Waiheke ferry boss vows ‘to do better’
Kirsty Wynn
Fullers360 boss Mike Horne has vowed to “do better” and improve communication, transparency and customer experience after a run of cancelled services, breakdowns and stranded commuters.
The chief executive said yesterday he had reviewed operations at the ferry company, looking at staffing levels and scheduling, and had spoken to crews about better customer communication on the wharves. “We do work within a natural environment, so there are some things beyond our control, like fog, but we do our very best to adapt when these arise,” Horne said.
Multiple Waiheke sailings were cancelled from 6am to 8am on Thursday, leaving about 400 commuters queuing.
The ferry company said the cancellation was because of defective fire equipment, which was a health and safety risk and did not comply with sailing regulations.
It comes amid growing frustrations for Waiheke passengers after Fullers switched from halfhourly sailings in summer to its winter schedule of hourly sailings at offpeak times. Staff spoke of abuse from customers and said they were often too scared to tell people a ferry had been cancelled because of the reaction.
Waiheke resident Craig Hilton was one of the commuters affected by this week’s disruptions. When two consecutive morning crossings were cancelled, he left the Waiheke terminal and went home, subsequently missing several meetings at his workplace in the city.
“After a ferry is cancelled the next ones tend to be full, and then you’re not sure if you’re going to get on the next one, so you have to stand on the wharf,” Hilton told the Weekend
Herald. Hilton suffers from arthritis, one of the reasons he wasn’t willing to stand around queuing.
“There was a guy who missed that boat who was a dialysis patient, who was off to the hospital that day. He didn’t get on either.”
Hilton hoped to attend a public meeting with Fullers on the island next Sunday. The 1.30pm meeting will be open to customers, community leaders and stakeholders, and it will be chaired by former Waita¯kere mayor Sir Bob Harvey. The location is yet to be confirmed.