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Improvements as a result of customer feedback

The key reasons for complaints in 24/25 were;

• Online ticket-buying facilities
• Punctuality and reliability
• Smartcards
• Delay compensation schemes
• Attitudes and helpfulness of staff

Our commitment is to use all customer feedback as a launchpad for improvement. We value the feedback we receive as it allows us to identify areas where positive changes can be made to the service we offer across many departments.

The following key improvements have been undertaken in the last year as a result of customer feedback:

• We introduced a new ‘Voice of the Customer’ survey, which is sent out to our customers when their case is closed. This allows us to gather insight into our handling in real time and encourages our customers to feel confident in providing feedback. Additionally, this helps us take further action where needed, including follow-up contact to resolve any outstanding issues.
• We’ve enhanced our complaints handling process, particularly within the retail experience, contributing to a 15% reduction in retail-related complaints year-on-year.
• Updates to our delay compensation process were made based on common themes in feedback. This included the introduction of new ticket types (such as Paper Roll Tickets) and a refreshed Delay Repay webpage with more helpful guidance in areas in which customers previously reported confusion. We continue to review and enhance our back-office processes.
• As we’re aware many of our Key Smartcard customers may have a smartcard due to expire, we’ve taken steps to introduce a proactive communication process to forewarn of upcoming expiries. This has resulted in a notable reduction in contacts received about this.
• We responded to concerns around missing PayPal confirmation emails by updating information during the purchasing journey to clearly explain that these will be sent to the PayPal-registered email address.
• We introduced KeyGo capping in partnership with South Western Railway (SWR), responding to customer requests for more flexible and capped fare options.
• We’ve rolled out new apps, including the introduction of the Great Northern app – allowing passengers to easily access information when on the go whilst also making journey planning and ticketing more accessible for our customers.
• The Head of Customer Relations now attends quarterly contract reviews with suppliers and has a dedicated slot to discuss customer issues so we can make sure that customer concerns are raised, addressed and considered in any decisions.
• Following a review of payment methods, we removed Amazon Pay due to it being a less efficient option, in line with customer preferences and usage data. Rather than giving customers too many options, we’re taking on board feedback and making efforts to give customers the options they want.
• Improvements were made to tone of voice, knowledge sharing, and colleague training, delivered to those who handle customer contacts. As a result, we’ve seen a positive uplift in customer satisfaction with complaint handling.

We are dedicated to leveraging customer feedback, including complaints, to drive continuous improvement in accessible travel. We regularly review customer satisfaction survey data to monitor progress on journey bookings and assistance provision, sharing these insights with internal stakeholders to inform service enhancements.

Initiatives delivered based on customer feedback include:

• Aira: A visual interpretation app supporting blind and partially sighted customers with wayfinding around stations.
• SignLive: A British Sign Language interpretation app assisting deaf and hard of hearing customers in interactions with frontline and contact centre staff.
• We created a new section on our Assisted Travel webpage with information on how to provide feedback or make a complaint. This includes a link to our Easy Read Feedback Guide, making the process more inclusive and accessible

We collaborated with our Access Advisory Panel on the latest Accessible Travel Policy (ATP) renewal, incorporating their feedback to enhance accessibility. Changes include:

• Removal of railway jargon for clearer English.
• Improved explanations for the use of our on-train passcomm.
• Enhanced clarity for customers completing our satisfaction survey.

Complaints related to assisted travel are logged by the Accessibility Team in our internal reporting system and assigned to relevant managers for investigation. This includes incidents reported by frontline staff, allowing us to capture a broader scope of accessibility issues. Data is analysed to identify trends and target areas for improvement.

We also conduct targeted accessibility mystery shopping throughout the year, focusing on locations with increased complaints or negative feedback. Insights from these exercises are integrated into our reporting system and analysed to create specific action plans as needed. For example, a rise in assistance-related complaints at St Pancras station—specifically concerning the non-provision of bridging platform ramps—triggered a collaborative review between GTR and Network Rail. This resulted in a comprehensive training initiative for station staff on ramp deployment, which has since been completed and addressed the issue.

These feedback mechanisms are central to improving our complaints processes and enhancing the customer experience for disabled passengers, ensuring concerns are translated into tangible service improvements.