How to deliver really dreadful online service - TFL

Transport For London this week demonstrated to me just how to handle Customer Service badly. They emailed to say "Thank you for your email. I apologise for the delay in our response. Thank you for all of your comments and suggestions.  Your feedback has been noted and passed on to the relevant department for consideration."

So far so standard - except that they have taken so long to respond that I have absolutely no idea what I had complained about. And being completely indifferent to delivering Customer Service, TFL don't bother to give any hints. Hints like echoing back the query/complaint that I made.

And that is pretty important because ordinary people like you and me don't get to email TFL directly (which would leave a copy of our email on our system). I'm not against being asked to fill out a form (structured information is cheaper and quicker to deal with) but good behaviour requires that the organisation then send the complainant a copy of what has been written.

The only-via-form + no-copy mechanism is ideal for organisations that expect to fail in responding promptly and helpfully - rather like the "would you like the receipt in the bag trick", it reduces the chance that complainants are going to manage to pursue their grievances.

Is it a good way of running an organisation? Does it show you as trustworthy and responsive? Of course not, but it buys an easy life in the short term.

BBC Radio Derby demonstrates the dangers of old web pages

As I write, BBC Radio Derby - the nominated communication method for news of local school closures - is directing listeners to its website to check on school closures.

In a hurry, I Googled "Radio Derby Schools" and there was last Tuesday's long list of closures. I knew it was last  Tuesday's list, because I had twice complained last week that Radio Derby were showing this same out-of-date-list. The casual user could readily have missed the date, seen the name of their local school, and assumed it shut. With A level exams today (and virtually every school actually open), that would be a big big mistake with serious consequences.

I rang Radio Derby this morning to warn them. A patient operator explained that I had made the mistake of looking at an old page that Google seemed intent on indexing, and that if I went to the Radio Derby website, then followed the hierarchy of choices, I would find an up-to-date list, I would find the correct information.

How often I come across people who think that all is OK because they can explain to me the recommended method for finding the correct information. They just won't take the point that if there is also wrong information out there waiting to be found, then they are acting dangerously.

The BBC Radio Derby man did have the decency to say that they knew it was a problem, and claimed that they were broadcasting warnings about this. (They certainly hadn't added any such warning at around 0730 this morning when they referred listeners to the website).

So, they knew of the problem but did nothing to fix it. Brilliant.

Lessons to learn:

• When information changes, update the relevant page on your website rather than creating a new one. If you have some rule that prevents your taking down the old info, modify the old page so that there are strong banner messages saying that this is an out-of-date page. Change the text colour to something odd (say pink) so that people can read it but will wonder why it looks odd.
• Listen to your complainants (quickly) and allow the possibility that they are sensible people trying to tell you something you need to hear. I complained to the BBC five days ago about the out of date page. Either the BBC was very slow processing my complaints, or it must have assumed that I was a demented idiot.
• Give your front-line people training to explain the danger of out-of-date information, and give them emergency procedures for getting things fixed in a hurry.

POSTSCRIPT - the BBC responds (after six days) to my complaint that their School Closure list was nearly 24 hours out of date: "... naturally, it can take longer for all of the regional sites to be updated than to read the lists out" .
A perfect example of complaint-handling as a defensive art ("say anything to shut the complainant up") rather than as an intelligence-gathering exercise ("is this person telling us of a problem that we need to fix?")

Snow on the headlines, why no update on Council websites?

When the weather gets very cold for many days on end, it becomes very difficult for a Local Authority to keep roads clear of ice and snow.

But why haven't Councils found the wit to come clean with their residents about how things are going? Here in Derbyshire, the temperature has been well below zero for about a week. Progress on roads is in some cases very difficult.

And the Derbyshire County Council website? It has the same content as it would have had last August. Some sensible content about what they reckon to do, and how difficult it can be to keep the roads clear.

But what I need is to know how things are going. "We are having to conserve salt supplies, so we are dosing minor roads less heavily than we would like" would be a useful comment (for example) when those who need to use them are making their plans. Should I deliver a child to a sleepover on the assumption that I will be able to get out and collect them tomorrow? Real lives involve difficult decisions, and Councils can help by providing candid information.

But no - the instinct is to keep the electors from worrying by keeping the truth from them. In our village, road conditions on Sunday suggested that there had not been effective gritting overnight. But enquiries to the County Council receive the assurance that everything was fine.

Why should I need to call and ask? In 2010, technology makes it easy to update websites promptly. Tell us where your vehicles went and when, and how much salt you applied - and then we can make some sense of what we are seeing. If I see that you came out frequently and applied maximum amounts of salt, then I will realise that the problem is a fundamental one. Keep quiet, and I will suspect that you aren't doing what you claim.

Four miles in 6 hours 53 minutes

New Year's Day is a special day in the calendar, so I wouldn't expect normal public transport. But it seems a bit much for Stagecoach Cumbria to give up entirely, as appears to be the case - and not even to note the fact clearly on timetables. Cumbria County Council's version of the timetable for the main Lake District bus route is silent on Bank Holiday services. The Stagecoach version is worse - implying a seemingly non-existent service: a reasonable person might turn up for a bus marked "Sundays and Bank Holidays" on New Year's Day and hope for a bus. It looks as if they would be in for a long wait.

Traveline Cumbria offer just one New Years Day itinerary for the four miles from Ambleside to Windermere (a prime route in a prime tourist area) - taking 6 hours 53 minutes. This involves catching a coach from Ambleside, through Windermere to Preston, waiting three hours in Preston, then returning on a coach from Preston to Windermere.

The coach operator's site doesn't show any such journey so it is impossible to confirm whether the outbound trip stops at Windermere (it would be amazingly stupid for it not to do so). Does the coach actually run? Who knows: the only way to find out on the day itself would be to walk to the stop and wait -
Traveline Cumbria (publicly funded) promise that their phone lines are manned all year except Christmas Day - but they aren't actually answering the phone on New Year's Day either.

So the message to those who need Public Transport on New Year's Day - sorry, mate - no services, and no clear information about the lack of services either!

UPDATE (Sep 2010)
Traveline were right. The coach does stop in Ambleside and Windermere, but because of the way that the service is licenced, local journeys are not permitted. So the passenger getting on in Ambleside has to travel beyond Windermere  - far enough beyond Windermere that the return leg will be long enough (>35 miles I think) to count as non-local. And that means travelling via Preston!