Melanie Bryett

Said the following about Wolverhampton Customer Experience Team:

“Wolverhampton Customer Experience Management Team (CEM) is nominated in recognition of the considerable improvements that they have all implemented which has directly improved the personnel and fundamentally changed culture and the reputation of Wolverhampton Railway Station.

The CEM’s have only been in the role for 12 months and have experienced the highs and lows that dealing with the public can bring. The very first two months the team were at the forefront of dealing with passengers traveling to and from the German Markets held in Telford and Birmingham, the weeks Darts tournament in Wolverhampton and 1000’s traveling to and from football matches. They quickly had to learn how to deal with people massing on platforms, the concourse and queuing outside the Station. The New Year brought other testing events for the team, a person requiring CPR for 17 minutes before an ambulance arrived. A male armed with a pistol on Platform 4. The team calmly and silently managed to evacuate the whole Station while not panicking the travelling public. Once all were safe the armed response knew there were no bystanders within the surrounding area enabling them to provide a safe apprehension of the male. Sadly, a recent accident saw half of the Station closed while Paramedics and Doctors were in attendance after a passenger fell on stairs and suffered a traumatic head injury.

Understanding the role of Wolverhampton Railway Station within the Wolverhampton Interchange has been a challenge and a constant, all members have at some point represented West Midlands Trains (WMT) in meetings with the Metro, Bus Station, and local Councils. At the start of the year the front was a building site with the team dealing with builders, delivery drivers and the public’s demands whilst trying to keep the passengers flowing in and out of the station. The newly occupied retail premises also brought their own separate challenges for the Team how had to adapt to large business expectations when they opened and their way of conduction business.

The team throughout the year held a charity event to raise money for Ukraine, a great day where they saw senior managers willing get into a bath of gunge, not just members of WMT but other Train Operating Companies (TOCs) were encouraged to jump in. The Commonwealth Games (CWG) also provided the team to excel while empowering the staff to join in with the excitement of the games, the cycling event held in Wolves saw an increase of people using the station to watch the CWG event around the City. The loss of the Queen meant that an unprecedented understanding of the role of the railway was required, ensuring that the correct condolences were shown and helping the mourners to travel to London to pay their respects, two of the team were able to represent Wolverhampton Station throughout the weekend of the funereal.

The mix within the team is eclectic, every one of the four have different skill sets but they all realise that people come first. Since being in the role the team has encouraged the staff to develop themselves and the business. So far two on a long term secondments and one has taken a permanent role in other departments on WMT.

The CEM team has a drive and determination which brings others along, the recent strike dates have seen WMT staff requesting to attend Wolverhampton to passenger assist because of the tremendous positive attitude that the team emits.

The CEM’s initiative and tenacity to implement solutions have been remarkable and far beyond what was expected of such a young management team in the short period. Their holistic efforts are outstanding, and the team is greatly deserving of formal recognition.“