CalMac staff thanked after being pushed to the ‘brink’
CalMac’s port staff in Craignure and Oban have been praised by passengers and managers after a new ticketing and booking system, and a ferry “capacity crunch”, put them under “intolerable” pressure.
CalMac has been fixing glitches with its new platform, launched on Wednesday May 17. At the same time, space on the Oban to Craignure lifeline service was reduced, with many reservations cancelled, often at short notice, leaving ground staff to deal with the fallout.
“Whilst the ferry shuffling continues, we’ve all been getting used to the new ticketing system – staff as well as passengers,” explained Mull and Iona Ferry Committee (MIFC).
“The pressure on CalMac’s frontline staff as they have struggled with the new software at the same time as having such limited ferry capacity has been intolerable.
“All the port staff have done a fantastic job in some really stressful circumstances – thank you to all of them, both on the islands and mainland.”
“I can honestly say that this has been the most challenging time of my 28 years as a CalMac employee,” said a member of Craignure’s port staff on May 18, thanking customers for their patience and understanding.
“Apologies that we have been unable to answer your phone calls or emails during this time, this has been due to the huge volume of people visiting the office.
“It is a huge change for us so if you can please bear with us, we will get quicker at operating it.
“I would also like to thank all of those who have kept us supplied with coffees, cakes and chocolate.
“To the lovely [...], my apologies for having a full-on meltdown in front of you this morning. Thank you so much for the beautiful flowers.
“Lastly, I would like to thank all of my wonderful colleagues for all their hard work and support, I would not have survived the last couple of days without you all.”
A day later, a second post from the Craignure port team said the “lovely” comments “kept us going and believe me it was very close to us all taking early retirement.”
The following day, the Craignure port team said: “We’re trying to keep you updated with the current fiasco as the hierarchy have gone into hiding at CalMac HQ. We’ve invited them to come and work on the front line but no reply.
“Oban port are under the axe too at the moment, please treat them with the same amount of love and appreciation you’ve shown us. Some of the reports we have had from how they are being treated are horrendous. This whole debacle has put them on the brink.”
Joe Reade, MIFC chairperson, told Craignure staff: “The rollout of this software has been a shambles, made far worse by happening at the same time as the service is so reduced.
“Having had an extra year to prepare for this, you’d have thought it would have been more rigorously tested and refined before throwing the switch. Huge appreciation for you all battling through it.”
Robert Morrison, CalMac’s operations director, said: “Our frontline teams in Craignure and Oban have been doing an absolutely amazing job whilst handling disruption and ticketing issues this past month.
“They have gone above and beyond what is usually required of them in order to help customers. I am extremely grateful and am exceptionally proud of their determination to support passengers in the face of extreme pressure.”