Having heard East Coast guards' stories of the passengers they enounter who are 'confused' or, more often, blissfully unaware - generally tourists or other non-UK residents - who haven't any idea what anything printed on the orange thing might represent, I get the impression that there is often no connection at all between a passenger's wider intentions and anything that might have been printed on the orange things. Moreso on the longer journeys at this time of year.
It happens. We shouldn't assume that every passenger on the network is aware of how our system of ticketing, fares and highly differentiated ticket validities operated. And I'm sure you'll agree is not helped by occasional poor service or wrong advice where the passenger's intentions, no matter how clearly articulated, are inadvertently misinterpreted by staff selling tickets, or websites which can be misleading to customers who may not be fully acquainted with sometimes poorly designed user interfaces and and often baffling array of options.
and for information, in all cases of such a disconnection being encountered by a guard that I have witnessed over the years, I have seen nothing but support and assistance being offered to the passenger.
This is good news, but do not fall for the problem of induction. Just because your personal experience is one of blissful trouble-free travel does not mean your experience is reflective of wider reality. Indeed I have witnessed many cases of confusion by passengers, most of which have been dealt with by excellent support and assistance. Some, unfortunately, have not been. If the industry and the rest of us what to tackle unnecessary confusion and poor service there has to be a recognition that it exists, no matter how isolated such cases may be.
I say this in response to the numerous and repetitive anti-rail staff comments that I read on here.]
You seem to be suggesting there is some sort of inherent anti-rail bias on this forum? As I'm sure you're all too aware, it's a wholly incorrect and unsubstantiated claim which lacks any real basis in fact and empirical evidence. Indeed it seems rather paradoxical for a forum explicitly dedicated to discussing rail matters to hold an anti-rail bias. While there are a small minority who seem to adopt an aggressive so-called 'anti-rail' stance, and indeed a small minority who might be argued to adopt an 'anti-passenger/customer' stance (and perhaps an even smaller minority who are simply just rude), the overall picture seems to be one of balance and reasoned discussion, especially given such extreme outbursts on either end of the spectrum are readily corrected by the overwhelming majority of posters on this forum.
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Virgin half-heartedly tried this when they took over the ICWC franchise. I'm not sure of the reasons why, but it didn't succeed. Perhaps as you say, it's time to look at it again.
I don't see why it cannot work. It's a simple solution which would cost little to nothing to implement and would eliminate a problem which it appears some are very concerned about.