NXEC 1st Advance

[Lee_Again]

I have purchased four 1st advanced tickets to Edinburgh from Stevenage for the beginning of September. Despite the huge increase in price (£70 return last year, £140 this year) I was frustrated to see that our seats on the return journey were spread around a coach rather than together around a table. I went to Stevenage station to change them and was told that it would cost me a fee for each change. I wasn't looking to change the train time, just the seats.
Anyway, I was pretty p***** off with this and ultimately got them changed for free. My points are, firstly, why aren't the computers designed to sit people together (we are for the two trains on the way to Edinburgh) and secondly, what are the rules for charging for new seating requests. Afterall, it's not like I can select them before I purchase them (internet).
These are both simple things that National Express should get right. No wonder passengers generally dislike them.

 

[paul1609]

Presumably you had selected the mother in law option?

 

[philjo]

I find that by ticking different combinations of the seating preferences, you get different results.
I have never got a table in the quiet cach - if you select table & quiet coach, you always get seats for coach F. Ignore the table bit, you can always get coach B.

With 1st advance, I have very rarely sat in the seat allocated on my reservation, as it was usually in an odd place or next to someone else when there was a free seat further own the coach.

 

[Lee_Again]

Presumably you had selected the mother in law option?

LOL - I wouldn't mind betting that with all the various options (see philjo) this would be the only one that works.

 

[rail-britain]

Debatable one that
Seat Reservations are FREE with First Class tickets on NXEC (irrespective of First Class ticket type)
However, there is no mention of any additional charges for seat reservation amendments

I travelled on a few Sunday NXEC Edinburgh - Kings Cross / Kings Cross - Edinburgh and managed to find free seats in First Class without any problems, however getting a group of four together would be difficult

 

[tony_mac]

The Advance ticket terms and conditions on the National Rail webpage includes

Where applicable, you must travel in the Class and reserved seat(s) shown on the ticket(s).

Although the reserved seat(s) are not actually shown on the ticket(s), so I suppose it doesn't matter!

 

[Lee_Again]

Debatable one that
Seat Reservations are FREE with First Class tickets on NXEC (irrespective of First Class ticket type)
However, there is no mention of any additional charges for seat reservation amendments

I travelled on a few Sunday NXEC Edinburgh - Kings Cross / Kings Cross - Edinburgh and managed to find free seats in First Class without any problems, however getting a group of four together would be difficult

I've done it many times too and there are always free seats, and boarding at Edinburgh almost ensures a bay of 4; but that is not the point (and remember, for advance tickets you are supposed to sit in your allocated seat). Note in my original post that I said in the end we were given a bay of 4 which suggests that the computer should have found/offered them too. If NXEC (and to be fair, the rest) are to rely on computer decisions then those decisions should be as good as human. Apart from the annoying debate about costs, it took the clerk 2 minutes to sort out the problem. Interestingly, the transaction took nearer 10 minutes, and a small line appeared behind me, because I wasn't prepared to pay. What a waste of everyones time.

 

[janb]

Note in my original post that I said in the end we were given a bay of 4 which suggests that the computer should have found/offered them too. If NXEC (and to be fair, the rest) are to rely on computer decisions then those decisions should be as good as human. Apart from the annoying debate about costs, it took the clerk 2 minutes to sort out the problem. Interestingly, the transaction took nearer 10 minutes, and a small line appeared behind me, because I wasn't prepared to pay. What a waste of everyones time.

If you could permit to sound like one of my deeply anti-internet colleagues, perhaps if you bought your tickets from the station originally you'd keep the clerk in a job, and wouldn't have the original ballsup.

 

[philjo]

The Advance ticket terms and conditions on the National Rail webpage includes

Although the reserved seat(s) are not actually shown on the ticket(s), so I suppose it doesn't matter!

I usually find in standard class on NXEC that the seat I get is nearly always next to a pillar with no view whatsoever :-x, even if I have asked for a window seat (which in my opinion breaches trade descriptions...), so never sit there unless the train is full - it very rarely is. There some ways on the seating preferences to avoid this, such as asking for a table etc.

If booking for a pendolino journey, at least you have the option to tick "View" on the seating preferences which ensures you are next to a window.

In my opinion, selecting "window seat" should mean exactly that - i.e. not next to a pillar.

 

[Lee_Again]

If you could permit to sound like one of my deeply anti-internet colleagues, perhaps if you bought your tickets from the station originally you'd keep the clerk in a job, and wouldn't have the original ballsup.

I would agree 100% with that if it wasn't for the fact that many operators offer web only discounts (although not in this particular instance), there is often a queue, the web doesn't close and most annoyingly of all there is very little chance of parking at the station. These are all controllable factors by the company running the station yet they remain oblivious to them.

The web is a wonderful tool and should be used in conjunction with a booking office rather than looking to replace it. Until a user is able to select the exact seats they wish, rather like flying, there will always be a place for the clerks; and long may that be the case. The team at Stevenage, incidently, are first class, particulaly the NX office.