About cars being loaded into a non-air conditioned carriage on eurostar, temperatures intolerable, I collapsed?

[herbiwhore]

I've been complaining to le shuttle about this. they say nothing was done wrong and that all procedures were correctly followed - i just cannot believe this is the case.
facts of the matter are we were loaded onto a carriage last august, temperatures reached at least 40 degrees c with no air movement. at the time i was 20 weeks pregnant and after about 5 minutes of being loaded onto the train, i started to feel strange and when I got out of the car I collapsed in the heat, unable to move etc, flat on my back, could not stand up. i had to be carried by my arms and legs by other passengers to an air conditioned carriage. crew members couldnt really do anything but bring a bottle of water there seemed to be no first aid provision at all. an off duty nurse looked after me and she was amazing, laid me out in the back of her car, she was lovely, but it didnt feel right that the actual organisation had no provision for this eventuality.
i think this is really disgraceful and dangerous - customer services at le shuttle have said that 'crew followed all procedures' and that they are 'sorry i am not happy' and i have been issued with a £30 token.
its really not about the money - i have said I will not accept it. it was a horrible experience and I genuinely don't want others to go through it. there seems to be very little transparency of accountability. i've asked for a copy of their policy and procedures, health and safety guidelines, first aid policy etc and heard nothing - am i being unreasonable to think that policy and procedure could not have possibly been followed?

Actually, oh god you're going to want to hit me for not shutting up what I said was identify vulnerable people (types) and have a plan to help them, I didn't say anything about putting vulnerable groups into an area. People can receive assistance where they are, as long as plans are in place to ensure that.

when I said putting staff into that area it was a separate sentence (new line. Each suggestion/thought was on a new line. It was a list of ideas.) and referred to an area having a problem. In this case, that area was the area where the air con had failed. Staff helping people in that (the problem) area.

If cars go in order and it's not an exact science but likely to be accurate to a car or two, then is there a board that lets people know of problems? You know, like motorway boards which tell of delays or accident ahead, or train boards which detail late or cancelled trains, or boards in airports which say what gate your flight is at, etc. far enough out that it gives people information they need in time to make a choice? Or at least prepare and be aware? Not knowing what's going on is always worse.

Or perhaps a slip road /off ramp / whatever means of exit - there must be times when a car needs to exit at the last minute for any number of reasons? I would have thought they'd have planned that in and built it, it's a fairly basic thing and it will surprise me if they never thought of it.

Actually, it won't surprise me at all. It's logical. What the hell am I thinking?

I'm just musing

Really pleased for you OP

After 13 pages of people largely saying you are unreasonable you found a couple that agreed.

so turns our you were right all along

That's the Beauty of AIBU no matter how unreasonable the question, sooner or later someone will agree with you and you can tell yourself you were right all along.

odd I glanced at your opening line. for the love of God - there are only four cars per carriage not loading four cars onto one carriage would not cause 'epic delays

And breathe.

herbiwhore - I typed this out in my last reply but thought it was so bloody obvious that it would be an insult to your intelligence. I was wrong.

If they close one carriage, that's 8 cars that can't travel in that first journey. Which means that there's a backlog of 16 in the next one that train makes. And so on. Which quickly means that lots of people won't make the crossing they've booked or the next one or the one after.

Fenella - there are boards letting you know whether there's any delays so perhaps they could add 'There's no aircon in one of the carriages on this train. If you'd rather not travel on it, please make sure you let the attendant know that you want to get another underbooked train but it may mean being delayed by several hours.'

Perhaps that would be the solution for people who'd rather hang around in the dreadful and hideously overpriced terminal than risk half an hour of discomfort.

I'm with the OP here. Sounds like a horrible experience and for those comparing it with the tube, well that's clearly ridiculous as you can just get off the tube every few minute if you begin to feel really unwell.

As to the poster comparing being stuck in an overheating tube buried in rock god knows how many miles under the sea to sitting by the pool in Egypt - well words fail me.

MNpostingbot

I like AIBU when OPs are prepared to listen to all sides (obviously personal attacks are not acceptable and I'm not talking about them) as it generates interesting debate. However, we appear to have an influx of people who really should be on the "IANBU and everyone must agree with me" board.

it's an option.
I tell you something though, Odd, the whole thing sounds like hell. Aircon or no aircon. Half an hour in a tunnel under the channel. I'm dreadfully claustrophobic. I'm going to have to go for a lie down just thinking about it.

It's not the place for you if you're remotely claustrophobic Fenella :o

Yeah. I can't have my bedroom door shut unless my window's open. I'd rather swim it than go through the tunnel.

for those comparing it with the tube, well that's clearly ridiculous as you can just get off the tube every few minute if you begin to feel really unwell.

The OP was minutes away from an air conditioned carriage. That she was taken to when she felt unwell, or could have taken herself to before she felt unwell. That is a lot quicker access than if she was on a train with no air con, or a tube that is 10 mins between stops. Not to mention that when you get off a tube, you are on a platform that is often just as hot if not hotter than the tube you've just got off, where as she was taken straight to an air conditioned carriage and given water.

I think on the basis the Eurotunnel website says “Our staff are fully trained in Health and Safety and are able to give First Aid” the OP has every right to feel fully aggrieved and frustrated not to mention upset by her experience. Being pregnant, you’d read this on the website and get absolute reassurance that should anything happen, you’d be in more than capable hands of staff. This wasn’t the case. They failed on this- thus didn’t give the service they promise on their website and also customers pay for. She also was not expecting air con to fail, which is pretty appalling and they should always have back up options.

I’d be fuming too.

Scatty - do we know that it said that/it was the case 9 months ago? Perhaps Eurotunnel have trained more staff as a result of the OP's original complaint............

sparechange but she had got to the point of fainting already, presumably before she knew of the air-con carriage? There is a psychological element to this too, I've had a migraine on the tube and I did just keep telling myself only a few minutes, only a few minutes before I could get off. Even though the platform would be hot you are up the escalator and onto the street in moments and you know that in your own mind.

Agree an overground train without air-con would be pretty awful too although still not as bad as being underground and confined.

OP I still don't understand why you didn't go to another carriage BEFORE getting to the point of fainting?

Being pregnant, you’d read this on the website and get absolute reassurance that should anything happen, you’d be in more than capable hands of staff.
But she was. The staff came and gave her water, and saw she was under the care of an off-duty nurse. The OP has already said her expectation of what they should have done was take her to a sick bay. Which no one would say is a reasonable expectation.

So trained first aiders arrived, gave appropriate first aid and OP made a full recovery. At what point is that not her being in capable hands?
But I would also question that you should get 'absolute reassurance' that if anything happens you'll be ok. First aiders are just that. They aren't doctors, and they shouldn't be relied upon in 'anything happens'.

I don't think this op will be happy until she has herself in a sad face newspaper picture!

Op, no company needs to share their policy with you. They apologised and compensated.... Move on, they did weeks ago and have probably blocked your email address by now

Oh and if you were there 5 minutes before you 'collapsed'.... I'd say you were already ill/sick/faint/whatever before you even got in the carriage!

OP - this may be of use to you. www.rgsonline.co.uk/Other_Organisations/ATOC/ATOC%20Guidance%20Notes/ATOCGN015%20Iss%201.pdf

As a former railway employee, former (repeatedly) pregnant woman and frequent user of Eurotunnel (FYI - get ours free by saving our Clubcard vouchers, usually saves the £150 return) we have encountered this a couple of times. We just decamp to another carriage (baby, toddler, waddly me, DH et al). I get that this didn't happen but I feel that there really was little else that Eurotunnel could've done. Sorry that the journey was unpleasant for you.
I can share more docs & policies if you feel that this will help you.

No wonder we are such walkovers over here. The slack-jaws will be staring at the screen as if you are crazy to even want to complain.

How will the company know to improve if one doesn't mention it? And no - it is not a minor issue.

Unrelated example:
I usually ask for another till to open up if there are only one or two open. Dirty looks aplenty - how dare I make a fuss albeit pleasantly and politely. I always get served tout de suite. I even got £25 compensation from Barclays from a lovely manager 2 weeks ago for having to queue for 20 mins. The culture becomes somewhat lacklustre. Speak up people!

OP you've been really quite rude to lots of the people who've taken the time to reply to you on here (calling them cunts whilst also whining about hurt feelings and alluding to people who are only brave from behind a computer screen - nice). You had a bad experience but it latest 30 minutes, nine months ago. You've also refused to say what more they could have done to help you when you fainted ('collapsed' sounds so much more dramatic, doesn't it?). Seriously, move on.

*lasted, not latest

Agreed Captain !

people seem so quick to say op yabu, why? she paid for a service that did not meet up to its description and to boot was dangerous.
I am not surprised that they have stalled over this, they are hoping you will give up.

Last summer a dog died of heat exhaustion, on one of the Dover/Calais crossings (2 hrs ish) it caused up roar within the close knit community that I live in, not just because a dog had died but because of the shoulder shrugging of the company. No aircon and no exceptions made for dogs coming out of cars despite temp in the high 30s. Sadly the owner were not aware of this until they had boarded the ferry and were able to get off.

The situation that the op found herself in could have been much worse,had this been a car with a disabled person who travels in wheelchair or been a car with dogs - your dogs are not allowed out of the car.
Suggesting that the tunnel may not be aware of the fault is not acceptable - the aircon is a safety measure, saying they could not close that carriage is also not true they could have and yes that would have caused delays and cost the company money but would perhaps motivate them to repair the fault.

They are really hoping that you will give up infustration. If no one complains the company just shrugs their shoulders and carries on.

*unable

OP I'm another that agrees with you. DD was six months old and we were stuck on a non air conditioned plane on the runway here in the us. It was 98f outside and our plane had zero ac until airborne. In 45mins we went from a happy and content baby to one that was fading fast. I had her stripped down and had to demand ice cubes to cool the water they were giving us. We were at the point where if we hadn't been able to take-off I was going to demand we go back to the gate. There was a nurse on board who said after 30mins we should turn back.

We complained to everyone up to the CEO. Their procedure is to not turn the engines on to save fuel. It makes them energy efficient. Well now we do our best to fly with other airlines. It was stupidly dangerous and the captain could have easily used their judgement and turned on the engines to power the ac.

The process needs to change. 8 cars with those able to tolerate the heat should be put in that carriage with any car containing someone who would struggle in high temperatures allocated spots in an ac carriage.

I do think you need to change the phrasing of your complaint and make it into a proposed solution. I would return the £30 they have offered and explain you want to see them change their process/policy so this doesn't happen to others such as small babies, those with heart conditions, the elderly or other pregnant women.

A company doesn't have to provide first aid to customers, only staff.

Most businesses provide it as a courtesy and it is not the law.

I think you have to accept other people helped you and it was just one of those things.

As an employee for a large retailer in customer services, I know they are not going to change policy for you.

They are also not required to show you policies either.