hairyhandedfool
Established Member
- Joined
- 14 Apr 2008
- Messages
- 8,837
Have you ever actually tried either of these options? From my experience ticket office staff don't know the answers to any but the most obvious questions. The last time I mentioned the routing guide at one it was clear that the staff member I was talking to had never heard of it. In my area it seems they are trained to push you to buy advance tickets, even when you specifically ask for something else....
Then you should take that up with the TOC (or Passenger Focus), it is a requirement of their franchise to have the trained in all aspects of their job to ensure impartial retailling regulations. Quite how far you would get is another matter though.
....I also don't think it's fair to make the customer pay extra (for a phone call) to find out the details of the product they're buying....
I'll conceed that if the above applies, but you should be able to get the information without paying by speaking to staff, or maybe even e-mailing the customer relations dept..
....The full and complete conditions generally aren't available at the time of purchase. You can't even get a paper copy of the NRCoC from a ticket office these days, let alone the myriad other rules and regulations that your use of the product is subject to. Saying "check this website" or "phone this number" is not good enough....
The ticket office should still be able to print a copy of the NRCoC off for you. The conditions of the ticket must be made clear (or you should be told how to get them) when you buy the ticket, if you don't then the staff are not acting in accordance with the instructions from their TOC/Company.
....Those T&Cs are the conditions of the sale on the website, not the rules and regulations governing the product that you buy....
They should include the restrictions of the ticket if they are not otherwise displayed. It is a requirement to make the conditions known to the passenger (or tell them where the conditions can be found).
....Since it's actually impossible (some rules are only in the "manual", as are many clarifications and resolutions for conflicting rules) for a customer to get all the information regarding the product, are you recommending that nobody ever buy train tickets?....
Not at all, just that they should find the information as best they can. If staff are unable or unwilling to help, then I feel for the passenger. I would say that, in reality, the vast majority of information needed is not as hidden as you make out, or atleast is known amongst staff.
....The "manual" is secret....
The manual is not intended for public eyes though. Furthermore the information can be obtained from staff (noting the first point made).
....That's good, providing customers know the questions to ask!....
If they are unsure about something, they know what to ask.
....That assumes that every rail passenger is able to say with 100% certainty at the time of enquiry which service they want to use. Not always possible....
Not necessarily, although it may take time to obtain a complete list of all services the ticket is valid on.
...."Ensure the correct fare has been paid" is the same thing as "catch people who have, deliberately or not, disobeyed the rules"....
I guess that depends on how you define it. I would say there are occasions when that is the case, but I believe there are many times when it is not the case.
....Assuming there is a member of staff to ask, who actually knows the answer. Not a given in many circumstances...
Staff should know the answer or be able to find it in the majority of cases (given some extreme cases are debated on here with no clear answer).
....No, I'd prefer that all the rules were public and simple enough for a mere mortal to understand them....
The first part should be the case anyway, the second part, well, I guess that's down to each person to decide for themselves.
....Yes, as I've said, the NRCoC, etc. is public, it's the "manual" that isn't. It's the manual that's secret....
The manual is not intended for public eyes though. Furthermore the information can be obtained from staff (noting the first point made).
....Even those quoted T&Cs are not as straight forward as you make out, since tickets governed by them are valid on other trains/without reservations in certain circumstances.
But those are not the situations where people are frequently "caught out".