(04 Apr 2015, 11:13 am)Tommy_1581 wrote The conclusion;
- Arriva services are late, dirty and unprofessional
- Arriva employees don't care if power sockets and WiFi don't work and will do nothing about it
- Complain about the poor service and get rude responses
- Don't get on anything which is as dull as Eeyore's bottom
- Drivers don't care if they run late
- Leave vulnerable people waiting for 40 minutes at a cold bus stop
Talk about sweeping statements...
Just because your perception is that your local services are having issues, does it really mean that every other service Arriva run is the same? I have problems with the X12/X2 timing, but the 56/57/57A are generally spot on (apart from capacity issues). The problems I have with the former are being investigated directly by the depot management team, and to be fair, I've noticed an improvement as of late.
Where does the dirty, unprofessional, and rude responses come from? Can't say I've experienced any of this. Even when I deem customer services to be 'useless', they're still always courteous and polite about it. As are the driving staff, depot staff, and even those at HQ that I've dealt with.
There's only so much a driver can do about running late. There are usually points in a route where time can be made up safely and within the law. If they're using that flexibility and the service is still late, then it's up to the company to review the timetable, and ensure it's fit for purpose.
The last point you've made is a very serious accusation, and I'd urge you to write to them directly if there's any substance in your point.
(04 Apr 2015, 11:33 am)palatine3833 wrote Can I just say that Arriva do not have a 'sit around' attitude. When the W-RBB Tridents were transferred to Durham depot, drivers complained about the heating and being underpowered, countless hours were then spent to get them up to standard - hence why they are now at Yorkshire Tiger rather than being scrapped. The same went for the T-FGN deckers. I'm assuming the reason the Ashington inspector said that to you was because he knows who you are and thought he could have a joke, rather than being slagged off on a forum. On a positive though, I challenge anyone to say that Arriva haven't improved from 5 years ago.
I recall similar conversation recently in the GNE thread, and it was fast pointed out that members of the forum do not know what goes on in the background. The same almost certainly applies here.
It was a good while before WiFi was sorted with last year's GNE order, but it was pointed out that this was in fact an issue that a third party supplier were resolving. Who's to say that there isn't a similar issue on some of the Sapphire vehicles? Just because we haven't got someone from Arriva HQ on here telling us what's happening, doesn't mean that nothing is happening.
Oh and I'd take the Tridents back over the Lowlanders any day of the week.