National Customer Service Week will take place between 7 to 13 October and East Midlands Trains has revealed a host of exciting plans that will take place throughout the week at stations and on trains.

Highlights of the week include:

·      100 complimentary First Class tickets will be given away on trains throughout the week, giving customers the opportunity to get involved in on-train quizzes about the route they are travelling on.  There will also be on-train colouring competitions and several ‘Golden tickets’ will be hidden on selected trains for customers to find.
·      Several “Get-connected” themed events will be taking place at Derby station with a host of bike-themed activities to benefit the large number of cyclists using this station. These will include a bike donation drop off point to raise money for charity, a free bike mechanic service and an opportunity to buy low cost, high quality recycled bikes.
·      Leicester station will also follow the theme of integrated transport and will be hosting a display of electronic bikes on Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 October.  Various other displays will also take place throughout the week including an exhibition by local charity Soft Touch Arts. Lady Chacha will also be visiting Leicester station on Saturday 12 October pouring out “tea and kindness” to customers.
·      Passengers at Nottingham station will have a unique opportunity to win a ride in a train drivers cab, and will also be able to have a look round the cab of one of East Midlands Trains’ Meridian trains.  Nottingham station will also play host to a variety of live entertainment and promotions for customers.
·      Prize draws to win free tickets, First Class upgrades and access to the First Lounge will take place at St Pancras station.
·      Sheffield station will be making the most of its strong links with the local community and partners in Sheffield to provide benefits for customers. Highlights at Sheffield include an exhibition by the local Dogs Trust, working with partner Supertram to raise awareness of integrated transport and food tasting with free mince pies.

Neil Micklethwaite, Customer Service and Commercial Director for East Midlands Trains, said: “We strive to offer our customers the best possible service every day of the year but National Customer Service Week provides a great opportunity to do that little bit extra and provide some exciting initiatives for our customers.

“Our customer satisfaction ratings are already high with nearly nine in every ten people satisfied with their service, however we know we can always do more to improve.  During National Customer Service Week, we’ll have extra management staff available at stations and on trains and we’re looking forward to getting more feedback from our customers on how we can make our services even better.”

Additional management staff will be on hand at all key stations throughout the week inviting customer feedback.  Customers are also being given the opportunity to vote for their favourite ‘Customer Service Star’ for a chance to win a pair of First Class tickets and a two night stay in a London hotel.

Neil continued:  “We launched our Customer Service Awards during 2012 and they proved a great hit with our customers and staff.  We’re now giving customers another opportunity to vote for their Customer Service Star, it could be a member of staff who goes the extra mile, someone who always welcomes you with a smile or someone who makes your journey that little bit easier.

“We have a great team of employees who work hard to deliver the best service to customers and we’d like to thank our customer service staff in particular for helping to ensure our customers enjoy travelling with us.”