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Nonsensical DART surveys

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  • 28-01-2013 11:55pm
    #1
    Atlantic Dawn
    Registered Users Posts: 81,170 ✭✭✭✭
    M


    Why do Irish rail do customer surveys for DART users asking them how they rate their station? It's not as if because the station in Greystones is nicer than my usual on the northside I will jump in the car and drive out to Greystones in the morning because I heard they highly rate the staff appearance over there, such a pointless pointless exercise.

    You can do the survey online and you get the options of scoring 1-5 for the following...
    Station Presentation
    Customer Information
    Staff Appearance
    Staff Helpfulness

    There is no text entry field to enter in what comments you have about how good or bad your station is, which is really what a survey is all about finding out. My local DART station for instance is the only one I know with many hundreds of free parking spaces which have spaces all day yet every single day there's a hatchback car parked directly outside the station on a double yellow line directly opposite a continuous white line but this must be ok because the driver has decided to put an Irish Rail bib on the steering wheel, perhaps the bib takes the wheel and moves the car should the emergency services need access.

    There are no surveys on passenger comfort in the DARTs, why the temperature is erradic depending on the driver and you can often get in to a DART with zero heating on when it's 1-2 degrees yet another day you find it's actually uncomfortable to sit on the seats as the heat is excessive and it's a day where no heating is required, again no want from Irish Rail to hear any actual feedback from it's users as to how comfortable their journey is. Could they not issue basic guidelines to drivers, on a very cold morning heating 100%, cold morning heating 50%, fine morning no heating.

    The facilities for the blind on the DART are attrotious, atleast 50% of the DARTs either have non working or even worse incorrectly working audible announcements for stations, they should just disable both the audio and the information displays on the trains if they can't get the fleet up to a 90% plus working level and tell the deaf, blind and any visiting tourists to take alternative transport.

    Don't even get me started on the 4 carriage rush hour death spec DARTs yet they can manage 8 carriage ghost DARTs at lunchtime :mad:


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    #2
    Cookie_Monster
    Registered Users Posts: 24,469 ✭✭✭✭Cookie_Monster


    I want a clean and tidy station not full of piss, broken glass and vomit and I want my train to turn up, be clean and be on time and if I have problems I want a staff member to be able to help in a polite manner.

    That's why they ask those questions, because it's what people want and expect from a PT service and they can use the survey to check that it's being provided.

    DARTs are designed to move large quantities of people quickly, passenger comfort is reasonably low on the list of priorities IMO, as long as the train is clean and the seat aren't all ripped up 99% of people will be happy. Re the heating, you'll never make everyone happy it'll always be too hot or cold for someone, even in London the tube for only the first time last year has trains with AC


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    #3
    Atlantic Dawn
    Registered Users Posts: 81,170 ✭✭✭✭Atlantic Dawn
    M


    Cookie_Monster wrote: »
    I want a clean and tidy station not full of piss, broken glass and vomit and I want my train to turn up, be clean and be on time and if I have problems I want a staff member to be able to help in a polite manner.

    That's why they ask those questions, because it's what people want and expect from a PT service and they can use the survey to check that it's being provided.

    DARTs are designed to move large quantities of people quickly, passenger comfort is reasonably low on the list of priorities IMO, as long as the train is clean and the seat aren't all ripped up 99% of people will be happy. Re the heating, you'll never make everyone happy it'll always be too hot or cold for someone, even in London the tube for only the first time last year has trains with AC

    Maybe you can point me to where it has the facility in the survey to enter that you don't want the station full of piss, broken glass and vomit or even to tell them that it is in this condition.

    They are also designed to be used, no point in spare carriages sitting idle at the depot at peak times when people are delaying the trains struggling to get on to them because they are so overcrowded, plenty of time during the day from 10am-4pm to run the 4 carriage trains. All I am looking for is a 6 carriage minimum from 7-9am and from 4-7pm, they can run any other combination they want during the rest of the day.


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    #4
    kingofslaves
    Closed Accounts Posts: 393 ✭✭kingofslaves


    I have the travel pass and for the last 5 years have used it from the northside to dublin. Everytime I used to leave Harmonstown the ticket guy was either not there or on his phone/laptop/watching tv, so I used to just show it and go through the gate. I then moved to killester and used it for about 4 months, until one day the guy asked me where I was going. (I used to just walk up to the gates and show my pass) I said to connolly, he gave me a ticket and said I should get one everytime I used the dart. I've used the pass at manu stations from bray to howth but never in 5 years have been asked to get a ticket.

    This also happened at Clontarf one day and the guy was pretty rude TBH, although he did have 3 schoolgirls in the ticket office so maybe was trying to show off ! Another time recently I showed my ticket as I went through the gates with a cig in my hand, ok maybe was wrong, but the doors were open both sides of the tiny ticket hall and it was a very windy day. I usually would be only maybe 1min max in there as the guy presses the button, but this time he really gave out to me, he said if you want to use the dart you follow the rules. Ok what about the kids who jump the tracks and come asking you for a cig then ? or the drunks with thier cans of bulmers ? hell I even saw a guy one day piss out the door between the carriage and the platform at connolly one day at 2pm ! surprised he wasn't taken off at the next stop, surely they'd seen him on cctv ?


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    #5
    Lapin
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 18,184 ✭✭✭✭Lapin


    Cookie_Monster wrote: »
    ...... you'll never make everyone happy it'll always be too hot or cold for someone, even in London the tube for only the first time last year has trains with AC

    Its proving popular too. :)

    images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTdoH1ZI0gXm5avXx3dLYdkbdDL7sSlydceCPjXF8_MkOScM_n-


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    #6
    Hilly Bill
    Registered Users Posts: 6,039 ✭✭✭Hilly Bill


    kingofslaves wrote: »
    I have the travel pass and for the last 5 years have used it from the northside to dublin. Everytime I used to leave Harmonstown the ticket guy was either not there or on his phone/laptop/watching tv, so I used to just show it and go through the gate. I then moved to killester and used it for about 4 months, until one day the guy asked me where I was going. (I used to just walk up to the gates and show my pass) I said to connolly, he gave me a ticket and said I should get one everytime I used the dart. I've used the pass at manu stations from bray to howth but never in 5 years have been asked to get a ticket.

    This also happened at Clontarf one day and the guy was pretty rude TBH, although he did have 3 schoolgirls in the ticket office so maybe was trying to show off ! Another time recently I showed my ticket as I went through the gates with a cig in my hand, ok maybe was wrong, but the doors were open both sides of the tiny ticket hall and it was a very windy day. I usually would be only maybe 1min max in there as the guy presses the button, but this time he really gave out to me, he said if you want to use the dart you follow the rules. Ok what about the kids who jump the tracks and come asking you for a cig then ? or the drunks with thier cans of bulmers ? hell I even saw a guy one day piss out the door between the carriage and the platform at connolly one day at 2pm ! surprised he wasn't taken off at the next stop, surely they'd seen him on cctv ?

    You dont need to get a ticket with the pass if you are travelling on the Dart. You only need it on the commuters or intercity. Report any incidents like you mention to the station controller in Pearse station as they control the dart stations.


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    #7
    Hilly Bill
    Registered Users Posts: 6,039 ✭✭✭Hilly Bill


    Atlantic Dawn wrote: »
    Why do Irish rail do customer surveys for DART users asking them how they rate their station? It's not as if because the station in Greystones is nicer than my usual on the northside I will jump in the car and drive out to Greystones in the morning because I heard they highly rate the staff appearance over there, such a pointless pointless exercise.

    You can do the survey online and you get the options of scoring 1-5 for the following...
    Station Presentation
    Customer Information
    Staff Appearance
    Staff Helpfulness

    There is no text entry field to enter in what comments you have about how good or bad your station is, which is really what a survey is all about finding out. My local DART station for instance is the only one I know with many hundreds of free parking spaces which have spaces all day yet every single day there's a hatchback car parked directly outside the station on a double yellow line directly opposite a continuous white line but this must be ok because the driver has decided to put an Irish Rail bib on the steering wheel, perhaps the bib takes the wheel and moves the car should the emergency services need access.

    There are no surveys on passenger comfort in the DARTs, why the temperature is erradic depending on the driver and you can often get in to a DART with zero heating on when it's 1-2 degrees yet another day you find it's actually uncomfortable to sit on the seats as the heat is excessive and it's a day where no heating is required, again no want from Irish Rail to hear any actual feedback from it's users as to how comfortable their journey is. Could they not issue basic guidelines to drivers, on a very cold morning heating 100%, cold morning heating 50%, fine morning no heating.

    The facilities for the blind on the DART are attrotious, atleast 50% of the DARTs either have non working or even worse incorrectly working audible announcements for stations, they should just disable both the audio and the information displays on the trains if they can't get the fleet up to a 90% plus working level and tell the deaf, blind and any visiting tourists to take alternative transport.

    Don't even get me started on the 4 carriage rush hour death spec DARTs yet they can manage 8 carriage ghost DARTs at lunchtime :mad:

    Its not a Dart survey, its a Station of the year award. You can either ignore it or you can vote for a station of your choice giving marks out of 5 for the options given. You can pick any station you wish even if you have never used that station and then get entered in the draw for a stay in one of the hotels listed.
    Have you e-mailed Irish Rail with your concerns? Have you filled out a feedback form?


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    #8
    Cookie_Monster
    Registered Users Posts: 24,469 ✭✭✭✭Cookie_Monster


    Lapin wrote: »
    Its proving popular too. :)

    maybe the AC but the trains are not. Lots of faults especially the doors. Means the trains frequently get delayed and taken out of service, manufacturers testing is not up to standard either so issues only being found in service.


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    #9
    markpb
    Registered Users Posts: 9,250 ✭✭✭markpb


    I always thought the reason for the station surveys was to reward station staff for doing a good job rather than for any actual customer feedback. The station staff, like the customers, have no control over the actual train service or the state of the trains which is why that survey doesn't mention those things.


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    #10
    foggy_lad
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,373 ✭✭✭✭foggy_lad


    Irish rail getting a bit of reaction on twitter to their Dart competition today
    get bigger trains fú3k your competitions
    https://twitter.com/rdoyle88/status/295995455102394368


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    #11
    mickydoomsux
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 4,290 ✭✭✭mickydoomsux


    foggy_lad wrote: »
    Irish rail getting a bit of reaction on twitter to their Dart competition today
    https://twitter.com/rdoyle88/status/295995455102394368

    One guy that's probably you?

    What a reaction!


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    #12
    foggy_lad
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,373 ✭✭✭✭foggy_lad


    mickydoomsux wrote: »
    One guy that's probably you?

    What a reaction!
    Just one of many complaints on twitter about late trains, short peak-time trains, no station announcements, no train information displayed, long delays due to signal and LC faults and several other issues. there were several long delays recently due to fallen trees but surely Irish rail can make sure trees are cut back from the lines?


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    #13
    mickydoomsux
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 4,290 ✭✭✭mickydoomsux


    But I thought you were posting that link to show the amount of negative reaction that the DART survey was getting.

    Now you are just dragging up your usual laundry list of gripes and once again dragging a thread off topic to have a good whinge about IE.


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    #14
    schemingbohemia
    Registered Users Posts: 5,606 ✭✭✭schemingbohemia


    Where were the boxes in Tara Street to drop off the completed surveys? I couldn't see them.

    Also, I'd have rather voted for Killiney (nicely kept plus has a lovely little cafe) but the way the survey is written it states -your station - which, for me, is Dalkey.


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    #15
    Hilly Bill
    Registered Users Posts: 6,039 ✭✭✭Hilly Bill


    you can vote for any station you want, it doesnt have to be your local one.


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