Great Western Coffee Shop

I'm NO fan of FGW, but whilst it's on iplayer (if you have the software) it's well worth listening to this.

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p001vrdm/Laurence_Reid_09_01_2009/

Fast forward to 1hr 47minutes

It might be you have to change the date manually to 09_01_2009 or click on More Laurence Reid.

What a load of rubbish! He has no idea about the railway. ::)

Oh dear.....

*"Why can't they hook another carriage on" - I won't bother answering that!

*"They should stop selling tickets once every seat is booked." - a: what about season tickets. b: what about the rush hour - noone would be able to get home! c: just think about it!

*"It was disgusting that my son was shouted at for putting his bike in the carriage" - why can't he read the bike signs? what hasn't he read the bit in the timetable? why hasn't he asked staff. Sorry, IMO he was delaying the train, and the guard was just to be annoyed.

*"Surely they knew it would be busy, so why can't they get another carriage from Bristol area" dur - because it is busy there as well!

I'll let others carry on!

I don't disagree that it's no longer possible to just put another carriage on.

But it's very sad that the General Public look on the Railway in such poor light.

I have to say, I do agree with many of the points in this item.  I personally have been spoken to like dirt by a number of rail staff onboard rains and at stations.  I understand there are needs to keep things to time etc etc, but there is also a need for basic customer service skills to be demonstrated. 


There are some amazing members of staf on the railway, but there are some people who do seem to have an appauling attitude. 

Most people WHO ACTUALLY TRAVEL by train don't have this sort of view, I work with customers from start to end of my shift and am on first name terms with many and about 90% of them actually thing the train service is pretty good in our part of the world. BTline, why get wound up? take it with a pinch of salt, smokey doesn't actually work with customers so he wouldn't know what the general feeling is, he's just got some vendetta for some reason, leave him to it!  ;)

Just like some passengers. This person has I am sorry to say made himself seem a complete ass!

Yep I agree so have some passengers.  But I personnaly have been spoken to like complete dirt, as a customer, who is not abusive towards staff in any way.  I am just speaking as I find I am afraid, and an opinion is something I am entitled to.

And I do hate to say it, but the people are there to work, and just because one customer may have upset somebody, it doesnt mean to say they can take this out on other customers.

The reason why I got angry was that this programme is a BBC production, broadcast to many.

It should not be so poorly done. This type of publicity could do damage to the railway. We need to be getting people onto the Newquay trains, so the Dft don't axe it again. Programmes like this are preventing such growth.

I take most things on the BBC with a pinch of salt. From what I listened it was just some woman moaning about something silly.

I didn't even bother to listen to it but i'm presuming that its to do with the saturday when a wedged HST removed some people at Par? There are plenty of passengers that talk to rail staff like dirt and not just the scroats, and even rail staff are human, can everyone on this forum honestly say they've never lost it with someone when under pressure?

Absolutely. Agree with you 100% there. Having listened to a few minutes of that programme (couldn't stomach much more than that because I was getting increasingly angry) it sounds like a standard local radio whinge-fest and it just so happened that the day in question was FGW's turn. No doubt you could tune in another day and hear endless people bleating about their rubbish local bus service, how nasty their mortgage company is, etc etc. It seems that some people are never happy unless they're complaining about something, and low-budget phone-in shows like this seem to attract them like flies to, ahem, poo.

Rant over.

You see - I can sympathise with the bike issue

I prefer to cycle at the end of my journey but the whole reservation thing is impossible.  I cant often say which time train ill get - I might hope to get the 1722 but end up in work late and on the 1822 or 1922.  They wont let you make three reservations - just in case - I tried.

I was luycky and got a full size folder and most cotswolds TM's let me keep it in the disabled first space if no disabld passenger. 

And dont say buy one and keep it at pad - I did - three of em - all three got stripped down and wrecked.