Make your own hot drinks (East Coast)

[AndrewNewens]

Does anyone else feel outraged by the latest customer service initiative from East Coast?

The buffet car now serves up a cup of hot water and you have to add your own teabag/coffee sachet as well as milk. Goodbye forever to the 'proper' coffee machines installed by GNER.

 

[yorkie]

Midland Mainline started this years ago, perhaps 2006? It's not a new concept, though it is new to the East Coast route.

I wouldn't pay the sort of prices they ask for a coffee unless it wasn't instant anyway. If it is instant, it really doesn't matter if you make it yourself IMO. I wouldn't buy it anyway, but if I did, it wouldn't bother me to add the sachets myself.

 

[Failed Unit]

I wish they had done that years ago when I really wanted the hot water fir warming up a babies milk bottle. It will be interesting if you just had an isolated incident or if this is normal now! I would like to say I miss the proper coffee machines, but the were rarely working anyway!

 

[SS4]

I think it's a good idea, everyone takes their tea differently so I can leave it to brew for strong tea. I'd be more concerned with not getting enough milk since those sachets are notoriously small.

 

[me123]

I agree that it works well for tea. I take mine very weak, so I'm always quite annoyed when I get a cup of hot tar placed in front of me. I often ask for a cup of hot water and a tea bag for that very reason. I'm sure people who like strong tea feel the same when they get a very weak cup (although their complaint is more easily remedied).

Although it works well for tea, surely there's not the same benefit for coffee?

 

[ainsworth74]

I think it's standard practice now as I had the same thing recently. To be honest I don't mind because as SS4 and me123 say it allows me to brew tea to my liking.

 

[flymo]

I always take tea and coffee without milk or sugar, I like a strong cuppa. Can't remember the last time I bought a cup of tea from the buffet though. Don't want to pay those prices. Even so it wouldn't really bother me too much either if they added the tea bag or not.

In times gone by when getting a tea or coffee from the buffet, or indeed anywhere, it always used to come with those small containers milk and sugar sachets galore, many staff almost seemed insulted when I gave them back.

 

[LE Greys]

It's standard for tea in France, even on street cafes, at least in my experience. Amtrak also do this. It can be annoying, because the water cools down on the way back to the seat, so the eventual tea is usually very weak. Still not as annoying as them giving you nearly a pint of tea when all you wanted was a small cup, though.

 

[YorkshireRider]

Does anyone else feel outraged by the latest customer service initiative from East Coast?

The buffet car now serves up a cup of hot water and you have to add your own teabag/coffee sachet as well as milk. Goodbye forever to the 'proper' coffee machines installed by GNER.

I put the coffee in but not the tea, as has been said, passengers like to make tea to their strength and the empty bag comes in useful to put the used tea bag in, im sorry if you feel outraged by this. The coffee is crap, starbucks do an instant which i believe XC sell so why we didnt go far that i have no idea. The coffee machines are not gone forever but as failed unit said they never worked, EC are sourcing new ones but the contract has to be right as far as length of guarentee goes and they have to more practical for on-board use. EC had lined up new, easier to clean machines from black and white but didnt like the terms of the contract as far as maintaing them went. I think its good they are taking there time to get the right deal so when they do come, they work, and if they break are fixed quickly by the manufactures so customers can rely on them all the time. In the meantime if you dont have time to nip to costa or starbucks dont bother.

 

[AlterEgo]

As a side note, Virgin will give you a cup of hot water should you take your own tea bag on board!

 

[TUC]

I think it speaks volumes about how too much of the rail industry doesn't get the softer side of customer service. It just aestheically feels very different to be presented with a ready made cup of coffee than a cup of water an a sachet. The latter just gives off a 'couldn't care less' attitude.

Its also striking that its now, just at the point where ever Tesco cafes and McDonalds offer a range of coffees, that rail starts to offer water and a sachet. Why don't they get it?

 

[AndrewNewens]

Thanks TUC member - you hit the nail on the head! That is exactly the point I was trying to make. (Are you really union hardcore as the name suggests? Bit scary to find support from such quarters.)

 

[TUC]

Thanks TUC member - you hit the nail on the head! That is exactly the point I was trying to make. (Are you really union hardcore as the name suggests? Bit scary to find support from such quarters.)

TUC stands for 'The Undiscovered Country' which I use on some other forums but it was too long for what the system here would allow!

 

[185]

Sensible. As a former steward of 7 years, it's amazing how many weird ways people have their tea & coffee. On my old train I could remember what everyone was drinking before I even got to them.

Went on Virmin last week and I was about to buy something from the shop and nearly passed out... serious BO problem with the bloke on the buffet

 

[Failed Unit]

As a side note, Virgin will give you a cup of hot water should you take your own tea bag on board!

I like that idea (not that I need to bother about bottles anymore) but also so you can have decaff tea as not many TOCs (any?) offer it? I tend to agree with others, first thing my husband does once I return to the seat is moan I didn't take the tea bag out. At least now I can say make it yourself!

As for the coffee - look forward to the new machines, the old ones were nice when they worked! But instant is vile (what a coffee snob I am)

 

[SS4]

I like that idea (not that I need to bother about bottles anymore) but also so you can have decaff tea as not many TOCs (any?) offer it? I tend to agree with others, first thing my husband does once I return to the seat is moan I didn't take the tea bag out. At least now I can say make it yourself!

As for the coffee - look forward to the new machines, the old ones were nice when they worked! But instant is vile (what a coffee snob I am)

If it's anything like tea from a vending machine I sympathise. It reminded me of an exchange on father ted:

Ted: This is a very milky cup of tea Mrs Doyle. Is there any tea in it at all?
Mrs Doyle: Well... No Father

I like the idea of hot water being offered since one can add one's own drinks. Ideally, there would be a kettle on board with which the cup is filled from but that is nonsense in a practical sense so this is the next best thing.

 

[Greenback]

I don't drink coffe, so can;t comment on that, but in quite a few cafe type places these days I find myself just given a cup with a teabag and a jug or pot of hot water. It does mean that you can make your drink as weak or as strong as you want. I don't suppose a pot of jug is practical on a train, as many would disappear!

 

[LE Greys]

TUC stands for 'The Undiscovered Country' which I use on some other forums but it was too long for what the system here would allow!

I see what you mean, both one of Shakespeare's best lines and one of my favourite films. There's a lot of confusion amongst acronyms, NASA launched the HST for instance.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Back on topic, is it some sort of health and safety issue? Pouring scalding water on a train must be hazardous, and this means that the steward does not have to fill the cup so far.

 

[Max]

As much as I hate instant coffee, this is probably a decent move by East Coast. The GNER era machines were shockingly unreliable so there's little point in them staying. Hopefully we shall see a return to nice coffee soon. Also, nice to see a switch to lovely Yorkshire tea!

 

[ATW Alex 101]

quite a good idea as some people like their hot drink different ways e.g how much milk or how strong the tea is coz machines or people do it one way and their way

 

[First ScotRail]

ScotRail do it on the Caledonian Sleeper berths as well, you just get hot water and make it yourself.

 

[philjo]

It is much easier to do it this way. There are 3 types of tea offered I think (Yorkshire Gold, Green & Peppermint) so doing it this way allows one set of cups to be carried on the trolley to be used for all types. The cups take up much more space than the tea bags.

Also, not everyone likes tea the same way. I like it very weak - the old PG tips ones were far too strong & undrinkable by the time you had walked from the buffet back to coach B & taken the tea bag out! It also allows you to serve a cup of hot water if people want it - previously the tea bags came in the cups so they couldn't serve just a cup of water.

FGW have done this for some time though maybe they do put the tea bag into the cup before handing it over but they are separate from the cups to start with.

 

[TUC]

The problem is, as has been pointed out above, for tea drinkers it seems a natural thing to do.F or coffee drinkers it just looks naff.

 

[Skimble19]

Does anyone else feel outraged by the latest customer service initiative from East Coast?

The buffet car now serves up a cup of hot water and you have to add your own teabag/coffee sachet as well as milk. Goodbye forever to the 'proper' coffee machines installed by GNER.

You feel outraged at having to make your own tea/coffee?! Blimey.. doesn't take much to wind you up! :roll: It's a very sensible idea - most people prefer their tea/coffee different to each other, so let them make it how they want it..

 

[12CSVT]

I wish they had done that years ago when I really wanted the hot water fir warming up a babies milk bottle. It will be interesting if you just had an isolated incident or if this is normal now! I would like to say I miss the proper coffee machines, but the were rarely working anyway!

Some TOCs will the same for a cup of hot water as they do for a cup of tea.

 

[LE Greys]

I'm beginning to wonder whether I should start carrying a little tin full of tea leaves and one of those strainer-container things, then just ask for a cup of hot water.

 

[tony_mac]

Being given hot water and tea bags is just wrong!

If you don't like it strong you can take the tea bag out quickly.
By the time you have been given the cup of hot water and tea bag it is already too cold (given that it isn't going into a pre-warmed pot).

Many of the active substances in black tea do not develop at temperatures lower than 90 °C (194 °F).

Ok, that's from Wikipedia, but I think the Royal Society of Chemistry is a decent reference....

Tea infusion needs to be performed at as high a temperature as is possible

 

[yorksrob]

Most railway providers get tea about right.

You need to have the bag in the cup when the water is poured but ideally this should be left in for the customer to squeeze - or not according to preference.

As for this coffee fad, I can't see it catching on

 

[route:oxford]

Isn't there some weird and wonderful legal obligation for commerical premises to supply boiling hot water on demand and without charge?

 

[SS4]

Isn't there some weird and wonderful legal obligation for commerical premises to supply boiling hot water on demand and without charge?

I don't think so. I think it is a legal obligation that places which serve food must serve tap water free of charge if requested.