Are Tourist Railways "welcoming" enough?

I don't understand that comment. You seem to be saying simultaneously that car parking is important, and it will be the first impression for many people, yet the vast numbers of people who leave comments on TripAdvisor would be unlikely to give specific comments about it. Either it is important - and if substandard there will be comments; or it isn't actually that important; or maybe it isn't sub-standard on many railways. It's inconceivable to me that, for any railway big enough to have hundreds of TripAdvisor comments, that you would have in issue that was simultaneously both important to significant numbers of users and yet uncommented on.

I totally get the point that you consider levels of customer service to be important - I don't think anyone on here is arguing the contrary. But then you seem prepared to ignore the evidence of what real visitors are voluntarily telling you in their own words - calling those visitors capricious and amateur - preferring instead to base judgements on a report by a single consultant.

Tom

 

Do the car park of course.
Next question.

 

i would say its more about attracting repeat visitor numbers and people saying things like i went to x railway and enjoyed it, and can recommend it, to their family and friends, so whilst a car park, where you can actually park and is in good repair may not be the be all and end all of it, its a good start, then you have to build on it, a station that looks cared for, a booking office that looks like it should, clean facilities a toilet that you dont need to throw the canary in first and wait for the thud, a cafe that is clean, and where you can buy suitable refreshments at a reasonable cost, friendly staff, who want to talk to you, coaches that are clean, both inside and out, with windows you can actually see out of, ,its what builds up to the whole visitor experience thats important .

 

While its really a point for another thread, I can certainly agree with you on that one.

 

If I were to take anything from this thread there seems to be some level of agreement over management trying to put itself in the place of a non enthusiast visitor as Martin 1965 has rightly pointed out who isn't excited like Spamcan by the last Maryport & Carlisle locomotive and then making sure these issues are addressed.

 

What Flaman pointed out is true, as a museum owner, he has to put the well being of the museum and its exhibits first, hense covered accomodation, your average visitor may not rate that as high on their own scale of requirements, as for everyone it will be different, a man visiting on his own with no children in tow, wont have the same requirements, where as a family with two young children would have a different set of requirements its how you can adapt your attraction to meet those requirements thats the important bit.

 

A car park is hardly a thing of beauty and a joy for ever in any form and this one did not exist before the preservation era. Now people are infinitely less likely to be splashed with muddy water by thoughtless motorists or covered in dust. The area adjoins an S,S,S,I,, owned and maintained by the railway and the risk of tyre residues and lubricating oil being washed into it is much reduced. Assorted dormice and red squirrels will be relieved.

Agree totally with your thoughts about covered space.

Paul

 

One thing worth remembering though is this, a lot of the other attractions our industry are competing with are static attractions, they are limited by their own limitations, i can remember going to a local stately home several times , because the person i was with liked this home, she never saw the need to change the layout, after a while she said, its getting boring, their numbers must have dropped, how many of you who are active members of your railway many of who will have your own museums or static engines/ coaches, how often do you look at your museums and think do we need to revamp this? if your railway has a flagship engine that has lost its ticket and is stored but is the one engine people ask about, can you display it somewhere to attract extra funds towards its overhaul?

 

Especially if the storage area can be made reasonably accessible to the public as an added attraction. Quick cosmetic restorations of stock awaiting major overhauls can provide more for people to see for their money.

 

It's all important. The car park is the first thing most people see and will start to build up a picture. Enthusiasts priorities are different from the rest of the community. I recall reading one of the more perceptive Tripadvisor postings where the lady observed that she found tourist railways to be disappointing as they seemed more concerned with cleaning the outside of the locomotive than the inside of the carriage, So many postings of Martin 1656 on this topic seem to hit the spot, particularly No.123.

PH

 

So why don't they show up on Tripadvisor?

 

Because Tripadvisor is a coarse yardstick. We have spent quite a bit of time on this thread discussing how one particular posting affected your railway. Perhaps all tourist lines should have an email address for people to give details of any problems they might have had.

PH

 

It is a coarse yardstick, but you'd have thought something like an unsatisfactory carpark would have popped up? I've seen plenty of Tripadvisor comment praising both of our carparks for size, but no comments about one being tarmac and one gravel.

As for that comment, well there's only so much we can do if no one says anything until months afterwards. I've been a TTI on a train where we've had complaints it's been cold, on some instances presumably a kid earlier on switched it off so I can turn the knob back again, others I can explain how it works and how it'll probably make its way to them in no more than 10 minutes. There's also things like making sure you keep as many windows and doors closed as possible. If someone likes to have the window open to hear the engine that's great, but as soon as they've gone I nip over and snap the window shut! Also keeping compartment doors shut can make them very cosy, directing cold passengers to a warm private compartment usually goes down very well indeed.

 

But surely the Greatest accolade of all is the satisfied visitor who doesn't use / have access to TripAdvisor / Visit England / any other on-line sites but makes frequent return visits.

One of my biggest concerns about the on-line sites is the assumption that everyone is now connected and that that is the way forward in terms of communication. As a life-time employee within IT many would assume that I am also online BUT I only use on-line for reference in terms of finding information about locations I intend to visit - not to fill in on-line social surveys / research sites. I am also certain that many people still have either limited or no access to on-line networks and that this represents a large customer base which could be over-looked if visiter attractions chose to react only to on-line responses.

In terms of the value of "car park standards" I also am a member of the National Trust and I have to say that few have tarmac - or even even - surfaces; in fact I have visited some sites where you would need wellingtons in bad weather to walk between the car park and the attraction's interior. Whilst I agree with Spamcan81, I also hope that Paul is not suggesting too great a dependence on such as Trip Advisor as there are other (better?) ways of identifying how far a visitor attraction appeals to its presumed market.

 

Er No. I'm not suggesting more dependence on Tripadvisor rather that there is too much already

PH

 

thank you for the kind words, let me paint you 2 pictures
1 negative,
family want a day out, wife would prefer to go shopping, retail therapy she calls it, she reluctantly agrees, so family( 2 adults+2 ) set off, they arrive at the station car park, road is down a pot holed drive, they park up, she gets out steps into a deep pot hole, her expensive shoes are dirtied, , if she has her way they would leave right now, they walk down to the station past several more pot holes, reaching the booking office which is closed, opens 10 minutes before the train departs, says the note in the window, she says, lets go back, , but they decide to at least have a look, they see the coaches, and the windows are filthy, the tables have the last customer's debris still on them, she wipes her finger on the glass, its black, the nice looking cafe is closed sorry we dont open till 11 is a shouted reply , after the train departs , she grabs children and Husband and drags them out and back to the car.
2 scenario 2
they arrive at the car park, the road is newly tarmacked, as is the car park , there is a large sign with a leaflet box, they walk up to the station, first thing she notices is the well kept flower beds and floral displays, they go in, the office is open, good morning, the booking clerk says, the first train isn't till 10.30 but your more than welcome to look around the cafe is open , they buy their tickets, the see the coaches, someone has already cleaned the inside, someone is cleaning the outside, they enter the cafe, sit down enjoy a drink, notice the period paintings and photographs on the walls, the waitress is attentive and friendly they hear a whistle, and go out to see the steam engine, this is nice, she says, reminds me of my youth, they find seats, the seats are clean and dust free, the windows are clean, it smells that its been cleaned, the train departs , a friendly tti asks for their tickets, ask, do you want a guide book, they arive at the end of the line, and in the other platform is the dining Train , gleaming Pullman coaches, tables made up, Woe he says, that looks really good, i must bring you here for our anniversary, they walk round the local town, and enjoy the old world atmosphere of a local pub, return back to catch a return train, again the inside of the coaches are clean, tables regularly cleaned off , they return to the car, at the end of a enjoyable day .

Which would you like to think your railway is?

 

I agree that not everyone is connected but more and more people are as time goes on, certainly the younger families are. An attraction worth its salt will make use of all types of media to interact with the public. I agree that repeat visits from people, connected or not - is a great accolade indeed.

 

All very lovely Martin, but what point are you making, other than good attractions are good and bad ones are bad?

 

89% of UK households have access to the internet. 82% of adults access the internet daily or almost daily.

I would guess a fair percentage of the 18% who don't are in no fit condition(either mentally or physically or both) to visit a tourist attraction.

 

the point i am making is peoples expectations are a series of steps, starting from the moment they arrive, and that you have to ensure that every step is correct, and that you have to pay attention to detail it can be simple things such as friendly staff, to ensuring you create a good impression by ensuring you do clean the stock inside and out no one likes to sit in a dust cloud , or not to be able to see out of the windows to see the discarded drink cans plastic cups, half eaten food of the last people who sat in those seats.