“If there’s ever a delay, we’ll txt you straight away. SMS Updates gives you FREE up-to-the-moment information about any delays to your train service.”
Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Pretty handy service. So why, despite my train home being delayed almost every single night, have I not been contacted once? Why has my experience not lived up to the promise?
Oh wait, there’s fine print: “SMS messages sent by Connex are for all train cancellations and delays over 15 minutes”.
Sorry? Over 15 minutes? Look, I’m no stranger to weaselly fine print, but let’s look at their bold print statements again: “If there’s ever a delay, we’ll txt you straight away. SMS Updates gives you FREE up-to-the-moment information about any delays to your train service.” I don't see a single second of wiggle room in that statement. It sounds to me like a service that could tell you to keep running because your train’s been delayed by 3 minutes and you can still make it! But no. Fifteen minutes is the best (or worst) you can hope for, and you’ll just have to discover any old trifley 14 minute delays for yourself.
So, the fine print doesn’t clarify the statement, it completely alters it. “If there’s an extended delay, we’ll contact you pretty much straight away,” is not as snappy, but would be closer to the reality. The use of absolute terms like ‘ever’ and ‘any’ seems self-defeating; if you create unrealistic expectations for your new service, don’t be surprised if people think it sucks. As I say, my experience has not lived up to the promise, and as delays longer than 15 minutes are in my experience thankfully rare, this new ‘service’ seems all but irrelevant.
So it’s no help with workaday delays, but what about cancellations? Well last week I got this message at 6:26 am: “Post, the 7:36 am Reservoir train to Flinders Street has been cancelled. Connex apologises for any inconvenience,” which was followed by this one an hour later: “Post, the 7:36 am Reservoir train to Flinders Street will now run. Connex apologises for any inconvenience.” So I’m not exactly filled with confidence.
Then yesterday at 5:33pm I received this message from Connex: “Post, due to a fault, buses have replaced trains Flinders St – Clifton Hill. Please go to Flinders St. We apologise for the inconvenience. Call 131638.” There was an incident like this a while back and I got all the way to my platform before discovering I needed to head for Flinders, so I was pretty impressed by this message. Until I discovered The Age website had posted a detailed article on the situation a full 16 minutes before Connex managed to send me a text message. Rapid response, Connex. Really “up-to-the-moment”. Did you learn of the situation from The Age’s website too? Or CNN, perhaps? Then, 13 minutes later, a second SMS informed me “The fault has now been rectified and services are resuming to normal”. Wow! Resolved in 13 minutes? They might be slow to start, but they finish like lightning!
The icing though was the apology in the same message. It was as though they’d read my earlier post and knew they needed to alter the script and pull out something special. And they did:
Not one, but two apologies. It's a double-scoop of sincerity. That’s making an effort. Thanks Connex. You're the best. Apology accepted.
Posts
I think you need to buy a bicycle.
ReplyDeleteOr at least write a letter.
ReplyDeleteTo Connex... not your Blog site and fan base...
ReplyDelete... Or move closer to your work so you can walk there... I walked to work this morning and got cold... But I am warm now... warm enough to walk home and get cold again before I got to the pub for din dins and get warm again... I think I need to find my beanie...
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteDeleted that post as I lept before I looked.
ReplyDeleteNo, no, CK. By all means feel free to post that mobile number on as many sex chat boards as you like. Not that you'd have access to any, of course? Hehe. ;-) Always dangerous to leap before you look. Next thing you know you'll be talking on your mobile phone while typing!
ReplyDeleteOh, and Bomber, how was your parma?
ReplyDeleteWow, thanks Jen! How did you know I was on the lookout for some hand-crafted jewellery? Must have been from all that time you spent getting to know me. I'm touched; it's not everyone who sees me as a potential source of income. Thanks for your advertisement.
ReplyDeleteNah, I have been banned from Parmas. Started creeping towards 90kg so something had to go. And while da missus was away I was averaging 4 per week. Went a Corned Beef option which Max Henshaw raves about... nice, but a touch dry for my liking... needed more sauce... Caused me to wash it down with 2 pints O beer. Slept well last night...
ReplyDeleteI couldn't help myself. I checked out Jen's jewelry... pretty good actually. But I'd prefer to know what she thinks about the turkey.
ReplyDeleteTurkey Slapper from way back no doubt.
ReplyDeleteHow very... topical of you, Bomber. Good jewellery or no, her post was rude, and so I wouldn't buy any on principle. Just because you can indiscriminately copy-and-paste your little ad onto whatever blog the ‘Next’ button lands you on, doesn’t mean you should.
ReplyDeleteFeel free to ignore my bleating if this is like, so last week...
ReplyDeleteSo it’s no help with workaday delays, but what about cancellations? Well last week I got this message at 6:26 am: “Post, the 7:36 am Reservoir train to Flinders Street has been cancelled. Connex apologises for any inconvenience,” which was followed by this one an hour later: “Post, the 7:36 am Reservoir train to Flinders Street will now run. Connex apologises for any inconvenience.” So I’m not exactly filled with confidence.
I'm curious as to why this is bad. It would appear that they had to cancel a regular service that morning, but - presumably due to some heroic efforts by maintainence crews or some other cogs in the great Connex wheel - they were able to remedy whatever problem they had in time to have the train running as scheduled, at which time they reinstated the service.
And at every stage, they kept you informed with the most up-to-date information.
What, in your opinion, should they have done differently?
Oh, and is there a reason the comment spam is still there?
The problem, my bleating friend, is this: If the train I am wanting to catch is cancelled, I will aim to catch the one scheduled before it, so as to avoid being late for work. In this case, the train before the 7:36 is the 7:22, and as my morning routine is a finely-tuned machine, I would need to cut corners to catch it. Assuming it was on-time and that I did, I would then have been notified four minutes later that the regular train would in fact be running, and that I needn’t have hurtled around like an insane elephant.
ReplyDeleteAs this was my first experience with the ‘service’, I had no way of knowing if this sort of thing was common. If it happened again, should I rush for the early train, or would Connex be likely to resolve the issue in time again like they did last time? As I don’t catch the same train every day, and on this occasion I was catching the next one, it didn’t end up affecting me but, as I say, for a first experience it didn’t exactly fill me with confidence.
Oh, and I held off on deleting the spam until I knew you'd had a chance to view the wares on offer. I know how much you love a good jewellery blog.
ReplyDeleteI can see why the situation was frustrating for you; I just don't see why it was Connex's fault, or indeed anyone's.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, someone a few stations down the line - or in the shops over the road from the station - may well have been very appreciative of the second message. Bad luck for you, but I imagine that the SMS alerts are a somewhat blunt instrument.
It's certainly hard to see what - assuming of course that the facts where what they appeared to be - Connex should have done differently.
Were they wrong to announce the cancellation? Not if they thought there was a good chance they wouldn't have a train ready for that service; I would have thought that was the whole point of the service.
Were they wrong to announce the un-cancellation? I wouldn't have thought so. Again, isn't the point of the service to let you know about things that change at the last minute?
Perhaps their mistake was in bothering to get the train running after they'd announced it was cancelled.
I never said it was anyone’s fault; just that as an introduction to the service Connex seemingly changing their mind at the last second didn’t fill me with confidence.
ReplyDeleteBomber, (to travel back to your first comment) I think I do need to buy a bicycle. Maybe if I had one staring me in the face I'd actually get out and do some exercise? Although cyclists seem to have a 50/50 chance of getting hit by a car these days, so maybe not? I'd rather die from inactivity than on the bull-bar of someone's 4WD.
ReplyDeleteCK has got on board the cycling bug and he is still with us, and is a finely tuned machine. I have only ever been hit by one car, and it was a van. The larger side panels worked well to cushion my blow. Check your area, there may be bike paths which are not on the road, or at least bike lanes. I have hit the deck more times due to tram tracks than due to drivers... Be safe, be seen!
ReplyDelete