My maiden DART voyage

Hilly Bill

n97 mini wrote: »

I sure did see it. I think I have a photo of it on my phone. The half that was filled in was done so in handwritten misspellings! You obviously didn't see it yourself.

OTOH the main response was yer man by the ticket machines shouting in a Louth accent "No trains past Harmonstown"... unless I missed a more serious main response?

Post the pic So if you saw it then others would have seen it as well. Its strange how Foggy missed it .

The chap at the ticket machines would be the chap from the info desk that Foggy missed :0

Hilly Bill

Grandeeod wrote: »

Like many of your posts towards IE customer complaints, this one displays too much arrogance. While I accept you have mentioned improvements and change, the CIE entity and in particular, IE, suffers from an extremely poor public perception that is not unfair. You do seem to have a problem with that.

Erm? Nope.


Where is the arrogance?

Hilly Bill

MYOB wrote: »

What I meant is that you introduced that idea. Nobody is on about their targets. They're on about the reality that Irish Rail are pathetically poor in many many areas

I only said that Irish Rail should set their own high standards , whats wrong with that?
I havent disagreed that Irish Rail are poor in many areas.

Hilly Bill

foggy_lad wrote: »

I walked through Connolly on Friday evening at about 6pm after going up from the Luas stop and saw no signs at all apart from the overhead display which showed two dart trains still listed from when the disruption started as next to depart.

There were only 2 staff members there in the station and one of those looked like a manager and was not dealing with customers but was on his blackberry and walking away. The only other staff member was the ticket checker at the end of the ticket barriers allowing people through, he had a large screen behind him which seemed to have up to date information on trains.

There was nobody in the information kiosk, no ticket office staff and the ticket office was closed.

My first thought was Friday evening and the person whose job was to update the displays had gone home, then I just thought that the staff had gone home as if it was a normal Friday evening despite there being a massive backlog of passengers including many who were stuck on trains with no information from anyone.

Previous posts in this thread has proved most of this post wrong
I'll had that the ticket office closes at 7pm and you missed the chap at the ticket machines and how did you know the chap had a Blackberry?
Whats the normal Friday shifts Foggy? .

foggy_lad

Hilly Bill wrote: »

Post the pic So if you saw it then others would have seen it as well. Its strange how Foggy missed it .

The chap at the ticket machines would be the chap from the info desk that Foggy missed :0

No he wasn't! he walked off back to whetever office he came out of.

Hilly Bill wrote: »

Previous posts in this thread has proved most of this post wrong
I'll had that the ticket office closes at 7pm and you missed the chap at the ticket machines and how did you know the chap had a Blackberry?
Whats the normal Friday shifts Foggy? .

The ticket office was closed up and information booth empty at 6pm most likely because there were such problems and most people knew IE would make such a mess they just stayed away.

You were not there so don't dare tell me what I did or did not see!

Colonial

Padraig Mor wrote: »

An irregular visitor to Dublin, I usually stay very centrally. For a visit this weekend though, lack of availability due to the All Ireland pushed me out to a hotel in Ballsbridge. So, for the first time ever, I used the DART! My experience was as follows:

We planned to get the 16.25 from Connolly to Lansdowne Road (with the train continuing to Greystones). Having checked Irish Rail’s site for real time info, we arrived in good time at Connolly and got our tickets. The departures boards indicated that the 16.25 to Greystones would leave from Platform 6. Arrived to the platform at 16.22. The electronic sign at the (busy) platform listed the next train as leaving in approx. 35 minutes, destined for Bray. This was presumably the scheduled 16.56 service. No mention of the 16.25. A quick flip out of the trusty smartphone showed the 16.25 to Greystones still listed for Connolly. So we waited. And waited. Along with quite a large crowd of confused looking people. No announcements were made. 16.25 came and went. Out with the phone again – the 16.25 listing had now disappeared. The platform sign still just listed the 16.56 to Bray.

Enter “the uncertainty”: did I get this right – surely I can navigate a train station?; did the train leave early?; maybe I should go downstairs and find a staff member – but what if the train arrives while I’m gone? (we were under time pressure and waiting for the 16.56 would put our plans in disarray). Eventually, about 7/8 minutes late, a train approached – no announcements, no change in the platform signage. Getting closer, we could see all its destination boards read “Na Clocha Liatha”. Having a cupla focail, I knew that this was of course Greystones (and presumably our train). The signs remained in Irish though and didn’t cycle to English, meaning the vast majority of locals and tourists of course did not know where this train was headed (still no announcement or change to platform signs). As the doors opened, it was obvious quite a few people didn’t know whether to board or not. We stood near the doors. An American lady called in asking where the train was headed; we answered but I don’t think she heard us as she called in again to an Irish Rail staff member who happened to be walking through that section of the carriage. His response as the doors closed in her face? He laughed at her! I’m sure she’ll be singing the praises of Irish public transport to her countrymates…. At the next two stations, the platform signage again gave no mention of where this ‘ghost train’ was headed, although it was listed at Grand Canal Dock and Lansdowne Road (where we got off).

As I said, I hadn’t used the DART before. Is this level of unreliability, incompetence and downright ignorance normal?

Its a rip off at 120 euro a month just to work and back over a short journey and unless you watch your leap card VERY carefully you will get ripped off multiple times monthly with their unreliable machines. If you need to call them its an 1850 number which will end up costing more to call than what they overcharged you in the first place. They likely also get commission from the rates on such calls.

Hilly Bill

foggy_lad wrote: »

No he wasn't! he walked off back to whetever office he came out of.

The ticket office was closed up and information booth empty at 6pm most likely because there were such problems and most people knew IE would make such a mess they just stayed away.

You were not there so don't dare tell me what I did or did not see!

He was Foggy ,I'll give you his name and the time he went home as well if you want Foggy . If you didnt see him in the first place then how did you see him walk away ?

The ticket office was open till 7pm. Are you sure it wasnt after 7pm you arrived in Connolly seeing that your train from Carlow took 90 minutes . If the trains wasnt going past Harmonstown then how did you get to Malahide?????


You know yourself that you like to add a little extra to your posts Foggy.

How do you know that i wasnt there? .

Hilly Bill

Colonial wrote: »

Its a rip off at 120 euro a month just to work and back over a short journey and unless you watch your leap card VERY carefully you will get ripped off multiple times monthly with their unreliable machines. If you need to call them its an 1850 number which will end up costing more to call than what they overcharged you in the first place. They likely also get commission from the rates on such calls.

How is €4:28 a day a rip off? 1850 is a low call number. Who gets commission?
If you had problems tagging on or off , you just ring Leapcard and they will put any money back onto your card if its owed. Failing to use the card properly can lead to being charged more than whats needed.

cython

Hilly Bill wrote: »

I only said that Irish Rail should set their own high standards , whats wrong with that?
I havent disagreed that Irish Rail are poor in many areas.

Nothing, but until such a time as they do, and they publish same standards, the only reference the general public has for their performance is a comparison against similar operators in other countries, the nearest of which (and thus that people likely have most experience of) happens to be the UK. Nobody that I can see has stated the UK operators as a model to emulate, but simply as an example of someone who does it better.

However maybe I missed someone, just like you missed a post about how a UK operator disseminated information better than Irish Rail:

Hilly Bill wrote: »

Show me one post on here that proves a different Railway company handles the same incidents better . Im not saying that they do or dont but some believe that just because its the Uk it must be better without providing proof.

Here's one:

n97 mini wrote: »

...
Co-incidentally we were delayed arriving 12 minutes late into Connolly, usual craic with Maynooth trains seemingly receiving lowest traffic priority, but - rather surprisingly - the driver made an announcement after only 8 minutes into the delay. Semi-impressed I was, though my memory is still fresh of London where a delay of longer than 30 seconds and the driver is on the PA, so even at 8 minutes IE have a lot of room for improvement.

Or perhaps you just won't accept anecdotal evidence, and will only take the published data from a funded study or some such as proof, in which case I guess we'll (rather conveniently) never convince you, as I would prefer to see that funding go into actually improving the the train system for users rather than a benchmarking exercise. Not to mention that operators can much more easily measure punctuality than information dissemination mechanisms, thus they are more concerned with those figures.

Padraig Mor

Hilly Bill wrote: »

Where is the arrogance?

Pretty much every post you made last night. "The customer is always wrong".

Hilly Bill wrote: »

He was Foggy ,I'll give you his name and the time he went home as well if you want Foggy . .

If you know the staff comings and goings so intimately, perhaps you can identify the staff member who laughed at the doors closing in a tourist's face I described in my OP (which I notice you haven't commented upon). Can't be that hard to identify the person in question (and I think the incident really made his day). Looking at timetables it would seem to be the 16.00 Howth - Greystones. Presumably it wasn't the driver, so a ticket inspector I'd imagine? I'd be happy to append their name to the complaint I sent to IR and await your response.

L1011

Hilly Bill wrote: »

I only said that Irish Rail should set their own high standards , whats wrong with that?
I havent disagreed that Irish Rail are poor in many areas.

Because it's an attempt to avoid comparison

Hilly Bill

cython wrote: »

Nothing, but until such a time as they do, and they publish same standards, the only reference the general public has for their performance is a comparison against similar operators in other countries, the nearest of which (and thus that people likely have most experience of) happens to be the UK. Nobody that I can see has stated the UK operators as a model to emulate, but simply as an example of someone who does it better.

However maybe I missed someone, just like you missed a post about how a UK operator disseminated information better than Irish Rail:
Here's one:

Or perhaps you just won't accept anecdotal evidence, and will only take the published data from a funded study or some such as proof, in which case I guess we'll (rather conveniently) never convince you, as I would prefer to see that funding go into actually improving the the train system for users rather than a benchmarking exercise. Not to mention that operators can much more easily measure punctuality than information dissemination mechanisms, thus they are more concerned with those figures.

One driver in the UK making an announcement better than one driver here is hardly a good example of a different company doing any better. As for accepted studies etc, it seems the norm on here, a link to such studies is often asked for before they believe you.

Hilly Bill

Padraig Mor wrote: »

Pretty much every post you made last night. "The customer is always wrong".


If you know the staff comings and goings so intimately, perhaps you can identify the staff member who laughed at the doors closing in a tourist's face I described in my OP (which I notice you haven't commented upon). Can't be that hard to identify the person in question (and I think the incident really made his day). Looking at timetables it would seem to be the 16.00 Howth - Greystones. Presumably it wasn't the driver, so a ticket inspector I'd imagine? I'd be happy to append their name to the complaint I sent to IR and await your response.

Nowhere did i suggest that the customer is always wrong. Just send in your complaint and let them look into it.

I didnt comment on your OP as i didnt have a need to but if you want me to then i'll give me tuppance worth.

Firstly, i would be a bit annoyed myself if i saw someone spitefully laughing in someones face be they a fellow passenger or an employee .
Secondly, this person could be anyone seeing that they were walking through a carriage of the dart, Describe what he was wearing that made you say that he was an IR employee?What was said between the tourist and himself to make him laugh? Where was this tourist going? was it that train they wanted?

Hilly Bill

MYOB wrote: »

Because it's an attempt to avoid comparison

No its not. Come up with proper comparisons first.

Grandeeod

Hilly Bill wrote: »

Nowhere did i suggest that the customer is always wrong. Just send in your complaint and let them look into it.

I find your posts amusing and I suggest you read the thread again so you can fully realise how you come across. If you can't see how you suggested the customer is always wrong on both this thread and many others, then please start quoting yourself as evidence to the contrary. Despite your longevity here, you do seem to come across as a deliberate troll at times. This is unfortunate.

Hilly Bill

Grandeeod wrote: »

I find your posts amusing and I suggest you read the thread again so you can fully realise how you come across. If you can't see how you suggested the customer is always wrong on both this thread and many others, then please start quoting yourself as evidence to the contrary. Despite your longevity here, you do seem to come across as a deliberate troll at times. This is unfortunate.

Troll? Not sharing the same views as you now makes me a troll . Look up the meaning and come back to me .

Grandeeod

Hilly Bill wrote: »

Troll? Not sharing the same views as you now makes me a troll . Look up the meaning and come back to me .

More fun and games from you! Nothing to do with my views. You are entitled to your views, but Im saying that they are inciteful, unhelpful and arrogant. You know nothing about my views, because I havent actually expressed any particular views on this thread regarding the topic. I am merely calling you out on this thread. You are arrogant about a certain situation and have basically called a number of posters, liars despite what they say.

Hilly Bill

Grandeeod wrote: »

More fun and games from you! Nothing to do with my views. You are entitled to your views, but Im saying that they are inciteful, unhelpful and arrogant. You know nothing about my views, because I havent actually expressed any particular views on this thread regarding the topic. I am merely calling you out on this thread. You are arrogant about a certain situation and have basically called a number of posters, liars despite what they say.

Now you have it, you have a lot to say but nothing on the actual topic . I can see what you are trying to do across a few threads .

This is getting funnier

L1011

Hilly Bill wrote: »

No its not. Come up with proper comparisons first.

They ARE proper comparisons. You were asked why they weren't and went off on a tangent of nonsense about "high standards".

devnull

More fun and games at Connolly tonight with the blue screens next to each other showing departures each showing different versions of the timetable rather than the second one carrying on from the first like normal.

Lots of confusion once again with one of the monitors showing trains that did not exist on the timetable and none of the tones that did exist with the other screen being right.

Hilly Bill

MYOB wrote: »

They ARE proper comparisons. You were asked why they weren't and went off on a tangent of nonsense about "high standards".

No they are not. One driver making an announcement a bit quicker than another is hardly a benchmark now is it.

High standards is nonsense now is it?

Hilly Bill

devnull wrote: »

More fun and games at Connolly tonight with the blue screens next to each other showing departures each showing different versions of the timetable rather than the second one carrying on from the first like normal.

Lots of confusion once again with one of the monitors showing trains that did not exist on the timetable and none of the tones that did exist with the other screen being right.

Was that in general or just you? What different versions? expand a bit here.

n97 mini

Hilly Bill wrote: »

Post the pic So if you saw it then others would have seen it as well. Its strange how Foggy missed it .0

It's not really. That was my point: too small, poorly located, totally inadequate response from IE to the situation. In fact that sign is laughable.

n97 mini

Hilly Bill wrote: »

One driver in the UK making an announcement better than one driver here is hardly a good example of a different company doing any better.

All drivers in the UK make regular announcements. It's a rarity on IE, and my surprise here was not that it took 8 minutes to make an announcement, it was that it happened at all.

SpaceTime

A lot of continental systems must use TV screen displays that can display lots of info similar to what is used in airports.

These systems are usually off the shelf solutions.

devnull

Hilly Bill wrote: »

Was that in general or just you? What different versions? expand a bit here.

Quite a few people were asking station staff.

The second screen was showing completing different times to the first.

IE, screen 2 was showing a 21.08 to Malahide even though such train does not exist, since it's 21.24, and suchlike.

Hilly Bill

n97 mini wrote: »

All drivers in the UK make regular announcements. It's a rarity on IE, and my surprise here was not that it took 8 minutes to make an announcement, it was that it happened at all.

You are assuming that all drivers in the UK make reqular announcements. There is no argument that some drivers are a bit shy with announcements but there are those that are pretty on the ball with them. A driver can only announce the info when and what they are given.

Hilly Bill

devnull wrote: »

Quite a few people were asking station staff.

The second screen was showing completing different times to the first.

IE, screen 2 was showing a 21.08 to Malahide even though such train does not exist, since it's 21.24, and suchlike.

Which 2 screens? The main board and the blue departure screens? Was this with more than one train?

n97 mini

Hilly Bill wrote: »

You are assuming that all drivers in the UK make reqular announcements.

I travelled the UK extensively by rail this summer and from my experience this would be the case.

Hilly Bill wrote: »

A driver can only announce the info when and what they are given.

An IE driver will rarely announce that the train is held up by a red light, something he knows from the instant he sees it. This will get announced within 30 seconds of stopping in the the UK.

Hilly Bill

Announcements about delays?