Minilad
Established Member
Well he could have ben carrying the guards machine for them.
Depends if she was one of the fit ones
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G4S in Manchester
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Depends if she was one of the fit ones
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Are the people who are having issues actually presenting their tickets to them?
I don't bother with that, I just flash my railcard and ticket from the wallet (at a distance) and walk on. I have tested them a few times with completely invalid tickets - got through every time. They vast majority don't bother me. If you look confident and don't fiddle, they don't spare much time.
Of course, I always have a valid ticket.
Birmingham New Street (LM Staff) and Liverpool Lime Street (Northern's own staff?) barely even glance.
G4S do, however, play an invaluable role in selling tickets in the North West, becuase many smaller stations have completely inadequate ticketing facilities and the guard is too busy to collect the masses of fares (or can't get through the train in the peaks).The queues to buy tickets at Piccadilly or Victoria in the morning peak can be horrendous - commuters from other areas of the country would be shocked.
Also G4S are, generally, much friendlier in Preston than they are at the Manchester Stations.
I don't bother with that, I just flash my railcard and ticket from the wallet (at a distance) and walk on. I have tested them a few times with completely invalid tickets - got through every time. They vast majority don't bother me. If you look confident and don't fiddle, they don't spare much time.
Of course, I always have a valid ticket.
Birmingham New Street (LM Staff) and Liverpool Lime Street (Northern's own staff?) barely even glance.
G4S do, however, play an invaluable role in selling tickets in the North West, becuase many smaller stations have completely inadequate ticketing facilities and the guard is too busy to collect the masses of fares (or can't get through the train in the peaks).The queues to buy tickets at Piccadilly or Victoria in the morning peak can be horrendous - commuters from other areas of the country would be shocked.
Also G4S are, generally, much friendlier in Preston than they are at the Manchester Stations.
Ditto.
I even flashed a German ticket at them once coming back from the Airport - no problem at all :roll:
Chapeltom
Established Member
I don't bother unless I have to with Manchester Piccadilly Platform 13/14. I got off at Oxford Road this evening off the 1729 ex Buxton to Blackpool. By the time you've walked through Manchester Picc station, been hassled by G4S and got down towards the City Centre I could be at Oxford Road, through the barriers and a few minutes ahead. Any trains out of the Buxton line to beyond Manchester, I'll use MCO now.
That would be funny if I was American.Why don't they know how long one is?
Round here, a meter is something that tells you how much gas you have used. A metre is 100 centimetres.
(Homophones don't work very well on t'internet!)
AlterEgo
Veteran Member
I can tell you that one customer recently presented an Off Peak return ticket which he had just had excessed to an Anytime Return at the booking office.
G4S sold him another excess for £10, as an "admin fee" the excess was marked as an X/S to Anytime Return, despite him already having the right excess!
Unbelievable.
G4S sold him another excess for £10, as an "admin fee" the excess was marked as an X/S to Anytime Return, despite him already having the right excess!
Unbelievable.
Personally, I think G4S are quicker than barriers, becuase I actually have to get the ticket out of the wallet, put it in the slot and the barriers Northern use aren't exactly quick to open, like the LU models are.
I just flash the ticket and keep on walking. 99 times out of 100, they don't do anything. If you have a ticket wallet, they just presume you're fine, I reckon.
hairyhandedfool
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I'm not sure you are allowed to do that actually, the Metrolink part is an add on to the Manchester Stns-Edinburgh fare. The Manchester Stns-Edinburgh fare is not valid for doubleback via Manchester Piccadilly (because it is in Manchester Group), unless I've missed an easement. The only relevant easement I have seen is 300424, which says passengers travelling from Deansgate may doubleback via Manchester Oxford Road.
You could have gone to Piccadilly on the Metrolink and boarded a train there quite legitimately though.
Failed Unit
Established Member
Oh well they were right, I would normally have used metro-link to the city centre attended to business and returned from Piccadilly. On that occasion the Metrolink was closed in the city centre for the rebuilding work. The only reason a didn't walk was because a collegue was heading to London so I wasn't sure how long the metrolink replacement buss would have taken. Oh well looks like my experience was G4S were right.
spacehopper
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Well according to the latest propaganda piece complaints about G4S have "dropped a massive 48%" and in first four months more people "have been reported than for the whole of 2010".
This in the same propaganda that has a full page spread on McNulty but makes no mention that 1066 guards will be out of a job.
An absolute classic in the "Your Say" section-
"Lighten up a bit, chill out and just enjoy work- life's too short and believe it or not we are onto a good thing!".
This in the same propaganda that has a full page spread on McNulty but makes no mention that 1066 guards will be out of a job.
An absolute classic in the "Your Say" section-
"Lighten up a bit, chill out and just enjoy work- life's too short and believe it or not we are onto a good thing!".
Nym
Established Member
Oh, I did once flash an out of date MoD pass, and another time an MIA airside pass, and they let me past each time
My ex even managed it with his Bolton Hospitals ID Card
My ex even managed it with his Bolton Hospitals ID Card
Statto
Established Member
Lol anyone remember when G4S[or Group 4 Securicor]took over the service which escorted convicted Criminals from Court to Prison & vice versa in the early 90s, & there was a quite few escapes from there vehicles, & quite a few jokes about G4 at the time.
CheekyBandit
Member
I'd be tempted to say to them "if you want to be charged with Wasting Police Time or Perverting the Course of Justice I ain't gonna stop you."
AlterEgo
Veteran Member
Customers aren't experts though, are they?
The ticket staff employed by security groups are clueless. Twice at Kings Cross (when GNER used them around 2004 for a while), I was on an all-line, I had an hole punched in it. Although, some regular TOC staff have also done it occasionally. The last time was on a EMT by an RPI on a derbyshire wayfarer.
hairyhandedfool
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Not neccesarily clueless, but maybe on 'autopilot'.
Tbh, ticket training at most TOCs is a pile of crap, primarily because the trainers are clueless about tickets. Reap what ye sow, oh TOC directors..........though I should point out that my own TOC has a very knowledgeable chap working as Head of Revenue/Security who seems to be trying to change things and educate the TMs/RPIs, and in all fairness is doing a good job. He's up against it though because the previous incumbents attitude to ticket training was cringeworthy so as a consequence, a lot of staff don't know what they should!
Solent&Wessex
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Sadly this is very true. I had a new starter with me the other week to come out with me for a bit of practice on ticket duties. I asked various questions and it came to light that a) he hadn't actually been taught about 50% of what he needed to know to even have a basic knowledge of all the different products we come up against (PTE products, Rovers, Routeing, validity of off peak products, how to do excess fares etc), and b) about 25% of what he had been taught was wrong or incomplete. And this is ticket training for Guards done by a TOC! So then people wonder why issues occur.
Chapeltom
Established Member
Nope not in my experience, there was no queue at the barriers and Oxford Road is a far easier station to get out of! By the time you've got up the stairs off Platform 13/14 and being hassled, which I regularly am about a faded railcard I can be nearer where I want to be as its pretty long walk from P13/14 down to the main entrance.
I have never been hassled by them. I don't look at them in the eye and I hold my ticket wallet from an almost unreadable distance. Got through with many invalid tickets too, just to test them. They are rubbish!
nedchester
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Maybe a Railforums competition should be run to see what the most ridiculous ticket can be shown to these gimps? (Of course whilst at the same time having the right ticket in your wallet in case of trouble).
I think the phrase 'flash with confidence' is needed!!!
Might try it myself if I go over there in the next few weeks.....!
I think the phrase 'flash with confidence' is needed!!!
Might try it myself if I go over there in the next few weeks.....!
Minilad
Established Member
Maybe a Railforums competition should be run to see what the most ridiculous ticket can be shown to these gimps? (Of course whilst at the same time having the right ticket in your wallet in case of trouble).
I think the phrase 'flash with confidence' is needed!!!
Might try it myself if I go over there in the next few weeks.....!
Tried that once. Got me arrested
Maybe a Railforums competition should be run to see what the most ridiculous ticket can be shown to these gimps? (Of course whilst at the same time having the right ticket in your wallet in case of trouble).
I think the phrase 'flash with confidence' is needed!!!
Might try it myself if I go over there in the next few weeks.....!
It was busy and I had arrived from the airport, a couple of months ago. I had a (NS) Dutch Railways ticket in my wallet, waved through as usual!
I was tired and was rushing to get my connection, but afterwards I realised and that is where it dawned on me that G4S are rubbish! I know Northern is part-owned by NS, but that is pushing it a bit far...
I might have to let them off because it was hectic on the bridge, but apart from that I am sure I have presented a Merseyrail DaySaver before!
There must be a few of them that want to inspect closer, but the vast majority just check that you have a ticket, and no more specific than that!
Which does beg the question, are they more cost-effective than automatic barriers?
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table38
Established Member
You could try saying "these aren't the tickets you are looking for" in your best Alec Guinness voice 
Lampshade
Established Member
I've certainly got past them with used outward portions of CDRs when I've forgotten to swap them round in my ticket wallet. Also think I've got through with old tickets from the same route and even tickets for that day but a completely different route.
Platform tickets on the other hand, show them a dead baby, you'll get the same reaction
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