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Slough Station Staff / Jobsworths

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mat64nl

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Good evening all.
Has anyone had any bad relations with the staff at Slough station? I got off a train today and got my camera from my bag. I was immediately approached by a member of station staff who asked me if I had signed in yet, and what I was doing.
I was then asked for my age and whether I had a guardian with me. She also asked where I would be and for how long I would stay, and seemed very confused when I said 'for just over an hour'. She spoke very broken English and it was difficult to understand her because of this.
She did not seem to listen to me when I explained that I had a guardian who was in the Cafe outside the gateline and seemed very confused by what I was saying. It is quite obvious I was taking videos for personal purposes, given I had a small digital Cybershot camera.
This is the first time I have experienced staff who have questioned my activities at a station. I was then told to go to Platform 5 and sign in, which I did immediately. I approached a member of station staff who took me into the information booth and explained to me the do's and dont's of Trainspotting, health and safety regulations and what I can and can't do. It seemed very unorganised and hectic. Because it was my first time experiencing a 'jobsworth' as such, I was very stressed and didn't exactly know how to react. This member of staff's poor English was also a bottleneck, because I was unable to understand what he was saying and repeatedly signed the document wrong. In the end another member of staff came over (following a phonecall) and explained that I was fine and okay to take videos.
While I was there, other people also came to trainspot but not once did I see them being asked to sign in or being approached by gateline staff.
I decided to cut short the visit and realised I had to sign out. I approached a member of station staff, asking if he could let the others know that I was leaving the station, as the train has already arrived. When he said no, and said I needed to go to the office, I asked if he could hold the train, which he did not reply to.
I boarded the train and it left for Paddington immediately after.
What should I do, what are my options and how should I react or act in future?
Many thanks.

I believe that this is the right category to post this topic in, but I'm not entirely sure. My apologies if it is the wrong category.
 
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jon0844

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It's quite possible the other people spotting were known by staff, as you would be in time.
 

bb21

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When you said "unorganised", I think that is actually the most comprehensive in respect of safety precautions with visitors I have ever heard of.

Yes, you can be required to sign in, and if you are quite young, the member of staff would need to be extra vigilant, and very good on him to do that. Teenagers (which I assume you are from your account) tend to have less awareness of dangers in the surrounding environment and are more prone to risky behaviour (not all of them of course as many are very sensible but generally speaking that is true).

Next time, just follow instructions. That's all you need to do. Station staff don't escort you off to sign in without a good reason as that just causes themselves additional hassle. Don't take it personally. It isn't them specifically targeting you, but rather watching out for you.

Unless he was unnecessarily rude, I can't really see what he did wrong here.

They certainly cannot hold the train just so that you can sign out. It is your responsibility to do so in good time. People should not sign you out. They don't know who you are, so they may sign the wrong person out (especially if there were more than one visitor on the book). In the event of an incident, they may need to be able to identify exactly who was there.
 

mat64nl

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I understand what you are saying. To clear up any confusion, that was more aimed towards the concluding question instead of considering the staff as jobsworh though I recognise that I did put jobsworth in quotes. As such, it is my first experience with ever being approached by a member of station staff, as I have taken videos/photos at much larger stations without being approached or questioned for my actions, with station staff acknowledging that I was there, which lead to me to assume that they were a jobsworth. Perhaps I should reconsider my wording in future - thanks, though.
None of what you have posted would I consider as being jobsworth.
 

50039

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You don’t say how old you are, other than to make reference to a guardian in the cafe... who you don’t mention when getting off the train or what they said when you were immediately approached...?
 

mat64nl

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It's quite possible the other people spotting were known by staff, as you would be in time.
That may well be possible. However, given that one was in Southeastern staff uniform (Which could have just left staff to dismiss them as a trusted person), and all three entered and left the stations from long distance intercities from both London and the Cotswolds, as did I, I would assume that this is not the case.
When you said "unorganised", I think that is actually the most comprehensive in respect of safety precautions with visitors I have ever heard of.
Again, I apologise for any confusion. I am tired and perhaps the whole post requires rewriting because even looking back at it the post is pretty unorganised as well. This was not referring to the safety talk, but the member of staff himself who appeared to be, without any reason, rushing through it and the signing in slip, which lead to errors on both sides, me and him. Not only this, he stopped to take a phonecall mid-way through which lasted quite a few minutes and appeared to be just a general chitchat.
Unless he was unnecessarily rude, I can't really see what he did wrong here.
Perhaps that was not his intention, but all the staff whom I had spoken to did come across as rude. Some more than others.
They certainly cannot hold the train just so that you can sign out. It is your responsibility to do so in good time. People should not sign you out. They don't know who you are, so they may sign the wrong person out (especially if there were more than one visitor on the book). In the event of an incident, they may need to be able to identify exactly who was there.
I was not aware that I should sign out until I was about to board the train. Thus I couldn't really make any alternative arrangements. I wouldn't have had another half hour to wait. So it was a lose-lose situation for me either way.
Next time, just follow instructions. That's all you need to do. Station staff don't escort you off to sign in without a good reason as that just causes themselves additional hassle. Don't take it personally. It isn't them specifically targeting you, but rather watching out for you.
I understand and appreciate that fact. While I was stressed originally, as they acted like I was a threat to their operations, in hindsight I could understand this, given the flurries of tourists to and from Windsor and their dangerous stances on the fast line platform edges.
and if you are quite young, the member of staff would need to be extra vigilant, and very good on him to do that. Teenagers (which I assume you are from your account) tend to have less awareness of dangers in the surrounding environment and are more prone to risky behaviour (not all of them of course as many are very sensible but generally speaking that is true).
You don’t say how old you are, other than to make reference to a guardian in the cafe... who you don’t mention when getting off the train or what they said when you were immediately approached...?
You're both correct about me being a teenager. To clarify, 50039, I was immediately approached after I left the train, my guardian accompanying me, who should've been clearly seen by the member of staff given that he was next to me and speaking also for a minute or two, who went off into the Cafe while I was talking to the first member of staff to get a snack and a drink for the both of us.

Edit: I apologise for the spam, but there were a lot of valid points made which I should clear up and clarify.
 

Iskra

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It sounds like these actions were sensible and proportionate. It’s quite possible that for whatever their reasons they felt you were vulnerable. They then did what they should to let you safely enjoy your hobby.

By disorganised, do you mean rushed? It’s entirely possible the staff dealing with you are at the mercy of the timetable and may only have x minutes to sort you out before doing something important to keep trains running.
 

6Gman

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Good evening all.
Has anyone had any bad relations with the staff at Slough station? I got off a train today and got my camera from my bag. I was immediately approached by a member of station staff who asked me if I had signed in yet, and what I was doing.

Which seems perfectly reasonable to me. You're on their property; they asked you to sign in.

Sign in.

And sign out when you've finished.

[I was photographing buses a few days ago when an off-duty policeman stopped me and pointed out that there was a police station in the background and suggested - well, instructed really - that I should go to the front desk, explain what I was doing and check that they were ok with it. So I did. And they were fine. Asked for id and contact details; happy for me to continue with my photography. Just be nice. Just be co-operative. ]
 

mat64nl

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By disorganised, do you mean rushed?
In a way, yes, but also no. The member of staff however acted as if it was the first time he had done it. It was an awkward encounter, because we were both getting things confused and he was slowly becoming more irate as I was signing the document (albeit incorrectly as a result of misunderstanding / misexplanation) and perhaps this could have been due to pressure and being rushed. There is certainly a possibility however and I won't deny that.

Which seems perfectly reasonable to me. You're on their property; they asked you to sign in.

Sign in.
Yes, and that's exactly what I did. However I think that this is strange that I was, within seconds, immediately identified and spoke to as if I was a stranger, perhaps even a threat, as soon as I set foot on the platform.
All in all, it was probably just a bad one-off experience. It hasn't put me off trainspotting but it did stress me out for the time I was there, and it certainly did destroy my confidence a bit from the way that I was spoken to. I have learned lessons and I will probably end up learning many more over the course of practicing my hobby. While it definitely appears I seem to be complaining here, all in all I'm just explaining my perspective, which may not be the same from the station staff's point of views, and am asking for retrospective advice, and lessons to learn for the future. I have been spotting for many years; the concept of signing in is nothing I've had to do before (although another spotter did ask me to tell the station manager I was taking videos at Petts Wood earlier this year, to which the master had absolutely no problem with and appeared jovial about it).
 

mat64nl

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Asked for id and contact details; happy for me to continue with my photography. Just be nice. Just be co-operative. ]
Likewise. I gave my name and phone number as well as signature, which I was asked for on the signing in slip. I have no problem with signing in, but I feel that the way and manner in which I was approached and spoken to by the station staff, and the way it panned out in general, wasn't entirely pleasant especially for someone that hasn't gone through the process before.
 

Clip

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Likewise. I gave my name and phone number as well as signature, which I was asked for on the signing in slip. I have no problem with signing in, but I feel that the way and manner in which I was approached and spoken to by the station staff, and the way it panned out in general, wasn't entirely pleasant especially for someone that hasn't gone through the process before.
OK well let gwr know about that aspect in a polite email and going forward you now know what to do and make sure your guardian does too so you don't encounter this issue again
 
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50039

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Struggling to see the problem here... unaccompanied youth, I think they’ve done the right thing to make sure you’re ok and they know where you are... and then you’ve jumped on a train without signing out - kind of proves their point...
 

mat64nl

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Struggling to see the problem here... unaccompanied youth, I think they’ve done the right thing to make sure you’re ok and they know where you are... and then you’ve jumped on a train without signing out - kind of proves their point...
Unaccompanied?? I think that if you read my previous posts you will see that I was accompanied.
Equally, I wasn't aware that I had to sign out until I jumped on the train. We had to go, I couldn't afford to wait another half an hour, the trip was running it fine time-wise as it is. The fact that I wasn't aware until the fact that I was leaving, which I had explained a couple of times, means that I wasn't able to sign out in time. I wasn't told that I had to sign out beforehand, only signing in to make them aware of my presence, I supposed.
 

bb21

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In any case, you know now. We live and learn. I'm sure on this occasion they won't worry too much in the aftermath as no major incident happened.
 

AlterEgo

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Unaccompanied?? I think that if you read my previous posts you will see that I was accompanied.
Equally, I wasn't aware that I had to sign out until I jumped on the train. We had to go, I couldn't afford to wait another half an hour, the trip was running it fine time-wise as it is. The fact that I wasn't aware until the fact that I was leaving, which I had explained a couple of times, means that I wasn't able to sign out in time. I wasn't told that I had to sign out beforehand, only signing in to make them aware of my presence, I supposed.

Did they know you were accompanied before you pointed it out?
 

chathambunch

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Unaccompanied or not, Why would you be required to sign in? As to the station staff; It is Sluff so don't expect *too* much...
 

mat64nl

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In any case, you know now. We live and learn. I'm sure on this occasion they won't worry too much in the aftermath as no major incident happened.
Yes. It's been a learning experience for me. I'm sure there will be more lessons to come in the world of trainspotting as I get older.
Did they know you were accompanied before you pointed it out?
As I have mentioned at least once, I had a guardian with me as I left the train at which point I was immediately identified and spoken to by a member of station staff. The guardian was with me, but went off midway to go to the cafe to get a snack and a drink for us while we spoke.
 

Darandio

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Unaccompanied?? I think that if you read my previous post you will see that I was accompanied.

To be fair, your opening post doesn't make it clear to us, never mind the staff.

You say you got off a train and were immediately approached. You then managed to explain that you had a guardian but they were behind the gateline at a cafe. They must have been quick.
 

mat64nl

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Unaccompanied or not, Why would you be required to sign in? As to the station staff; It is Sluff so don't expect *too* much...
Ah... someone else from Chatham! (Yes, I'm also from Chatham too, not as great either here as Slough!) In hindsight, I guess that it's just them keeping an eye on the both of us. As part of the hour or so I was there, I saw a lot of dangerous behaviour on the platforms, mainly from clueless tourists... other than that, I wouldn't really know.
 

mat64nl

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To be fair, your opening post doesn't make it clear to us, never mind the staff.
In (multiple) posts throughout the topic I had tried to clarify my opening post which admittedly is in a large mess.
You say you got off a train and were immediately approached. You then managed to explain that you had a guardian but they were behind the gateline at a cafe. They must have been quick.
As I have stated twice now, I got off the train with my guardian, within seconds I was identified as someone with a camera, presumably a trainspotter to them, and approached. This is rather immediate if you ask me, perhaps not to your standards, though. The guardian stayed with me for a minute or two while I explained before proceeding past the gateline to the Pumpkin Cafe at the station to get a snack and drink for us both.

Please, I recognise that the opening post is a bit of a mess, but I would most definitely ask you to read my following posts for clarification.
 

Darandio

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Unaccompanied or not, Why would you be required to sign in? As to the station staff; It is Sluff so don't expect *too* much...

Read the guidelines, specifically the opening section about 'Before you go on the platform', it's always been there. When informing them, some may require you to sign in.
 

mat64nl

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Read the guidelines, specifically the opening section about 'Before you go on the platform', it's always been there. When informing them, some may require you to sign in.
I'm aware of the guidelines before and after this post, one of my first intentions was to travel to the ticket/info office on the other side of the station (after the cafe visit), to let them know I was there. After Petts Wood earlier this year I've learned another lesson to let station staff know of my visit and intentions, especially at a busy-ish station with fast trains such as Slough.

EDIT: Sorry, me not reading properly, hypocritically and funnily enough, that wasn't directed at me.
 

Skymonster

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The OP seems to have arrived at Slough by train, and left again by train. As such, I assume the OP had a valid ticket to travel to and beyond Slough and was making a connection.

In similar circumstances I never have - and never would be prepared to - sign in. As long as I have a valid ticket for onward travel, I believe am entitled to be on the station until I board the train I decide to use. And as long as I am not breaking the law or contravening railway bylaws, what I do while waiting for the train I chose to board is no business of the staff - even if what I do includes photography.

I acknowledge that being on a station with a valid ticket is a world apart from a non-traveller visiting to "train spot", but when I am in the former category I would have no hesitation in telling any staff member who told me I needed to sign in to go foxtrot oscar (politely of course, at least at first).

I think the OP should have shown their tickets, said they were waiting for an onward train, and should have declined to do anything else.
 

chathambunch

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Ah... someone else from Chatham! (Yes, I'm also from Chatham too, not as great either here as Slough!) In hindsight, I guess that it's just them keeping an eye on the both of us. As part of the hour or so I was there, I saw a lot of dangerous behaviour on the platforms, mainly from clueless tourists... other than that, I wouldn't really know.
Sluff. The Perfect town for "non-locals" and Tories changing for Windsor
 

mat64nl

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The OP seems to have arrived at Slough by train, and left again by train. As such, I assume the OP had a valid ticket to travel to and beyond Slough and was making a connection.

In similar circumstances I never have - and never would be prepared to - sign in. As long as I have a valid ticket for onward travel, I believe am entitled to be on the station until I board the train I decide to use. And as long as I am not breaking the law or contravening railway bylaws, what I do while waiting for the train I chose to board is no business of the staff - even if what I do includes photography.

I acknowledge that being on a station with a valid ticket is a world apart from a non-traveller visiting to "train spot", but when I am in the former category I would have no hesitation in telling any staff member who told me I needed to sign in to go foxtrot oscar.

I think the OP should have shown their tickets, said they were waiting for an onward train, and should have declined to do anything else.

My ticket was valid from Paddington to Slough, a return off peak ticket. Saying that I was 'waiting for a connection' wouldn't have worked in this case, given I was planning to spot for roughly an hour and all possible connections would've passed through at least once in that time, some even twice. There are staff patrolling near enough every platform, so at least one would have an eye on me either way, and thus being approached I guess is unavoidable. I don't ask for arguments or heated debates, but I feel the way in which I was approached and spoken to by the first member of staff was... unclassy, at best.
 

50039

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Unaccompanied?? I think that if you read my previous posts you will see that I was accompanied.
Equally, I wasn't aware that I had to sign out until I jumped on the train. We had to go, I couldn't afford to wait another half an hour, the trip was running it fine time-wise as it is. The fact that I wasn't aware until the fact that I was leaving, which I had explained a couple of times, means that I wasn't able to sign out in time. I wasn't told that I had to sign out beforehand, only signing in to make them aware of my presence, I supposed.

Accepting that you’re original post is very unclear... you’ll do well to remember in life that if you sign in somewhere, you always sign out - you need to build that time in...
 

mat64nl

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Accepting that you’re original post is very unclear... you’ll do well to remember in life that if you sign in somewhere, you always sign out - you need to build that time in...
Yes, and that's just another lesson for the future. I had made the rather innocent assumption, but wrong in hindsight, that signing in (which my guardian was afterwards given a slip with my name on etc.) was simply just making my presence known to the staff, so they can look out for me. The fact that they asked when I would be leaving also fuelled the assumption that there was no need to sign out, since they'd be aware that after a certain time/train, I would be gone.
 

chathambunch

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Accepting that you’re original post is very unclear... you’ll do well to remember in life that if you sign in somewhere, you always sign out - you need to build that time in...
Why should he be required to Sign in in the first place? He wasn't to know he was required to sign out, Signing in is normally for Contractors, not a tourist who wants a film a few trains!!!!
 
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