Sir,
On Monday August 20, up to 448 passengers were given just 16 hours notice that their ferry tickets for the MV Isle of Arran were useless for the booked sailings. CalMac then advised passengers the Arran ferry terminal had shut their IT booking systems down because of information-overload and it could take up to a week to sort out.
First, CalMac call centre staff at the sharp end, answering the telephones, dealing with upset and anxious customers, should be highly commended. A difficult job for ferry firm folk. From the five conversations I had, all of your CalMac staff handled these challenging situations calmly, professionally and with good grace. But Mr Drummond, this should not be happening. CalMac have been in the business since 1851. If the ships aren’t running properly after 167 years of trying to get this right, then when?