Member Article

Stagecoach celebrate National Customer Service with free breakfasts for passengers

Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire is marking this year’s National Customer Service Week (1-5 October) campaign by bringing a smile to customers and handing out breakfast treats on the X5 bus route.

The X5 is a speedy route which runs from Widnes to Liverpool ONE via Speke Boulevard, providing shoppers with a handy, cost-effective route to the heart of Liverpool city centre in under an hour.

National Customer Service Week is run by the Institute of Customer Service and aims to raise awareness of customer service and the vital role it plays in successful business practice and the growth of the UK economy.

Under Stagecoach’s theme Improving travel through a passion for every customer, employees from Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire will highlight the importance of continuing to deliver good customer service day in, day out for passengers.

Rob Jones, Managing Director of Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire, said: “This week is all about saying thank you to our customers on the new X5 service and what better way to homage to them by helping ease their morning commute?

“We’re always looking at ways to provide better services for our passengers and have invested heavily in measures to improve the customer experience. We know how important it is to provide good customer service at all times, especially when things go wrong. I’m very proud that we have a fantastic team of staff who work hard every day to provide customers with a pleasant and enjoyable travel experience.

“This week is a great opportunity to showcase the commitment we have to customer service all year round and to hear from our customers how we can improve even further.”

This year, for the fifth consecutive year, Stagecoach was rated as the best value major bus operator in Britain in the National Bus Satisfaction Survey by consumer watchdog Transport Focus. The report also revealed that 90% of Stagecoach customers in England, and 88% of Stagecoach passengers in Scotland, were found to be satisfied with their bus services overall.

Passengers across Merseyside have given Stagecoach top scores for satisfaction, according to independent research.

More than 9 in 10 customers on Merseyside gave the thumbs up to the company’s services. Customers also ranked it top in the country for value for money, with 78 per cent of customers saying they were satisfied with cost of travel.

93 per cent of Stagecoach customers in Merseyside reported being satisfied with their bus service, compared to 87 per cent the previous year. This is higher than the national average for all bus operators across England (88 per cent) with it being rated highly on its drivers (92 per cent) and its available seating (88 per cent). The survey also showed that 75 per cent of Stagecoach customers in Merseyside are happy with punctuality of its buses.

Stagecoach Bus is one of the UK’s major employers, supporting around 24,000 jobs across the UK and 1,209 jobs in Merseyside and South Lancashire. Over 200 people have completed apprenticeships with Stagecoach since 2004 and the company currently employs around 150 apprentices. All Stagecoach vehicles are fitted with eco-driving systems which lower emissions and the company has shown the biggest commitment to using 100 per cent biofuel of any UK bus operator.

Stagecoach is part of Liverpool City Region’s Bus Alliance, a partnership between Liverpool’s biggest bus operators and Merseytravel. The Alliance is focussed on quality of vehicles and customer service, value for money journeys and straightforward travel from simple fare structures to easy to understand journey planning and a clear, simple bus network.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Henry Roberts .