Going off the rails – customer service on Britain’s trains

​In the last 12 months, just five train-operating companies in London and the South East were responsible for half of all customer complaints about the railways.

According to the Office of Rail Regulation, rail customers have made half a million complaints in the last year – a dramatic increase on 2015/16.  Punctuality is at its worst for more than a decade.

This latest research follows a Transport Focus survey, conducted last autumn with 30,000 rail customers, which showed that only 81% are satisfied with the level of service they experience on Britain’s railways.

Alex Hayman, Managing Director of public markets at consumer group Which?, said the data shows “how badly the sector is failing its passengers” adding that “We've heard from thousands of people who have to face delays, cancellations or overcrowded trains on a daily basis.”

Of course, customer satisfaction with the railways is not simply a matter of punctuality and reliability, but also employee attitudes and behaviours.

​Jo Causon, Chief Executive of the Institute of Customer Service, said: “Customers are more concerned today about staff attitudes and behaviour than they were even five years ago and developing these skills is an essential part of improving customer service.”

MSB has extensive expertise in working to improve customer service in the transport sector, including long-term partnerships with train-operating companies, coach companies, airports and airlines in the UK and internationally.

​To find out more about our work in this sector, please see our transport case studies case studies on our new website – www.msbconsultancy.com.