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Conductors and 'customer services' bypasses

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syorksdeano

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I am still in a little rant mode after this morning. I will keep the destination to myself but it makes you wonder if any customer service training bypassed this train guard.

I boarded my train this morning with my 2 year old son and had already purchased tickets. The train formed of 2 carriages and we was the only people in this carriage. In the other carriage was a woman who was basically letting her 2 'brats' run around and doing nothing about it.

Now my 2 year old loves traveling by train, and will sit there for many hours either watching a dvd, tv on my phone or doing other stuff.

Anyway when it come to ticket checks, I give the guard my ticket and my son gave him the receipt for my ticket. Now usually guards will stamp it or draw a smiley face on it and be genuinely nice.......but oh no not this one.

He stamped mine and turned around and said "why the **** should I stamp that!"

Its pointless me complaining as it would be my word against the guards, but surely he can't treat customers like that. Imagine if he had said something like that on a Friday or Saturday night.



 
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pemma

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So the conductor wouldn't stamp a receipt that you had given your son in lieu of a ticket, I don't see why he should have to. However, he shouldn't have sworn in front of your child.
 
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syorksdeano

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So the conductor wouldn't stamp a receipt that you had given your son in lieu of a ticket, I don't see why he should. However, he shouldn't have sworn in front of your child.

I didn't expect him to stamp the receipt as at the end of the day they don't have to. Some do it to keep kids entertained. Its the way he could have said no. He could have just walked away or said "oh I don't need to stamp it, but to swear is a bit out of order


 

175001

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Wow, that truly is disgraceful from a fellow Guard. Anybody young "want to be" railwaymen or women who enjoy traveling on my trains always gets a stamp/mark and a thank you off me, it makes me smile, in a time where respect and courtesy towards staff is dwindling, to see courteous children on my train balances out my day :)
 

Ferret

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So the conductor wouldn't stamp a receipt that you had given your son in lieu of a ticket, I don't see why he should. However, he shouldn't have sworn in front of your child.

Must've been having a very bad day is all I can say! :o

As for stamping a receipt or whatever - I'll do it every time! Even let one youngster stamp a handful of tickets in my coach once because he asked nicely if he could. Cripes - the kids are either railwaymen of the future or customers of the future and if they can get a small amount of enjoyment of travelling by train at a young age then so much the better. Why on earth you'd refuse to stamp a receipt to put a smile on a face I don't know!

 

ls1911

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I stamp kids tickets/receipts/random bits of paper all the time,dont see any problem with it.
 

ANorthernGuard

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Disgusting behaviour from a colleague, swearing in front of a child in fact swearing in front of anyone while working is not (and I can have a potty mouth) let me assure you that if you were on my train there would be no swearing and a ticket (receipt) would be printed out for the young un with a smile if not a smile certainly with manners.

Sorry for your experience
 

Ferret

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Yep I imagined some conductors would but it doesn't mean all conductors have to, especially if the train is busy.

Even if it's busy I'll do it! It'd take longer to say 'no' and have them justifiably accuse me of being miserable;)

 

Uzair

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I think that the fact that guards not needing to stamp anything other than tickets is irrelevant in this case.

This is disgusting behaviour. You should report this. There is not a problem with letting young children have some fun on a train. Stamping the receipt would have only added a couple of seconds to the guards time.
 

Norman

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I am still in a little rant mode after this morning. I will keep the destination to myself but it makes you wonder if any customer service training bypassed this train guard.

I boarded my train this morning with my 2 year old son and had already purchased tickets. The train formed of 2 carriages and we was the only people in this carriage. In the other carriage was a woman who was basically letting her 2 'brats' run around and doing nothing about it.

Now my 2 year old loves traveling by train, and will sit there for many hours either watching a dvd, tv on my phone or doing other stuff.

Anyway when it come to ticket checks, I give the guard my ticket and my son gave him the receipt for my ticket. Now usually guards will stamp it or draw a smiley face on it and be genuinely nice.......but oh no not this one.

He stamped mine and turned around and said "why the **** should I stamp that!"

Its pointless me complaining as it would be my word against the guards, but surely he can't treat customers like that. Imagine if he had said something like that on a Friday or Saturday night.




If this was me I would definitely make a complaint, even if I thought it was futile, and name the service on here to out this unprofessional moron; that is, if this story is true...
 

pemma

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I think that the fact that guards not needing to stamp anything other than tickets is irrelevant in this case.

What I was trying to get at is a conductor can't be disciplined for not doing something that isn't part of his job description but he can be disciplined for abusive language towards customers, especially children.
 

34D

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This needs to be reported, and urgently. If there is CCTV it may get wiped over pretty quickly.
 

oddiesjack

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The Northern guards on the Buxton and Hope Valley lines always do a special "ticket" for my 2½yr old grandson whenever we go for a trip on a train.

Fair makes his day, it does!
 

pemma

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Unless it conveyed sound then I doubt it'd prove much. Further, unless it was a TP185 (which I highly suspect it isn't), then I don't think there's any CCTV.

The original poster needs to say what route it was or what rolling stock was used (if they know.)

Many of the Northern 158s now have CCTV and the TPE 170s that are used on South TPE also have CCTV. Do the EMT 158s have CCTV?

The Northern EMUs obviously aren't 2 carriages.

TPE and EMT guards are more likely to have something to stamp tickets with than Northern guards, who quite often have a black pen.
 

ANorthernGuard

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The Northern guards on the Buxton and Hope Valley lines always do a special "ticket" for my 2½yr old grandson whenever we go for a trip on a train.

Fair makes his day, it does!

We aim to please :D

all we do is print off a receipt using ticket stock makes the kids days

and the smile can make mine :D
 

junglejames

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Yep I imagined some conductors would but it doesn't mean all conductors have to, especially if the train is busy.

1- the train wasnt busy
2- This is a young child, and the point of the post was to highlight customer service skills. Good customer service skills mean (as other guards on here have shown) that you do stamp a young childs receipt/ ticket/ piece of paper, what ever it may be.

The swearing just puts the icing on the cake.
 

2Dogbox

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How rude to swear in front of your son. Its no bother to stamp a reciept or bit of paper for children. I have a little stamp in the shape of a train for such occasions that I'm given a 'ticket' like that!
 

syorksdeano

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Well after looking on here and speaking to a guard from the same company that had just gone 'off duty', he's stated that to contact the company involved, in which I was given a contact address to someone instead of the customer services route.

I think what has annoyed me more is the fact he could have walked past (bearing in mind noone else in the carriage) or just said no.

I'm not even wanting to cause trouble, and the only reason why I posted was to vent my anger...then I thought 'is he like this on school holidays'.
 

spacehopper

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I don't mind doing it- most times do it without asking. Parents will often give kids the tickets to pass to you. You can hear them half way down the carriage making something out of it for the kids. I'm more than happy to go along with any requests- as long as it's not wedged and I'm against the clock etc.

Often try and have a joke on with them if they have a teddy asking if teddy has a ticket.

However.... any mention of the "ticket man"- may result in no nicey nicey....
 

185

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Gee. I wish they wouldn't let managers work trains. Chain em to the desk ;)
 

Anon Mouse

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This needs to be reported, and urgently. If there is CCTV it may get wiped over pretty quickly.

I wouldnt have thought so, the CCTV will probably be kept for a set length of time before its wiped, besides CCTV does not record sound so I doubt it would be of any use in this instance, also I doubt the company would be allowed to download the CCTV to discipline the Conductor.:|

Adding to the other Guards on here, I also will clip a recipt or old ticket for a bairn, it will probably make their day and maybe with time that bairn will grow up and want to be traincrew or an ethusuast. I'm all for it! :D
 

185

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also I doubt the company would be allowed to download the CCTV to discipline the Conductor.:|

OMG Mr Mouse! I reckon youre suggesting (one certain) company wouldn't download CCTV to discipline guards for not wearing ties etc

(i refer you to a recent employment case in which a certain Safety Manager perjured himself) ;)
 

benk1342

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The Northern guards on the Buxton and Hope Valley lines always do a special "ticket" for my 2½yr old grandson whenever we go for a trip on a train.

Fair makes his day, it does!

I think I am still about 2½ at heart, as there is something I love about holding a train ticket.

I guess all of us on here are that way to some extent.

Here's to the 2 year olds
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
However.... any mention of the "ticket man"- may result in no nicey nicey....

Sincere question: Why does that bother you?
 

Fare-Cop

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Well after looking on here and speaking to a guard from the same company that had just gone 'off duty', he's stated that to contact the company involved, in which I was given a contact address to someone instead of the customer services route.

I think what has annoyed me more is the fact he could have walked past (bearing in mind noone else in the carriage) or just said no.

I'm not even wanting to cause trouble, and the only reason why I posted was to vent my anger...then I thought 'is he like this on school holidays'.

I can understand you only wanting to put the incident on here to 'vent your anger', but what will that achieve other than a bit of personal release for you?

If all is true and unless you make a formal complaint he may well continue upsetting youngsters and others by such an appalling attitude.

No-one on here can do it for you, we don't know, who, where or when.

I suggest you complain as soon as possible.
 

deltic1989

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i had to travel with my two eldest children (3 and 4) a few months back. And they were given a couple of used tickets by a lovely old couple that were sitting across the way from us (they also gave them doughnuts but thats OT). When the Guard came down he checked my ticked and my children offered the used tickest to him and he drew a nice little smiley face on them. Thats one of the good things about EMT the guards all seem very child friendly this guard even showed them how the doors worked.
Its stories like the Op's that sadden me, there is no excuse for that kind of language in front of a child, whilst most of us could admit to using colourful language every now and again i'm very sure that very few if not none of us have ever cursed in front of a child.
The language is the main thing here when you put on a company uniform you represent the company and as well as it being wrong to swear in front of a child its wrong to use the F word in front of any customer.
Whilst the guard was not required to stamp the 'ticket' surely he could have taken 30 seconds out of his busy (i use the term sarcasticly given the OP) schedule to at least look at the 'ticket' and say ok with a small smile.
I dunno suppose its the world today, but I would definately mention it to the TOC giving them details of the service, it may be a 'your word against his' kind of situation but you may get somewhere, maybe even a letter of apology.
 
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