Hi Simon, I just found your site having had exactly the same problem with the crazy new Scotrail booking system… They have given me an email address at Scotrail for feedback. And this is my chat with the customer services rep, which sums up my views of this new system…
Lee: Good afternoon, how can I help you?
Stephen: Hi. I am trying to find the month calendar view that lists all the bargain berths for the caledonian sleeper, but I can’t seem to find it. It used to be very easy to see what dates had the bargain berths for various destinations and I could plan accordingly. Has the page moved?
Lee: this page is no longer available, now bargain berths can be found on the main booking page after you enter in your travel preferences
Stephen: Is that the Mixing Deck page? It isn’t at all helpful, and I’ve got a degree in Computer Science so I’m hardly one to normally struggle with the web…
Stephen: The old page was simple, effective and it worked. I can’t even see how to filter in the mixing deck to only show sleeper services.
Lee: the page after that, once you confirm.
Lee: the mixing deck will show all services, the inclusive sleepers are the ones with bed symbols, the ones with the bed and “+” symbols are services where you purchase the sleeper berth separately
Lee: if the box is grayed out, it is not available, otherwise it is valid for purchase. For bargain berths it is often easier to select “one way” for the journey. You need to also specify the journey time on the table the below
Lee: bargain berths are very limited, so may not appear on all journeys
Stephen: I know the bargain berths are limited, which is why the old view showing the whole month was helpful. In three clicks you could review the whole booking period, and make your own mind up. As it is with this new system, it takes longer to work out the price for one day than it did previously to work out the price for any day in the coming three months. This just seems crazy. Did Scotrail really intend for this to happen?
Lee: the idea behind it is to present customers with all of the options- previously customers felt it was unfair when the chose a particular ticket without being made aware of cheaper or more flexible tickets, hence showing every ticket with the terms and conditions, so customer can make informed choices based on the journey rather then the ticket type
Stephen: I can understand that, but that is an argument for including the bargain berths in the normal ticketing system, not for removing a way to search for bargain berths over a month long period. Quite simply, I wouldn’t travel on the sleeper at the 150ukp+ price as it is cheaper to drive or fly. But for the bargain berths, I have been a strong advocate of the sleeper.
Lee: I appreciate everyone has there particular travel preferences. If it is something you would like to discuss further, you can contact our customer relations team on 0845 601 5929
Stephen: Are the only accessible on the 0845 number you have given?
Lee: you can reach them via email on scotrailcustomer.relations@firstgroup.com
Stephen: Thanks. I will do.