<em>Blue Train</em> blues

While traveling in Southern Africa, my wife, Barbara, and I flew to Pretoria, South Africa, for a trip on the Blue Train.

We left our hotel the morning of Jan. 9, 2012, for the Blue Train terminal, where we were shown to the pleasant waiting area and then to our compartment. There were twin beds, but we had requested a queen bed. Since the train was not at capacity, the steward gladly moved us to another suite.

Before long, we noticed that the air-conditioning in our compartment was not working, so we moved to a third cabin. It was very nice though not spacious. (We had traveled with Rovos Rail on a previous trip and found those compartments larger.) In the deluxe category, there were four suites per railcar.

The train did not leave on schedule, and when we did leave it was at a very slow pace. We were told this was because of electrical problems.

Lunch was served late.

We then were told we would not stop in Kimberley because of our late departure. Barbara and I had already seen the town on our trip with Rovos Rail.

By late evening, the A/C in the entire car was failing. We went to dinner a little before our 9:00 seating hoping the temperature would be better in the bar. It was not. We weren’t served dinner until after 10:30.

Ironically, the literature we had received from the Blue Train was emphatic about our wearing, at least, semiformal attire for dinner. Because of the extreme heat, most passengers had removed their jackets and any cover-ups even before dinner.

We were exhausted, hot and disappointed when we retired to our warm quarters. After a fitful night’s rest, I went for breakfast at 9, only to wait an hour for my eggs Benedict.

We should have arrived in Cape Town around noon. We pulled in 8½ hours late.

I completed a comment card we were given, expressing the dissatisfaction we had with the journey, and mailed it to the company after arriving back at home. As of May 1, I have not heard a thing from the Blue Train management.

The 24-hour journey on the Blue Train cost Barbara and me $3,600. I would not call it “one of the best trains in the world.”

JAY LESOK
Fort Worth, TX

ITN sent a copy of Mr. Lesok’s e-mail to the Blue Train offices and received the following reply.

Regarding booking, on 21 September 2011 the Blue Train received a request for a booking of a Luxury double-bedded suite from the Lesoks’ operator. The Blue Train informed the operator that only a De Luxe double was available, and confirmation was sent to the operator.

On 14 October the Blue Train received another booking request for the same clients for a Luxury suite. No specification of twin or double bed was made. The Blue Train sent confirmation for a De Luxe twin bed, and the operator was notified that no double beds or Luxury suites were available.

Queen beds just don’t exist on the Blue Train, only doubles, which is outlined in all of our materials, website, presentations and confirmation documents.

Regarding the late departure, during the trip of 9 January, and due to the heavy rain of the previous days, the signals on the railway network were affected, which then meant our train driver had to be constantly in contact with the Train Control Centre for manual authorisation to proceed.

As a result of this, the train left late from Pretoria station, at approximately 10:20, with the train arriving late at Kimberley station, making it impossible for the excursion there to take place.

The defective signals which led to a “halt-go” process affected the power car, which kept on tripping. The ongoing power failures affected the entire train’s electrical components, including the air-conditioning.

Regarding the late arrival of the train, due to the complexity of the railway network and the fact that the train was “bumped off” of its allocated travelling slot, the train got further behind on its schedule. As a result, the given arrival time became increasingly inconsistent and kept on changing as they proceeded. This was certainly out of our control.

In our confirmations and announcements, we state that we cannot guarantee the off-the-train excursions or departure and arrival times due to these complexities of the rail networks.

Although the train ran late, an additional lunch, snacks and other amenities on board were served to accommodate guests and to make them as comfortable as possible.

Regarding meal times, here are the normal dinner times followed on this trip: First sitting, 19:30; Second sitting, 21:15 (this sitting would end at 23:00). We do not understand his comment, “We weren’t served dinner until after 10:30.” We don’t rush second sitting for guests to finish at a specific time.

Regarding feedback from the guests, here are the comments from the Lesoks’ questionnaire: “Our name was not on the list at the baggage drop. Dinner 2 hours late. Bar service very slow. No air-conditioning. Eight hours late arriving in Cape Town. Most unpleasant experience. Send me a refund!”

Their ratings, however, were as follows: “Breakfast quality, Good; Breakfast service, Unsatisfactory; Lunch quality, Good; Lunch service, Good; Dinner quality, Very good; Dinner service, Good; Room service, Very good; Courtesy of staff, Very good, and Bar service, Fair.”

The overall average rating from all guests for this particular departure was 90.97%. The weighted average for January was 93.25%.

The client sent his complaint by post and it was received mid-March. His questionnaire was therefore not captured with the other questionnaires and was not sent back to us in time to send a response. This questionnaire process has been rectified to prevent a reoccurrence of this nature in future.

We take complaints very seriously, and one would expect that due to the nature and seriousness of the complaint, Mr. Lesok would have used quicker avenues (e-mail, fax, etc.) to communicate his discomfort. Action would have been taken immediately.

We have sent a letter of apology to Mr. Lesok with a 25% refund offer.

HERBERT THEMBA MASHEULA, Brand Marketing & Communications Manager, The Blue Train, Private Bag X 637, Pretoria 0001, South Africa

On Oct. 5, 2012, Mr. Lesok e-mailed ITN, “On my credit card I did finally get a credit of $703.56 from the Blue Train.”

ITN also communicated with Gabriella Ribeiro Truman, president of the Blue Train’s marketing firm in the US, and asked her who Blue Train passengers should contact if there are any issues. Here is her answer.

If there is an issue to be raised regarding the Blue Train, I absolutely encourage any guest from the Americas to contact our office or me, but they also should contact the head office, as they have the final say and can take action.

In most cases, however, when travel agents book trips, they prefer the one-on-one contact with their clients and, understandably, do not generally refer their guests to a local representative to speak to.

Guests can contact our team at 973/832-4384 or info@trumarketing.com or reach me at gabriella@trumarketing.com. The primary contacts at the head office who absolutely should be contacted should an issue arise are Hanlie.kotze@bluetrain.co.za, Executive Manager, and Samantha.brikkels@bluetrain.co.za, Reservations Manager.

GABRIELLA RIBEIRO TRUMAN