Virgin Trains has 'apologised unreservedly' for a sexist and dismissive tweet in response to a female passenger's complaint of alleged 'misogynistic behaviour' by a staff member.
Emily Lucinda Cole, 27, had accused a male train manager of being 'hideously patronising' when he referred to her as 'honey' as she attempted to 'politely' complain about the service.
After sharing her experience on Twitter, the official Virgin Trains East Coast Twitter account asked if she would 'prefer 'pet' or 'love' next time'.
Cole said she was 'stunned' by their response, tweeting: 'Wonderful to see that @virgin_trainsEC take complaints of rude and misogynistic behaviour seriously. Stunned. @EverydaySexism @VirginTrains.'
Cole had been travelling on a packed train from Edinburgh to London on January 2 when passengers were informed that seats were available in First Class, before being told a mistake had been made they had to move and find a seat in Standard.
'They were telling passengers at the front desk and on the platform that they can sit in the basically empty first class coach and pay the weekend upgrade,' she explained to the BBC.
'It was only after the train set off that they told us they'd all made a mistake and we had to move to try and find seats with all our luggage in the packed train.
'The first person to check my ticket was very abrasive. His response to my explaining the situation, politely and honestly, and that I wanted to complain, was "you go ahead honey".
'In the context and given his aggressive tone I can only assume he didn't like being challenged by a woman. I wouldn't have complained if he'd used the term in a familial or affectionate way. It definitely wasn't that.'
Virgin Trains East Coast went on to delete the post, with a spokesperson for Virgin Trains on the east coast route issuing the statement (via BBC): 'We apologise unreservedly for this tweet and for the offence caused.
'To avoid causing more offence we have deleted the original post.'
Naomi Gordon is news writer mainly covering entertainment news with a focus on celebrity interviews and television.
