Aah, it's good to be back. Feels as though I haven't missed a day.
UPDATE: Text message #1 from Connex at 5:58am: "Signalling problems at Clifton Hill,ant delays of 40minutes on all services." Text message #2 from Connex at 6:15am: "Signalling problems at Clifton Hill now rectified,ant delays of 40minutes on Epping and Hurstbridge line services.. Connex, Keeping you updated."
Connex's Delay campaign has so stuck in my head that for a second there I thought an "ant delay" was a delay caused by ants. Giant Radioactive Killer Ants most likely! Sadly no.
Happily though, as my morning train pulled into Clifton Hill later that morning I discovered not only the absence of any giant ants, but also of any delays. Well, thanks Connex for "Keeping me updated". Is a resumption of normal services not something worth updating your customers on?
Honestly, that little postscript has irritated me from the day it first appeared about a year into the life of the (extended) delay notification system, and not just because that comma after 'Connex' should be a colon. Mostly it annoys me because it smacks of desperate wallpapering by the marketing department in the hope we won't notice the cracks underneath. Like a salesman who calls himself honest, a service that does keep you informed, shouldn't need to tell you it's keeping you informed. All this slogan does is highlight how the reality falls short of the promise.
UPDATE 2: And on that note, I just read the following quote:
The louder he talks of honour, the faster we count our spoons. -Ralph Waldo EmersonI think the Connex version would read:
The louder they talk of updates, the faster I run for the early train.
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No notification, ap? You haven't signed up for their SMS service have you? You know, the one where you find out your train is running six minutes late in the morning, so you can get back into your pyjamas and sleep in for ... six minutes.
ReplyDeleteMurt, is that an ironic comment on my ability to talk of little else besides Connex, or did I post this post before you happened across the Path? That service, like most else Connex puts its mind to, is a joke.
ReplyDeleteI had another helpful experience with the service the other day. I'll add it as an update to this post...
No irony - I now recall your former treatise on the marvels of their SMS "service"!
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