Rail firm boss is rapped over ‘aggressive tweets’
THE boss of Northern Rail has come under fire for ‘aggressive tweets’ in which he tells passengers they’re blocked, and belittles their failure to ‘grasp the basics’.
Amid months of strike action, delays and overcrowding, Liam Sumpter often has to deal with complaints on social media.
In many of his responses on his account @nettlecroft, Mr Sumpter, the Arriva Rail North director, explains the circumstances and background. However, our sister paper the M.E.N. has received complaints regarding his replies in some cases.
Northern say the boss ‘chooses to engage directly with customers’ and deals with ‘criticism and tough topics’, but Mr Sumpter’s account has since been made private.
One example came after GM Mayor Andy Burnham tweeted that he would be looking into a number of complaints of ‘poor service’ from the operator.
When a passenger informed Mr Burnham that Mr Sumpter never replied, Mr Sumpter tweeted at him: “Not to yours Simon as they’re pretty much nonsense and never ask a sensible question. So...I’ll just block you to save us both time. See Ya.”
And during a Twitter row over operator profits and funding, he told a passenger: “As for profit and subsidy, I’m sorry to say your grasp of the basics is so, so limited that you should probably go and research it if you want to understand it better.”
He also wrote he would block another follower ‘so I don’t stumble across his vile idiocy again’.
Passenger Mike Smith, who commutes on the Bolton line, which has been plagued with overcrowding issues, has accused Mr Sumpter of ‘taking Northern’s customer service backwards’.
He said: “His aggressive and condescending nature when communicating with customers is frankly unacceptable.
Like many customers, I am having to endure a terrible service at the moment.
“Customers’ patience is being tested to the limit, so do you honestly believe that in his position as a director of the company, Mr Sumpter is truly representing Northern in the best light by being rude and argumentative with paying customers when engaging with them on Twitter?
“I am sure if station staff spoke to people in this way, it wouldn’t be tolerated.”
A Northern spokesman said: “Rather than rely on the corporate Twitter handle, Liam chooses to engage directly with customers, making it clear in his profile that the views are his own.
“Through Q&As, videos and responding to enquiries and criticism directly, he deals with some of the tough topics such as strike action, disruption and delays. This openness is appreciated by many and these two examples are isolated and do not reflect the positive interactions he has with customers.”
Over the last year, Northern services have been blighted by strike action as staff dispute plans for driver-only trains.