To give some examples:
I often have to travel via Eurostar and use London International (CIV) tickets from various stations. On one occasion I was using a Winchester -> London(CIV) ticket (route any permitted) to travel Winchester->Reading->Paddington->St.Pancras (on the underground). I was challenged by the Cross Country on-board staff who insisted that as there was a direct service Winchester->Waterloo I had to take that train. I explained that my route was valid and that having a bad back dragging a suitcase by my chosen route was far easier than via Waterloo. I was "let off" but told to use the correct route in future. It was even suggested that as I was getting such a good deal on the ticket, I could not use other routes :roll:
At my TOC we have had no briefing, documents, training or anything else relating to a) CIV tickets, b) the Routeing Guide. Occasional general guidance is given, but not enough to be of much use aside from the direct train / direct route principal. This might well be an expected response from someone who had only ever been told basic things about direct routes etc, and had no way of effectively finding out.
On another occasion I tried to buy (on board as no ticket facilities available at the time) St.Eth -> Camborne tickets for me and my then 2 year old son with a family railcard. I was refused as "he must be at least 5".
This I cannot understand, even if he was 5 or 2 you can buy a child ticket and I have no idea why his age should come into it
Lastly, I had an Anytime Single from Stansted Airport to Alton for a particular day which cleary displaying as valid until the next day. As a result of my flight being delayed I only made it into London itself and missed the last train down to Alton. Having spent the night in a hotel. I continued the next morning and confirmed with staff at Waterloo that I was ok. The on-board guard refused to accept my ticket and charged me for a new ticket. Even when I pointed out the validity date he said it is the big date in the middle that counts.
I can understand this response, at my TOC we receive no briefing, training, documentation or anything else to explain this.
Now, are any of these exceptional or complex issues? Not to my mind. In all three cases I was treated as if I was deliberately trying to pay less than I should or travelling without a valid ticket. I was not treated in a rude or offensive manner, however, in all these cases other members of the public on board looked at me as if I were a criminal / low life etc.
If there are staff who refuse / cannot / do not understand even basic ticketing, what hope does RJ have?
Many staff refuse to understand because they may believe what they have always been told by their TOC, and not what they are being told by a passenger.
Many staff cannot / do not understand because they have never been given proper training beyond the most basic of ticket functions.
Basic ticket training in my experience is woefully inadequate, you are often just expected to find out as you go along.
Since the demise of the paper fares manuals you have no reference material to carry around and refer to either.
At my TOC there is no access to The Manual, and since the demise of paper versions of other documents such as the NRCOC and RG, these are not available to consult either.
I was, only a few months ago, talking to a new colleague who had only been out on his own for a few weeks, who was telling me about some "angry passengers". It turned out that they were using Off Peak tickets at a Peak time, and would correctly be required to only pay an Excess Fare. sadly, during his retail training, he told me he had never been told about excess fares, except for Advance fares and that meant a new ticket again, so he just adopted the same policy.
