bike on the train? that'll be £110, Madam

[vernon]

> A bike is free on Virgin - all you have to do is prebook which you can
> either do online or in person at the ticket office.
>
It took me 20 minutes to persuade the Virgin voice activated booking system,
then when that failed, an Indian call centre employee to issue me with a
ticket for myself and a bike from Thurso to Leeds. The hapless employee
could not comprehend that my arrival at Thurso after the ticket office
closed and leaving Thurso before the ticket office opened was not a
satisfactory arrangement for picking up the tickets from Thurso station.
She could not verify that the coach service from Wickwas able to carry my
bike and eventually I settled for a ticket collection from Inverness for a
Thurso to Leeds journey. I twas also suggested that I might like to
consider the option of not taking my bike with me...
On arrival at Inverness stations's booking office, the clerk rolled his eyes
skywards when I announced that I had booked a journey using Virgin Trains'
system. The bike booking had not been faxed through and thqankfully I had
made a note of the booking numbers to confirm that transaction had taken
place. By all accounts Virgin is notorious for getting things wrong.
Having said that, I had a very enjoyable journey home on a Virgin Voyager
train from Edinburg.

I don't know why Virgin haven't abandoned their booking system and use one
stafed by real people living in this country who are familiar with the
geography of the country and the quirks of the fare structures that offer
maximum value for money. It is unlikely that I will attempt to use the
Virgin Trains' booking system again - it was just too stressful and drawn
out.

 

[Arthur Clune]

Richard Webb <[email protected]> wrote:

> [re: Virgin]
>
> Not a company I use anymore.. For anything.....

This is where the whole fallacy of competition on the railways breaks isn't
it? If I need to get to X and Virgin is the only company running trains there
then I can't really not use them even though they are ****.

Sigh.

--
Arthur Clune

 

[A.C.P. Crawshaw]

Simon Mason wrote:
>
> You used to be able to - maybe they've withdrawn that option now.

They withdrew the online bike booking facility a year or two ago.

 

[Dave Larrington]

Also sprach vernon <[email protected]>:

> I don't know why Virgin haven't abandoned their booking system and
> use one stafed by real people living in this country who are familiar
> with the geography of the country and the quirks of the fare
> structures that offer maximum value for money.

Tsk, Vernon, that would be detrimental to Shareholder Value.

--
Dave Larrington - <http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/>
Oxymoron: spot cream for chavs.

 

[RG]

"Arthur Clune" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Richard Webb <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> [re: Virgin]
>>
>> Not a company I use anymore.. For anything.....
>
> This is where the whole fallacy of competition on the railways breaks
> isn't
> it? If I need to get to X and Virgin is the only company running trains
> there
> then I can't really not use them even though they are ****.
>
> Sigh.
>
> --
> Arthur Clune

Ah, BUT you don't have to book tickets thru Virgin - having learned the hard
way by using The Trainline .. I now book ANY rail journey with GNER (they
can book anything except Scotrail sleepers) - VERY helpful people based in
Newcastle, have yet to fail on any booking for me ... and tickets always
received in the mail the following day.

Having said all that .... I was amazed when boarding a Virgin toytown train
recently at Exeter (with a GNER purchased ticket for me and bike) to be
greeted by name by the guard/train manager/whatever-they-call-them-now
person! She obviously had some sort of manifest with the booking details.

RG

 

[Peter Clinch]

RG wrote:

> Ah, BUT you don't have to book tickets thru Virgin - having learned the hard
> way by using The Trainline .. I now book ANY rail journey with GNER (they
> can book anything except Scotrail sleepers) - VERY helpful people based in
> Newcastle, have yet to fail on any booking for me ... and tickets always
> received in the mail the following day.

Though with GNER there is (or at least has been at times in recent
years) the problem that you can call them 3 times in as many days and
get 3 wildly differing quotes for the same journey...

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email protected] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

 

[Arthur Clune]

RG <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Ah, BUT you don't have to book tickets thru Virgin - having learned the hard

I don't. I live about 10 mins walk away from York station so buy all my tickets
there in person. Avoids a lot of problems. My point was that I can't avoid giving
Virgin money no matter how awful there service is.

--
Arthur Clune

 

[Simon Brooke]

in message <[email protected]>, Arthur Clune
('[email protected]') wrote:

> Richard Webb <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> [re: Virgin]
>>
>> Not a company I use anymore.. For anything.....
>
> This is where the whole fallacy of competition on the railways breaks
> isn't it? If I need to get to X and Virgin is the only company running
> trains there then I can't really not use them even though they are
> ****.

My solution to the Virgin problem has been to give up trains altogether.

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; may contain traces of nuts, bolts or washers.

 

[tom]

On Fri, 02 Sep 2005 11:35:10 +0100, A.C.P. Crawshaw wrote:

> Simon Mason wrote:
>>
>> You used to be able to - maybe they've withdrawn that option now.
>
> They withdrew the online bike booking facility a year or two ago.

thetrainline FAQ used to state the following, but it has now been removed
(I wonder why):

"Question: Why can't I book bikes on-line now?

Answer: thetrainline undertakes regular reviews of website performance and
ease of use to ensure that it offers the best possible service to all
customers. Following a website review of the functionality that was used
on the site in July 2003 and considering customer feedback, we identified
the need to streamline the train booking and purchasing process.

In order to speed up this process for all customers we removed some of the
filter options, for example search by ticket type and bicycle booking
facility"

 

[Arthur Clune]

Simon Brooke <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> My solution to the Virgin problem has been to give up trains altogether.

Then I'd have to buy a car. That seems a worse solution to me.

--
Arthur Clune

 

[JohnB]

Arthur Clune wrote:
>
> Richard Webb <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > [re: Virgin]
> >
> > Not a company I use anymore.. For anything.....
>
> This is where the whole fallacy of competition on the railways breaks isn't
> it? If I need to get to X and Virgin is the only company running trains there
> then I can't really not use them even though they are ****.

So true.
My local line is 100% SWT (Stagecoach) and guess who also runs the buses?
Yep 100% Stagecoach :-(

John B

 

[Simon Brooke]

in message <[email protected]>, Arthur Clune
('[email protected]') wrote:

> Simon Brooke <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> My solution to the Virgin problem has been to give up trains
>> altogether.
>
> Then I'd have to buy a car. That seems a worse solution to me.

H'mmm. I have one; I'm increasingly of the opinion I could do without it.
But then my nearest railway station is more than twenty miles away, and
my nearest mainline station is nearer forty, so using the train isn't
especially convenient anyway.

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; making jokes about dyslexia isn't big, it isn't clever and
;; it isn't furry.

 

[vernon]

> My solution to the Virgin problem has been to give up trains altogether.
>
Dealing with Virgin's booking system was a pain but it was not a typical
experience of my extensive use of the rail network this year accompanied by
my bike. It seems a bit silly to deprive oneself of a great transport
service because of a little bit of hassle with the booking system. Besides,
I was advised by the ticket office in Inverness that I could have booked the
journey through Scotrail.

 

[JohnB]

vernon wrote:
>
> > My solution to the Virgin problem has been to give up trains altogether.
> >
> Dealing with Virgin's booking system was a pain but it was not a typical
> experience of my extensive use of the rail network this year accompanied by
> my bike. It seems a bit silly to deprive oneself of a great transport
> service because of a little bit of hassle with the booking system. Besides,
> I was advised by the ticket office in Inverness that I could have booked the
> journey through Scotrail.

<splutter>

That's the best one I've heard all day ;-)

John B

 

[Tony W]

"Ambrose Nankivell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> However, the OPs story is clearly an error by the phone staff. When I feel
> the need to book a bike on, I just present the ticket at the ticket window
> 20 minutes before the train leaves and ask for a bike booking for it, and
> it's always obliged and nearly always free.
>
> I'd suggest waiting until the tickets came, then going to a friendly local
> station to get the bike bookings if you can, or just getting the tickets
> from there.

Doesn't that defeat the objective of on-line or telephone booking -- i.e.
that one can do the entire transaction remotely, easily, and at a time of
one's own choosing?

It also presupposes that one's "local" station is convenient to get to (mine
is only 2 miles away but in a location I rarely travel to, past or through
unless going to catch a train) and "friendly".

Surely the OP's reasonable demand is for reasonable, effective and
accessibly booking procedures -- with consistent, fair and transparent
pricing.

Seems a most reasonable request to me.

T