Re: Email to John Laws regarding comments this morning

["Jane Campbell" <janecampbell@optusnet.com.au>]

Finding out what a problem may be is like playing Chinese whispers.  The
controller tells the signaller, the signaller tells the phone boy, the phone
boy tells the driver and if we're lucky the guard gets some idea from all
those people what is going on and tells the passengers.  If the cause of our
delay is a red signal, all I can say is "The reason for this delay is a red
signal ahead."  I can't tell you any more than that and for most people that
still isn't enough.....we can't win either way.


Garry Hoddinett <hoddos@netspace.net.au> wrote in message
83agvh$2oen$1@otis.netspace.net.au">news:83agvh$2oen$1@otis.netspace.net.au...
>
> Rod <comtrain@mpx.com.au> wrote in message
> 83a2m3$6gf$1@news1.mpx.com.au">news:83a2m3$6gf$1@news1.mpx.com.au...
> >
> > A  few weeks ago I had a very comfortable trip down to Melbourne on a
> train,
> > we arrived Spencer Street 10 mins late, but we did take over 13 mins to
> get
> > from South Ken to S.St, and I guess a broken down Spark had caused this
> > delay. A truck had jammed itself under a Railway Bridge and no trams
were
> > running along Spencer Street and the traffic was just not moving. I
> finished
> > up walking  to do most of my messages. When I passed the scene of the
> > accident I noticed that there was plenty of room for traffic to move
past
> > the truck, and in fact it was not badly damaged and did not look unsafe.
> And
> > yet the young cop on duty stopped everything from moving, and held no
> regard
> > for the convenience of the people, either waiting for a tram, or in
their
> > cars. On the way back a heavy tow truck was working to release the
truck,
> > and a more senior Policeman had the traffic almost back to
normal....Guess
> > you would get a bit upset by that as well?? Or is it one thing for the
> road
> > and a different thing for rail??
> > Rail does a bloody good job doing what it does best!!......particularly
> when
> > you think that your local friendly Poli"s can find less than $200
million
> a
> > year to keep it going!
> >
> I fail to see the relevance of the road industry to your argument.  Non
the
> less I generally agree with your comment that " Rail does a bloody good
job"
> with the little funds it receives from government coffers.  I have been
> travelling by train twice every working day for the last 16 years.  The
> service generally runs smoothly although the evening train is always at
> least a  few minutes late to my destination.  In my travels I have seen
> quite a number of CityRail "problems"and the thing that irks me about
> virtually all of them is they way CityRail handles them - it stuffs them
up.
> I was on the 9:57 to Lithgow, the train was being progressively delayed as
> it traveled west but, as is rather typical, there was no apology or word
of
> explanation why.  CityRail fails the  most basic customer service rule of
> keeping the customer informed when there is a problem.  I have spoken to
> many CityRail management personnel over many years and they all agree that
> the organization fails in this despite the fact that they say staff are
> trained/ told to keep customers informed.  Studies have found that people
> are far more tolerant of problems if they are kept informed - yet CityRail
> constantly fails to do this.  I really appreciate those few guards in
> particular who, not only make an effort to find out what the problem is,
but
> also make an effort to keep their customers informed.  When their are
> service delays beyond a few minutes or a service is cancelled there should
> be a word of explanation - yet CityRail usually doesn't do this.  Your
> example above illustrates my point - you knew of a problem and you could
> understand the problem (because you saw it) and you could graciously
accept
> it.  CityRail rarely tells you there is a problem and even more rarely
> explains why.
>
>