Great Western Coffee Shop

All across the Great Western territory => Who's who on Western railways => Topic started by: grahame on January 02, 2012, 09:32:57



Title: Who's Sarah?
Post by: grahame on January 02, 2012, 09:32:57
I've noticed a link on the front page of the FGW site to "Ask Sarah" - takes you to the URL
http://www.raspberrysoftware.com/FGW/va/index.php
Good idea - fantastic one if typing in a quick question will get an immediate and accurate response whenever it's needed.   

I didn't spot an "about" link, and didn't want to test the service out / waste time with a spurious question ... has anyone tried it / know anything about it?   Did it work for you and provide a good answer?


Title: Re: Who's Sarah?
Post by: readytostart on January 02, 2012, 14:06:34
Looks a bit similar to National Rail Enquiries' Lisa and also something similar that used to be on the IKEA website, I don't think (save for the photograph) that Sarah is a real person! They should have included an 'Ask Ollie' app!


Title: Re: Who's Sarah?
Post by: grahame on January 02, 2012, 14:21:10
Oh - I don't expect there would be one Sarah ;) - it's Vicky Osbourne who used to answer for Southern Vectis again. If it's as good as "Ask Ollie" would be, with enough of a team to be able to handle the volume and make it available for the same hours as the web site that advertises it (  ;D ) then we'll have a real treat of a service.


Title: Re: Who's Sarah?
Post by: Ollie on January 02, 2012, 14:41:04
Ah "AskOllie" would be nice :)

Had a look - to me it seems it's just a slightly fancier FAQ type software. As RTS bit like NRE's Lisa.


Title: Re: Who's Sarah?
Post by: grahame on January 02, 2012, 15:46:45
Ah "AskOllie" would be nice :)

Had a look - to me it seems it's just a slightly fancier FAQ type software. As RTS bit like NRE's Lisa.

Spurred on by your reply, I 'risked' a spurious question in the interest of research and more informed comment:

Quote
You asked:

When do Club 55 tickets become available this year?

Sarah says:

Club 55 was a seasonal promotion. To see if it is still available, check our Offers page.

and she suggested some other questions I might like to ask her.

The clincher was that she answered me in milliseconds.  Yes - a clever bit of software, but not (yet) clever enough to be anything like a real person staffed service for a certain percentage of the more tricky questions in the complex area of train operation.


Title: Re: Who's Sarah?
Post by: eightf48544 on January 02, 2012, 17:16:04
Yep answered in milliseconds gving a phone number to call, but it does appear to be a useful number.


Title: Re: Who's Sarah?
Post by: bigdaz on January 02, 2012, 19:27:44
We should start a Campaign for Ask Ollie instead...!!!

Imagine logging onto the website and seeing Ollie instead of Sarah.....!!!  Now that would be promotion Ollie lol!!!


Title: Re: Who's Sarah?
Post by: Chris from Nailsea on January 02, 2012, 19:52:34
Well, I had occasion to 'Ask Ollie' something very recently, and he was (as always) extremely helpful.  Thanks, Ollie!  CfN.   :-X


Title: Re: Who's Sarah?
Post by: Ollie on January 02, 2012, 20:29:36
No problem Chris.

Not sure I could manage staffing the FGW Website 24/7 Daz :P


Title: Re: Who's Sarah?
Post by: Btline on January 02, 2012, 21:41:11
"One Railway" had a virtual assistant called 'one'.

It was a woman. ;)


Title: Re: Who's Sarah?
Post by: bigdaz on January 03, 2012, 18:54:53
Well, as employers, we've all made some bad appointments  ;D


MOOKIE I promise I am joking!!  :-*


Title: Re: Who's Sarah?
Post by: JayMac on January 03, 2012, 19:50:30
Not sure I could manage staffing the FGW Website 24/7 Daz :P

You do a good job with follow ups on FGW's Facebook and Twitter accounts, Ollie. I hope your efforts are being recognised.....


Title: Re: Who's Sarah?
Post by: Brucey on January 04, 2012, 08:57:58
I grilled Sarah with some tricky questions, let's see how she got on...

Quote
You asked:

Can I break my journey?

Sarah says:

Some tickets allow you to stop and restart your journey en-route.

Anytime Tickets - you can break your journey on both parts of the ticket.

Off-Peak Tickets - generally you can break your journey, except if the restriction associated with the journey says that you can't - please check when you buy your ticket.

Advance - Break of journey is not permitted on Advance tickets, unless you're advised to change trains on your reservation confirmation
Very good :)
Quote
You asked:

Can I use a combination of tickets?

Sarah says:

I think you're talking about tickets but I'm not sure exactly what you're asking. I have made some suggestions below, so please click on one if it is helpful, otherwise re-phrase your question and I'll try again
Oh, not quite as good :(
Quote
You asked:

Will Melksham ever receive a better service?

Sarah says:

I'm sorry I can't answer you at this time - please try rephrasing.
:P :D


Title: Re: Who's Sarah?
Post by: bigdaz on January 04, 2012, 19:11:48
So Ollie should now sit the test Brucey and then we can make a true comparison lol!  ;D  :D


Title: Re: Who's Sarah?
Post by: JayMac on January 04, 2012, 20:25:39
I asked the same question of both FGWs Sarah and NRE's Lisa. Lisa knew the answer....

(http://i598.photobucket.com/albums/tt68/bignosemac/Sarah_FGW.jpg)(http://i598.photobucket.com/albums/tt68/bignosemac/Lisa_NRE.jpg)

 8) ;) ;D

EDIT: Lisa is very philosophical. I just asked her, "Is it Tuesday?" She replied, "This time tomorrow, today will be yesterday ..."

So I then went for a more informal approach. "Care for a date?" Which got the reply, "I'm far too busy to do the dating thing ... I would much rather travel by trains with my girly friends..."


Title: Re: Who's Sarah?
Post by: Timmer on January 04, 2012, 21:09:44
So I then went for a more informal approach. "Care for a date?" Which got the reply, "I'm far too busy to do the dating thing ... I would much rather travel by trains with my girly friends..."
;D I suspect that National Rail log every query to refine answers and that there have been quite a few people who have asked her out on a date over the years so they decided to come up with a smart answer. Very good.

Shame you couldn't reply back saying "well I like travelling by trains too." Get out of that one Lisa.


Title: Re: Who's Sarah?
Post by: JayMac on January 04, 2012, 21:45:49
Lisa and I are getting on famously.

I've just asked, "Do you like trains?" She replied, "Trains are a fantastic way to travel."

My kinda girl.  :P ;) ;D


Title: Re: Who's Sarah?
Post by: bigdaz on January 05, 2012, 15:54:19
I am now getting seriously worried about bignosemac's level of sanity... he's asking out a virtual woman O.M.G!   :o  ..... please don't test her with any further questions though :P


Title: Re: Who's Sarah?
Post by: Brucey on January 05, 2012, 15:55:20
Can I admit that I went a little further than bignosemac with the level of questioning?  Needless to say, Lisa wasn't interested!


Title: Re: Who's Sarah?
Post by: Btline on January 05, 2012, 16:29:22
If you offend Lisa, does she give you incorrect info next time you ask? :P


Title: Re: Who's Sarah?
Post by: bigdaz on January 05, 2012, 18:18:10
Can I admit that I went a little further than bignosemac with the level of questioning?  Needless to say, Lisa wasn't interested!


I'm trying to my mind out of the gutter but failing miserably!   ;D



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