I had an interesting week last week which culminated in me catching the train into work on Thursday morning rather than cycling. I had my iPhone with me and was sending emails backwards and forwards to someone who wanted my opinions on the efficacy of the waste legislation in England. Whilst carrying on this conversation I paid for my ticket by card at the ticket machine in Sheffield station; not only does it not give change but it refuses to issue a ticket if you don’t put in the exact money.
It’s only a short trip to Meadowhall so I finished my emails, dashed off and walked briskly to work. It was only when I sat down with a coffee and the intention of booking a train ticket to Leighton Buzzard on the internet, that I realised I didn’t have my purse. As you can imagine I flapped around, looking in all the places I might have put it down. And then I looked again, in the same places. No dice. It was a little after 8am when I called Northern Rail, with fairly low expectations of their response. To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement.
I spoke to Ann in customer service. She was very sympathetic and didn’t point out that I was an idiot to leave my purse on the train. She took the details very efficiently and told me she would call the conductor on the train. I called back a little while later, worried that I should get on with cancelling the cards. Ann apologised about the delay in replying and explained that the conductor wasn’t answering his phone for whatever reason. The train would shortly be arriving into Goole and Ann had arranged for the woman in the ticket office to meet the train and talk to the conductor. A few minutes later she called me back and confirmed that the conductor had my purse safe and would give it in to Lost Property in Hull. Phew.
An hour or so later I got a call from Hull. Alan Dixon asked me if I’d lost anything. Oh yes! Apparently Ian Baxter, the conductor, had just handed it in and Alan was letting me know as soon as possible that he had my purse. I asked him to have a look and he confirmed that none of the money or cards had gone missing. I arranged for my colleague, Catherine, who was in Hull anyway, to pick it up. A happy ending all round, given that I’d just taken £100 out of the hole in the wall in the station and my train tickets for my holiday at the Edinburgh Fringe (non-refundable) were in my purse.
Obviously two of the people involved were just doing their job, although they were doing it very well and with quiet good humour. The conductor and particularly the woman at Goole were going out of their way for me. There are two lessons I take form this. One is that I am completely useless. The other is how much positive feeling I now have for Northern Rail, to the extent that where I can I will choose their services over competitors. I have dealt with rail company customer services departments before and have never come away feeling very positive about them. This is how customer loyalty is generated.
