Staff accused via Twitter

[The North Briton]

I notice that someone has accused a member of East Coast staff of consuming alcohol whilst on duty via the East Coast twitter feed. The duty tweeter for East Coast, rather unwisely in my opinion, has asked for more details and the member of staff has been named. Obviously I'm not going to repeat the allegation here, but it is quite specific (even giving the train's headcode) and, on the face of it, does not appear to be malicious or mischievous. Apart from the question of whether the allegation is true or not, it is very worrying to note that no-one from East Coast or otherwise has acted to delete or modify the tweet which actually names the person. I should add that, as far as can be determined, the person involved is not a member of operational staff.

 

[spurs4life]

Trail by twitter is too common now for us rail staff.my company has now told people to make written complaint not just a moan on twitter.its a joke most of these people have no idea of what they are talking about and any unfounded allegations have a major effect on staff.

 

[AlterEgo]

I notice that someone has accused a member of East Coast staff of consuming alcohol whilst on duty via the East Coast twitter feed. The duty tweeter for East Coast, rather unwisely in my opinion, has asked for more details

A railway company is alerted that a member of their staff, grade or safety-critical status unknown, is consuming alcohol on duty - and you believe it's unwise to ask for further details?

It is entirely prudent for them to ask for further details!

What if it turned out to be a guard, or driver, and safety was compromised? (as it is - it doesn't appear to be in this case, but that's only materialised because East Coast asked for further details)

it is very worrying to note that no-one from East Coast or otherwise has acted to delete or modify the tweet which actually names the person.

The tweet has been sent to East Coast by a private individual.

East Coast cannot log into that person's account to delete the tweet. East Coast have not named the individual. They have been told, publically.

I'm afraid we do live in the social media age, with all of the positives and negatives that brings.

 

[bluenoxid]

I notice that someone has accused a member of East Coast staff of consuming alcohol whilst on duty via the East Coast twitter feed. The duty tweeter for East Coast, rather unwisely in my opinion, has asked for more details and the member of staff has been named. Obviously I'm not going to repeat the allegation here, but it is quite specific (even giving the train's headcode) and, on the face of it, does not appear to be malicious or mischievous. Apart from the question of whether the allegation is true or not, it is very worrying to note that no-one from East Coast or otherwise has acted to delete or modify the tweet which actually names the person. I should add that, as far as can be determined, the person involved is not a member of operational staff.

It is a tough area to make a decision and you cannot manage the response of someone else on Social media. It is like working with a customer in a live environment but the issue is that the conversation is fully recorded AND in the public domain. I am surprised they have not chosen to ask the complainant for a phone number to directly contact them. The problem is that a lot of businesses use 0845 numbers which are extortionate to use off a mobile phone.

Social Media is fantastic and the vast majority of complaints/issues/credit can be at least mostly handled through it. However, there are certain complaints that are better handled directly with the person raising the complaint.

East Coast will not be able to delete the Tweet that someone else has made. Twitter is not like a Facebook page or forum.

 

[Matt Taylor]

It isn't uncommon for disgruntled customers to make malicious complaints against staff in all areas of retail/customer service. Nevertheless it is a serious accusation and EC will no doubt be checking the CCTV to see what has happened.

 

[oversteer]

Surely the named individual could take legal action, if the allegation is untrue..?

 

[Roverman]

The company I work for asks people to send more details by Direct Message which is not viewable publicly. Whilst we live in the 'social media age' I would be very angry to be 'trialled by Twitter' without being given a chance to defend myself and would always advise someone to take legal action if they found themselves in this situation.

 

[AlterEgo]

I would be very angry to be 'trialled by Twitter'

It's not really "trial by Twitter" though, is it?

It's an accusation via Twitter - then management investigate. I agree though, that DM'ing is by far the best way to deal with these things!

 

[Ferret]

Surely the named individual could take legal action, if the allegation is untrue..?

I can see some very interesting times ahead in the Courts with regard to twitter.

 

[Matt Taylor]

Who needs OTMR when we've got Twitter and camera phones?

 

[Clip]

Nowt wrong with them reporting it via twitter,quickest way to get through to them isn't it then the guard can check it out if true.

I'm surprised a member of staff would be so blatant about it if on duty so one suspects they were off duty but didn't take off uniform.

All speculation and we'll probably hear no more about it either. Not really a trial by twitter case either

 

[ANorthernGuard]

Twitter is a strange thing, I personally have been praised through Twitter BUT if anyone had an accusation against me or a colleague it would be best being sent using a Direct Message as accusations like that can flair up and give bad publicity when usually there is no basis to the original accusation.

 

[Darandio]

Nowt wrong with them reporting it via twitter,quickest way to get through to them isn't it then the guard can check it out if true.

I'm surprised a member of staff would be so blatant about it if on duty so one suspects they were off duty but didn't take off uniform.

All speculation and we'll probably hear no more about it either. Not really a trial by twitter case either

I agree that it is a modern way to get a direct response.

What I don't agree with is making the name available for all to see.

 

[David Dunning]

It used to be that Journalists were the only people who had to be careful about what they wrote/said.
.
Now Social Media means we're all "journalists" Reporting via Twitter and Facebook about this and that.

Already we're seeing members of the public appear before the courts for naming rape victims or being contacted by lawyers about coyright infringement or over false allegations.

The rules that have affected my working life now affect you too. be careful

 

[MrC]

It's not really "trial by Twitter" though, is it?

It's an accusation via Twitter - then management investigate. I agree though, that DM'ing is by far the best way to deal with these things!

Agree totally - possibly the original accusation could be considered fair. The followup by the TOC and the subsequent naming of the person involved is the bit that could land the TOC and/or accuser in the crapper if it turns out to have been inaccurate in any way (not on Twitter any more so can't check exact details).

The TOC should have asked the OP to make further contact in a private conversation.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

....I'm surprised a member of staff would be so blatant about it if on duty so one suspects they were off duty but didn't take off uniform....

Some TOCs have policies/terms of employment which include off duty drinking whilst wearing identifiable uniform and consider it a disciplinary matter. Others have policies about wearing identifiable uniform on licensed premises (regardless of actually drinking anything), staff have to be very careful these days and even a 'one off' could be very costly for them.

 

[The North Briton]

A railway company is alerted that a member of their staff, grade or safety-critical status unknown, is consuming alcohol on duty - and you believe it's unwise to ask for further details?

It is entirely prudent for them to ask for further details!


I'm not suggesting they ignore it! Just deal with it out of the public domain (e.g. By email)

 

[bAzTNM]

Just had a gander at the tweet. How did the complainer know the person's job (they supposedly weren't a guard, ticket inspector or driver) and the persons full name? Odd.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Wouldn't it be displayed on their badge? I know a lot of TOCs use forename and occupation, a lot have the surname printed too.

 

[Tracky]

hmmmm, Interesting one.

The complainer is "Calam Nelson". A flickr account gives profile information for that name as "a fifteen year old rail enthusiast from the North East of England and I enjoy various hobbies such as photography and cooking." Makes me think he won't be a grudge bearing customer but more a wet behind ears enthusiast twitter user.

I have no problem with him making EC aware but to give details publicly is irresponsible of him (and it is wrong of EC to ask for them publicly too...)

 

[Qwerty133]

Twitter is a strange thing, I personally have been praised through Twitter BUT if anyone had an accusation against me or a colleague it would be best being sent using a Direct Message as accusations like that can flair up and give bad publicity when usually there is no basis to the original accusation.

To send a DM it requires that the user that you are sending it to to be following you. For example i could send LM CR or tesco a DM because they are following me however i couldnt send EMT XC VT EC and the others a DM.

 

[transmanche]

To send a DM it requires that the user that you are sending it to to be following you. For example i could send LM CR or tesco a DM because they are following me however i couldnt send EMT XC VT EC and the others a DM.

However, the solution to that is simple...

 

[142094]

It is quite frankly getting worse, I've lost count of the number of times I've seen trial by You Tube/Facebook/Twitter when someone has been told quite rightly (and by the book) to follow the instructions of a member of staff, and someone hasn't taken it too kindly. In the vast majority of the cases it has been found that the member of staff has been doing their job properly and the complaint was malicious.

 

[merlodlliw]

We are living in a Society of Complain, Twitter in my opinion is for a lot of people who are fed up talking to themselves, its bad enough having to listen to them on the train talking into a mobile.

 

[wensley]

This sort of squabble doesn't belong in the public domain on twitter, passengers, if they have a genuine problem, should contact the Customer Services department and let company procedure take its course. I think if people weren't able to instantly get their frustration out there a lot less complaints would come through if they had to put time and effort into composing a proper letter or email of complaint.

I feel sorry for the EC member of staff involved, as even if they have done something wrong this is likely to have blow it out of all proportion and it is an uncomfortable position to be put in. A similar situation with another enthusiast and GC's Facebook was spotted when I was on the site last night, to me it is the way for a passenger's feedback to be treat as unreliable and spur-of-the moment!

 

[big_dirt]

If there are any inaccuracies, this lad should be banned from East Coast for life.

There is no benefit to him at all in making this accusation, especially in such a public manner but the consequences could be massive.

Does anyone know what sort of badge a wi-fi engineer would wear?

 

[stut]

Perhaps if railway companies took their email/phone complaints more seriously (as opposed to a 6-week wait for a boilerplate apology), people wouldn't feel the need to air their grievances in public.

 

[ANorthernGuard]

Perhaps if railway companies took their email/phone complaints more seriously (as opposed to a 6-week wait for a boilerplate apology), people wouldn't feel the need to air their grievances in public.

TOC's do take complaints seriously, they have to and some complaints can take quite a bit of investigation, When the odd person has complained about myself (Par of the course) my CTM has usually spoken to me about the complaint within a couple of days of the complaint being made (none have been upheld btw). But lets face it when people complain about delays it is easier and quicker to check with delay attribution what the delay was and send out a voucher. There will always be people unhappy with how things are done but considering the size of the Network I think most (not all) TOC's do a pretty good job

 

[W230]

Perhaps if railway companies took their email/phone complaints more seriously (as opposed to a 6-week wait for a boilerplate apology), people wouldn't feel the need to air their grievances in public.

But the flip side of this is that they are inundated with complaints about staff on twitter so they end up with a huge list that equals a 6-week wait!

Seriously though, I would be genuinely interested to know how many of these complaints were warranted and not just annoyed passengers venting off steam about delays/TOCs that have upset them.

Maybe TOCs should start naming serial complainers?

 

[theblackwatch]

If there are any inaccuracies, this lad should be banned from East Coast for life.

This may seem a good course of action, but is unrealistic. How would such a ban be policed?