Avanti West Coast - compliments

[andythebrave]

Bucking the trend I feel that it's time to expound on my experiences over the past couple of years.

August 2021
Euston to Glasgow (7 of us) 1st advance.
Booked when half the seats were blocked due to the great unmentionable.
Before travel I noticed that all seats became reservable and used Instagram messaging back and forth to get all 7 together. They understood everything; I know they should have but, generally, customer service people are a bit clueless.
The journey itself was first class (haha I know!) unrushed, polite, attentive, a clean train with working toilets (unlike some recent experiences on LNER) and punctual.

April 2022
Glasgow to Lancaster (4 of us) TPE 1st advance.
Needless to say we found out on the day that the TPE was cancelled, ticket acceptance was on the following AWC.
Unfortunately that would have meant missing our connection to Leeds and, once again, the Instagram message solution worked a treat; they understood and agreed immediately to permit travel on the 1133 instead and booked seats for us.
Once again on time, great service.

May 2023
Edinburgh to Euston (2 of us) 1st advance.
During our stay my wife started suffering with severe back pain.
I asked through Instagram, again, if we could alight at Milton Keynes (near-ish to home) to avoid extensive walking in London.
They said yes immediately.
I can't comment on the journey as we won't be starting it until just before 3.

To summarise, every interaction that my (sometimes extended) family has had with this company has been courteous, efficient and quick and I feel that it is necessary, on occasion, to put this sort of information into the public domain.

So, thank you AWC, from the drivers to the on train staff, back of house employees and anyone that I have missed out, for making our journeys stress free and enjoyable.

 

[zwk500]

I hope you've also reached out to Avanti directly to express this positive experience. It's fantastic for me to see that there are some things going well in the UK as I prepare to move back after my year abroad, thank you for sharing..

 

[andythebrave]

I hope you've also reached out to Avanti directly to express this positive experience. It's fantastic for me to see that there are some things going well in the UK as I prepare to move back after my year abroad, thank you for sharing..

I have indeed.

 

[Gaelan]

Thanks for posting this. The rail industry gets a lot of criticism here, and I’m not saying that’s never justified, but it’s good to have a reminder that, a lot of the time, the railway does a fantastic job. It’s worth highlighting.

 

[Big Jumby 74]

I concur with zwk500. As an old school ex railwayman, I don't as a rule do social media, this site being one exception (if it comes within that description?). I have only ever posted comments that I have hoped are of benefit, ie truthful details of matters to which I was personally involved or to which I have genuine knowledge, relating to posts/questions made by others. I have no issue with sharing with those who have a genuine interest, but all too often it is very apparent that 'some' posters do not want to hear the very real reasons why some decisions within the industry are made, and will never accept the truth. A number of threads to which I have responded have mysteriously suddenly died after my posts - which speaks volumes to me!

It is unfortunate in todays social media driven world that this very means of immediate communication has proved to be a boon for those who too often are only interested in complaining and winging, as opposed to trying to understand the bigger picture. I will watch this space.

 

[185143]

I've had multiple contacts with Avanti's social media team overnight following a delay on our Stena Line ferry over from Dublin. Short of holding the train for us, they couldn't have been more helpful.

 

[43066]

Bucking the trend I feel that it's time to expound on my experiences over the past couple of years.

August 2021
Euston to Glasgow (7 of us) 1st advance.
Booked when half the seats were blocked due to the great unmentionable.
Before travel I noticed that all seats became reservable and used Instagram messaging back and forth to get all 7 together. They understood everything; I know they should have but, generally, customer service people are a bit clueless.
The journey itself was first class (haha I know!) unrushed, polite, attentive, a clean train with working toilets (unlike some recent experiences on LNER) and punctual.

April 2022
Glasgow to Lancaster (4 of us) TPE 1st advance.
Needless to say we found out on the day that the TPE was cancelled, ticket acceptance was on the following AWC.
Unfortunately that would have meant missing our connection to Leeds and, once again, the Instagram message solution worked a treat; they understood and agreed immediately to permit travel on the 1133 instead and booked seats for us.
Once again on time, great service.

May 2023
Edinburgh to Euston (2 of us) 1st advance.
During our stay my wife started suffering with severe back pain.
I asked through Instagram, again, if we could alight at Milton Keynes (near-ish to home) to avoid extensive walking in London.
They said yes immediately.
I can't comment on the journey as we won't be starting it until just before 3.

To summarise, every interaction that my (sometimes extended) family has had with this company has been courteous, efficient and quick and I feel that it is necessary, on occasion, to put this sort of information into the public domain.

So, thank you AWC, from the drivers to the on train staff, back of house employees and anyone that I have missed out, for making our journeys stress free and enjoyable.

Excellent post.

I don’t use Avanti much but have found it excellent when I have done so (much like the bits of the railway that I do use regularly).

but all too often it is very apparent that 'some' posters do not want to hear the very real reasons why some decisions within the industry are made, and will never accept the truth. A number of threads to which I have responded have mysteriously suddenly died after my posts - which speaks volumes to me!

Absolutely - and naturally this thread won’t get many replies either.

Some posters clearly just enjoy complaining for the sake of it and have zero interest in doing anything other than moaning about how awful everything is. Of course it’s important to remember that enthusiasts as a demographic neither reflect nor speak for the travelling public!

 

[samulih]

Not go off topic I have noticed somewhat negative view on most things by enthusiasts, but that is life in most things. But does not matter to me, you do you, one can always skip things that seem irrelevant.

But nice to read compliments sometimes, I think most people in the industry try their best.

 

[DarloRich]

I have never had an issue with Avanti - i know the cool kids/Virgin fan boys hate them but the service they offer me had always been good and i find, despite IR issues, the service at MKC to be good whenever I have used it. I even like the refurbishment of the Pendolionos especially the provision of plugs at all seats!

Whenever I have had good staff interactions I have gone out of my way to let the company know either by social media or if more words required by email.

I don't understand how so many posters here seem to run into trouble with staff while out and about. It is beyond me!

 

[XAM2175]

I had a very good experience with Avanti at Crewe a few weeks back - I had a Northern advance from Crewe to Manchester Airport and a TransPennine advance from there to Glasgow. Northern cancelled the airport train, which would have delayed me by an hour and caused me to miss my connection, which was the last TP Glasgow service that day. I told the Avanti staff this and they happily put me on one of their trains to Piccadilly - no fuss, no dithering, no remonstrations about splitting tickets, just a straightforward "we can do that".

(it is possible that they were being pragmatic because they realised that my missing the last TP train north would leave Avanti on the hook for carrying me to Glasgow from either Preston or Carlisle anyway, but whatever their rationale it was hassle-free for me)

The train manager, who'd been contacted by the station staff I'd been spoken to, even made an announcement onboard after leaving Crewe to advise passengers intending to change at Wilmslow for the airport that they should instead continue to Piccadilly and get an airport train at platform 13.

 

[Gaelan]

I had a very good experience with Avanti at Crewe a few weeks back - I had a Northern advance from Crewe to Manchester Airport and a TransPennine advance from there to Glasgow. Northern cancelled the airport train, which would have delayed me by an hour and caused me to miss my connection, which was the last TP Glasgow service that day. I told the Avanti staff this and they happily put me on one of their trains to Piccadilly - no fuss, no dithering, no remonstrations about splitting tickets, just a straightforward "we can do that".

(it is possible that they were being pragmatic because they realised that my missing the last TP train north would leave Avanti on the hook for carrying me to Glasgow from either Preston or Carlisle anyway, but whatever their rationale it was hassle-free for me)

The train manager, who'd been contacted by the station staff I'd been spoken to, even made an announcement onboard after leaving Crewe to advise passengers intending to change at Wilmslow for the airport that they should instead continue to Piccadilly and get an airport train at platform 13.

My impression is that, far more often than not, on-train staff are incredibly pragmatic in the face of disruption.

 

[185143]

I've had multiple contacts with Avanti's social media team overnight following a delay on our Stena Line ferry over from Dublin. Short of holding the train for us, they couldn't have been more helpful.

This ended with me missing the Avanti train by 3 minutes. The social media team contacted the TM on the next one after I'd sent over proof of the ferry travel and the delay and told them to expect us, and confirmed it'd be OK. I doubt we weren't actually officially entitled to travel later as we didn't have SailRail tickets, just a Stena Line day trip offer and a 1st advance.

Excellent service. The TM on the train we ended up on couldn't have been more welcoming.

 

[Janis117]

I have had a good experience interacting and traveling with Avanti. There were no problems, so nothing needed to be resolved. Remember, people work everywhere, and even if there are minor shortcomings, be understanding

 

[railfan99]

While my experiences aren't as useful as you who live in the UK as you're likely to have more frequent interactions, in September 2022 I had zero problems.

On my first Eurailpass trip, the booking office on a Saturday morning was closed at Euston until 0930 hours due to 'lack of staff'.

My paper Eurailpass needed a station stamp and validation. I asked a station staff member at the ramp entrance whether I could board without a validated pass: he saw a staff member on the train who in turn contacted the head conductor/guard, a lady, who apparently said 'no problem'.

Upon arrival at Manchester four minutes late after an enjoyable gratis fruit salad and hot chocolate on board, I walked 20 metres to the booking office and after a 10 minute wait, had it correctly validated and stamped. It was my fault not asking the clek not to obscure the '1' on the pass denoting first class but I had no further issues in UK or Europe with this.

Avanti and staff, take a bow.