Reply back from First Buses...what to do?

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Okay, after a minor incident where a bus pulled out on me (misjudged my speed I think) and forced me out into the outside lane, I gestured to his mirror and then my eyeball to suggest looking in the mirror, I was a little annoyed by the smirk and the "flipping the bird" whilst driving along, I fired off an email to First suggesting that the driver be reminded that hands should be controling the vehicle and not making abusive gestures.

I recieved a letter back from First acknowledging my complaint, howevet their version of events sounds a whole lot worse! It surprised me - maybe they just expect it but the letter addressed my concers of the bus driver bullying and shouting abuse..

I actually feel a bit guilty now as all that I hoped for was that the driver would maybe be let know that a complaint had been received...I get the feeling he already knew he was in the wrong as when I did pass him a minute later and pulled alongside at a traffic light, he sat looking straight ahead, refusing to acknowledge my presence except for looking at me through the corner of his eye (no I wasn't shouting abuse, I simply said "more of this (imitated hands on wheel), and less of this (flipped the bird but not AT him)"

It's pretty much nothing really....

I am considering putting something like this down in a letter and saying "hey, it wasn't THAT bad"..

..or has he made his bed and should I just leave it?
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
The honorable thing would be to make it clear what did and didn't happen, as you suggest. If you think he'd already realised his mistake (and we've all done hasty things), then the lesson is learnt.

It may be that they only have stock letters, and the person writing back to you didn't have the wit to tailor it properly.

On the other hand, if he'd not made an abusive gesture at you, he'd not be in trouble. Or if he'd taken a little more care pulling out with a few tonnes of metal....

I don't know if that helps?
 

Femto

New Member
Well yeah if the letter is assuming things were much worse than they really were, maybe you should set the record straight. Fine, it wasn't a good thing that the bus driver did but I don't think they should be taken to task over other assumed actions. He's probably got the message.

A few tonnes may be a little optimistic, Arch. According to WikiAnswers: "The Dennis Trident Double-Decker Bus weighs 14,560 kilograms net (no fuel or passengers)."
I figure other double deckers weigh roughly the same. I was surprised how much they weigh!
 
Any letter of apology is going to be written in a way to emphasise that they were in the wrong isn't it?
They aren't going to apologise with something along the lines of 'he pulled out and nearly caused you run into the side of him, but you didn't and you are alive. The driver knows he could have hurt you but he says sorry so everything is ok isn't it'.
If they did, you would rightly be very angry.

If anything, perhaps a response from yourself with something along the lines of 'I see worse occasionally, but I was only writing to ask the drivers to keep a special eye out on the road, no harm done this time.' would be appropriate if you really are feeling that their response was a bit harsh. Personally, I'd leave it as a lesson to all of the drivers to remember to be careful.
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
A few tonnes may be a little optimistic, Arch. According to WikiAnswers: "The Dennis Trident Double-Decker Bus weighs 14,560 kilograms net (no fuel or passengers)."
I figure other double deckers weigh roughly the same. I was surprised how much they weigh!

7530kg for a Routemaster, the standard measure for buses, just as Wales is the standard for area, and the Eiffel Tower for height ;)
7530
 
OP
OP
Sheffield_Tiger
Any letter of apology is going to be written in a way to emphasise that they were in the wrong isn't it?
They aren't going to apologise with something along the lines of 'he pulled out and nearly caused you run into the side of him, but you didn't and you are alive. The driver knows he could have hurt you but he says sorry so everything is ok isn't it'.
If they did, you would rightly be very angry.

If anything, perhaps a response from yourself with something along the lines of 'I see worse occasionally, but I was only writing to ask the drivers to keep a special eye out on the road, no harm done this time.' would be appropriate if you really are feeling that their response was a bit harsh. Personally, I'd leave it as a lesson to all of the drivers to remember to be careful.


Thanks..yes..I think in this situation that would be the right thing to do..

I'm not a natural born complainer..writing complaint letters is something I do rarely, but when I do I aim for results (as is evident by last week the behemoth PayPal backing down and releasing £39'000.00 on receipt of my letter - sadly my employer's money, not mine)...although I didn't over formailise things maybe I inadvertantly made them think the complaint was more serious (not to say that pulling a heavy bus out into the path of flesh and blood on a diamond framework of aluminium tube isn't something to take seriously!!)
 
Perhaps I am a little more hardened to this.

The way I see this is that the driver has chosen to drive in a way that falls short of the standard you would expect. You have complained in an honest and accurate manner, and they have responded in what they see as an appropriate manner.

Anything else is the Company's decision.

It may be that yours was the end of a long list of complaints
 

Cubist

Still wavin'
Location
Ovver 'thill
A little perspective here.

The driver is expecetd through his employment to be a) a safe and competent driver and B) courteous and professional as the front line of his organisation.

In your instance he was neither. You have chosen to draw this to the attenion of his employers who must express that they share your outrage at his behaviour.

I once hit my horn as a bus pulled out when I was mid overtake (you know the sort of thing, stopped at a bus stop, you're one third of the way along it when all of a sudden on go the indicators, the bus pulls out and promptly feeds you into a bollard....) The driver chose to give me a middle finger and mouth the word "self-gratification artist" at me. I rang their customer care line and an hour later got a call from a manager who was desperate for me to give a formal statement. They had had numerous complaints about this particular driver but no one would give them solid evidence. Six months later there was a report in the local paper about him getting sacked. The catalogue of misdemeanours were nothing as individual events, but taken together painted a picture of a man who was not fit to drive on the road or look after his passengers.

Don't be too quick to retract. His behaviour fell well short of acceptabel. Now that you have complained, leave the company to do the rest. They know him better than you!
 
OP
OP
Sheffield_Tiger
Oh, I'm not thinking of "Retracting". More "reiterating"

Only fair that someone is disciplined for what they actually did, and not what their boss expects they did if they provoked a complaint...
 

Sh4rkyBloke

Jaffa Cake monster
Location
Manchester, UK
If he's being bollocked about it then either he's too stupid to defend himself by asking them to look at the Bus CCTV evidence, or he is confusing it with some other incident which happened like they describe (i.e. it happens a lot to him)... either way he doesn't sound like he should be driving people around for a living.

Leave it. Let him defend himself for his behaviour.
 
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