Poor food offering on MML

[Max]

Does anybody here travel regularly on MML, and if so, how well stocked do you find the buffet to be? I ask this because the levels of stock on the 17:40 service off London St Pancras yesterday were absolutely appalling.

I had 2 vouchers for 75p off hot meal deals, and was looking forward to one of the freshly prepared baguettes as I wasn't going to be home until 22:00 at least! I went to purchase my friend and I some food after about 15 minutes of the journey, and the buffet had already completely sold out of hot sandwiches - we had barely passed Elstree and Borehamwood! Meanwhile there were barely any cold sandwiches left, perhaps 5 in total on the whole train, and there was a large queue.

Why is it that when MML knew the train was going to be full (GNER were running no trains out of KX due to engineering works), that they didn't but a healthy supply of food on-board. The 17:40 is a peak time service anyway, so demand is obviously going to be high as it is, without the influx of all these extra passengers. All sandwiches were sold out well before we got to Leicester. What a farce, they shouldn't adverstise these offers if they can't provide them!

 

[Daniel]

The problem is, unlike Virgin, MML can't "top-up" stock at calling stations... we had to wait until Sheffield or St Pancras, (or Nottingham). We had to phone RailGourmet and tell them what we needed - and we could only order 6 of each type of sandwich - and even then they brought us the wrong stuff.
With hot baguettes they don't really have an excuse, because on train staff cook that! That's why you'll normally see bacon rashers in a white cardboard case in the fridge on its own, because we cooked the baguettes and left them in the oven until someone wanted one, then put the bacon in and heated it up.
And BTW, just because GNER were sending people to MML doesn't mean they should get more food... i'd rather have less food stored properly than alot of food stored un-hygenically.

Oh, and one final thing... I actually went down to St. Pancras for a while yesterday, and RailGourmet was closed! So they couldn't re-stock trains there... That's probably why your train ran out at Borehamwood, they were running with food from Sheffield/Nottingham minus what was bought on the way down.

If it's any concellation to you, FC passengers don't get any food advantages over STD.... they only get bisciuts

 

[yorkie]

Does anybody here travel regularly on MML, and if so, how well stocked do you find the buffet to be? I ask this because the levels of stock on the 17:40 service off London St Pancras yesterday were absolutely appalling.

I've given up on them, at least north of Derby/Leicester. Not travelled much recently though.

Why is it that when MML knew the train was going to be full (GNER were running no trains out of KX due to engineering works), that they didn't but a healthy supply of food on-board. The 17:40 is a peak time service anyway, so demand is obviously going to be high as it is, without the influx of all these extra passengers.

I suspect the person who orders the food had no idea what was happening, not that it is any excuse.

The problem is, unlike Virgin, MML can't "top-up" stock at calling stations... we had to wait until Sheffield or St Pancras, (or Nottingham). We had to phone RailGourmet and tell them what we needed - and we could only order 6 of each type of sandwich - and even then they brought us the wrong stuff.

OK, but the passengers are not interested in railway internal affairs, at the end of the day it's MML's responsibility. If they use a company that is substandard it's down to MML to sort them out or go for another supplier.

And BTW, just because GNER were sending people to MML doesn't mean they should get more food... i'd rather have less food stored properly than alot of food stored un-hygenically.

GNER sending people to MML? Err, nope.

And if you are expecting more passengers you SHOULD plan for them. Anyone with half a brain could see that MML was going to be extremely busy that day.

And no-one is suggesting they store food "un-hygenically".

Oh, and one final thing... I actually went down to St. Pancras for a while yesterday, and RailGourmet was closed! So they couldn't re-stock trains there... That's probably why your train ran out at Borehamwood, they were running with food from Sheffield/Nottingham minus what was bought on the way down.

Again, passengers are not interested in these sort of excuses. "blame our contractors" err... no, you chose them.

 

[Tom]

RailGourmet have pretty much a monopoly in the railway catering market, so to be absolutely honest, I don't think they would care about having a centre closed for X time on X day. Only if MML threatened to sack them would they care about it.

In other news, SWT trolleys were packed full of stuff... I think I must have half emptied the food on one of them...

 

[Daniel]

I suspect the person who orders the food had no idea what was happening, not that it is any excuse.

Whether or not they knew, they would not have been able to order any more food then usual.

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GNER sending people to MML? Err, nope.

By that I meant:

(GNER were running no trains out of KX due to engineering works)

I may have worded it incorrectly, but none the less people who usually travelled with GNER were travelling with MML unless they wanted to get the slow service up to P'borough.

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And no-one is suggesting they store food "un-hygenically".

Yes someone did! Me!

As I was saying, we can't order extra food because there isn't room to put it! You may see space in the fridge, but MML can't overfill it, (pile things up), and it would be un-hygenic to have it left out of the fridge on the worktop!

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Again, passengers are not interested in these sort of excuses.

Well then, that's up to them, but MML expect a passenger to have a ticket, that's not to say we don't expect people to come up with excuses.

 

[Max]

Are there not as many fridges on MML buffet cars as on GNER ones? GNER seem to have huge stocks of food, there must have been at least 10 bacon sandwiches on the Hull Executive yesterday morning, plus all the other types of sandwich! Regarding the limits on food, I suppose that's what you get for using a big company like Rail-Gourmet. If food was sourced from smaller companies like on GNER you would be able to order as much as you want. The fact that Rail-Gourmet was closed at St Pancras really meant that MML was stuffed!

Question though, why can't Rail-Gourmet have a local supply depot at Leicester? Surely this would make perfect sense and allow for stocking en-route, because if you can only stock your London-Leeds train at the start of the journey, it's clearly going to run out of food very quickly!

 

[Daniel]

There's only one fridge in MML buffet cars; not sure about GNER.

On GNER, isn't the food also from Rail-Gourmet?

There was a request by MML put in a while back asking for somewhere en-route to re-stock, but they can't really do much about it because it's not in the contract they signed - they can't make demands to Rail-Gourmet to run a service other than at St. Pancras, Sheffield or Nottingham.

The London-Leeds get's re-stocked at Sheffield!

 

[yorkie]

Hi Basil ,

Whether or not they knew, they would not have been able to order any more food then usual.

What is the 'usual'? Surely trains are not all allocated the same 'usual' amount of food? it would make sense to vary it based on demand. Or are MML not capable of this? It is just common sense that the 17:40 on a day the ECML is closed should have far more food on board than, say, the 22:00 or whatever.

By that I meant:



I may have worded it incorrectly, but none the less people who usually travelled with GNER were travelling with MML unless they wanted to get the slow service up to P'borough.

You mean people chose to travel MML rather than GNER (including coach/FCC)? That's more like it.

Ironically, to my knowledge there is only one industry where it's employees do not like to attract customers from one provider to another, and that's the railways.

It could easily be forseen that more people than normal would choose to travel MML, therefore it would make sense for MML to plan for that and perhaps - just maybe - give them a level of service that might make them go away with a good impression of MML?

Yes someone did! Me!

As I was saying, we can't order extra food because there isn't room to put it! You may see space in the fridge, but MML can't overfill it, (pile things up), and it would be un-hygenic to have it left out of the fridge on the worktop!

But not all food items need to be stored in the fridge, and are you sure it was full? I find it hard to believe it could have been full if it sold out within 15 minutes.

Well then, that's up to them, but MML expect a passenger to have a ticket, that's not to say we don't expect people to come up with excuses.

Perhaps their 'excuses' are valid? Frankly, it's ridiculous to twist it to have a go at passengers. I've heard MML get up to all sorts of tricks regarding ticketing, it has been mentioned elsewhere that some MML staff ignore the routeing guide and there have been horror stories of MML chinging people from unstaffed stations. But this is going way off-topic.

Anyway, keep the excuses coming, I hear you're out of waldorfs

 

[Daniel]

Firstly, what are "waldorfs?" And "Basil"? Wth?

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Regarding the amounts of food, they simply top-up the fridge to what it should have in it. They can't order any extra, they have to have a set amount of food in it.

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All baguettes, burgers etc need to be in the fridge.

As I had previously mentioned, Rail-Gourmet at St. Pancras was closed, so it would have been running with stock from Sheffield, - whatever was taken on the way down.

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One example from the 08:00 to Nottingham.

The 08:00 is a stopper service, and calls at Luton Airport Parkway vice the Town.

Two teenagers buy a single ticket at St. Pancras to Luton Town. They are sold it and let on the train by the barrier staff, the staff assuming they were going to change for FCC services.

But no! They decided to come to Nottingham with us!

And yes, we didn't "ching" them.

And yorkie, spend a day on the barriers or in the ticket office before tou say MML staff are strict on tickets. So many people with restrictive tickets miss their train, and we turn their cheap restrictive ticket essentially into an open ticket. No questions asked to be honest, MML just let them on the next train. I serverly doubt any other TOC would do that.

 

[Jim]

Firstly, what are "waldorfs?" And "Basil"? Wth?

.

Have you never watched proper comedy before!

 

[Daniel]

Not really.

 

[Galvanize]

Last July, on the way back from ELR, i got the 12:09 HST off Sheffield, to london. No buffet available due to the catering staff being stuck on the other side of overrunning engineering works . OK, fair enough that no food was available at all, but there were no drinks available! And it was a hot day too

This reminds me of a story my parents told me, of an ordeal on one of National Express's "exceutive" services from Sheffield to London in the late 1980s. The Hostess puts on a film, 10 minutes into the film the coach gets pulled over by the police This was because the coach was on the motorway (M1) and it wasn't allowed to show a moving image inside it as that would distract other motorists. Everyone bar one passenger draw the curtains shut, that one passenger wanted to look out the window (but it was dark so nowt to see out the window ).

Then the Hostess decided to take orders for hot drinks, so she was halfway up the coach when someone sitting near the cupboard with drinks and taps for water said "there's no hot water." so she takes orders for soft drinks, then that same genius said "if there's no hot water for tea/coffee, and your doing orders for squash, then there's no water to dilute it!"

Result...Hostess bursts into tears...

Nobody would've had a bad catering experience until they would've experienced that journey on the coach!

(sorry for going off-topic, but as it was on poor catering i found it funny to put the story in )

 

[class 313]

Hmmm. If the food stock area at St Pancras is closed then extra *non* fridge food could be packed in and *fridge* items sent down in a lorry... MML and GNER both have the same amount of food space, just seems like your train was pretty much empty due to the amount of extra people. But MML cant really hold more food because there wouldn't be room for it... Then again, I just bring food with me rather than buying it on the day.

 

[Kris]

Think yourself lucky you can have one cold sandwich. I can't eat : -

Bread
Cakes
Biscuits
Pizza
Pasta
Cereals
Most Soups
Most sauces
Most Sweets
Most ready meals
etc etc

Gluten allergy

 

[Max]

I can't comment on MML's 'chinging' policy because I didn't get a single check on my whole journey, nor did I get a barrier check at St Pancras (following this, I didn't get one on the Doncaster-Hull train, so I could easily have travelled the whole lot for free ).

To be fair, from what I hear, GNER are awful for excessing people on ad purchase tickets when they miss their train. For example, my mum's friend was booked on the 1800 to Doncaster. She arrived at the station very early, and the 1803 train was announced for Peterborough, Grantham and Doncaster. Accidentally thinking this was her train, she went to the platform, and asking the attendant whether this was the Doncaster train, he replied 'yes!' and so she boarded. However, when the guard came he grumpily said 'you're not booked on this train, you should have caught the one 3 minutes earlier!'. And then, despite the train being fairly quiet (presumably the 1800 was much busier!) she was charged the full open fare! Frankly for 3 minutes difference its rather pathetic.

 

[Tom B]

Anyway, keep the excuses coming, I hear you're out of waldorfs

Unfortunately with contracting and the like that's what ANY company will do - blame it on the contractors, sorry, you'll have to complain to them. No, say the contractors, it's so-and-so's fault... so you never actually get anywhere.

 

[Kris]

It is a constant problem. They do really need to bring it back 'in-house'.

I don't remember any shortage of buffets or food under BR but then the stewards were in it for themselves - extra couple of pounds of bacon and a couple of loaves sneaked on board.

OK - technically it was defrauding the company but the punters were well fed and happy.

 

[Daniel]

Just thought I might add, as i've been told some people are wondering why items which didn't need to be in the fridge weren't stocked up at St. Pancras.

The reason is that Rail-Gourmet was ***closed***. This doesn't mean they wouldn't give us food, it means they were shut, doors locked, no-one there, lights switched off and all that... so we couldn't get anything.

Oh, and the only other places to get food from would have been Sheffield or Nottingham, so it would have been rather impossible to send food down in a van, lorry, car or whatever, because it would never get there in time!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

It is a constant problem. They do really need to bring it back 'in-house'.

It's happening with MML!

From TODAY HST maintenance employees, ("MainTrain") are under Midland Mainline .

 

[devon_metro]

It might be that GNER buffets are buffet cars with kitchen facitilie (can't remember the code) and MML have bog standard buffets without the kitchen space, and presumably less space.

 

[Max]

I'm sure they have at least 3 little fridges on GNER - the one beneath the counter, and two silver ones behind the counter. Also, there will be further storage in the kitchen as they cook fresh food on the train during the week.

 

[class 313]

I'm sure they have at least 3 little fridges on GNER - the one beneath the counter, and two silver ones behind the counter. Also, there will be further storage in the kitchen as they cook fresh food on the train during the week.

Well, its not like MML have to deal with the ECML being shut every day, so don't let this experience turn you away from my beloved mainline

 

[Max]

The ECML seems to be closed pretty much every weekend for the next few weeks so MML are going to have to deal with the situation a little better in the future! To be honest, I wouldn't normally choose to travel by such a slow route, unless it was considerably cheaper.

 

[theblackwatch]

There's a motto to this...take your own sandwiches, or buy before you board! Both KX and St Pancreas do excellent pasties, ones which you know you've had something to eat afterwards, unlike many of the in-town bakeries where you have a pasty and could go straight for another after!

 

[Donny Dave]

I've found things to be the other way round, MML has always got a well stocked buffet when I use them, but GNER don't have much available (apart from tea and coffee), and what the do have, sells out very quickly....

 

[Max]

I've found things to be the other way round, MML has always got a well stocked buffet when I use them, but GNER don't have much available (apart from tea and coffee), and what the do have, sells out very quickly....

The coffee machine on GNER has actually been broken around 8 out of the last 10 or so times I've travelled with them, and I'm not joking! Was broken yesterday too, so much for great tasting new Costa Coffee onboard :roll:

 

[Nick W]

Yesterday they overpacked the train I was on, so they sold hot food at a cheaper price. I got a cheeseburger for about half price.

 

[paul1609]

It is a constant problem. They do really need to bring it back 'in-house'.

I don't remember any shortage of buffets or food under BR but then the stewards were in it for themselves - extra couple of pounds of bacon and a couple of loaves sneaked on board.

OK - technically it was defrauding the company but the punters were well fed and happy.

Bloody hell Kris you really are suffering from BR memory difficency.
Catering was dismal under BR. There were virtually no trolley services.
Very Few trains had buffet cars at the end. On the West of England line very often the advertised buffet was closed and then of course there were the Railway Sandwiches a national joke even to this day.

No doubt it was different in the BR Eutopia of Bournemouth but I was under the impression that the only buffet cars were on the REPs so catering on 1 tph nothing beyond Bournemouth?

 

[yorkie]

Yesterday they overpacked the train I was on, so they sold hot food at a cheaper price. I got a cheeseburger for about half price.

Last MML train I got they had loads of stuff to give away, so cheeseburgers were half price! I would have got one, but I thought there would be no chance of them having food (after recent bad experiences) so I'd already eaten chips! Oh well.

Here's the high-tech solution for the future : http://youtube.com/watch?v=RZslRQvv5zM

 

[class 313]

The ECML seems to be closed pretty much every weekend for the next few weeks so MML are going to have to deal with the situation a little better in the future! To be honest, I wouldn't normally choose to travel by such a slow route, unless it was considerably cheaper.

MML gets very cheap when getting adv tickets.

Slow!?

 

[Tom]

Slow, yes.

St Pancras - Hull I'd assume would be very slow... :roll: