Got a letter today, after chasing it up by phone a couple of times, and it's disappointing.
As a bit of background, a few years ago I wrote to the same bus company (it was West Midlands Travel then) about a different incident with a bus. There was no way that they could have identified the driver by the limited information that I gave them. Regardless, I had a reply letter stating that they took incidents very seriously, and had spoken to the driver concerned. Then a couple of weeks later I mentioned it to a colleague and he said that he had received the same letter following an incident that he had reported. This time, given the video clip and me offering to send them the clip of the conversation that followed (they haven't asked to see it), I expected more. I got this-
Thank you for your email received on 19 May 2010. I am sorry for the delay in replying to you.
I was very concerned to learn about the poor driving standards of the driver you encountered whilst cycling on 19 May. I understand from your comments that the driver went past you dangerously close. Then, when you approached him about it, he was rude towrds you and dismissive about it. I can certainly appreciate how upsetting this must have been for you. Please accept my sincere apologies for the upset caused.
The safety of our customers, our drivers, other road users and pedestrians is our number one priority. We also expect our drivers to be professional at all times. Therefore, when I received your comments, I immediately forwarded them to the management team at Birmingham Central garage for a full investigation.
We take all our complaints about the conduct of our staff very seriously and we follow a strict procedure to ensure that all of the issues are properly followed up. In situations like this:
- The manager interviews the driver and discusses your complaint in detail
- The driver's previous employment record is reviewed along with any other relevant information
- The manager decides what action is appropriate. This may vary from a verbal warning to extra training or even formal disciplinary action
- The outcome is recorded on a central database for future reference
The Company's Quality Team monitor and review all these database entries to ensure that the actrions taken are consistent and effective. This may even involve discreet checks of the driver's future performance.
Thank you for getting in touch, blah blah blah......
Is this enough? I don't think it is. I think that when someone is exposed to this kind of driving they deserve more than vagueties (SP?). For all I know the manager could have sat down with the driver and they could have had a laugh about it.
Or do I trust that it has been dealt with properly and move on?