Winner: Martin Griffiths, CEO of Stagecoach, one of the UK’s rail franchisees.

Boarding a recent train from the Midlands to London with my 9yo daughter, we found sweltering carriages, no ability to sit in our reserved seats, a train with 100 people standing, children crying, no food and beverage and no offers of assistance by the train crew. With no prior announcements to passengers or communication on the entire trip, it was an appalling customer experience. This is not an isolated incident judging by recent customer comments.

A note seeking an explanation from the Company’s CEO with images, some 3+ weeks later remains unanswered. For a company embroiled in an ugly dispute with the UK transport regulators, over exclusion from the bidding process (unwillingness to take on the funding requirements for railway workers pension liabilities), this is a PR disaster. Perhaps Mr Griffiths and his firm’s real priority is not his customers’ welfare but their own enrichment.