GNER memories: Going the Extra Mile
by JFC AdminIn 2003 GNER surpassed my expectations by a long shot. GNER customer services by this time had already impressed me on a number of occasions but this time customer services and the on board crew had really gone out of their way to make my parents anniversary special.
They had decided they were going to visit some relatives down south at this time and they happened to be returning on their anniversary. They had already bought their tickets and they were the non-flexible standard class tickets, originally I had planned to buy them first class tickets but as they’d already bought tickets and they’re of the non-refundable variety I thought I’d try something different.
On my next visit I had a look at their tickets and noted down their seat numbers, I sent an email to GNER asking if I could buy them a bottle of wine that would be presented to them on board the train to surprise them for their anniversary.
I chose the wine off the GNER menu which I guessed they would like the most (a chablis) and was told to send a cheque in after the event (in case they weren’t able to present the wine for any reason), I guess the fact that they had my contact details being a GNER excel (the loyalty programme before GNERtime) member meant that they were ok with me paying later.
As I obviously wasn’t there on the day I can only take my parents word for how it worked out. I was told that they were approached by a member of staff and were asked to follow them, they had been reserved seats in first class and were wished happy anniversary. They were told a bottle of wine would be on its way courtesy of myself once the train got moving.
They said they were made to feel special by all the staff on board including the train guard who was checking tickets. Apparently this was all done in a discreet way, they got the balance right, they were made to feel special without announcing it to the whole carriage.
As an anniversary surprise it worked well because it truly was a surprise, it’s something you’d only ever do once as it’s unexpected the first time but after that becomes too predictable. It was also a good surprise for me as I’d only requested the wine, it was the on-board staff who decided to go the extra mile with this one. The wine was about £20 so I also sent a large tip in appreciation of the good service, I hope it was passed to the train crew.
December 6th, 2007 at 11:07 am
That’s a nice story, would never think of trying this myself though. The same people will be working for NXEC now so service should still be top class.