Re: Country(link?) - try walking instead

[Railvic <railvic@primus.com.au>]

nobody wrote:

> Recently we drove to Port Macquarie for holidays.  My son followed us up on
> the XPT from Sydney to Wauchope, then countrylink bus to Port Macquarie on
> the following Tuesday.  We booked the ticket for him a few weeks in advance.
>
> In trying to book the tickets, my 17 y.o. son rang Countrylink, and they
> gave him a reference no. and told him to pay for and pick up the ticket at
> Hornsby Station.  He went there the next day and the station staff told him
> "the computer is down", and that he would have to go to Chatswood instead.
> The next day he went to Chatswood, and he was told the office was being
> renovated and they weren't selling tickets so he'd have to go to St Leonards
> (I think it was).  So we called Countrylink at home and asked them where in
> the heck can we actually get this ticket?  They said that Hornsby couldn't
> sell it to us the day we tried because the staff were on strike, there was
> nothing wrong with the computer that day...  We told them of the run-around
> we were given, and they said I could pay for it with a credit card over the
> phone and they'd mail it to me.  I said fine and gave them the details and
> asked when would I receive the tickets - they said they were "really busy"
> and didn't know...  So I asked them when should I call if I haven't received
> them - and I was told Friday fortnight.  Lucky we didn't want to travel that
> day!!!

Dear all,

Spare a thought for those in Victoria, who want to obtain Countrylink tickets
for travel on and after 1st November 1999.

As from end of October 1999, TRAINS computer will cease and a new ticketing
arrangement has been introduced by Countrylink.  One day last week, one of my
customers had to waited for just under an hour before getting her pre-booked
ticket through our station fax.  I have followed the instruction issued by
Countrylink and followed the prompted of their pre-recorded message.  After
waiting for a long time, I got to their staff.  Unfortunately, she could not
help me, as she only take group bookings.  So she transferred me to another
person.  After another long wait, the lady advised that she does not take calls
from Victorian agents, so another transfer took place.  Finally after another
long wait, I got to the right person and she then send the ticket to our station
fax.  Interestingly, the ticket is pretty basic in design and anyone with a PC
can easily make one up.  This certainly has wasted a lot of staff resource and
worse, if you are working in a one-person suburban location.  By the way, the
customer has advised that she also experienced similar wait.