Altercations

[Steam Man]

Do mainline look down on an applicant that’s had conflict with a passenger and taken a trainee out with them on the job

 

[ComUtoR]

In what way ?

It certainly doesn't 'go with the territory' 'Conflict resolution' goes with the territory.

 

[Steam Man]

In what way ?

It certainly doesn't 'go with the territory' 'Conflict resolution' goes with the territory.

Because I had a bit of conflict with a passenger last season that’s the only one I’ve had in 2 years

 

[ComUtoR]

'Altercation' is quite a wide description.

Was it a punch up ?
Many many naughty words ?
General disagreement ?
Did you break any rules ?
Was it something you created ?
Was it aggravated in any way ?
Were the law involved ?
Was it avoidable ?

Lots of questions come to mind. I was involved in an altercation isn't a lot of information. I would prefer not to dismiss it out of hand and I would hope that any details would be discussed at length in any interview and any details of the incident presented and any disciplinary action taken etc.

Anything customer service related should always be resolved through various conflict resolution steps. Nothing should really escalate to such a degree where there would be an 'altercation' unless it was unavoidable. Personally I think you would be on shaky ground. Especially as many of the DMI questions are about preventing incidents and not being part of them.

 

[Steam Man]

General disagreement the passenger was quite aggressive towards me and started on me when I was just doing my job

 

[ComUtoR]

Being vague isn't going to help and I understand why you are being a little coy with what happened so my generic advice will be this. They aren't going to look on this in a good way. Nobody wants an employee who gets into an altercation with a customer or member of the public, irrespective of the reasons why. It the job of any front line employee (and other too) to be able to resolve any issues, prevent escalation, act professionally, learn to step away, uphold the ideals and values of their company etc etc.

I doubt you would make it through the interview process as there are a few questions that specifically deal with how you would deal with conflict, awkward situations etc. Even if you avoided mentioning it in an interview you will still need to provide a reference from a previous employer and they may specifically state what happened.

Even if you sailed the interview and they accepted what happened, you still have the issue of being the best candidate. Where competition is fierce, you need to have a spotless record. I think that will be an uphill struggle tbh.

In all my years of working with the public I have never had an 'altercation' Not everything goes right that's for sure. Part of dealing with the public and 'part of the territory' is how they talk to you and how they act towards you.

 

[43066]

Do mainline look down on an applicant that’s had conflict with a passenger and taken a trainee out with them on the job

1. How would they know (unless you mentioned it)?

2. Why would you mention it?

 

[ComUtoR]

As long as the conduct is not criminal in nature or sackable then what’s the issue.

Would you employ someone who has a history of acting aggressively when challenged or someone who avoids it in every way possible ?

 

[Stigy]

Would you employ someone who has a history of acting aggressively when challenged or someone who avoids it in every way possible ?

If he hasn’t been dismissed due to his behaviour, or been convicted criminally, there’s no way of finding out really. Reference checks are usually so vague l as in; “Did he turns up to work” or, “how many days sick has he had in the past XYZ amount of time”.

@Steam Man, if this is the incident you mentioned before, it would appear very tit for tat, and as such I’d say you have nothing to worry about.

 

[43066]

If he hasn’t been dismissed due to his behaviour, or been convicted criminally, there’s no way of finding out really. Reference checks are usually so vague l as in; “Did he turns up to work” or, “how many days sick has he had in the past XYZ amount of time”.

Even if someone had been dismissed, the reason wouldn’t be disclosed on a reference.

TOCs also don’t much like to talk about attendance/timekeeping records these days (lots of days off sick might be due to a disability etc.) .

As with most employees, a standard HR reference listing job title, dates of employment (plus safety of the line form) is all that is generally supplied.*

I don’t really understand the OP’s question. If you’d been a bit curt to a passenger, or conducted yourself unprofessionally (we’ve all had days like that!), why would you volunteer it? A job interview is your shop window to sell yourself!

On the other hand an “altercation” with a passenger could be turned into a positive example of “dealing calmly with an irate customer... [insert HR friendly waffle]....” in a competency type interview.

*although the railway is a very, very small world so there’s always the possibility they will find out through unofficial channels. Nothing can stop a manager putting a call in to their mate who works in the prospective employee’s depot (“what’s Joe Bloggs like?”).

Job done!