Condor should concentrate on present rather than future

I should imagine most passengers do not care whether Condor gets them to their destination by conventional ferry, fast ferry, seaglider or submarine – as long as they get there on time and as per the original reservation.

I and many others have had to either cancel holidays booked with Condor or pay extra to fly instead and hire a car. Often schedules are changed at short notice and at great inconvenience. It is not difficult to understand what is happening and we all know that Condor is operating under very difficult conditions. Condor simply reviews the bookings periodically and transfers all passengers to the busiest day of travel. We appreciate that this has to happen to some degree and we understand, but it could be communicated better.

The sad thing is that the Condor staff both on the boats and in the office are doing a fantastic job in very difficult times. When one eventually gets through on the telephone (average holding time 40 minutes) the staff are most helpful and understanding. The Clipper and the other vessels’ crews could not be more cheerful, friendly and efficient.

May I suggest two small adjustments to Condor’s operations which I think would help enormously to ease the burden of frustrated customers. One, employ a few more staff to man (if I am allowed to use that word in these woke times) the telephones and two, above all reopen the office on the White Rock.

These two small gestures, while costing some money, would do wonders for PR and bring some cheer to frustrated clients. I suspect the public would look more kindly on Condor if we were able to have easier and more convenient means of bonding with them in these worrying and uncertain times.

EDWARD FATTORINI

GY7 9PT

Editor’s footnote: A spokesman for Condor Ferries responded:

Thank you for the opportunity to reply.

We do sympathise with your reader and appreciate the impact of the changes (which any carrier is having to make) has on their travel arrangements.

The circumstances we find ourselves in continue to be extraordinary. Each time Guernsey, Jersey, France or the UK updates border and quarantine regulations, it further impacts on the ability and desire of people to travel, so passengers understandably alter or cancel their bookings and that makes our planning that much harder. All we can do is adapt to the evolving situation, over which we have no control, in the best way possible.

Communications with customers is a key component of any business and we readily accept this presents a challenge for Condor when implementing these timetable changes and contacting many thousands of passengers booked during the peak season. And this, with a third fewer staff than 12 months ago.

This is creating very high call volumes so we apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate the patience of passengers who are trying to reach us. More team members are being drafted in wherever possible and we are working as quickly and efficiently as we can. We hope to be able to make the necessary updates to everyone’s travel in the coming weeks.

Our updated high speed timetable for the summer peak provides significant benefits for the island. Extra capacity is scheduled around weekends when people mostly want to travel, with a reduced frequency midweek, and a dedicated vessel offers direct sailings to both Poole and Portsmouth. We have also built in contingency days in case of weather disruption and overall, there is a 40% increase in seats to the UK in comparison with previous years.

With regard to the passenger ticket office on the White Rock, it closed in March of last year as all non-essential outlets on the island were unable to open during lockdown. As mentioned, staffing resource levels have been impacted and when coupled with the small number of passengers this year, there is simply not the scope to warrant reopening the office so it will unfortunately remain closed for the time being.

Thank you for your feedback and understanding, it is much appreciated. We hope this clarification provides some reassurance that we are determined to work in the best interests of the islands, before, during and after the pandemic, in difficult circumstances.