What went right?, we were picked up in Canterbury at 7.35am today, only to then have to go to Herne Bay for 1 person, then onto Faversham, then on to Ashford, then onto Maidstone, this small feeder coach had a driver that twice got out from the coach despite no one waiting to get in it, just so he could have a cigarette and he left the door wide open to the inclement snowy elements while he did so. Which meant that all the accumulated heat gained up to that point was lost as the door remained open for approx 5 minutes each time. But as long as he got his cigarette I guess that was way more important to him than the comfort of the passengers sitting in the cold coach while he enjoyed his cigarette. Then he got back in thereby bestowing a cigarette smell into the coach while telling us how cold it was while he was outside!!!. Then we got to the big coach and that driver made frequent reference to and commentary about how dangerous the road was, how dangerous the journey is going to be for him, how dangerous a little bridge was going to be for us (not great if you are of a nervous disposition) and he told us how he had to turn his dash cam on, so constantly having no choice but to listen to this chap was quite depressing and drained fun out of the journey. The main drain of what should have been a fun daytrip was the ridiculous 4.5 hours it took to get to Hever Castle without any prior indication that it would take so long from Crosskeys itself being given to customers and in addition the further 2.5 hrs to get home. So we spent in total 7 hrs on these coaches and only reached Hever at 12.15, our meal was being served at 12.30, we then had to leave at 4.30pm, so we spent longer on the coaches than at the place itself, what a rotten day out. Sadly the room we ate in at Hever Castle was disappointing and more like a cafeteria than a restaurant, there were not any Christmas centre pieces on the tables, no Christmas crackers either. There unfortunately wasn't any festive atmosphere. The food itself however was quite acceptable, and the staff were pleasant and polite, the mulled wine was delicious, thank you. Then while queuing to get inside the room itself, our driver jumps the whole que of Crosskeys customers waiting patiently in line in the snow outside, while he went in front of everyone purporting that he needed to check up on things inside. He then sat himself down at table one. I guess there is nothing like looking after yourself first! I have to say the unprofessional behaviour and inappropriate comments of the feeder mini coach driver going to Hever who swore several times and told us that he really needed to pee. Do passengers really want to know that from their driver?? I don't think so. Then the main coach driver was not at all great either and definitely not an up beat experience, his negativity about the treachery of the coach journey negatively impacted upon us. It helped ruin the trip for us and others who commented upon it and expressed similar thoughts to us on our homeward journey. The 4th driver was very pleasant, he drove the coach without drama, or unnecessarily negative comments. I would suggest further professional customer service training may benefit Crosskeys. We also feel that Crosskeys were not transparent about the length of time we should expect to sit on the 4 coaches during all 4 additional pick up points, not including Canterbury. Had we known it would be 4.5hrs going, then we would have made a more informed decision which would have avoided the disappointment we experienced. Plus the issues outlined above, on the whole definitely not a day trip worth £120 for two people.
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