Virgin, no window

[delt1c]

Just booked a 1st class return journey to Liverpool using Virgin from London, preferences given was window, facing ,airline. Seat allocated was coach H seat 02 both directions, seat 02 in this coach having limited / no window and for return being back to travel. I have contacted Virgin as this has happened several times recently booking on line yet on the day many seats meeting the criteria have been un reserved on the train. Yes I have changed seats on the train without a problem, but why are Virgin ignoring preferences when booking? I have just had a long on line chatg with a Virgin customer service rep who confimed that plenty of seats meeting my request are available (05.27am from Euston) but being a jobsworth and staing it is only"prefernces". I appreciate that in 1st class at this time I can change seats but what about booking a standard class ticket on some of the busier services. Also initially the rep argued that a solid coach wall was a window and that the same seat could be facing in both direction.

 

[chris89]

They are still classifed as window seats though, even if you have limited/ no view.

When you book tickets online you can check the seating plain here: http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/assets/pdf/global/seating-plan.pdf

If you don't get the seat you want go back and search again. I do that quite a bit when on B'ham - Scottish trains in standard class.

Chris

 

[me123]

What he said. The booking systems don't really differentiate between the quality of the view; all they can tell you is if it's beside the aisle or beside the wall of the train (which would normally have a window). I always check on there when reserving a seat on a train. First Class is generally OK compared with Standard Class, and you were just unlucky enough to get one of two FC seats on the whole train with limited or no view. In the future, just avoid H2 and H8.

One could easily argue to be fair, that that's a fanstastic seat for someone who wants to sit down and work all the way. Nothing to distract you whatsoever. Of course, for someone wanting a view (as I suppose most people, including myself, would), it's far from satisfactory.

 

[SS4]

They are still classifed as window seats though, even if you have limited/ no view.

When you book tickets online you can check the seating plain here: http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/assets/pdf/global/seating-plan.pdf

If you don't get the seat you want go back and search again. I do that quite a bit when on B'ham - Scottish trains in standard class.

Chris

How do you pick a seat when booking online? I only see the preferences menu (albeit on Birmingham to London)

 

[rail-britain]

How do you pick a seat when booking online? I only see the preferences menu (albeit on Birmingham to London)

Some websites show you the coach and seat number you have been allocated (before payment is made)
Simply go back one step, put the preferences back in, and a different seat should be allocated
However be aware after five attempts the cookie may block any further searches for 12 hours

 

[chris89]

Sorry should have written that better. You can't pick a seat of choice, But can keep cycling through the seats you get by going back a page then forward and checking the details about the journey your going to make according to the seating plain.

Generally your very lucky to get given a window seat without seeing a pillar etc.

 

[SS4]

Thank you very much, I'm off to try it out

 

[ralphchadkirk]

Virgin customer service rep who confimed that plenty of seats meeting my request are available (05.27am from Euston) but being a jobsworth and staing it is only"prefernces". I.

Not being a jobsworth at all. All you can do is state a preference, and they will try and fufill it.

 

[delt1c]

Not being a jobsworth at all. All you can do is state a preference, and they will try and fufill it.

So whilst your preferences are available , yet the business does not try to meet it, and a member of staff refuses to answer your question and avoids answering why you were asked preferences but ignored is this is aceptable, especially when the member of staff confirms that seats meeting your preferencerae available. Are you saying this is acceptable?

 

[ralphchadkirk]

They're preferences. The company is under no obligation to fufill them whether they are available or not. Not saying it's right, but it's how it is.

 

[delt1c]

They're preferences. The company is under no obligation to fufill them whether they are available or not. Not saying it's right, but it's how it is.

Then why does the company waste the customers time by asking them?

 

[ralphchadkirk]

Then why does the company waste the customers time by asking them?

To make the customer think they matter. It's quite a simple concept really.

 

[SS4]

Surely it would be classed as good customer service to offer reservations at all since some ToCs will just be a seat - the old coach *, seat *** which, although good for empty trains is anything but on full ones

 

[premier01]

Just booked a 1st class return journey to Liverpool using Virgin from London, preferences given was window, facing ,airline. Seat allocated was coach H seat 02 both directions, seat 02 in this coach having limited / no window and for return being back to travel. I have contacted Virgin as this has happened several times recently booking on line yet on the day many seats meeting the criteria have been un reserved on the train. Yes I have changed seats on the train without a problem, but why are Virgin ignoring preferences when booking? I have just had a long on line chatg with a Virgin customer service rep who confimed that plenty of seats meeting my request are available (05.27am from Euston) but being a jobsworth and staing it is only"prefernces". I appreciate that in 1st class at this time I can change seats but what about booking a standard class ticket on some of the busier services. Also initially the rep argued that a solid coach wall was a window and that the same seat could be facing in both direction.

It seems your experience of the online discussion wasn't great-although it is probably the case that a window seat is a window seat regardless of whether there is a window and it's only a preference it seems to negate the object of having online customer advisors if all they do is churn out the usual standard reply like the rules clearly state etc etc etc etc

 

[Greenback]

I booked a window seat on a Pendolino once that had no window. I'm sure the problem is that the computer system recognises that the seat is against the wall, and assumes there is a window there!

Can a seat be facing bothw ays? Yes, if the set has been turned, or if the train reverses en route!!!

 

[Crossover]

One thing, the OP says he is travelling FC, therefore aren't all seats alisgned with windows so there are none with a limited view?

Also, I guess there is potential on the return working that the set could be in reverse formation so the normally rear facing seat could end up being forward facing

EDIT: Greenback has beaten me to it on the reverse formation

 

[rail-britain]

Window and aisle seats go back pretty much to older traditional designed rolling stock, where a window did really mean a window
However, there are still people that prefer an aisle seat to a window seat

 

[route:oxford]

However, there are still people that prefer an aisle seat to a window seat

Definitely.

No chance of being trapped by a psycho or smelly.
Can keep an eye on luggage at end of carriage.
Quicker exit in an accident (more important on a plane).

 

[rail-britain]

One thing, the OP says he is travelling FC, therefore aren't all seats alisgned with windows so there are none with a limited view?

The OP refers to Coach H Seat 02, take a look at the seating plan (my personal comments on this seat are below)

The majority of pairs of seats around a table are aligned with a window
However, not all the single and pairs of seats in airline style are aligned with a window, and there are a few with no direct window view at all
Coach H Seat 02 (single seat on its own) is an extreme example
Coach H Seats 07 and 08 (which are around a table of four) have limited views
Coach G Seat 02 (single seat on its own) and 04 and 05 are limited views
Equally, in Coach K Seats 01 to 12 have poor views, although at weekends Seat 03 would be the best (if the kitchen door is either locked or does not continually swing open)

Furthermore, I have seen some people actively seek out Coach H Seat 02 (unreserved), setting up their laptop and working without distrations

 

[CosherB]

To make the customer think they matter. It's quite a simple concept really.

It would seem to have failed, then.

The customer is not a happy bunny and after his chat with the Virgin jobsworth doesn't think he matters at all to Virgin, and I can see why!

Virgin seem to excel at these Kafkaesque ways of doing things. On my return journey (1st) to London this week my pre-booked ticket stated 'only valid in the seat allocated' Why? As it happens, the TM over the intercom said (Once we had left crewe with no more stops to Euston) "please feel free to move seats if you want to as no more passengers will be boarding now so any reserved seats are available for use". This despite the over-seat indicators showing 'reserved' on almost every seat in 1st, though only some were more specific ('Reserved Wilmslow to Euston', or 'reserved Manchester Piccadilly to Euston' for example). I suspect those that just say 'reserved' are not in fact reserved at all.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

In the preferences in the ticket office machines, there is 'window' and 'window view' options.

'Window' is to indentify where the seat is (the other option is 'aisle')

'Window view' is for actually getting a window, but could be either a 'window' or an 'aisle' seat.

 

[shinkansen1966]

Will we ever have a booking system where you can actually choose your own seat ? And then have these details available on your mobile phone, so no need for a paper ticket.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

You can request a particular seat at a ticket office, but you'll have to know which one you want and if it's already taken you won't get it!

 

[phil35]

You can choose your seat on XC services if you book through the XC website.

 

[Zoe]

You can request a particular seat at a ticket office, but you'll have to know which one you want and if it's already taken you won't get it!

So the ticket office still have this ability then. I often used to ask for a specific seat back in the APTIS days but this was usually for use with a Super Saver. Are all the reservable seats now available for advance fares?

 

[O L Leigh]

One thing, the OP says he is travelling FC, therefore aren't all seats alisgned with windows so there are none with a limited view?

Nope. Some seats in first have an appalling view.

What made me chuckle was that the FC quiet coach is the one with the pan on the roof. Every time you go through a neutral section there is the unmistakeable (and quite intrusive) double bang as the breaker opens, even when travelling back to London with the pan down at that end. It was like there was a guy up there with a shotgun.

O L Leigh

 

[hairyhandedfool]

So the ticket office still have this ability then. I often used to ask for a specific seat back in the APTIS days but this was usually for use with a Super Saver. Are all the reservable seats now available for advance fares?

You can ask for a particular seat and the clerk can input it, but whether the system will allow it is another thing. I can't say I have been asked for specific seats that often, but more often than not it has given me the seat requested.

 

[Zoe]

You can ask for a particular seat and the clerk can input it, but whether the system will allow it is another thing. I can't say I have been asked for specific seats that often, but more often than not it has given me the seat requested.

So do you know if every reservable seat is available for advance fares or are some only reservable for Off Peak/Anytime fares?

 

[hairyhandedfool]

I have no idea how it actual works, but I have had people with advance tickets for one person, book seats next to or near them for another person with Off-peak tickets.

 

[rail-britain]

Are all the reservable seats now available for advance fares?

Yes, just take your seat preferences, ask if those seats are available and then make payment