Guards - always a supporter but losing respect

I am a huge supporter of staff on all trains walking through the train and doing revenue duties which is basically what a guard should be doing on non doo services (bar SWR suburban). I’m sure most of us will agree that ticket checks are pretty much non existent most of the time even on routes which for years were extensive.

Today i have travelled from London to Manchester to Leeds and back to London and know one has asked for a ticket. I have countless similar journeys over the last two years and noticed guards most of the time in the back cab or in Virgins case in there office on their phone.

It saddens me that my opinion has now changed that DOO is better. I have found now a good guard is an exception rather than a rule.

Sad days

You'll have to remind me to come to your place of work and, without training in the job, observing you and deciding whether you're working hard enough.

As has been done to death on these forums many times revenue is only a small part of a guards job. If they are on their phone it is likely that it is work related. The simple job of getting a message to control or a station can often take a lot of ringing and waiting in a queue. They may frequently get cut off during this time due to poor reception.

If a guard is not doing their job then it is a matter for their management not somebody without all the facts. Despite what people think on here guards (and other staff members) do get monitored and disciplined if they dont do their job correctly and they don't get supported by their unions if correct procedures have been followed.

A guard only does revenue because they are there for other reasons that they are required to be there for.

I am just making an observation. In my experiences 10 years ago guards were active on ticket checks were frequent on EMR/Northern, now it is a free for all. So why pay somebody to sit in the back cab doing nothing

We are not doing this again.

Anyone interested in reading similar discussions please search for existing threads.