Keep the customer satisfied?

I've been hesitating about writing this blog for fear of sounding like a grumpy old man. But sometimes customer service is so bad that you have stand up and say this is crap. Most Brits (myself included) who come to the NL are overwhelmingly impressed with the train system: its punctuality, service levels and simple costing structure all astound any Brit who travels on the UK’s archaic, disorganised and opportunistically priced train system. Tell them that anyone can buy a discount card which gives 40% off non-peak travel (for up to three people) and there is a free sms service to warn you of delays and they think that have they arrived in public transport utopia.

BUT if you want to travel internationally the story is very different. NS.NL's admirable bilingual website suddenly reverts to one language - Dutch - it provides a very limited range of destinations (I tried typing in Grenoble today - not the smallest city in France - and was told that is not a valid destination). Two weeks ago I wanted to book a ticket for Frankfurt. My Dutch is good enough to navigate the site in Dutch and Frankfurt is fortunately a valid destination. So I shelled out, got a computer code and receipt and happily assumed that my tickets would be winging their way in the post to me before I left. The day before I left no tickets had arrived so I looked again at the booking schedule and it said I had to collect my tickets - without specifying where from and when I asked a Dutch friend what that meant she had no idea . I try ringing the help line three times only to be told that all their call workers are busy and the queue is at least ten minutes. The only solution seems to be to go to my nearest international office (20 minutes drive away) to collect my tickets. As my train leaves 15 minutes after the office opens the next morning- I go to the office the evening before. When I get there there is a machine where you can type in your order code and collect your tickets. Unfortunately it has a big sticker on it saying defekt (do you need a translation?) There is just one international booking clerk on duty and a guy at the counter who spends 55 minutes buying a train ticket to god knows where. In the hour that I am waiting 14 new international customers arrive. 10 leave again. I cancel my appointment for a drink with a friend. After half an hour I want to go to the counter and ask the customer if he can arrange his transfer between Delhi and Shanghai locally. Eventually he leaves, having spent a grand total of 76 Euro. The clerk is happy to finish his shift - as he was getting some abuse from the waiting customers (not myself I hasten to add). I am patient and polite with his relief worker - but explained I had been waiting a long time. And she says that Thursday evenings are often busy as it is shopping evening. I suggest that maybe that could be a good reason for employing extra staff on that evening but receive a withering look for such an impudent suggestion. An hour and ten minutes after arriving there I finally collect my ticket and get home at about 10.45 with a 6.15 start the next day ahead of me and still to pack.

The moral(s) of the story? Is NS international really interested in selling train tickets or does it regard its operations as an unnecessary evil? They don't have an English language web site. They don't have enough staff manning their telephone lines and they don’t have enough staff in their stations. They don’t mail out tickets. They don’t explain (in English) how you can print out tickets at home and in this case their ticket machine was out of order. And their complaints line is always engaged (I wonder why?) When I buy a plane ticket I can do it at the push of a button and print it out at home. I prefer to travel by train; its more relaxing and comfortable and I feel an environmentally warm glow. But buying train tickets? If you’re going to make it so hard I’ll just drive or take the plane next time.

I hope someone forwards this blog to NSI or a Dutch consumer watchdog because I am tired of getting Soviet style service from this company who should be competing for my custom.