XC beats FGW.... so say the Customers

[whole diary]

[old original]

Just reported on breakfast tv news...

Latest figures released shows the following Customer satisfaction ratings:

FGW^▸ (First Great Western)     82%
XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise))       85%

HOW??!!??

Discuss....

[Tim]

One reason, I suspect, is that FGW^▸ (First Great Western) carriers more commuters.  There is evidence that for whatever reason, commuters are more likely to be negative about their services than, for example, holiday makers. 

[Branch Line Connor]

Maybe passangers prefer to be crushed onto a little voyager? I totally disagree with the 'public' on this one. Arriva couldn't get me out of my front door.

[Cornish Traveller]

also XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) now operate some old Central trains routes such as Stansted Airport - Birmingham and have refurbised class 170 stock on them, which may balance out some negative responses ! 

[IndustryInsider]

Or maybe, just maybe, the customer satisfaction ratings are really not that accurate.  Just like the average queuing at ticket office statistics, etc,

[Branch Line Connor]

XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) Don't manage any stations. At some stations they are the sole caller though. When I go to Plymouth Station at peak times, the queues are big but I think they deal with it quite well.

[Timmer]

From the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) website:
http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/NewsItem.aspx?id=635

Continuing efforts by First Great Western to improve its services have been recognised by customers, with more than 82 per cent saying they are happy with the company^s service.

Results of the National Passenger Survey (NPS^▸ (National Passenger Survey)), carried out by independent rail watchdog Passenger Focus in November last year, show a two per cent increase in satisfaction compared to the previous year (2008), and a ten per cent improvement since 2007.

Customers said First Great Western had shown improvements in many areas of the survey, including the helpfulness of staff, ticket buying facilities, train running information and how well the company deals with delays.

Over the last 12 months, 92.14 per cent of First Great Western services arrived on time, more than three per cent better than for the same period last year.

Just last month, during some of the worst weather conditions the region has seen in a generation, the company was able to keep 90 per cent of its services running for customers while other modes of transport struggled.

Scores improved in 25 of the 30 areas that the survey measures, with customers particularly noticing improvements in the availability and helpfulness of staff on trains, and the capacity on services.

The efforts of station teams also delivered improvements in customer information, cleanliness and the general upkeep of stations.

First Great Western Managing Director, Mark Hopwood, said: "These are fantastic results and I^m very proud of all my colleagues who have helped to achieve them. We are showing improvements in some key areas, but we still have work to do if we are to provide a truly exceptional service for all our customers.

^We have lots of exciting plans for 2010 and are confident that the current ^8million refresh of our turbo train fleet in the London and Thames Valley, which will be finished by March 2012, will increase our customer satisfaction figures even further. In the west of England we introduced some new journeys as well as extending existing ones when South West Trains^ services west of Exeter were removed at the end of 2009. And in Bristol we increased capacity on some morning and evening peak journeys at the end of 2009.

^Thank you to everyone at First Great Western for all your hard work over the last couple of years ^ it^s great to see it all paying off, and thanks to our customers who continue to travel with us.^

[inspector_blakey]

I don't know enough about the methodologies of the survey to decide, but I wonder if the 82% vs 85% difference is actually statistically significant.

Then again, despite what you might think from reading many posts on here, XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) have their faults but they are not a total shower. I've had plenty of perfectly pleasant journeys with them, standard and first class, weekdays and weekends, peak and off-peak.

I would suggest there is one big difference between XC and FGW^▸ (First Great Western) that affects public perception: FGW had a spectacular and well-publicized series of major foul ups as in 2006/7. XC have not (yet...) had anything like the a,ount of hegative publicity and news coverage that FGW attracted at that time. I suspect this tends to linger in people's minds, so it's very possible that the respondents to the survey had their opinions of FGW coloured by the state of things three or four years ago rather than currently.

[devon_metro]

The fact that FGW^▸ (First Great Western) are classified as L&SE instantly tarnishes the reliance on the data in my opinion.

XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) are far, far worse than FGW and I think you'd be pretty hard pressed to prove my opinion wrong.

[Phil]

XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) are far, far worse than FGW^▸ (First Great Western) and I think you'd be pretty hard pressed to prove my opinion wrong.

I do love a challenge 

I'd say the people of Chepstow are having a LOT more success talking to XC about improving services to their station than the good folk of Melksham are in getting FGW to listen let alone act.

So on that measure alone, I'd much rather have the option of XC trains serving my local station than FGW doing their best to avoid it.

Chepstow campaign link:

http://www.bettertrains4chepstow.co.uk/crosscountry.html

Aim of the campaign: to increase the number of trains stopping at Chepstow on weekdays from 28 to 56.

Population of Chepstow: 14,195

---------------------------------------

Population of Melksham: 21,000

Aim of Melksham's Campaign: to increase the number of trains stopping at Melksham on weekdays from 2 to 5 (!)

[Bob_Blakey]

Perhaps I have just not been paying attention, and the campaign has actually been running for ages, but I did see an XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) advert on one of the Murdoch,Inc. channels a couple of days ago. It was extolling the virtues of their Advance Fare price freeze - which would be fine if you could actually get hold of them for journeys north from Exeter. On my last 5 trips to Brum and beyond I have either had to combine FGW^▸ (First Great Western) DIG-BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains) & XC BRI-BHM tickets or travel via London to get what I regard as a reasonable fare.

[JayMac]

Not this passenger (not a bloody customer, particularly so in this instance).....

Want a coffee between Bristol Parkway and Taunton? No chance with XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)). Travelling down last Saturday I noted that their was a crew change at Temple Meads and the off-duty 'Retail Services Manager' stayed on board along with the new RSM. Consequently they spent the whole journey to Taunton chatting away, along with the TM^‡(resolve), in the end of Coach A instead of providing the service they are employed to do. I enquired as to why the handover took 50 mins (dwell time plus delay behind stopper) between Bristol and Taunton, when the shops used to reopen promptly after a crew change. Didn't get a satisfactory answer. Also asked why no announcement was made, about resumption of service. This led to 8 different people walking to the end of Coach A to find that catering was unavailable while the protracted handover took place. Asked for names, all refused, neither the TM (who also spent the 50 minutes in this 'staff meeting' instead of doing his job), RSM or off duty RSM were wearing name badges. E-mail complaint sent to XC and response yesterday (one thing they do better than FGW^▸ (First Great Western) - response time!) basically summerised that the incoming staff should be able to resume trolley service 15 minutes after handover and they would look into why this hadn't happened on the service I used. Also told me that PA^▸ (Public Address) announcements should be made and that name badges should be worn at all times. I have been further promised a management response when the staff involved are identified.

[devon_metro]

Phil, I rather think the situation at Chepstow is entirely different, XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) pass through there anyway, so stoppi g there isn't a massive effort, whereas melksham requires units and crew which don't exist at present..!

[readytostart]

Not this passenger (not a bloody customer, particularly so in this instance).....

Want a coffee between Bristol Parkway and Taunton? No chance with XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)). Travelling down last Saturday I noted that their was a crew change at Temple Meads and the off-duty 'Retail Services Manager' stayed on board along with the new RSM.

Stuff like this really p*sses oops, can't put that, um, gets on my nerves and gives the rest of us a bad name. Assuming it wasn't one of our elusive HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) then the trolley handover should have taken place in F at the catering store so stocks can be checked in the fridge there. Even first class complimentaries should come off the trolley at the weekend so the RSM has no business hanging about the galley if they've not served the train. I personally will off drinks to first if I have time or if there's no catering on board, but don't go telling the managers that.

[JayMac]

Oops, meant coach F where the 'staff meeting' took place. I've down-traded when travelling XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)). No incentive left to travel 1st class. Can't even walk to the shop to get me comp refreshements when I want them. The at seat service was sold to us as an improvement that pax asked for. Billhooks! A trolley that provides catering only when the staff can be bothered to offer it is no improvement over a shop. And if you are in 1st class without a dedicated host you are now more likely to be served after standard class passengers. And the choice on a 220/221 if you do get served is far worse than before. In fact it is better on the ex-Central services, who have larger trolleys.