Optimum interruptions

Had a lovely day out with wifey last week for my birthday, on the Kent & East Sussex. All staff were lovely (including a TTI with a very good comedy routine), place looked lovely, everything was tip top.

My only gripe would be that on one trip between Tenterden and Bodiam we were interrupted five times, four of them by staff trying to sell us something. I'm all in favour of railways trying to make the most of the sales opportunities, but we had one chap selling guidebooks, a lady selling fish and chips, a young man selling ice creams, and a buffet trolley.

Seemed like every time we settled in to a game of cards somebody else was at the compartment door!

For me personally I found that a bit much (although, again, I want to say that the staff were lovely). Is that normal for KESR? Am I just being a curmudgeon?

What do others think about how many times it's acceptable to interrupt passengers on a trip?


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One man's "interruption" is another man's retail opportunity. If this is really so "unacceptable", you'd better stick to Southern trains - where you don't get any interruptions ... or even trains sometimes.

 

I'm with Dan on this - a TTI and one sales pitch/buffet trolley should be perfectly adequate. Anything more than that is a pain and risks putting people off a return visit.

You may think that four interruptions are justified as 'retail opportunities' but when do you stop? Should every loco/carriage/extension/station group on the line get to interrupt passengers? Do you keep going until everyone's wallets/purses are empty? You have to strike a balance between maximising customers spending and making them feel they've had value for money/helped the cause/not been annoyed by begging bowls every 5 minutes!


Keith

 

I think there's room for TTI plus trolley plus one relevant sales opportunity. For example, I wasn't bothered by someone at NYMR selling guidebooks on departure from Pickering, with TTI and buffet trolley later in the journey. More than that, or begging bowls out, and I'd have been irritated into leaving my wallet in my pocket.

 

To be fair, I'm not sure you've quite got what I was saying (and I don't believe I said anything was 'unacceptable'). I think it's great for railways to maximise their opportunity to promote their line and make sales, but I personally found five interruptions in 45 mins a little much. I'd imagine there's a tipping point where that puts people off a return visit.

What I did try and make clear though is that I thought everything else about my visit was excellent, and I wouldn't want any of the staff to feel criticised.

And I fully agree that KESR are probably more reliable than Southern right now!



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Personally, although it wouldn't bother me much, I'd say no more three "interruptions" for a journey that length (including the ticket inspection) would be about right. Five does seem OTT. Also, if practical, it would be good if the TTIs and food sales people took a brief break when the train was passing through/over/by one or two of the line's best scenic or structural highlights to make sure all passengers can appreciate them.