Customer Service - and cleaning toilets?

[yellowkitchenl]

Is this normal for the rail network? To have a customer service job and clean toilets?

Southeastern - Customer Service Advisor

careers.southeasternrailway.co.uk

Duties may include:

• Safe and on time dispatch of trains
• Safe operation of the gate line and ticket inspection
• Compliance with all safety requirements and emergency procedures
• Customer service
• Cleaning duties ranging from sweeping platforms to maintaining toilet facilities
• Assisting disabled passengers
• Reporting delays, equipment failures, faults, logging any incidents etc.
• Dealing with lost property
• Attachment and detachment of train services

Just never seen anything like it after reading so many job descriptions.

Seems like this company have a theme!

Southeastern - Head of Employee Relations

careers.southeasternrailway.co.uk

Sadly other companies will pay more - let’s be honest! We want to know about your skills, experience and passion. The salary will be circa £85-90K. The opportunity, support and colleagues will make this job for you!

 

[Bedwyn32]

Is this normal for the rail network? To have a customer service job and clean toilets?

Yes it is. I work as a train dispatch in 3rd rail land and part of my duties is ti keep the station's I work at clean and that includes the toilets.

 

[WAB]

"Sadly other companies will pay more - let’s be honest! We want to know about your skills, experience and passion. The salary will be circa £85-90K. The opportunity, support and colleagues will make this job for you!"

Love a bit of honesty - it goes a long way especially when the railway isn't keeping up with market salaries.

 

[Iamanoob]

Had an interview in 2020 for a Train Dispatcher role and it was something like 10% dispatching and the rest cleaning with some customer service thrown in and that was from one of the managers. One of "The train dispatchers" said "hope you like cleaning" but if they wanted to pay me £25,000 + a year to o that, I would have.

 

[yellowkitchenl]

Love a bit of honesty - it goes a long way especially when the railway isn't keeping up with market salaries.

Yes I agree. It was funny reading it though. I've not seen this anywhere else.

Had an interview in 2020 for a Train Dispatcher role and it was something like 10% dispatching and the rest cleaning with some customer service thrown in and that was from one of the managers. One of "The train dispatchers" said "hope you like cleaning" but if they wanted to pay me £25,000 + a year to o that, I would have.

Excellent response.
Honestly such a strange title if it's mostly cleaning.

 

[Iamanoob]

Yes I agree. It was funny reading it though. I've not seen this anywhere else.


Excellent response.
Honestly such a strange title if it's mostly cleaning.

Yep, it was 2 shifts, earlies and nights. Nights consisted of the last hour or so dispatching as the other dispatchers were rostered to finish an hour before the last train came in and then a few hours cleaning and maybe 3-4 hours chilling in the canteen until your shift was over. The manager that told me this said nights were easy.

 

[387star]

At my interview a decade or so ago they asked if I was happy to push a broom around. Turned out to be cleaning Toilets which I had no idea about. I'm sure you can refuse if things see too 'unpleasant'



Witnessed in Tesco today something unsavoury on the floor and felt sorry for the cleaner... disgusting behaviour

 

[C J Snarzell]

I have regularly seen CSA staff at stations engaged in ancillary duties, like keeping the platforms tidy and making the environment a bit more pleasant for passengers. The toilets in the town centre station near me are regularly under threat from vandals and other druggie scum, so I do believe the station staff regularly check the toilets and keep them tidy, although I have yet to see a CSA physically cleaning a lavatory bowl. I saw one member of staff replenishing a paper towel dispenser a few weeks ago.

CJ

 

[PupCuff]

Smaller stations often have one member of staff who does basically whatever needs doing (within their reasonable competence, of course, you aren't going to be asked to rewire the locker room or install the new tactile paving). Any or all of ticket office/dispatch/customer service/pax assist/reporting faults/general cleaning etc isn't uncommon outside the big cities.

 

[yellowkitchenl]

I have regularly seen CSA staff at stations engaged in ancillary duties, like keeping the platforms tidy and making the environment a bit more pleasant for passengers. The toilets in the town centre station near me are regularly under threat from vandals and other druggie scum, so I do believe the station staff regularly check the toilets and keep them tidy, although I have yet to see a CSA physically cleaning a lavatory bowl. I saw one member of staff replenishing a paper towel dispenser a few weeks ago.

CJ

I always thought they'd hire a cleaner to deal with everything.
Very interesting.

Smaller stations often have one member of staff who does basically whatever needs doing (within their reasonable competence, of course, you aren't going to be asked to rewire the locker room or install the new tactile paving). Any or all of ticket office/dispatch/customer service/pax assist/reporting faults/general cleaning etc isn't uncommon outside the big cities.

Oh okay that makes a lot of sense.

 

[AlterEgo]

I’ve picked up whole human turds for minimum wage when I worked in a nursing home. For a lot more money I’d have ripped your arm off for the opportunity.

 

[FatContr0ller]

Im ticket office, but do general cleaning/ snow clearance/salt spreading/security sweeps.
Jack of all trades now!
Being fair I don't mind it to tell the truth, getting ready for multiskilling

 

[Ivor]

Is this normal for the rail network? To have a customer service job and clean toilets?

Southeastern - Customer Service Advisor

careers.southeasternrailway.co.uk

Yes it’s ‘normal’…..at bigger stations they’ll have cleaning companies on site but otherwise CSA staff clean toilets, well Southern have to.

I worked on behalf of Southern via an agency for years & our contract never actually stated toilet cleaning but after numerous complaints from agency staff about being told to do it by TOC staff they soon amended the contract to specify toilet cleaning.

I often worked smaller stations on my own & on lates I would lock the toilets (for reasons I won’t go into) & only opened them if an elderly person, disabled person, child or someone really desperate would I let them use.

If also disgusting things were done on platforms & unfortunately it happens that was also down to the agency members or TOC staff on duty.

 

[43066]

Yes it’s ‘normal’…..at bigger stations they’ll have cleaning companies on site but otherwise CSA staff clean toilets, well Southern have to.

I worked on behalf of Southern via an agency for years & our contract never actually stated toilet cleaning but after numerous complaints from agency staff about being told to do it by TOC staff they soon amended the contract to specify toilet cleaning.

I often worked smaller stations on my own & on lates I would lock the toilets (for reasons I won’t go into) & only opened them if an elderly person, disabled person, child or someone really desperate would I let them use.

If also disgusting things were done on platforms & unfortunately it happens that was also down to the agency members or TOC staff on duty.

Southeastern platform staff at larger locations (Sevenoaks, Orpington etc.) also have to undertake cleaning duties, including toilets.

 

[Ivor]

Southeastern platform staff at larger locations (Sevenoaks, Orpington etc.) also have to undertake cleaning duties, including toilets.

Ah, I don’t know the stations but makes me wonder where the decision lies to what stations receives a cleaning company full time?

I assume the decision is based on the number of platforms & more importantly footfall?

Equally I appreciate ‘smaller stations’ it wouldn’t be viable to have cleaning companies.

At least the advert mentions ‘maintaining toilet facilities’ so an applicant is aware.