I come today with yet another incident involving Northern and poor training of staff.
Following on in the very similar style to THIS recent thread i have had issues today with a number of Northern staff who are unfamiliar with the rules of the humble SVR. This to me is one of the very basic fundamental sets of ticketing rules and it is of great concern that what at least appears to be a significant number of staff at Northern from all departments are unaware of these basic rules.
Ticket held :
Hebden Bridge to York Off peak Return (SVR) dated 4/12/18.
Restriction : TP
Ticket type :
M-Ticket, Trainline iOS app (latest version)
Journey times are timetabled not actual.
Outward Journey :
Harrogate 1506 to Knaresborough 1515
Knaresborough 1615 to York 1646
Return Journey :
4/12/18 York 2211 to Harrogate 2244
**Overnight stay in Harrogate**
5/12/18 Harrogate 1115 to Leeds 1153
**Onwards connections not relevant**
The incorrect advice :
Whilst your return portion IS valid for a month, once you start it you have to complete it that same day. No overnight break of journey is permitted on the Return portion of an SVR ticket.
Further reading :
On trying to continue my journey today at Harrogate i was denied entry to the platforms at the Ticket office side (Platform 1) Gateline by 'Member of Gateline staff A' who quoted that my grey ticket was used. I politely explained that it was an Off Peak Return and was valid until 3rd January but he and his colleague 'Member of Gateline Staff B' still refused to accept this. After a second explanation that there are no restrictions on Break of Journey on these tickets he decided to walk with me to the ticket office to get a third, fourth and fifth opinion. Up to this point it had been disappointing that these two were clearly lacking the training that they should have had to do the job they are trying to do but what has unfolded since has led me to believe that this issue is several orders of magnitude more serious than even i initially expected. Ticket office staff at Harrogate are unaware of what the different types of ticket are. None of them could directly answer the question and had to look up the rules for an SVR which got us no further. Eventually 'Member of ticket office staff A' Said to 'Member of gateline staff A' you had better let him through as none of us are really sure.
By the time i go to the platform over the footbridge the doors were closing and i received a patronising finger point and head shake from the guard on the 1115 as it left. By the time i got back to the gateline on Platform 1 the station supervisor had returned and we had a chat. This chap appears to know some rules about tickets which leaves him in a good position working in a railway station. He apologised and mentioned that he would see that the station staff were updated on the rules. A thoroughly nice chap with a good attitude and good knowledge and a credit to the company. He also mentioned that if i wanted to make a complaint (and recommended i did i could contact the social media team and they'd pass it on or give me a contact number).
Now i'm one to let people know when people are doing a good job and when they're falling short of what is expected of them so i contacted their social media team by way of DM as they call it and provided a somewhat lengthy explanation of my concerns going on to explain that this appears to be a regular thing with staff being unaware of the rules. Thinking i would either get a stock apology or be passed on to someone else i awaited the reply. When the reply came i was somewhat lost for words. At that point i immediately decided that this needs to be taken immediately to the highest level of complaint within and outside the company. 'Social Media Staff A' Confirmed that once i had started my journey i had to complete it that day and it was not valid for overnight break of journey.
Imagine my delight in finding out that from the group of staff spoken to today, ALL but 1 of them are following this incorrect rule.
Company/Network wide concerns :
So, gateline staff, ticket office staff, (guards on other occasions) Social Media Staff, are all going on the exact same advice as eachother. Now, is this just a coincidence that each of these people have individually made up the same lie or is it more likely that this lie is coming from somewhere else entirely and the company are teaching these incorrect rules to all of their staff. I cannot say one way or another but i will let everyone who reads this form their own opinions on this matter. The fact is, that the MAJORITY of passengers in my position today would have purchased a new ticket where this was un-necessary. They would not have complained, and even if they did and did so by social media they would have been told the same information by twitter, they would not have applied for a refund on the original, and even if they did, if it was a mobile ticket from Trainline then they would have refused as you CANNOT get a refund on an activated ticket under any circumstances (also wrong) and "The railway" would profit greatly from this. This IS happening, likely on a daily basis, it is NOT limited to Northern, as we see in the thread linked to above, Virgin Trains in that instance have wrongly charged for a new ticket.
My beliefs :
I believe that a person or multiple people involved in training is making up rules and telling people this and it is spreading like a rash throughout the company. I do NOT believe that it is being done DELIBERATELY for financial gain, however there is clear evidence that this DOES provide financial gain on some occasions.
Conclusion :
What a shame for the staff that are friendly and pleasant and helpful. What a shame even for those staff that haven't got the faintest idea of what they rules really are but have never received the correct training. What a shame for the same staff that have to put up with passengers who are disgruntled due to poor service and the ongoing industrial action. What a shame for the staff (i'll let you judge the percentage) who DO have the knowledge who are fighting a losing battle.
I expect there will be a nice range of replies from those who agree at least in part to those that reiterate their views that since the dawn of the railway no member of staff has put a foot wrong to everything in between. What i WOULD like to achieve is an improvement in knowledge for staff at Northern (and anywhere else) and that is far more important than any refund or compensation. If anyone else has (preferably recently) had this SPECIFIC issue whereby you have been denied your right to break your journey overnight on the return portion of an SVR (or similar) ticket i'd love to hear from you. I'd also be interested to hear from staff who have been taught this rule, or indeed still believe that it is true despite the NRCOT saying otherwise.
Following on in the very similar style to THIS recent thread i have had issues today with a number of Northern staff who are unfamiliar with the rules of the humble SVR. This to me is one of the very basic fundamental sets of ticketing rules and it is of great concern that what at least appears to be a significant number of staff at Northern from all departments are unaware of these basic rules.
Ticket held :
Hebden Bridge to York Off peak Return (SVR) dated 4/12/18.
Restriction : TP
Ticket type :
M-Ticket, Trainline iOS app (latest version)
Journey times are timetabled not actual.
Outward Journey :
Harrogate 1506 to Knaresborough 1515
Knaresborough 1615 to York 1646
Return Journey :
4/12/18 York 2211 to Harrogate 2244
**Overnight stay in Harrogate**
5/12/18 Harrogate 1115 to Leeds 1153
**Onwards connections not relevant**
The incorrect advice :
Whilst your return portion IS valid for a month, once you start it you have to complete it that same day. No overnight break of journey is permitted on the Return portion of an SVR ticket.
Further reading :
On trying to continue my journey today at Harrogate i was denied entry to the platforms at the Ticket office side (Platform 1) Gateline by 'Member of Gateline staff A' who quoted that my grey ticket was used. I politely explained that it was an Off Peak Return and was valid until 3rd January but he and his colleague 'Member of Gateline Staff B' still refused to accept this. After a second explanation that there are no restrictions on Break of Journey on these tickets he decided to walk with me to the ticket office to get a third, fourth and fifth opinion. Up to this point it had been disappointing that these two were clearly lacking the training that they should have had to do the job they are trying to do but what has unfolded since has led me to believe that this issue is several orders of magnitude more serious than even i initially expected. Ticket office staff at Harrogate are unaware of what the different types of ticket are. None of them could directly answer the question and had to look up the rules for an SVR which got us no further. Eventually 'Member of ticket office staff A' Said to 'Member of gateline staff A' you had better let him through as none of us are really sure.
By the time i go to the platform over the footbridge the doors were closing and i received a patronising finger point and head shake from the guard on the 1115 as it left. By the time i got back to the gateline on Platform 1 the station supervisor had returned and we had a chat. This chap appears to know some rules about tickets which leaves him in a good position working in a railway station. He apologised and mentioned that he would see that the station staff were updated on the rules. A thoroughly nice chap with a good attitude and good knowledge and a credit to the company. He also mentioned that if i wanted to make a complaint (and recommended i did i could contact the social media team and they'd pass it on or give me a contact number).
Now i'm one to let people know when people are doing a good job and when they're falling short of what is expected of them so i contacted their social media team by way of DM as they call it and provided a somewhat lengthy explanation of my concerns going on to explain that this appears to be a regular thing with staff being unaware of the rules. Thinking i would either get a stock apology or be passed on to someone else i awaited the reply. When the reply came i was somewhat lost for words. At that point i immediately decided that this needs to be taken immediately to the highest level of complaint within and outside the company. 'Social Media Staff A' Confirmed that once i had started my journey i had to complete it that day and it was not valid for overnight break of journey.
Imagine my delight in finding out that from the group of staff spoken to today, ALL but 1 of them are following this incorrect rule.
Company/Network wide concerns :
So, gateline staff, ticket office staff, (guards on other occasions) Social Media Staff, are all going on the exact same advice as eachother. Now, is this just a coincidence that each of these people have individually made up the same lie or is it more likely that this lie is coming from somewhere else entirely and the company are teaching these incorrect rules to all of their staff. I cannot say one way or another but i will let everyone who reads this form their own opinions on this matter. The fact is, that the MAJORITY of passengers in my position today would have purchased a new ticket where this was un-necessary. They would not have complained, and even if they did and did so by social media they would have been told the same information by twitter, they would not have applied for a refund on the original, and even if they did, if it was a mobile ticket from Trainline then they would have refused as you CANNOT get a refund on an activated ticket under any circumstances (also wrong) and "The railway" would profit greatly from this. This IS happening, likely on a daily basis, it is NOT limited to Northern, as we see in the thread linked to above, Virgin Trains in that instance have wrongly charged for a new ticket.
My beliefs :
I believe that a person or multiple people involved in training is making up rules and telling people this and it is spreading like a rash throughout the company. I do NOT believe that it is being done DELIBERATELY for financial gain, however there is clear evidence that this DOES provide financial gain on some occasions.
Conclusion :
What a shame for the staff that are friendly and pleasant and helpful. What a shame even for those staff that haven't got the faintest idea of what they rules really are but have never received the correct training. What a shame for the same staff that have to put up with passengers who are disgruntled due to poor service and the ongoing industrial action. What a shame for the staff (i'll let you judge the percentage) who DO have the knowledge who are fighting a losing battle.
I expect there will be a nice range of replies from those who agree at least in part to those that reiterate their views that since the dawn of the railway no member of staff has put a foot wrong to everything in between. What i WOULD like to achieve is an improvement in knowledge for staff at Northern (and anywhere else) and that is far more important than any refund or compensation. If anyone else has (preferably recently) had this SPECIFIC issue whereby you have been denied your right to break your journey overnight on the return portion of an SVR (or similar) ticket i'd love to hear from you. I'd also be interested to hear from staff who have been taught this rule, or indeed still believe that it is true despite the NRCOT saying otherwise.
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