Staff: the best & worst

[MidnightFlyer]

What's the worst experience/worst service anyone has had with rail staff... I generally don't like the ones who see trainspotters and terrorists and stop them from persuing their hobby! :mad:

 

[GNERman]

I unfortunatly had that on Monday with 2 East Coast staff at Newcastle whilst waiting for the Deltic Retro Scot 2, said tripods were a safety issue, whilst I was stood at the end of Platform 2, at least 10 metres ahead of where the furthest train stops...

 

[leewoods60019]

NORTHERN RAIL - suspecting that a 15 year old (which is me) of having a bomb on my camcorder! and I have many other stories of Northern Rail having a couple of unclean trains. overall northern rail are just shocking basically!

 

[ainsworth74]

I generally don't like the ones who see trainspotters and terrorists and stop them from persuing their hobby!

Personally I quite like the the members of staff that stop terrorists from persuing their hobby

As for staff, I've never really had a problem as I don't do spotting or take photographs. So I never really loiter on stations long enough to get noticed.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Personally I quite like the the members of staff that stop terrorists from persuing their hobby

As for staff, I've never really had a problem as I don't do spotting or take photographs. So I never really loiter on stations long enough to get noticed.

Thanks mate for pointing that out, I wouldn't want them to persue their interests either, I won't edit it -its too funny!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

NORTHERN RAIL - suspecting that a 15 year old (which is me) of having a bomb on my camcorder! and I have many other stories of Northern Rail having a couple of unclean trains. overall northern rail are just shocking basically!

Come on the managers are great - they are really friendly, unfortunately you only ever get to see the platform staff.

 

[leewoods60019]

Come on the managers are great - they are really friendly, unfortunately you only ever get to see the platform staff.

I know the platform staff are idiots but the manager of leeds station is a really laugh! not all northern are bad though

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Come on the managers are great - they are really friendly, unfortunately you only ever get to see the platform staff.

I know the platform staff are idiots but the manager of leeds station is a really laugh! not all northern are bad though[/QUOTE]

At Man Vic too hes a laugh too... they are really nice bloke

 

[Ticket Man]

What's the worst experience/worst service anyone has had with rail staff... I generally don't like the ones who see trainspotters and terrorists and stop them from persuing their hobby! :mad:

funny you mention this as I had a run in with an enthusiast today.

I was at the barrier doing a check when I spot a man walking on the far side of the ramps and round the back towards the train. Being revenue its my job to make sure everyone boarding the train has a ticket. I caught up with the man to ask him where he was going, the blunt reply I got from was "why do you f-ing staff always bother me, I aint doing any harm".
To cut a long story short the man effectively cut his spotting day short by getting himself escorted from the station by the BTP.

Whilst this is the worst I've ever experienced from an enthusiast, I'd say one in three who visit the station actively avoid staff and thus i dont know what they are there for. Alarm bells dont scream terrorist but sometimes ring fare dodger, its unnecessary and is easily avoided.

I have NEVER denied any enthusiast who approached me stating their intentions, plus it has the added bonus of the enthusiast going about their hobby hassle free and I'm aware of what's going on on my platforms.

 

[leewoods60019]

I know the platform staff are idiots but the manager of leeds station is a really laugh! not all northern are bad though

At Man Vic too hes a laugh too... they are really nice bloke [/QUOTE]

if only the platform staff was like the managers...

 

[313103]

Right now we are in complete slagging off staff mode.
Can someone on here who is not a railway employee tell me what a railway employees role is?
After all we are only idiots so a little bit of education from those who obviously know how to run a railway would help us idiots understand how it all works.

 

[ainsworth74]

Can someone on here who is not a railway employee tell me what a railway employees role is?

As far as I'm aware, the guard is responsible for issuing tickets, dealing with customer issues (such as providing assistance to disabled passengers) as well as operating the doors and dispatching his train from the platfrom. In an acident he is to ensure of the safety of his train (and its passengers) and the safety of other trains in the area by informing control and taking apropriate warning measures (detonators and such like).

The driver is responsible for, checking the unit is safe to operate prior to starting a service. Then he is responsible driving the train from A-B whilst observing the signals and speed restrictions of the line the train is operating over. In an incident his responsibilitys are similar to the guards, ensuring the safety of his train and others on the line.

Dispatchers are responsible for the safe arrival and depature of trains from the station, as well as answering questions the public may have on when the next train is and such like.

RPI's are responsible for issuing tickets, and checking that passengers have valid tickets with them before boarding any service as well as answering questions on about when trains are and so on.

Thats what I see as the surface of employees roles I am sure that I have missed much and got it in the wrong order of priority for some. But you asked a non-railway person to answer, so I'm not going to know everything there is to know.

 

[Jordy]

Don't tar everyone with the same brush, not all enthusiasts consider themselves to be superior to staff (although as with Ticket Man's example, some obviously do :roll and think they know more than them, there are some excellent knowledgeable staff around.

Equally I don't think its fair to imply all staff (eg all Northern platform staff - as above) are 'idiots' at that's certainly untrue, yes there are some staff who aren't trained particularly well, but thats mostly the fault of the TOC and certainly doesn't apply to everyone.

 

[leewoods60019]

Don't tar everyone with the same brush, not all enthusiasts consider themselves to be superior to staff (although as with Ticket Man's example, some obviously do :roll and think they know more than them, there are some excellent knowledgeable staff around.

Equally I don't think its fair to imply all staff (eg all Northern platform staff - as above) are 'idiots' at that's certainly untrue, yes there are some staff who aren't trained particularly well, but thats mostly the fault of the TOC and certainly doesn't apply to everyone.

I do see your point there but most times I go to Northern Rail stations I get looked at really dirtily like I'm suspicious because I have a tripod and once accused of been a terrorist. I just can't see any Northern Rail staff who are friendly

 

[Jordy]

Well some are! I'm sure you haven't met every single member of Northern staff

 

[leewoods60019]

Well some are! I'm sure you haven't met every single member of Northern staff

The managers seem nice, but there on a big chunky wage so they will. And nope I haven't met all of the staff but I have traveled on Northern Rail quite a lot and they are Northern Rail at my home station too

 

[yorkie]

NORTHERN RAIL - suspecting that a 15 year old (which is me) of having a bomb on my camcorder! and I have many other stories of Northern Rail having a couple of unclean trains. overall northern rail are just shocking basically!

Are you sure it was a member of Northern staff who said that and not a contractor? Some TOCs (including Northern) contract agencies to provide security people who are paid peanuts, and if you pay peanuts...

 

[leewoods60019]

Are you sure it was a member of Northern staff who said that and not a contractor? Some TOCs (including Northern) contract agencies to provide security people who are paid peanuts, and if you pay peanuts...

They had Orange hi-vis jackets,if i recall correctly, with Northern written on the back with no ID which is really unusual

 

[ChrisCooper]

Staff bashing is bad, but so is enthusiast bashing. I expect the vast majority of staff and enthusiasts are perfectly fine people who know their responsibilites and stick to them. Sadly in both cases it's the small minority that spoil it for the rest. For a start an enthusiast who does nothing wrong and staff who don't bother them generally don't get noticed. From an enthusiast point of view when you get home after a trip you don't remember the large number of staff who gave you no trouble, you remember the one who did (you also remember those who were particularly nice or helpful, but those situations arn't that common either). Same with staff, after a days work you don't remember the many enthusiasts who went about their business without causing any problems, you remember the one who you have to deal with as they are doing something wrong.

What I think is sad is how often it turns into a them and us situation where staff will defend staff and bash enthusiasts and enthusiasts will bash staff and defend enthusiasts. "There are two sides to every story" will often be heard, which often means "I don't want to believe one of my own is wrong so I'm going to make up excuses for them". I often think the world would be better is people were quicker to condem those who give them a bad name instead of jumping to their defense all the time. It's far from just rail staff vs. enthusiasts where this occurs though, in fact it's common throughout life and has even caused wars and cost millions of lives (it's a big factor in racism, religious tensions, sexism, ageism, actually any 'ism).

 

[Bittern]

As far as I'm aware, the guard is responsible for issuing tickets, dealing with customer issues (such as providing assistance to disabled passengers) as well as operating the doors and dispatching his train from the platfrom. In an acident he is to ensure of the safety of his train (and its passengers) and the safety of other trains in the area by informing control and taking apropriate warning measures

So Female Guards have different responsabilities, then? :roll:

 

[ainsworth74]

So Female Guards have different responsabilities, then?

No they have the same responsibilities. I am sorry if I offended you, however for me I find writing which uses him/her styling harder to read as it disrupts the flow, compared to just using one or the other. Being male I chose the male word.

 

[S19]

This isn't staff bashing but I find it quite funny looking back.

A few weeks ago I had to goto Mansfield Woodhouse to pick my car up from having some work done.

I caught a very early Transpennine Express service from Lancaster to Manchester Pic. It was nice and quiet with the table to myself reading my paper.

The train arrived at Preston and got a lot busier. Three Virgin staff members decided to sit with me. I still wasn't properly awake at this time. Two females and one male. One of the females was the overpowering gossipy mother type, the other being the quiet submissive grandma type. The male (i assume was gay..) was the camp gossipy type.

What a nightmare commute from Preston to Manchester Pic. I prayed that they'd get off at each stop after being struck in the face by one of them mid gossip who was expressing herself telling the world about booking some exotic holiday. The other female had a daughter who was in secure accomodation and all three of them bitched about their bosses.

To cut a long story short, I didn't think it was possible to learn a couple of life stories, and how bad someone's boss was within about a 40 minute period!

My head was battered by the time I boarded my connection to Nottingham haha

 

[leewoods60019]

Staff bashing is bad, but so is enthusiast bashing. I expect the vast majority of staff and enthusiasts are perfectly fine people who know their responsibilites and stick to them. Sadly in both cases it's the small minority that spoil it for the rest. For a start an enthusiast who does nothing wrong and staff who don't bother them generally don't get noticed. From an enthusiast point of view when you get home after a trip you don't remember the large number of staff who gave you no trouble, you remember the one who did (you also remember those who were particularly nice or helpful, but those situations arn't that common either). Same with staff, after a days work you don't remember the many enthusiasts who went about their business without causing any problems, you remember the one who you have to deal with as they are doing something wrong.

What I think is sad is how often it turns into a them and us situation where staff will defend staff and bash enthusiasts and enthusiasts will bash staff and defend enthusiasts. "There are two sides to every story" will often be heard, which often means "I don't want to believe one of my own is wrong so I'm going to make up excuses for them". I often think the world would be better is people were quicker to condem those who give them a bad name instead of jumping to their defense all the time. It's far from just rail staff vs. enthusiasts where this occurs though, in fact it's common throughout life and has even caused wars and cost millions of lives (it's a big factor in racism, religious tensions, sexism, ageism, actually any 'ism).

I see what your saying but us enthusiasts don't just pick on staff as opposed to they pick on us, and fair enough I know what they go through and how hard the job is but enthusiasts are not dangerous (well .. some are) but staff should stop picking on people who love their hobby .. aslong as enthusiasts are following the rules, sure they shouldn't be picked on?

 

[Bittern]

No they have the same responsibilities. I am sorry if I offended you, however for me I find writing which uses him/her styling harder to read as it disrupts the flow, compared to just using one or the other. Being male I chose the male word.

Yeah, just so we're very clear, I *hate* people like you.

 

[ainsworth74]

Yeah, just so we're very clear, I *hate* people like you.

Sorry you feel like that, the opinion of you that I've gained from your posts has been nothing but positive.

 

[leewoods60019]

This isn't staff bashing but I find it quite funny looking back.

A few weeks ago I had to goto Mansfield Woodhouse to pick my car up from having some work done.

I caught a very early Transpennine Express service from Lancaster to Manchester Pic. It was nice and quiet with the table to myself reading my paper.

The train arrived at Preston and got a lot busier. Three Virgin staff members decided to sit with me. I still wasn't properly awake at this time. Two females and one male. One of the females was the overpowering gossipy mother type, the other being the quiet submissive grandma type. The male (i assume was gay..) was the camp gossipy type.




What a nightmare commute from Preston to Manchester Pic. I prayed that they'd get off at each stop after being struck in the face by one of them mid gossip who was expressing herself telling the world about booking some exotic holiday. The other female had a daughter who was in secure accomodation and all three of them bitched about their bosses.

To cut a long story short, I didn't think it was possible to learn a couple of life stories, and how bad someone's boss was within about a 40 minute period!

My head was battered by the time I boarded my connection to Nottingham haha

Haha that sounds really funny! I think Virgin staff should be happy with their job tbh!

 

[S19]

Haha that sounds really funny! I think Virgin staff should be happy with their job tbh!

It was really winding me up at the time, I was half asleep and just continued to stare out of the window at the lovely(!) scenery.

A couple of weeks later, the camp one served me coffee on a Preston-Euston Virgin service and I think he remembered me (hopefully not in that way, if you know what I mean?!) and he probably heard me telling the story to the lass who was with me haha

 

[leewoods60019]

It was really winding me up at the time, I was half asleep and just continued to stare out of the window at the lovely(!) scenery.

A couple of weeks later, the camp one served me coffee on a Preston-Euston Virgin service and I think he remembered me (hopefully not in that way, if you know what I mean?!) and he probably heard me telling the story to the lass who was with me haha

Woops! LOL that is weird! Virgin have the best trains operationg passenger trains today... end of! East Coast interior (standard) just dosen't seem or look right but virgin pendolinos are stylish on the outside and have clever features on the interior. I'd love to work as staff at Virgin!

 

[S19]

Woops! LOL that is weird! Virgin have the best trains operationg passenger trains today... end of! East Coast interior (standard) just dosen't seem or look right but virgin pendolinos are stylish on the outside and have clever features on the interior. I'd love to work as staff at Virgin!

I really enjoyed my first class journey on board the Pendolino to and from Euston. I'm what you'd call a true petrol head and normally resent public transport of any kind.

After the Pendolino journey i'm more than happy to use trains again where possible as an 18MPG car gets a bit expensive these days.

 

[leewoods60019]

I really enjoyed my first class journey on board the Pendolino to and from Euston. I'm what you'd call a true petrol head and normally resent public transport of any kind.

After the Pendolino journey i'm more than happy to use trains again where possible as an 18MPG car gets a bit expensive these days.

Cool!
Not been in first class as of yet on the pendolino but hopefully i will do soon but I dislike the WCML and visited only 2 times! and the ECML, oh just about 50 times since january....

 

[ralphchadkirk]

Volunteering on a preserved line, as station staff, our visitors are predominately enthusiast. The vast majority of enthusiast are great people, whom you can have a chat with, whom ask questions and behave themselves on the platform. However, you get the odd few who walk off the end of the platform and get angry when you point out to them that they shouldn't be there, and that the big red sign with "No entry except to authorised staff" actually means that.