'Meet the Manager' sessions

[whole diary]

[TaplowGreen]

...............what can they be afraid of? 

[ChrisB]

Question asked....

[ChrisB]

I notice that BNM got a response from Grant on Twitter

First Great Western (@FGW^▸ (First Great Western))

21/01/2015 15:33
@....[BNM] Just to advise re. Meet The Manager, regional managers are sending dates through for the website to be updated asap. Grant

[JayMac]

Beat me to the update Chris. 

Thanks for posting.

[NickB]

Three dates now up on the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) website - first one in April.

Considering it says 'fgw hold 25 meet the manager sessions each year' it is interesting to note that the 3 dates stretch all the way until Christmas. In 2014 there was only 1 advertised Paddington session, and 3 advertised at reading.

[brizzlechris]

Also worth noting the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) Tweet the Manager account (@FGWTweetManager) has been deleted.

[Chris from Nailsea]

...............what can they be afraid of? 

 

[JayMac]

...............what can they be afraid of? 

Or possibly who? 

Three dates now up on the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) website - first one in April.

Considering it says 'fgw hold 25 meet the manager sessions each year' it is interesting to note that the 3 dates stretch all the way until Christmas. In 2014 there was only 1 advertised Paddington session, and 3 advertised at reading.

It is possibly like this at the moment because only the dates for Paddington have been confirmed. The response I got on twitter said that the website would be updated when the dates came through from the regional managers. I'd hazard a guess at more dates to be added soon.

[JayMac]

A few more dates have been added. The list as of 29th January 2015:

Reading - between 1600 and 1900 -Tuesday 24 March 2015
London Paddington - between 1600 and 1900 - Thursday 16 April 2015
Reading - between 0730 and 0930 - Tuesday 16 June 2015
London Paddington - between 0700 and 1000 - Thursday 13 August 2015
Reading - between 1600 and 1900 - Tuesday 06 October 2015
London Paddington - between 1600 and 1900 - Thursday 10 December 2015

I'm still unsure about the requirement for FGW^▸ (First Great Western) to hold a set number of sessions per year though. As I said up thread, it's not in the latest interim franchise agreement, published in October 2013.

[ChrisB]

Does it matter as long as the dates are forthcoming? Any operator worth their salt will hold them regardless. The next direct award appears to be moving goalposts across the customer contact methods...we'll have to await HMG

[JayMac]

If there's a total of 25 across the network this year, split between stations and on trains, as was the number per year mandated in the 2007 franchise agreement, then no, it doesn't matter.

[ChrisB]

There's more to come - I understand on trains and at Oxford for sure. Maybe some in SW, wasn't told.

[Chris from Nailsea]

I hope there will be at least one at each of Bath Spa, Cardiff, Bristol Temple Meads, Taunton, Exeter and Plymouth - if only to give some balance to the area served in the Great Western franchise. 

[grahame]

Online Meet the Manager (on the buses)

Online Meet the Manager session being held on Monday 9 February

Following the success of its previous Online Meet the Manager sessions First West of England will be running another virtual event for customers on Monday (9 February) between 5 and 7pm.

The two-hour online Meet the Manager event will give people the chance to talk directly to First^s management team via the power of the internet, either asking specific questions about local bus services or offering direct feedback. It is being held in addition to the normal Meet the Manager sessions, which are generally held every few months at various locations throughout the West of England.

Between 5 and 7pm on Monday 9 February customers will be able to ask First West of England managers anything they like via Twitter or Facebook. They will have the option to either post a message onto the Facebook wall (www.facebook.com/FirstWestofEngland), send a direct private message via the Facebook Page, or tweet the company, at @FirstBSA, using the hashtag 'tweetboss' ie #tweetboss. Messages will be answered on the night by First West of England^s Managing Director, James Freeman and the business^ Regional Customer Services Manager, Natacha Tagholm.

Talking about the event, Natacha Tagholm, Regional Customer Services Manager, says: ^This event, like the others we run, will give our customers a way of directly engaging with us. It^s not intended to replace the traditional Meet the Manager events, but it broadens the appeal to those people who perhaps don^t have the time to come to something in person.

^This event has been timed to coincide with the commuter period. If people are travelling home on our services then there will be the chance to use our free WiFi (where available) to take part in this online session.

^This really is the opportunity to ask whatever you like. If we can answer it we will. We'd also welcome any general or positive feedback people have too ^ for instance if you've had a good journey or an especially friendly driver then please let us know that as well!^

To take part in the Online Meet the Manager session, customers should include the hashtag #tweetboss when tweeting the company.

For more information about First in West of England or to view timetables for local services, log onto www.firstgroup.com/westofengland.

First West of England is on Twitter at @FirstBSA. The company is also on Facebook, at www.facebook.com/FirstWestofEngland.

[The Tall Controller]

There will be 2 short notice meet the manager sessions with Nick Reid (Station Manager for Westbury area) on 11th and 18th Feb at Trowbridge and Bradford on Avon. Both are from 0700-0930. I think that's the right order but I'll rectify if it's wrong.