SASTA - what an absolute shower

Simster · Dec 22, 2015

I think we all know that "Southern Are Sorry To Announce" are undoubtedly the worst company in the country. They are utterly utterly terrible. Words cannot describe just how terrible they are. My 7:23 Redhill to Vic, for example, has been cancelled five times in five weeks. In that same time frame, it has also had fewer carriages than the designated 12 on 3 occasions (it once turned up with just four carriages) and today was ten minutes late. Ten minutes? It only actually started 7 miles down the line FFS.

But oddly enough, this isn't a rant about the dreadful train service they provide. It's about customer service. I just felt this snippet from the local Facebook rail group about something that happened last night and I think deserves a wider audience:

There was an exchange at Redhill ticket office this evening with one rail user having finished work for the year trying to get his 2016 season ticket starting January 4 that I thought might be of interest.
Ticket office: you need to come back on January 4th or one week before
Rail user: but you are closed between Xmas eve and Jan 4 morning (he didn't confirm but there are no trains from Redhill in this period so likely the ticket office is closed and he didn't deny it). On the website it says you can use your discretion in relaxing the week before requirement.
Ticket office: why don't you renew on January 4th?
Rail user: because I get the 5.34 and the ticket office is closed at that times
Ticket office: can you come back on Xmas eve?
Rail user: but I have now finished work for the year and you want me to come to Redhill station especially on Xmas eve to spend 4 grand on my season ticket?
Ticket office: yes
Man puts head in hands and leaves. I also leave as I was about to have exactly the same discussion. What a joke of customer service.

I thought improved customer service was one of the benefits of privatisation? I guess that's put that one to bed.

lost in london · Dec 22, 2015

Have you ever got involved with the 'Meet the managers' at Victoria?

I walk past them and see people chatting away and wonder what they're saying. Where do you start?!

It's a f*cking diabolical, overpriced shambles where the paying customers are utterly irrelevant to your cackhanded perpetually failing attempts to hit ludicrously lenient targets, I guess.

My only pleasure from commuting is submitting delay repay claims.

Springal · Dec 22, 2015

I did commute for 2 years, £10k spent in that time. So glad I am out of it.

My 62 mile drive twice a week, including the M25 & M3 (with all the road works there) is LESS stressful than my time commuting. Absolute shambles

Monsieur Le Plonk · Dec 22, 2015

lost in london said:
Have you ever got involved with the 'Meet the managers' at Victoria?

I walk past them and see people chatting away and wonder what they're saying. Where do you start?!

It's a f*cking diabolical, overpriced shambles where the paying customers are utterly irrelevant to your cackhanded perpetually failing attempts to hit ludicrously lenient targets, I guess.

My only pleasure from commuting is submitting delay repay claims.

Delay Repay.
Mess of a scheme yet tedious enough that Southern have done the math and yup, infuriatingly I don't get round to doing it either and waste a small fortune.

Monsieur Le Plonk · Dec 22, 2015

Springal said:
I did commute for 2 years, £10k spent in that time. So glad I am out of it.

My 62 mile drive twice a week, including the M25 & M3 (with all the road works there) is LESS stressful than my time commuting. Absolute shambles

On balance I'd probably take the 2 day a week M25 option. Make it 5 days a week and I'll suffer the trains instead though.

Guinness Boy · Dec 22, 2015

I have only had to use SASTA twice in December. Both times earned a Delay Repay claim. Going to QPR (the first of them) I actually told Southern's ticket man at Portslade what was happening.

Us: Any news on the 13.47 please?
Him: It's on time.
Us: It can't be, it's now 13.48, it is not in sight and the level crossing isn't down.
Him: But it says on the display up there "on time"
Us: Yes, however, my National Rail app shows it hasn't left Littlehampton.
Him: It's on time
Us: Here's the app
Him: Oh, it's probably delayed then.

No announcement was made. It never showed up and we went via Brighton.

:facepalm:

Perfidious Albion · Dec 22, 2015

"Delay Repay"....had some criticism this week, but I recently claimed a refund. I thought it was easy . Of course the train should have been on time in the first place ...

Mellotron · Dec 22, 2015

When it comes to delays, "Signalling problems" appears to cover basically ANYTHING. A guard admitted as much to me on the way back from the QPR game.

CPFC G · Dec 22, 2015

The past three weeks the trains out of Redhill and Reigate have been a joke. I get the 0727 Reigate to London Bridge it ran this morning for the first time in about two weeks.

I take it the lack of train crew is down to Southern doing it on the cheap and not having enough people to cover sickness and people using up leave at the end of the year? Anyone know the reasons behind it?

I claim for every train that is late or cancelled, F@@@ them.

Lankyseagull · Dec 22, 2015

It never ceases to amaze me how bad their customer service is.

Although I don't commute daily, I maybe visit our office or construction sites in London on 8-10 occasions a month and the "service" from Uckfield to London Bridge and back this year has been a shambles. However, from 4 January - 19 February 2016 there are NO trains to Buxted or Uckfield (there is a joyful replacement bus service).

This is due to platform extensions. On a line where, during the day, there is only one service an hour, surely it could have been kept open?

Guinness Boy · Dec 22, 2015

CPFC G said:
The past three weeks the trains out of Redhill and Reigate have been a joke. I get the 0727 Reigate to London Bridge it ran this morning for the first time in about two weeks.

I take it the lack of train crew is down to Southern doing it on the cheap and not having enough people to cover sickness and people using up leave at the end of the year? Anyone know the reasons behind it?

I claim for every train that is late or cancelled, F@@@ them.

Not sure about Southern but the new winter timetable has been set up in such a way that Thameslink train crews can't make their connections! Thameslink and SASTA are now the same company effectively.

Simster · Dec 22, 2015

CPFC G said:
The past three weeks the trains out of Redhill and Reigate have been a joke. I get the 0727 Reigate to London Bridge it ran this morning for the first time in about two weeks.

I take it the lack of train crew is down to Southern doing it on the cheap and not having enough people to cover sickness and people using up leave at the end of the year? Anyone know the reasons behind it?

I claim for every train that is late or cancelled, F@@@ them.

Yes, yes they have.

As for claiming, I see that Which! are on the warpath now, they are doing something about making delay repay that much easier. Regardless, it is my NY resolution to actually claim for their dire utterly shithouse "service".

lost in london · Dec 22, 2015

Monsieur Le Plonk said:
Delay Repay.
Mess of a scheme yet tedious enough that Southern have done the math and yup, infuriatingly I don't get round to doing it either and waste a small fortune.

Do it - cashing in those vouchers is a nice feeling. Completely undermined by knowing that they'll just bump up the ticket price to cover it, but sticking it to them even just a little bit feels great.

Monsieur Le Plonk · Dec 22, 2015

Simster said:
Yes, yes they have.

As for claiming, I see that Which! are on the warpath now, they are doing something about making delay repay that much easier. Regardless, it is my NY resolution to actually claim for their dire utterly shithouse "service".

You'd have thought the technology would be there to enable Southern to automatically pay out those that have signed up to their funky new 'Key' card when they are delayed.

Surf's Up · Dec 22, 2015

My most recent experience of rail travel with Southern was for the QPR game when signals failures and staff shortages due to sickness were cited as the causes of the delays. It was not an experience I would wish to repeat and my sympathies go out to all those of you who have to use the "services" of this company to get to work. I can only imagine what it must be like - even on a good day I would imagine the peak hour trains are uncomfortable, hot and overcrowded - but on a bad day ......................... and you pay them £5k pa for the privilege

studio150 · Dec 22, 2015

I have never understood why it is not possible to buy season tickets early, they have a start and end date, and clearly are not valid before the start date so what is the problem in issuing early at anytime of the year.

CPFC G · Dec 22, 2015

Simster said:
Yes, yes they have.

As for claiming, I see that Which! are on the warpath now, they are doing something about making delay repay that much easier. Regardless, it is my NY resolution to actually claim for their dire utterly shithouse "service".

Once setup with a login for Southerns website each claim takes about 2 minutes. I did two this morning.Surely the more people that claim the more Southern are mot likely to employ a few more people.

Very frustrating when they run a train into Reigate but you can't board it as there is no guard. The damn thing just departs empty.

Simster · Dec 22, 2015

CPFC G said:
Once setup with a login for Southerns website each claim takes about 2 minutes. I did two this morning.Surely the more people that claim the more Southern are mot likely to employ a few more people.

Very frustrating when they run a train into Reigate but you can't board it as there is no guard. The damn thing just departs empty.

And that's another thing:

http://www.southernrailway.com/southern/news/train-crew-recruitment

How many other companies send out shitty press releases like that because they haven't got enough people to provide the service they're paid to do? We're short staffed here at my firm. We just have to work harder and if we can't recruit the right people, the management are accountable to further up the food chain to explain why not. This sort of thing at SASTA is an utter joke.

mikeyjh · Dec 22, 2015

Perfidious Albion said:
"Delay Repay"....had some criticism this week, but I recently claimed a refund. I thought it was easy . Of course the train should have been on time in the first place ...

That will be the delay repay that assumes you (STH) travel every day of the year (but woe betide you if you claimed but hadn't) and doesn't count if the delays are 'planned'. So who on earth can efficiently use the trains to get to London and back next week? Should be an automatic payment every day there is a > 15 min delay, that would get things sorted, make sure they have enough staff to cover etc etc.

Monsieur Le Plonk · Dec 22, 2015

studio150 said:
I have never understood why it is not possible to buy season tickets early, they have a start and end date, and clearly are not valid before the start date so what is the problem in issuing early at anytime of the year.

I guess because we would all by them before January 1st when the prices get hiked and that isn't what Southern want. They are transparently underhanded.

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SASTA - what an absolute shower

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