95% of passengers give Grand Central the thumbs up!

Figures released today by Passenger Focus reveal that 95% of Grand
Central passengers were satisfied, or very satisfied, with the
company’s services.
The results are contained in the independent passenger watchdog’s
/Autumn 2009 National Passenger Survey/, and rates Grand Central as
the country’s second top performing rail company based on overall
passenger satisfaction. They also a reveal a one percent improvement
in passenger satisfaction since the last Passenger Focus survey in
Spring 2009.
The Passenger Focus survey also shows how much passengers appreciate
the design of Grand Central’s trains; with 94% giving a positive
rating to the comfort of the seating area (up 2% on Spring 2009), and
95% satisfied with the amount of room provided for passengers (up 4%
from Spring 2009).
Grand Central Managing Director, Tom Clift, welcomed the results:
“We are delighted by this vote of confidence from our customers
and we would like to thank them for rating us so highly. The fact that
passengers consistently rate Open Access above Franchised operators
should send a clear message that Open Access has an important role to
play in rejuvenating and growing Britain’s railways! More
importantly I am particularly proud of Grand Central’s on-board
staff who received a satisfaction rating of 94% (a 2% improvement on
Spring 2009) – showing how a small and highly dedicated team can
deliver excellent customer service on the railway.”
“However, whilst delighted with the overall results we are not
complacent and recognise that there is further work to do. Compared to
the Spring survey our passengers marked us down on the way in which we
handle delays and the information that we provide at stations. Clearly
we need to look at this again and improve our performance.”
Grand Central is already working with industry partners and local
authorities to help improve the standard of information provided to
our passengers at those stations where it is currently inadequate.
Grand Central also confirmed that it was looking to introduce Local
Ambassadors at unmanned stations along its route to improve the
quality of passenger information as well as introduce improved staff
training on how to handle service disruption.
www.grandcentralrail.com