Avanti trip disappointments
MY FIRST impressions of Avanti West Coast have been unremittingly poor.
None of the services I have travelled on have arrived on time. There has been no service in First Class, the wi-fi has not worked (it did when it was Virgin) and the staff attitude has ranged from surly to indifferent.
In December, I booked two tickets to travel to London in mid-March. For the outward journey the system gave me a seat reservation in two separate coaches and for the return gave me seats in the same coach but numbers 02 and 24.
Avanti West Coast say they are ‘customer focused’, but this customer totally disagrees based on these experiences. When I booked with Virgin I got digital tickets, Avanti do not offer that facility. Customer service has gone backwards by many years.
I also see a lot of money being spent on items that do not affect me as a customer, different coloured trains, new seat covers, new uniforms for the staff and new signs, not to mention copious numbers of advertising billboards and hoardings telling me how wonderful the train company is.
All of this merely demonstrates a narcissistic management approach while the customer gets to see the ‘emperors new clothes’.
If I wish to utilise rail travel on the West Coast Main Line, I have one provider for non-stop long distance services. I do not need ‘branding’, as there is no competition to differentiate between, but for what I have to pay, I do expect a quality service that reflects value for my money. That I am not getting.
Money should be invested where it will benefit the customer – on trains running to time, digital tickets, working wi-fi and staff trained in customer service
Oh, for the joys of Virgin West Coast. Philip Goodier CPFA
Preston
Mr Goodier’s experiences seem to mirror many other passengers who have travelled with Avanti in its first few weeks. The RM understands the decision to drop the ‘seat picker’ decision was a business one. However, its loss has been a source of immense frustration, and Avanti customer services have been deluged with seatchange requests. Hardly the positive start promised at the launch! – Ed.