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    • kuldalai posted
    Posted in Victoria » Geelong line meltdown stops trains on 3-6-2016

    From todays  GEELONG ADVERTISER  .  No doubt this is what the  VLP  Executive General Manager  Customer Experience won an award for  . Same old V/line after  umpteen years, no contingency back up really, poor communication to the punters ; just CRISIS  management at its best :

    "We shivered in the bus replacement bay at Footscray for at least 45 minutes with no idea as to when the damn thing would arrive.

    Finally, the lone bus appeared.

    And, reluctantly, we shuffled on to an “all station stopping” bus.

    Next thing the bus driver is announcing: “Morning everyone, just so you know, I have no idea where to go — so if anyone wants to come and direct me that would be great.”

    Most of us had to laugh so we wouldn’t cry.

    Others rang back their bosses to say, “I think I’ll be a while.”

    Some of us took to twitter to live twit what was turning into an off-road nightmare.

    Next thing you know, we’re bumping our way along a dirt road in the middle of what could have been someone’s farm.

    People joked about helicopters, phone GPS systems were whipped out and the guy updating his boss behind me was just like, “I feel like a hostage.”

    So do I mate. So do I.

    An hour and 45 minutes in and we’re not even at Lara — another woman who’s stressing because she’s so incredibly late for work announces she has an Uber waiting at Lara station and we’re welcome to come.

    YES! Thank you kind stranger.

    Three of us get off the hostage bus as quickly as possible and jump into the Uber — 20 minutes later I’m at work and venting hard.

    Our third passenger, clearly in a bit of state announces her university exam started half an hour ago.

    I hope she gets an A — for being a trooper, at least.

    This morning’s response from V/line was unacceptable. There was little communication and apparently no contingency plan.

    Surely there could be a better back-up in place? At least one that doesn’t leave people not even sure they’ll reach their destination in one piece.

    The only person who did well out of this morning was Uber, once again they provided a service no one else could.

    So thanks Remmy, for getting me to work only two hours late.

    Edit history

    Edited 04 Jun 2016 09:45, 6 years ago, edited by kuldalai

    From todays  GEELONG ADVERTISER  .  No doubt this is what the  VLP  Executive General Manager  Customer Experience won an award for  :

    "We shivered in the bus replacement bay at Footscray for at least 45 minutes with no idea as to when the damn thing would arrive.

    Finally, the lone bus appeared.

    And, reluctantly, we shuffled on to an “all station stopping” bus.

    Next thing the bus driver is announcing: “Morning everyone, just so you know, I have no idea where to go — so if anyone wants to come and direct me that would be great.”

    Most of us had to laugh so we wouldn’t cry.

    Others rang back their bosses to say, “I think I’ll be a while.”

    Some of us took to twitter to live twit what was turning into an off-road nightmare.

    Next thing you know, we’re bumping our way along a dirt road in the middle of what could have been someone’s farm.

    People joked about helicopters, phone GPS systems were whipped out and the guy updating his boss behind me was just like, “I feel like a hostage.”

    So do I mate. So do I.

    An hour and 45 minutes in and we’re not even at Lara — another woman who’s stressing because she’s so incredibly late for work announces she has an Uber waiting at Lara station and we’re welcome to come.

    YES! Thank you kind stranger.

    Three of us get off the hostage bus as quickly as possible and jump into the Uber — 20 minutes later I’m at work and venting hard.

    Our third passenger, clearly in a bit of state announces her university exam started half an hour ago.

    I hope she gets an A — for being a trooper, at least.

    This morning’s response from V/line was unacceptable. There was little communication and apparently no contingency plan.

    Surely there could be a better back-up in place? At least one that doesn’t leave people not even sure they’ll reach their destination in one piece.

    The only person who did well out of this morning was Uber, once again they provided a service no one else could.

    So thanks Remmy, for getting me to work only two hours late.