Should the names of our train drivers be known to the public?

pdeaves · 3 Apr 2019

weastebusdepot said:
I'm the only one in the organisation with that first name

I would imagine that 'weastebusdepot' is quite an unusual name!
I find it quite common for passenger-facing on board staff announce their name when advertising the buffet or reeling off the next station calls. On the one hand, who cares who the driver is; on the other hand, if the guard, trolley assistant, etc. can be named, why not drivers?

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Journeyman · 3 Apr 2019

weastebusdepot said:
At one TOC in the past, all staff wore badges with their full name, but staff at one station were receiving targeted abuse. The solution was to issue them with new badges that had their real first name but a fake surname which could only be traced through internal records. Wouldn't like to get into a situation where that becomes standard.

I've worn name badges with my full (very common) name on it in the past, but I'd be very loathe to do so these days, given the amount of abuse that gets dished out on social media whenever an employee does something deemed to be beyond the pale.

evoluzione · 3 Apr 2019

I’ve been Neville Hill a couple of times when rudely asked my name :lol:

furnessvale · 3 Apr 2019

Does it HAVE to be your real name? You could have a badge saying "Tom", when your real name is "Dick" or "Harry". No problems with internet trolls but some passengers are happy putting a name to a face.

londonboi198o5 · 3 Apr 2019

Nope just like a driver has no need to know the names of the passengers

Bertie the bus · 3 Apr 2019

Mutant Lemming said:
Would many of the increasing ranks of female drivers like to let Joe Public the stalker know who they are? With flying the majority travelling are doing an occasional or one off trip - with a train journey you may be seeing the same people daily (at least for a week) giving some the opportunity to build up a dislike or attraction to you.

I hadn't realised that is what all those people on platforms were up to. I assumed they were waiting for a train to take them to their destination so they could carry on with their lives. But no, they're stalking rail staff. Many of them aren't very good at it. They are far too conspicuous. They need to lurk in the shadows a bit more.

Antman · 3 Apr 2019

furnessvale said:
Does it HAVE to be your real name? You could have a badge saying "Tom", when your real name is "Dick" or "Harry". No problems with internet trolls but some passengers are happy putting a name to a face.

My wife used to work in a shop where staff had to wear name badges but they could use an alias if they weren't happy about customers knowing their real name.

I was on a Southeastern train yesterday and the guard announced "my name is Ben and please don't hesitate to stop me as I walk through the train if you need any assistance", better than shouting "oi guard" I suppose? Most passengers never see the driver so their name seems a bit irrelevant.

33056 · 3 Apr 2019

306024 said:
No doubt there is a driver Driver somewhere. Was told of a conductor Currant, but that may have been a wind up.

There definitely is (or was) a driver Driver though haven't seen him for ages.

Typhoon · 3 Apr 2019

In my Building Society, each counter assistant has a name badge and little cards in front of them which you can take away - helpful if I want to compliment or complain (easier than 'its the tallish woman who normally wears her hair tied back but not today who had very bright red lipstick').

With trains (or buses) it is much easier to identify staff - 'the driver of the 10:23 train from Kew Bridge to Waterloo' (or 'the driver of the 15:27 51 bus from Polegate to Eastbourne'). If the management can be bothered tracking down the member of staff, rotas will reveal all. The problem with names is that there is then the problem with people mishearing or misreading them. By all means use first names with catering staff - that's just to say 'we are fairly friendly, come and buy some over priced coffee/ sandwiches from us'. Other than that - NO! It doesn't make my journey any easier.

infobleep · 3 Apr 2019

Bertie the bus said:
Someone who suffers with anxiety might get nervous in all sorts of situations. That's the definition of anxiety. In relation to this topic the only response I can think of is so what?

Well surely it should also be so what on planes too then.

baz962 · 3 Apr 2019

If the passenger is calm and polite and asks I give my first name . If rude or angry I'm Bob.

adrock1976 · 3 Apr 2019

Regarding whether to give out a made up name, for the male drivers, there is the good old fashioned John Smith or David Jones being as they are common male names.

NSEFAN · 3 Apr 2019

evoluzione said:
I’ve been Neville Hill a couple of times when rudely asked my name

This one got me. Perhaps the Scottish staff might give theirs as Craig Entinny? Southern staff as Stewart Slane?

gnolife · 3 Apr 2019

Deleted

LowLevel · 3 Apr 2019

I'm a guard. My first name is on my badge which I wear. If some ranty pants demands my surname I point out that if the company wanted to pass on that information it would be on my badge.

I do announce my name and where I am on the train.

jamesst · 3 Apr 2019

Well as my toc we have to wear name badges, first name only. Doesn't bother me as a driver as its rare I have to interact with the public. Not sure I'd be too happy having to do so in a full on customer facing role though

3141 · 3 Apr 2019

If you're likely to see a member of staff during the journey - walking through the train, checking tickets, serving food - there's a certain friendliness if they announce their name. But it isn't essential. You don't normally see the driver during a journey, and I see no need to know his/her name.

Let's think about drivers' names on Underground trains, or the name of the Train Captain (as they were called and I've forgotten the current one) on the DLR. "Good morning, my name is John and I'm the person who presses the buttons which tell the automatic driving and signalling system which controls this train when to start.'' Should they say that at every station from Epping to West Ruislip?

Why do they announce names on planes? Possibly it dates from earlier times when flying was a really special event and much less of a mass market activity. Planes were much smaller then and flights were longer for a given distance. You'd have much more interaction with the cabin staff and possibly with some of those on the flight deck as well.

But things work one way in some places and a different way in others. They don't all have to be the same.

driver_m · 3 Apr 2019

A particularly bad idea. We aren’t involved directly in customer service. So I don’t see the need.

I won’t go too far into this subject, but I wouldn’t like the thought of someone pursuing us with the knowledge of knowing our name. Whether that’s via social media to complain, victimise etc or even for some other reason. Before someone has me down as paranoid, trust me it happens.

As an aside, I once flew on a UK holiday airline with the most ridiculously named captain ever. Not naming him after what I said earlier, but I couldn’t take him seriously, which is stupid, thinking about it!

45107 · 3 Apr 2019

d9009alycidon said:
Just as an aside - on an Edinburgh to London BA flight some years ago the pilot was Captain Kirk, that raised a ripple of laughter when it was announced

Back in the day of the Dover-Oostende jetfoil, a slighly choppy trip was in the charge of Captain Storm.

furnessvale · 3 Apr 2019

driver_m said:
As an aside, I once flew on a UK holiday airline with the most ridiculously named captain ever. Not naming him after what I said earlier, but I couldn’t take him seriously, which is stupid, thinking about it!

Another aside. I once knew a BA captain who was mad as a hatter.

I swore that if ever I heard the words "This is your captain, M*** D*****, speaking", I would demand to be let off the plane!

ComUtoR · 3 Apr 2019

Can you ask a Copper for their name or do they just give you their badge number ?

221129 · 3 Apr 2019

ComUtoR said:
Can you ask a Copper for their name or do they just give you their badge number ?

They should give you both. Albeit Rank then surname.

ComUtoR · 3 Apr 2019

Cheers

ijmad · 3 Apr 2019

infobleep said:
Incidentally does anyone know why pilots give out there name? How many pilots are there on a long haul flight? Do they all state their names at the start or just when they take over?

Missed this one, but repeating my answer, it's been shown statistically that if a pilot personally introduces themselves in a calm and authoritative tone, people listening do something called 'personification' - it makes it far more likely that they will follow their instructions in a critical emergency. Emergencies on planes can happen very quickly (e.g. engine fire and you need to follow instructions quickly to get out via the slides) - things tend to happen on a train a bit slower.

Ianigsy · 3 Apr 2019

Working in the financial sector, I'm currently instructed to keep my works pass and lanyard out of sight while off the premises (kidnap risk).

In a previous job, we had to answer the phone in a certain way and while we were allowed to use a pseudonym if we wanted to, it couldn't be silly and two people couldn't have the same one.

DanDaDriver · 3 Apr 2019

ijmad said:
Missed this one, but repeating my answer, it's been shown statistically that if a pilot personally introduces themselves in a calm and authoritative tone, people listening do something called 'personification' - it makes it far more likely that they will follow their instructions in a critical emergency. Emergencies on planes can happen very quickly (e.g. engine fire and you need to follow instructions quickly to get out via the slides) - things tend to happen on a train a bit slower.

Which will be fun in the next fifteen / twenty years when your Captain introduces himself as “Tyler-Kai.”

SussexMan · 3 Apr 2019

Bertie the bus said:
I’m unsure how a train driver can go beyond the call of duty in normal circumstances or why you would want to Tweet about them.

Virgin West Coast has a section on their website where you can compliment a member of staff. I did so as I thought a driver had gone beyond what they had to. Arriving close to midnight in Manchester last year with my son (we went up there just so he could ride a Pacer) and the driver came out of the cab just as my son was taking a photo of the Pendolino. He asked him if he wanted to have a look in the cab and invited us back in and proceeded to spend 5 minutes explaining the cab controls.

bobbyrail · 3 Apr 2019

If someone wanted to make a complaint then why would they need the name of the person complained against, for example if the guard/conductor/train manager, was out of order with me then all i will need is the service that i was on, eg 08:15 from Norwich going to destination "B" the TOC will know which staff were on-board so i couldn't care if it was Lee, Lisa, Teresa or Terry. The Toc will know who to speak to so i dont need their personal details. If the TOC are going to address it properly or not has nothing to do with the employees name, its an issue of customer service within the TOC.

LowLevel · 3 Apr 2019

bobbyrail said:
If someone wanted to make a complaint then why would they need the name of the person complained against, for example if the guard/conductor/train manager, was out of order with me then all i will need is the service that i was on, eg 08:15 from Norwich going to destination "B" the TOC will know which staff were on-board so i couldn't care if it was Lee, Lisa, Teresa or Terry. The Toc will know who to speak to so i dont need their personal details. If the TOC are going to address it properly or not has nothing to do with the employees name, its an issue of customer service within the TOC.

Because people are daft and obsessed with names. It means they can be very annoyed and say 'I want your name' in a forceful voice. It's the same as an 'official complaint'. I've never had it explained what the difference is between that and an 'unofficial complaint'.

Never mind that I'm the only person there and there aren't going to be 437 guards on the 0730 from Buggleskelly to Little Whinging.

Mutant Lemming · 3 Apr 2019

Bertie the bus said:
I hadn't realised that is what all those people on platforms were up to. I assumed they were waiting for a train to take them to their destination so they could carry on with their lives. But no, they're stalking rail staff. Many of them aren't very good at it. They are far too conspicuous. They need to lurk in the shadows a bit more.

Thing is it's difficult to tell the Fred Wests from the Adam Wests - they're like them damn mutants all lookalike.

Should the names of our train drivers be known to the public?

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