(25 Jul 2016, 7:20 pm)LeeCalder When I first moved back up here from Staffordshire, Go North East were probably the best company in the UK. Everything was smart, if a bus had a missing vinyl, it would be replaced at the earliest opportunity, all of the branded buses had internal branding, there was a really smart corporate livery, and the management communicated properly with passengers, usual through the medium of Open Line, which I though was a fantastic idea. A lot of things aren't like that now though, which is my main gripe. Because, there is so much potential in the company, and I don't for one moment lay the blame on the directors and management of Go North East, I blame it on the Go Ahead Group. Look at Brighton & Hove, Headlingham and Chambers. They aren't getting the funding they used to, which is a shame.

Again, when I first moved back up here, Arriva were f*cking terrible. But, especially last year, they flourished with Sapphire and MAX. However, I do believe that they have started to stagnate.

(25 Jul 2016, 7:29 pm)Michael Arriva have overused the MAX and Sapphire brand now, they need something new although, don't get me wrong i really like the Sapphire brand.

I really liked Open line, shame they don't do it now, i have to say i would like to see internal branding again.

(25 Jul 2016, 7:20 pm)LeeCalder When I first moved back up here from Staffordshire, Go North East were probably the best company in the UK. Everything was smart, if a bus had a missing vinyl, it would be replaced at the earliest opportunity, all of the branded buses had internal branding, there was a really smart corporate livery, and the management communicated properly with passengers, usual through the medium of Open Line, which I though was a fantastic idea. A lot of things aren't like that now though, which is my main gripe. Because, there is so much potential in the company, and I don't for one moment lay the blame on the directors and management of Go North East, I blame it on the Go Ahead Group. Look at Brighton & Hove, Headlingham and Chambers. They aren't getting the funding they used to, which is a shame.

Again, when I first moved back up here, Arriva were f*cking terrible. But, especially last year, they flourished with Sapphire and MAX. However, I do believe that they have started to stagnate.

(25 Jul 2016, 7:29 pm)Michael Arriva have overused the MAX and Sapphire brand now, they need something new although, don't get me wrong i really like the Sapphire brand.

I really liked Open line, shame they don't do it now, i have to say i would like to see internal branding again.

(25 Jul 2016, 7:45 pm)Adrian Perceptions are everything. 

Mind I disagree that missing vinyl was replaced quickly by Go North East in the past. It's been a problem since branding was ramped up, and I don't think it'll ever go away. It's not unique to Go North East mind, as Belmont have had plenty Sapphires running round with missing vinyl this year. The more branded buses the bigger the task, which is a major downside of branding.

I think that communication is poor right across the North East. I don't think that any of the operators engage with their customers as much as they should, and the Executives & Local Authorities are just as bad. It's conveniently forgotten that customer engagement is a two-way process, and it should form part of continuous service improvement. 

I used to really like the idea of Open Line and also the Nexus forums, as that allowed for that level of engagement, to a degree. People being able to ask questions directly to senior managers and directors, bypassing the mundane rigid processes of customer services, makes them feel valued. Both GNE and Nexus were ahead of the game here, and with the twitter boom, many more are taking this stance nowadays. VTEC have David Horne regularly contributing with customers, Andrew Wickham from Go South Coast makes good use of twitter, and Alex Hornby of Transdev does the same. I'd hope that everyone up here will get into 2016 as far as customer engagement goes, rather than hiding behind their customer service teams.

I liked what Transdev did one day last week. They were dishing out ice lollies to customers on the hottest day of the year so far, and it was all over twitter. It'll have cost them next to nothing to do, yet it's engagement, as everybody is talking about it. It's the simple things sometimes. https://twitter.com/alextransdev/status/755402473532223488

(25 Jul 2016, 5:58 pm)Adrian What I'm saying is that I wish enthusiasts would actually engage and debate issues, rather than making cheap off the cuff remarks for a few likes, spitting their dummy out when someone disagrees, and not being able to back their opinion up.

(25 Jul 2016, 6:41 pm)LeeCalder The Brighton comments yesterday, which involved a few people were jokey, and were blown out of proportion by someone who didn't quite understand the joke between the group of friends, (One of which works for Go North East....) which is why the comments were being liked.

It's an on-running joke, which to the public eye isn't funny, which is what the problem was yesterday.

The discussion only became serious when someone who wasn't involved, got involved.

(25 Jul 2016, 7:56 pm)LeeCalder Some of the Sapphire's are in a right state, and some have needed new vinyls for a while now.

I remember a when I got on the (Villager) V1 a few years ago, probably 2014, and I was given the choice of a Frosties or Weetabix breakfast, in a 'take away' style pot which I thought was excellent.I think Alex Hornby is undoubtedly one of the best in the business on all aspects, but he is very clever in his communication. He is always talking to enthusiasts, because after all, word of mouth is the best form of communication, surely. And, if he get's enthusiasts on his side, then we all know that news travels fast!

(25 Jul 2016, 8:01 pm)Dan I've no idea who or what you are referring to, but what I will say based on other posts I've seen in the past is that these 'jokes' are all made in the public domain on Social Media, though, Lee.

The disadvantage of this is that comments can quite easily be misconstrued as there's no sense of tone, especially when the persons involved are renowned for making critical comments about certain people or companies.

(25 Jul 2016, 8:14 pm)Adrian Aye, he is. I don't think he's the best businessman around, but he's very clever about the way he draws in his customers. Giving you a pot of cereal on a bus wouldn't have cost them a penny in the grand scheme of things, as I'd be surprised if Kellogs or whoever didn't give them to distribute for free. It's a win win for both businesses, but comes across as going the extra mile for the customer.

(25 Jul 2016, 7:29 pm)Michael Arriva have overused the MAX and Sapphire brand now, they need something new although, don't get me wrong i really like the Sapphire brand.

I really liked Open line, shame they don't do it now, i have to say i would like to see internal branding again.

(02 Aug 2016, 8:57 pm)MrFozz Put a pic on facebook last night and The future Mrs F said she could see the outline of a head on my brow...

I cant see it myself though



Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

(09 Aug 2016, 6:29 pm)GMitchelhill A driver pulling down his sun visor to hide his face on a 20 today. It's really a bit pointless of them doing that when they see me, considering my camera can take photos of buses up to half a mile away.