Great Western Coffee Shop

[not quite sure where to put this!]

I am sure most of you are aware that 'National Customer Service Week' starts on Monday, 2nd October. GWR will apparently be doing a Facebook Live event where Mark Hopwood and co will be live online answering questions from customers. Anybody want to ask a question?




Edit note: Event now added to Coffee shop forum calendar. CfN.  :)

Gosh they're brave to be doing that. Good on them for fronting up as it could be a bumpy ride.

Thanks for posting this topic, PhilWakely.  :)

I've moved it from our 'frequent posters' area, which is readable only by our members who have posted a number of times, to 'the wider picture' here, where it can be read by anyone.

I'll also add details to the Coffee Shop forum calendar.

Hopefully all those on here with concerns, complaints and comments will be willing and able to raise them.

Diary and alarm set!

Now there's a surprise!  :D  ;)

https://www.facebook.com/gwruk/posts/10154793323656806

This was also tweeted, so pick your media & join in. No one's commented that I can see on the C/Service delays....

Ask and ye shall receive...someone has done just that a few minutes ago and no it's not BNM!  :D

Phew. 6 questions submitted. I felt my stress rate increasing just writing them.
£5 to charity for every one that gwr address. I think it's a safe bet... 😎

My favourite question was the first one on the channel:

"Do you feel that hosting a Facebook Live Q&A session with some of your directors with pre-submitted questions makes up for your appalling lack of customer care for the other 364 days and 23 and half hours!?"

I'm tempted to ask how much the advert cost......but ultimately of course we all know "Ooooooooos gunna pay for it" 😉

I bet it won't be the shareholders.

It's the same for any commercial company - paid for by income from sales.

Meanwhile, I have moved and merged a couple of relevant topics here (and added details to the Coffee Shop forum calendar) in the interests of clarity and completeness.  :)

Here's a couple for them;

"I note from the advertising campaign that GWR are "Building a Greater West" with Network Rail...........the figure of £7.5 billion is often quoted - can you advise how much of that sum is coming directly from First Group?"

and

"GWR routinely refuse to disclose the amount of compensation received from NR which is passed on to customers, however I understand that for every £4 received, only around £1 is paid out to customers in respect of disruption, delays etc and there is a blanket refusal on "consequential losses" - how do you justify this, whilst refusing to refund customers who have made their own arrangements due to the railways failure? (for example by taking a taxi).

Good luck with those. That ad campaign is now superceded by the Famous 5 one just launched; and it would be commercial confidence that they won't answer it - maybe if you asked instead about public money through NR investment, you might - but they'll possibly refer you to NR....

There have been many reports on here about pax receiving consequential loss comp on a one-off basis when applied for. Commercial confidence will cover the rest. Good luck, I hope to be proved wrong and you get detailed answers

Two campaigns - both expensive, disingenuous and misleading............I guess that's what they pay ad agencies tens of thousands of £ for!  ::)

The purpose of advertising could be defined as being to "mislead actual or potential customers as to the excellence of the goods or services being offered, but without actually breaking the law"
In most cases, if products or services were as good as claimed, they would sell themselves without advertising.

As predicted my money is safe.  Half a dozen limp questions answered by GWR management it what quickly transpired to be a PR exercise with no substance.

If you are reading this GWR you might wish to reflect on the irony of your hijacking of 'Customer Service Week' for aggrandising self-promotion rather than engaging with the simple  issues that so many of your passengers contacted you about in the hope of being heard - No.1 being your total lack of customer service.