Paddington Meet The Manager - 1st December 2016

[whole diary]

[NickB]

It was suggested to me that I contact customer services to ask when the next session will be....  So I guess I'll hear back by 2023.

[Chris from Nailsea]

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) reply to a tweet asking about the MtM session due to take place this evening:

Hi, there was scheduled to be one yes but it appears it didn't take place. -Andy

https://twitter.com/BeboDebo73/status/804437089429389313

I'm quoting the text of that tweet exchange in full here, purely for the record:

@GWRHelp @GWRHelp Was there meant to be a 'Meet the Manager' session at Paddington this evening?
1:28 pm - 1 Dec 2016
1 reply . 0 retweets 0 likes
Reply  1   Retweet   
Like 
More
 GWR Help ‏@GWRHelp  2h
@BeboDebo73 Hi, there was scheduled to be one yes but it appears it didn't take place. -Andy
2 replies . 0 retweets 0 likes
Reply  2   Retweet   
Like 
More
 Bebo Debo ‏@BeboDebo73  2h
@GWRHelp Reason for the mgrs no show? Apology from them? Some pax took time out to be there. Seems mgrs are about as reliable as the trains
1 reply . 0 retweets 0 likes
Reply  1   Retweet   
Like 
More
 GWR Help ‏@GWRHelp  2h
@BeboDebo73 I do not have the specifics, apologies. -Andy

That's a rather pathetic performance by Great Western Railway, in my opinion. 

[JayMac]

Contemptuous.

It's what comes of cosy arrangements with the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about). Customer Service targets and commitments are now missing from current agreements. Not compelled to hold MtM. Not compelled to have a Customer Panel. Not compelled to start Delay Repay. Instead the DfT rewarded an operator that walked away from their franchise with extensions and then management contracts. First Group have become complacent when it comes to customer service.

I just hope the powers that be remember this when it comes to retendering time. I, for one, will be responding to any consultation with, "Anyone but First Group."

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) customer service is no longer worthy of the name.

[TaplowGreen]

Hahahaha - no one showed up!!! What a bunch of jokers. I give up.

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) reply to a tweet asking about the MtM session due to take place this evening:

Hi, there was scheduled to be one yes but it appears it didn't take place. -Andy

https://twitter.com/BeboDebo73/status/804437089429389313

Nice of them to reiterate the obvious for you! 

[TaplowGreen]

Hahahaha - no one showed up!!! What a bunch of jokers. I give up.

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) reply to a tweet asking about the MtM session due to take place this evening:

Hi, there was scheduled to be one yes but it appears it didn't take place. -Andy

https://twitter.com/BeboDebo73/status/804437089429389313

Nice of them to reiterate the obvious for you! 

  ......just had this via GWR help Twitter.....Hi Neil. I've been informed that it did take place. It ran from 16:00 to 17:45. Although it had to be cut short due to a Network Rail Manager having to attend another event in Reading. Lewis

[grahame]

......just had this via GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) help Twitter.....Hi Neil. I've been informed that it did take place. It ran from 16:00 to 17:45. Although it had to be cut short due to a Network Rail Manager having to attend another event in Reading. Lewis

Err

- I thought it was a GWR "Meet the Manager" - or have I missed something?

- Aren't events usually arranged well in advance so they don't conflict and people can attend where they should or find a stand-in?

I wonder what the more important event in Reading was? 

[TaplowGreen]

......just had this via GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) help Twitter.....Hi Neil. I've been informed that it did take place. It ran from 16:00 to 17:45. Although it had to be cut short due to a Network Rail Manager having to attend another event in Reading. Lewis

Err

- I thought it was a GWR "Meet the Manager" - or have I missed something?

- Aren't events usually arranged well in advance so they don't conflict and people can attend where they should or find a stand-in?

I wonder what the more important event in Reading was? 

Clearly it was under resourced. Just illustrates the contempt in which GWR holds its customers  (as if that was in doubt!)

[NickB]

Lies. 

I was there at 17.45 and spoke to the station manager.  He told me, as he told the raging man in front of me, that the session was cancelled because no-one from GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) turned up. 

As I would have carefully explained to GWR had someone bothered to attend, for once all of my gripes and moans are about the company, not the trains.   Issues such as not advertising the session in the first place, non-existent response from customer services, contempt for their own seat reservation practices and car parking issues.  This debacle just proves my point.

[JayMac]

.....just had this via GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) help Twitter.....Hi Neil. I've been informed that it did take place. It ran from 16:00 to 17:45. Although it had to be cut short due to a Network Rail Manager having to attend another event in Reading. Lewis

Was this a public tweet? Can't seem to find it.

[Tim]

I find that it is often the Network Rail managers who handle these events badly.  GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)/FGW^▸ (First Great Western) are at least trained in the platitudes needed to speak to the public.  The one I went to last (which was quite a while ago) had the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) chap sending out clear vibes that we didn't understand how difficult his job was and that he had much more important things to do than talk to passengers. 

A NR manager being double booked just illustrates this point.  Are these people not  experts in forward planning (don't answer that)

[TM]

Hi just wanted to add that the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Station Manager was there at 17.00 as I was on my way home.  He had just spoken to a lady who was not very happy as her 8 coach train on the 1706 had been replaced by a 3 coach turbo.

Looks like there is quite a bit of confusion as to what did or did not take place !

PS Yes as per my name I do work for GWR

[grahame]

Hi just wanted to add that the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Station Manager was there at 17.00 as I was on my way home.  He had just spoken to a lady who was not very happy as her 8 coach train on the 1706 had been replaced by a 3 coach turbo.

Looks like there is quite a bit of confusion as to what did or did not take place !

PS Yes as per my name I do work for GWR

Welcome to the forum, TM ... it does indeed sound like there is some confusion.

Advertised from 16:00 to 19:00, but reported earlier in this thread to have run from 16:00 to 17:45.   I do quite a  number of trade shows and the last hour in the day is often quieter - but I would have thought that for evening commuters the last hour would have been really busy ... and the lack of a manager after 18:00 (if indeed it ended at 17:45) wouldn't have been clever.

[ChrisB]

Hmm....there were several staff (and another from NR^» (Network Rail - home page)) surrounding a drinks trolley in the middle of the concourse when I passed through to catch the 1649 to Oxford last night. Obviously don't know how long they stayed there though.

[old original]

Hmm....there were several staff (and another from NR^» (Network Rail - home page)) surrounding a drinks trolley in the middle of the concourse when I passed through to catch the 1649 to Oxford last night. Obviously don't know how long they stayed there though.

....until the drinks ran out

[TaplowGreen]

.....just had this via GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) help Twitter.....Hi Neil. I've been informed that it did take place. It ran from 16:00 to 17:45. Although it had to be cut short due to a Network Rail Manager having to attend another event in Reading. Lewis

Was this a public tweet? Can't seem to find it.

I tweeted, GWR replied via a private DM, crafty eh?