coach trips have lost a loyal customer

adrian

I usually get to Charlton long before pick-up time. Exceptional circumstances made me arrive at Charlton station at 7:59.
Pick-up time was 8:00 so I quickly crossed the road in the middle to be in full view of the coach.
When crossing the road at 8:03 I couldn't believe my eyes watching the coach leave. I was 50 yards away, in full view, red
gear and all. If a passenger on their list is missing, the very least the driver or the person in charge could do is to have a last
check at the rear before pulling out. I was absolutely livid. By the time I found out it would cost me an extra £100 to go by train, with no guarantee I would get there on time, I had to give up.
I had never been to that ground, and we won.
Coach trip to Carlisle has been paid for, so it will be the last one for me. I'll get a £28 Senior Travelcard and join the
hordes going to the away games by train next season in the Championship.
The compulsory rubbish videos will not be missed.
I'm still seething with frustration.

vff

Sorry to hear that. You need to put a complaint in to the club, so the manager of the Valley coach operation can have a word in the ear of that coach driver and all the rest of them, so a similar thing doesn't happen to someone else. You should get the Carlise game coach travel refunded.

Swisdom

Without wishing to be a tosser - you were late....

It's unfortunate but the driver has a duty to get away on time so the 40 or 50 on board aren't late for the game

LenGlover

Without wishing to be a tosser - you were late....

It's unfortunate but the driver has a duty to get away on time so the 40 or 50 on board aren't late for the game

Yes he was late so you are technically right BUT he was kitted out in Charlton red in view of the coach so what is wrong with a bit of common sense?

Namely stop and let him on. Hardly rocket science is it?

stilladdicted

5 minutes leeway is usually allowed. With the best will in the world, you can check sides and back of coach, but once you get on the coach, trust me, you need to sit down pretty sharpish or else you get thrown about a bit. If you hang on and other people on the coach get on your case and tell you your watch is slow and you need to get moving, or the coach driver says that there are road problems ahead, what would you, as a steward, do?

vff

Swisdom, you are being harsh mate. 5 minutes is not too much to ask. The coach drivers should take note of the train times. They should also check if anyone is missing. The club should also remind people to arrive early and not cut it fine.

It is a day out and entertainment, and a customer driven business. Some common sense and better organisation needs to prevail.

The club needs to take a look at the complaint and see if they can manage the situation better.

Deadred

Swisdom, you are being harsh mate. 5 minutes is not too much to ask. The coach drivers should take note of the train times. They should also check if anyone is missing. The club should also remind people to arrive early and not cut it fine.

It is a day out and entertainment, and a customer driven business. Some common sense and better organisation needs to prevail.

The club needs to take a look at the complaint and see if they can manage the situation better.

I'm surprised more haven't jumped on the Swisdom bandwagon yet like they did with the sarky remarks and best advice of 'turn up earlier' when my son had a problem with the Jackson 5 tickets. Airman to his credit offered to look into that situation which is all I wanted to hear at the time and I am sure he will do the same again here.

ME14addick

Swisdom, you are being harsh mate. 5 minutes is not too much to ask. The coach drivers should take note of the train times. They should also check if anyone is missing. The club should also remind people to arrive early and not cut it fine.

It is a day out and entertainment, and a customer driven business. Some common sense and better organisation needs to prevail.

The club needs to take a look at the complaint and see if they can manage the situation better.

Why should the club remind people to be early? Surely it is common sense to allow enough time to get there. The club can't be a nanny to everyone.

Bedsaddick

Swisdom, you are being harsh mate. 5 minutes is not too much to ask. The coach drivers should take note of the train times. They should also check if anyone is missing. The club should also remind people to arrive early and not cut it fine.

It is a day out and entertainment, and a customer driven business. Some common sense and better organisation needs to prevail.

The club needs to take a look at the complaint and see if they can manage the situation better.

I'm surprised more haven't jumped on the Swisdom bandwagon yet like they did with the sarky remarks and best advice of 'turn up earlier' when my son had a problem with the Jackson 5 tickets. Airman to his credit offered to look into that situation which is all I wanted to hear at the time and I am sure he will do the same again here.

One thing that is undeniable is that certain people on here love to put the boot . I have total sympathy for Adrian .

Deadred

Hang on Beds you was one of the mob who put the boot into me! or are you being sarky again?

cafctom

You turned up a bit late. They made bit of a mistake by not checking the rear of the coach as they pulled away. As frustrating as it may be, it just sounds like one of those unfortunate things that happens from time to time.

If you make them aware of what happened, they will ensure they check before pulling away in future. Likewise you will ensure to be there a few minutes earlier.

Not the most helpful advice I know, but I think it's a bit harsh to lay all the blame at their feet.

Bedsaddick

Hang on Beds you was one the mob who put the boot into me! or are you being sarky again?

I was actually agreeing with you. If you want a fight try someone else because im sick to death of it on Charlton Life . I'm not biting .

AFKABartram

I've got sympathy for him of course, but as my much as you dress it up with colour, the fact remain that (probably due to some fault other than his own as he sounds organised), he was late for a transport departure. If the train had left, or the plane had left, there would be no debate at all.

How long do you give it ? 5 mins, 10 mins ? 15 mins ? You know exactly what would happen if the coach turned up 10 mins into the game because it hit traffic. 51 people wouldn't blame the traffic, they would blame the extra 10 mins wasted waiting for one bloke.

It's unfortunate Adrian, and I'm sorry you missed what sounded a great away game. But its no ones blame, its just one of those things mate

Deadred

Hang on Beds you was one the mob who put the boot into me! or are you being sarky again?

I was actually agreeing with you. If you want a fight try someone else. I'm not biting .

Ha ha won you over have I? That's good I'm in a clique of three now me, you and Eaststandmike.

vff

Swisdom, you are being harsh mate. 5 minutes is not too much to ask. The coach drivers should take note of the train times. They should also check if anyone is missing. The club should also remind people to arrive early and not cut it fine.

It is a day out and entertainment, and a customer driven business. Some common sense and better organisation needs to prevail.

The club needs to take a look at the complaint and see if they can manage the situation better.

Why should the club remind people to be early? Surely it is common sense to allow enough time to get there. The club can't be a nanny to everyone.

Being clear so that people know what to expect is sensible. There is nothing wrong with pointing out the obvious. It is decent organisation and managing the risks of late comers. It was 3 minutes and the meeting time surely accounts for that. It is not about being a nanny it is about cutting people some slack, it is time out and not a work deadline. We can all be a few minutes late to circumstances, not of our own making. We all support the same club and should be looking out for each other on the road.

Valiantphil

I sat in my 1st Class seat on the train to Sheff Weds and heard the announcement
"This train has been cancelled and there will be no other services leaving this station until further notice"

Nothing is guaranteed when travelling to away games.

cafctom

I don't know how many stops there are on the Charlton pick-up coach. On the Bexleyheath one that I was on yesterday I think there were about 4 in total. If you wait five minutes at each one for one person who is running late, that works out to be 20 mins. That's a hell of a lot of time to be losing when travelling up to Oldham on a Bank Holiday weekend.

vff

I don't know how many stops there are on the Charlton pick-up coach. On the Bexleyheath one that I was on yesterday I think there were about 4 in total. If you wait five minutes at each one for one person who is running late, that works out to be 20 mins. That's a hell of a lot of time to be losing when travelling up to Oldham on a Bank Holiday weekend.

That assumes that people are going to be late at every stop and everyone is not there on the list.

CAFCdamo

This is harsh , I remember waiting half an hour on the Valley Express to a home game because someone's mate was running late.

Kap10

Unfortunate, and one hopes that the driver did check his mirrors to see if anyone was behind, but his priority is to check for traffic and may have missed the late comer. The requirement of the driver is to leave on time, I am sure if he had seen you he would have stopped, but I know however visible people are if I am focussed on the road as was his legal obligation I could still miss them.

Deadred

I don't know how many stops there are on the Charlton pick-up coach. On the Bexleyheath one that I was on yesterday I think there were about 4 in total. If you wait five minutes at each one for one person who is running late, that works out to be 20 mins. That's a hell of a lot of time to be losing when travelling up to Oldham on a Bank Holiday weekend.

I understand from a reliable source that yesterday's coach from Bexleyheath was 15 minutes late turning up because the driver had waited for a no show earlier en route.

cafctom

I don't know how many stops there are on the Charlton pick-up coach. On the Bexleyheath one that I was on yesterday I think there were about 4 in total. If you wait five minutes at each one for one person who is running late, that works out to be 20 mins. That's a hell of a lot of time to be losing when travelling up to Oldham on a Bank Holiday weekend.

That assumes that people are going to be late at every stop and everyone is not there on the list.

It does, but if you're going to be open to cutting people slack then you need to allow for the worst case scenario that it will happen at each stop. It's only fair to be consistent when everyone's paid the same fare.

Also, if this 'slack' starts being given left right and centre then it doesn't set a good precedent for future away days. Adrian I'm sure is a reasonably organised chap, but there will be other supporters who think they can turn up a few minutes late every week.

Pelham123

Word usually goes around that you are waiting for someone and i'm sure some of the punters would have been on the lookout so every sympathy for missing out. Try going from Dartford, had many a wait for latecomers at Heath Lane.

Airman Brown

I will look into this, but with respect to Adrian this is one version of events and I need to hear the other side. Time and again when people are late there are different views about how late they were.

Especially on the away trips, when the coach leaves should always be a decision for the steward and never a decision for the driver. There do have to be exceptions, and yesterday the Bexleyheath coach had to pick up a small number of people before the steward got on, but the Charlton stewards yesterday (two coaches) were Betty and Jean and it's their call.

Neither is in the habit of leaving people behind and they would normally wait five minutes, which is the standard practice.

Finally, in all the criticism the coach service gets the common thread is worries about late arrival at the ground, which we understand. People on the coach don't like to wait for latecomers.

None of the above seeks to prejudge this case, and we will look into it.

Airman Brown

Unfortunate, and one hopes that the driver did check his mirrors to see if anyone was behind, but his priority is to check for traffic and may have missed the late comer. The requirement of the driver is to leave on time, I am sure if he had seen you he would have stopped, but I know however visible people are if I am focussed on the road as was his legal obligation I could still miss them.

It's absolutely not the driver's responsibility. It's the steward's.

vff

I don't know how many stops there are on the Charlton pick-up coach. On the Bexleyheath one that I was on yesterday I think there were about 4 in total. If you wait five minutes at each one for one person who is running late, that works out to be 20 mins. That's a hell of a lot of time to be losing when travelling up to Oldham on a Bank Holiday weekend.

That assumes that people are going to be late at every stop and everyone is not there on the list.

It does, but if you're going to be open to cutting people slack then you need to allow for the worst case scenario that it will happen at each stop. It's only fair to be consistent when everyone's paid the same fare.

Also, if this 'slack' starts being given left right and centre then it doesn't set a good precedent for future away days. Adrian I'm sure is a reasonably organised chap, but there will be other supporters who think they can turn up a few minutes late every week.

If that's the case then that is not acceptable. A bit of flexibility for a person being a few minutes late in Adrian's situation should be allowed.

To pick up a coach for me from the Valley takes me a train and a bus, around 45 to 50 minutes. If there is a hold up due to the trains or a random traffic event, that can easily double the journey time. I also try to allow extra time, but sometimes you can end up being a few minutes late.

I would like to be able to call ahead to a Charlton steward organising the coach or someone on the coach to let them know but failing that if I am 3 minutes late, and I am making my way from the station to the coach, I want to know that the coach is not going to drive off.

That should be allowed. Not talking about coaches being held up for 30 minutes and all or being routinely late.

vff

Glad Airman Brown is looking into it.

LouisMend

I will look into this, but with respect to Adrian this is one version of events and I need to hear the other side. Time and again when people are late there are different views about how late they were.

Especially on the away trips, when the coach leaves should always be a decision for the steward and never a decision for the driver. There do have to be exceptions, and yesterday the Bexleyheath coach had to pick up a small number of people before the steward got on, but the Charlton stewards yesterday (two coaches) were Betty and Jean and it's their call.

Neither is in the habit of leaving people behind and they would normally wait five minutes, which is the standard practice.

Finally, in all the criticism the coach service gets the common thread is worries about late arrival at the ground, which we understand. People on the coach don't like to wait for latecomers.

None of the above seeks to prejudge this case, and we will look into it.

Just for the records, Jean's Bromley coach did not stop at Charlton yesterday as there was no one scheduled to get onto it from there.

Dazzler21

Late is late.

Normal busses, planes and trains don't wait so why should the valley express?

ShootersHillGuru

Yes late is late but one glance by a steward as the coach was pulling away would have seen a no doubt trotting red and white regaled waving Adrian.

johnnybev1987

Without wishing to be a tosser - you were late....

It's unfortunate but the driver has a duty to get away on time so the 40 or 50 on board aren't late for the game

Completely agree, unlucky but unfortunately it has to leave on time or as close to as possible. If u were before 8am, then u would have a reason to complain.

Noone else to blame but urself im afraid