Great Western Coffee Shop

The weather's good and the prospect of a day trip tomorrow on the railway looks enticing.  Perhaps a day in Devon?  Why not?

Onto the new GWR web-site, joyfully to discover that all the old account details are there.  After about 30mins of research and checking for best options, I have three tickets in my basket all ready to purchase.  But wait...I cannot proceed because I have not selected a delivery method. I cannot select a delivery method because the page on which such options are given displays only a pink warning triangle that I'm too late for 1st Class post.  I know that.  I want to collect from the station.  But there is nothing else on the page.  Back space (so as not to lose all the saved info).  Retry.  Same page: same warning, same uselessness.

Forced onto the phones, I am again pleasantly surprised at the speed at which an operator seemingly on the Indian sub-continent answers my call.  Last pleasant surprise of the process.  >:(

Perhaps, he says, Yatton does not have a machine.  It does, I assure him.  Perhaps it is missing from the drop-down menu?  There is no drop down menu.  I am clipped in my tone because I feel patronised that I should not have phoned.  Would I like to buy the ticket on the phone.  Ok, I say.

A wait of no more than 2 minutes. Another gentleman asks what I wish to purchase.  I tell him I want an Advanced Single from Yatton to Exeter St Davids on the 09:10 train on 2nd October. Will you please spell the names of the stations? I am asked.  Tap tap.  Yes, sir, we have a train at 09:10 as you say. Step by step I go through the railcards, the fact that I understand there are no reserved seats even though it's an Advance ticket (I've already been through this on line and have the details in front of me) and after a full 10 minutes on the phone I have the first journey booked and I my heart is sinking so low I am wondering whether just to put the phone down and go to the station before the booking clerk leaves.

I want to come back later from Tiverton Parkway to Yatton. I spell those names out. So, sir, you wish to travel to Exeter on the 1st and back from Tiverton on the 2nd?  No, I wish to make both journeys on the 2nd.  (It is 11:45 so too late for the first train on the 1st anyway).  What time?  I want an Anytime Single. This seems a novel notion. I am quizzed on what time I might want to travel (for an Anytime Single?) I give him a time to please him.

Laboriously we go through all the same steps again.  The ticket purchase is completed at 11:52.

Now I want a Devon Day Ranger.  Silence at the end.  One moment sir.  He disappears.  He comes back and asks me to confirm the ticket name. Another silence.  Would that be a 7 or 3 Day Rover?

I regret to say I have now lost my willingness to continue. Forget it, I say. I'll buy it tomorrow.  Just sell me what I've bought. Call ends after 24 minutes. Whole process from signing on to web has taken an hour.

If you are to buy tickets by phone, it's best to know the phonetic alphabet, because neither of us could understand the other clearly.  It seems very clear that the staff can only work through set formats and even when I knew exactly what I wanted and the price, it took me all that time.  No requests to him for information: indeed I supplied every detail he needed (including spelling everything out).  If I had not been so determined, perhaps hard of hearing, hesitant in knowing what I wanted, I could have easily ended the transaction sooner.  I have no idea whether the problem with the web-site was a one off or even if my call was recorded for the web team to look at.  I do know that when someone like me who knows their way reasonable well round the system ends up as an angry wreck after completing only 2/3rds of what he wanted, casual travellers stand no chance.

Incidentally, the survey I completed in fury after logging off the GWR site is still branded FGW.

(Oh!  I say - I think I've written my first rant!)

That was indeed a very disappointing experience, trainer.  You have my full sympathy.  >:(

We have many Great Western Railway staff here on the Coffee Shop forum as members, or just as casual readers, so I'm sure this latest example of the sheer frustration that can be felt by those trying to do business with GWR can be fed back.

And, by the way, I'll no doubt bump into a few senior GWR staff at the TravelWatch SouthWest meeting in Taunton this Saturday, so I'll mention it to them as well.

Unfortunately Rovers can't be collected at a station as the machines don't currently support them, so it would be the rover ticket that caused the online transaction to stop you from getting any delivery options. This is however something that's being looked at, but there's no timeline in place for a resolution.

I thought rovers and rangers couldn't be bought online or via telesales anyway.

I hate the new gwr website.  It seems very hard to navigate (and doesn't work on certain mobile/tablet browsers), and a fair bit of information has not been transferred across - rover and ranger details being one case in point, but also all the definitions of what ticket is appropriate for what has gone.

Thank you for this helpful clarification, Ollie.  It explains the origin of my frustrating hour and had I known that, I would have not tried to proceed with it.  The fact is that the Ranger ticket was added to my 'basket' on the website and I don't think I saw any warning at that point or helpful indication that it should be removed.  Perhaps an interim screen/note can be added until the sale of these tickets is the same as others.

It's interesting that an early 'issue' in the process unknown to me, the lay punter, caused stress all round.  Clearly the ticket seller at the end of the phone also did not know he would not be able to issue the ticket long-distance as he started to try to sell it. As usual, communication is the key.

I have returned from an excellent day out using only GWR trains and have observed staff acting in the most professional way.  Many were very friendly, but able to enforce the rules when they needed to.  I pick out the two guys inspecting tickets on the 20:30 from Taunton to BRI who had to deal with a very rowdy group very firmly, but at the same time maintained good humour with the rest of us. 90% of the staff on the trains or at the stations could not have been more helpful and are a complete credit to the company. There was one minor exception and I will do nothing to indentify that person as I'm sure there was a good reason for an 'off' day.