff local routes & Valley lines. This can cause the train to slide along the rails when the brakes are applied and result in damage to the wheels. If this arises we may have to take the affected carriages out of service to avoid damage to the track and further damage to the wheels.  We then carry out the repairs as quickly as possible by ‘turning’ the wheels on a wheel lathe in order to get the train back into service, but in the meantime this will mean that some services run with fewer carriages than normal.

Please be assured that we are working hard on finding ways to reduce instances of us being unable to provide the required number of trains for service each day and we will keep you updated on our action plan.

Our apologies again for the frustrations you have been caused and we thank you for your patience in the interim.

Lynne Milligan, Customer Services Director

Matt Prosser, Engineering Director   

I sense a torrent coming on...

Once again, thanks to everyone that's read, liked, shared, forwarded, tweeted, an whatever else, this blog.

I'm overwhelmed with the level of interest - almost 200 views a day at the moment - it's spurring me on to get this (soon to be THESE) Arriva Trains Wales policies overturned.

I'm not (yet) actively looking for examples of ATW sticking two-fingers up to the advance fare-paying public, they're just rearing their heads on their own at the moment!

Today, I'm giving you an advance viewing of the email that'll be dropping into Lynne Milligan's Inbox in the morning.

Enjoy, and thanks again!
Steve




Good morning Lynne, 

They’re just like trains!

They really are!

No sooner does one non-customer-centric policy that shakes me to the core arrive, but there’s another one right behind it!

And I have to say, you’re very good at them!

In a very untimely coincidence, this week I’ve managed to lose my annual season ticket – the non-compensable one that caused me to contact you in the first place.

Unfortunately, this is the second time this year, and I have been informed that this means I can’t get a replacement.

That’s right.  Arriva Trains Wales expects me to write off the remaining £170 of credit that I had on the ticket.

Just like that.

Wow.

Okay, I know that I have to take a great deal of the blame for losing it in the first place – and the second place, come to think of it – but is this really the policy of a public service company?

When I first mislaid the original, I berated myself for doing so only a couple of weeks in to the 12 months and £680 outlay.

I was relieved, however, to find out that for the reasonable sum of £10 (or two Lisvane to Cardiff return tickets) I could get a reprint.

I don’t recall that it was made clear to me that this was a “One Time Offer” although, to be fair, it is possible.  At the time, this wouldn’t have bothered me as I had no intention of losing it again.

But, despite my best endeavours to live up to this self-promise, it would appear that “accidents can happen”.

HOLD THE FRONT PAGE.  I kid you not, they actually can.

However, ATW don’t appear to recognise that whether or not a customer has had a previous accident is a mutually exclusive event when it comes to calculating the probability of another accident occurring.

ATW seems to work on the theory that if it's happened once, the chance of it happening again is zero.

Now, I studied Mathematics.  I specialised in Statistics.  I even spent a few years teaching the subject.  But this strain of the science has, until now, eluded me.

It appears that there’s a “2 strikes and you’re out” rule that, even now, I’m struggling to find on the website.

When I asked the otherwise very polite female ‘mushroom’ on the Helpline why this rule was in place she told me “they don’t tell us why, they just tell us that’s what happens”.  Helpful.  Kept in the dark and fed on s***.  You can check this, it was recorded for training and monitoring purposes.

It’s not that I would resent paying another £10 to recover the remaining £170 credit that was on the ticket – well, I would a little, but that’s my problem – but it seems that this isn’t an option that’s open to me.

Surely £10 would cover all the administration and printing costs required to check my details – and if not, you either need to pay the people checking the details less than £100 per hour, or you need to speed them up a little.

Is this something that you would be able to look into now please, or should we add it to the agenda for our coffee morning?

Kindest regards

Steve

Just like the trains they represent: a LONG time coming!

A response!

Received  27th October 2014

Dear Steve,

Thank you for your recent correspondence to Ian Bullock, Lynne Milligan and Customer Relations. Ian and Lynne have read your email and I understand Lynne has also suggested a meeting with her to discuss the issues you have experienced.  In the interim I thought it may be useful to respond to some of the concerns you raised in your original correspondence.

It is unfortunate that you experienced a compromised level of service last week. We have experienced performance issues; some within our control and some outside of it. Monday 20th October was a particularly challenging day for both us and our customers due to planned engineering works over-running. We are in ongoing discussions with Network Rail, who own the infrastructure and carry out the engineering work, to discuss how pre-planned engineering work can be improved to minimise the impact on our customers if an over-run occurs. 

On Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd, due to unexpected train faults we did need to adapt our service to keep disruption to a minimum overall. This unfortunately affected our capacity levels too, which is why you experienced only 2 carriages on Tuesday. However this service does usually run with 4 carriages, and whilst I fully appreciate the frustration to customers if they are not able to board a train as planned, when things do go wrong, the regularity of our service means that only a short wait is required until the next train arrives. That said, I fully appreciate that this should not detract from the inconvenience any delay can cause to customers.

Additionally we do have a journey check app, to keep customers updated with timely service information, and you can also sign up to free email alerts so you know in advance of an issue and can make an informed decision to amend travel plans if necessary.  You can find further information herehttps://www.journeycheck.com/arrivatrainswales

We are also improving the information provided to customers at stations via the electronic customer information screens, and over the next few months you should see improvements in this area.  You also outline that on-board staff did not apologise to customers on Monday 20th. Although this was a challenging day for all concerned, I am disappointed this was the case as our staff receive robust customer service training, and are expected to be empathetic towards customers in these situations and offer an apology where appropriate. Consequently I will be discussing this with our Head of Conductors. 

Regarding our compensation policy, which I understand is what caused you the greatest concern.  As you outline, we do not provide compensation for individual journeys made if using a monthly or longer season ticket.  Customers who hold a season ticket benefit from discounted rates compared with daily rates, so instead our compensation policy outlined in our Passenger Charter entitles customers who have a season ticket of one month or longer to compensation, in the form of a discount upon renewal. This is applied if the overall performance of the service group on which customers travel falls below our published standards for punctuality or reliability (for information your service group is Cardiff Local and Valleys, somtimes also termed as ‘Valleys’).  Our performance figures are published on our website http://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/Performance  and at booking offices each month. Any applicable discounts are then applied automatically upon renewal of the season ticket.

You can also find a copy of our Passenger Charter at any staffed station, or alternatively please follow the link outlined here: http://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/PassengersCharter

I hope that my email outlines the reasons for the service you received last week, and addresses the concerns which you have raised.  I would also like to take this opportunity to apologise for any frustration you have experienced, and I hope that you find the proposed meeting with Lynne useful.  

Yours sincerely

Angela Wetherall

Customer Relations Manager

Arriva Trains Wales

So, it seems progress is being made!

I look forward to hearing from the Head of Customer Services - I think I'll invite her to come to me...

It's all about the preparation now.  Forearmed is forewarned.

A second letter to Ian Bullock, CEO of Arriva Trains Wales

This follow-up was sent Friday 24th October 2014



Good morning both, and thank you for at least acknowledging - if not promptly replying - to my previous email.  (You haven’t.  Nobody has)

As you have shown such a keen desire to listen to the voice of your customer, I thought it only fair (TCF - Treating Chief execs Fairly) to update you on this morning travails - whilst still standing on the wet platform that I seem to be spending more time on, than at work.
The 07-late-again (0759 from LVT as it's referred to on the near-redundant timetable) wasn't even that today.
Cancelled.
Helpful.

Now there’s an idea:  have you considered cutting timetables as a cost saving?  And think of all the compensation you wouldn’t have to pay to those awkward people that continue to only buy their tickets daily or weekly…….

The 0814 was therefore, predictably, resembling more a sardine tin (a budget foodstuff, rarely seen in a Board Room buffet) on arrival than a method of commuting that is fit for a capital city.
So, having had one train not turn up, and one train that needn't have bothered turning up, I am once more in the position of being more than 30 minutes late again this week WITH NO HOPE WHATSOEVER of getting any recompense as I chose to give you a years’ worth of fares in advance.

Once again, can I express my gratitude for this policy.

Yours




PS
If you ever feel like experiencing what we go through each week, I will be stood on the LVT platform, near the “4 Car Stop” sign, from just before 8am for God-knows how long, each weekday.  I’d be delighted to share my journey with some of you.  Not too many, mind, we don’t get that many seats.

A letter to Ian Bullock, CEO of Arriva Trains Wales

This letter was emailed on Wednesday 22nd October 2014:


Mr Ian Bullock, CEO of Arriva Trains Wales,

I have been pushed over the edge this morning.

Usually, I’m a mild-mannered man. 

From my role, I can understand that sometimes things go awry, and I accept that as your company is trying to make improvements to the rail network around South Wales that there will be some collateral damage that impacts the fare-paying traveller.

That’s why, on Monday, when the 0759 from Lisvane was displayed on the board as being 7 minutes late when I arrived on the platform, I wasn’t overly concerned.

A sense of inconvenience came over me as this delay increased to 15 minutes, but the board continued to inform me that the service would be calling at Lisvane, Llanishen, Heath High Level, Cardiff QS and so on, so not so bad really.

Imagine my surprise then, as the light at the literal end of Caerphilly tunnel emerged, progressed towards us, and subsequently flew straight past the stranded commuters!

I eventually arrived at Queen Street at 0845 – 34 minutes later than your timetable states, having received no apologies from any on-train staff.

However, the mild-mannered man that I am, I accepted that “these things happen” and didn’t make a fuss. 

Tomorrow is another day.

Indeed it was:  Tuesday.

Tuesday highlighted to me that ensuring the most appropriate rolling stock is in the right place at the right time, is of a similar standing to rocket science.

Picture the scene:  it’s just before 8am on a Tuesday morning.  You have a captive market for your product, demand is high as it’s rush-hour, and consumers need your product so badly that they part with their cash months in advance of receiving the service.

Incredibly, knowing that there are 15 stops between Rhymney (the start of the service) and Queen Street, somebody at Arriva Trains Wales considers 2 carriages to be sufficient during the peak travel times. 

This is inexcusable.  But at least this train stopped to not let anyone on.  I suppose I should be grateful for that slight improvement.

Eventual arrival time at Cardiff Queen Street:  0835 – 24 minutes late.

Still no apologies from any members of staff.

Oh well, tomorrow’s another day….

And that brings us to today: Wednesday.

The 07-Late-Again from Lisvane was actually almost on time – just 4 minutes late, sorry “delayed”.

Things looked good.  I was happy.  4 carriages.  1 seat left, and I’m going to get to work less-late than had recently become the norm.

Llanishen came and went successfully, and Heath High Level arrived next.

Unfortunately this is where today’s troubles began.

After sitting at HHL for 5 minutes or so, we were informed by a very apologetic member of the on-train staff that we were being held to let another train at HLL through first.

A few more minutes passed and we set off.  We were then held outside QS for “platform clearance”.

Eventual arrival time at Queen Street 0831  - 20 minutes late, but at least the consumer and their inconveniences were acknowledged.  I suppose I should be grateful for that slight improvement too.

But no, you weren’t finished there!

Having made it 3 for 3 so far this week, I felt I’d been patient enough and sought out a wonderfully-named Customer Comment Form, as I know this is the only way of claiming anything back for the atrocious experiences this week.

Upon receipt of the Form, I’m greeted with this gem:

“No compensation is payable for individual journeys made if using a monthly or longer season ticket”

This, THIS, is what has finally broken me this week!

Congratulations Mr Bullock, you did it.  You broke me.

In my various roles leading Customer Experience teams of national companies, I’ve never come across something so anti-customer centric as this single statement.

I don’t know how to respond.

I don’t know what to do with this declaration.

Are you seriously telling me that you’re satisfied for your company to discriminate against its most loyal customers, the most frequent consumers of its service, those that give you several hundred, if not several THOUSAND of pounds a year, versus those that pay daily or weekly?

So, to summarise, just so we’re clear, this week:

• The service you’ve provided has resulted in me being late (by my definition, as in “not on time”) 3 times out of 3
• Although, I’d have only been late once (more than 30 minutes), and delayed twice by the ATW definition – not sure how my CEO would feel about this!
• You’ve provided insufficient carriages to meet the demand of your customers
• You’ve highlighted a policy that discriminates against your most loyal customer base

I look forward to your timely (whatever this means at ATW Towers) response regarding these points, and primarily this policy.

Kind regards