Falling down...

proteus · 03-02-2006 11:13pm #1

Hi all,

I'm very pissed off.
Traveling home on the Luas red line recently when some asshole at the rear of the tram decides he'd like to smoke. This is the first time I have seen this happening by the way.

I told him to put the thing out. Smoking on the Tram is illegal and that he should have respect for other people on the tram. He put the cigarette out with the predictable bad grace but he still kept mouthing off insults for the rest of the journey.

When I got off at my stop (Red cow) I spotted a Connex guy on the opposite platform. I reported the issue to him and his reply was flabbergasting;

He said that "there was no point reporting the issue because there was nothing anyone could do" and "that as a public service you get all types of gob****es using it and that you just have to live with it". He was "a driver and just there to drive the tram".

I knew from experience that the building at the depot has no staff who could deal with such a complaint and it was pointless continuing the complaint with the driver.

So, after reading the RPA, Connex and Luas websites and finding nothing but sickly-sweet PR gibberish - Does anyone know of a good contact to whom I can take this complaint up with? I'm looking for a name and possibly a postal address with which I can bypass the usual customer service platitudes. PM me with the details if you don't want to post it on the board.

Thanks all, Sorry for the rant:o

corktina · 03-02-2006 11:28pm

proteus wrote:

Hi all,

I'm very pissed off.
Traveling home on the Luas red line recently when some asshole at the rear of the tram decides he'd like to smoke. This is the first time I have seen this happening by the way.

I told him to put the thing out. Smoking on the Tram is illegal and that he should have respect for other people on the tram. He put the cigarette out with the predictable bad grace but he still kept mouthing off insults for the rest of the journey.

When I got off at my stop (Red cow) I spotted a Connex guy on the opposite platform. I reported the issue to him and his reply was flabbergasting;

He said that "there was no point reporting the issue because there was nothing anyone could do" and "that as a public service you get all types of gob****es using it and that you just have to live with it". He was "a driver and just there to drive the tram".

I knew from experience that the building at the depot has no staff who could deal with such a complaint and it was pointless continuing the complaint with the driver.

So, after reading the RPA, Connex and Luas websites and finding nothing but sickly-sweet PR gibberish - Does anyone know of a good contact to whom I can take this complaint up with? I'm looking for a name and possibly a postal address with which I can bypass the usual customer service platitudes. PM me with the details if you don't want to post it on the board.

Thanks all, Sorry for the rant:o

well fair play to you for tackling the subject yourself...dunno if i would have been that public spirited...i do think that you are being a bit unfair to the driver you spoke to, it isnt really his job to deal with complaints....

MarkoP11 · 03-02-2006 11:35pm

Smoking on a tram is an offence and carries a very heavy fine and in fact failure of a member of staff to take action could leave Connex with a fine, remember in a pub the publican can get fined if you are smoking can't see how a tram is any different

Connex are a faceless organisation the RPA do all the talking despite it not being there call to talk.
There is an address

Connex Transport
Luas Depot
Red Cow Roundabout
Clondalkin
Dublin 22

1800 300 604
luascustomercare@connex.ie

The name of the head of Connex Ireland is Mr. Richard Du Jardin

In my experience Connex are just as bad as Iarnrod Eireann the classic stand around do nothing work ethic can be seen

Victor · 03-02-2006 11:43pm

Two ways to handle this:

(1) Realise the driver was being pragmatic and that while anti-social behavior isn't accpetable, at least it was at a relatively low level. The driver has learned the Art of Zen.

(2) Go to the top:

Frank Allen,
Chief Executive,
Railway Procurement Agency,
Parkgate Business Centre,
Parkgate St.,
Dublin 8,
Ireland.

Or http://www.rpa.ie/?id=78&NOERecipient=1

MarkoP11 · 03-02-2006 11:52pm

Victor Frank has no power he is not the operator Connex Ireland are the party at fault and its about time that started to feel the wrath

The RPA have never carried a fare paying passenger and indeed the are legally blocked from operating a rail service

mike65 · 05-02-2006 12:19pm

The solution to the problem

Mike.

MiniD · 05-02-2006 1:40pm

This is interesting, in my experience with Luas enquiries and complaints, they have to be one of the worst companies for customer service. I recently emailed a complaint via the customer service email address on the Luas website, I got an email back to say my complaint had been forwarded to the RPA, I have yet to hear anything back. On another occasion where there was a delay in service, I tried phoning Luas on their customer service phone line to see was there a service disruption, except it was after 7 and it was not in service, I tried their main line at the Red Cow and it was also out of service.

Dublin needs an independent accessible transport body where passengers can go to for information, to complain or to get basic details of public transport companies in this city, and we need it asap. We currently have 5 or 6 major companies all working seperately against each other which for a passenger is not acceptable.

Well done to Proteus on tackling both the passenger and the Luas employee, I understand how frustrating it can be when you expect the support of the company and it's not there.

D'Peoples Voice · 07-02-2006 2:19pm

MarkoP11 wrote:

Smoking on a tram is an offence and carries a very heavy fine and in fact failure of a member of staff to take action could leave Connex with a fine

I would have thought that the people to complain to would be the Health and Safety officers at the Department of Health.
You could say that it was a public health issue in that everyone had to inhale passive smoke. You can also say it was a safety issue, a lot of luas trains are overcrowded, a cigarette against someone's clothing could set their clothing on fire and cause a serious disaster.
If you say that the response from Connex or RPA was anything but helpful, then I'd imagine the Health and Safety officers would like to investigate!

It happened me before on a bus, the number 44 to Dundrum, lads were smoking heroin, but when i said it to an inspector at a later stage, his attitude was the court system will always favour the offender. If and when you get the offender to court, more times than not the fine or community service they get is demoralising to the staff who work so hard to get them to court.

Falling down...

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