Just read through this thread and thought I would offer my (belated) thoughts as a current "Dude With The Food" / "Bloke With The Coke" / "Fellah With The Stella".... both to the OP and to anyone else interested in this type of role:
1) Hygiene and food safety are your number one priority. Generally the safe temperature for products like sandwiches is anything below 8C. So long as your cool compartment is below this temperature your food is safe. Our trolleys use a dry ice system which naturally erodes so it is important to keep an eye. Keep a handwash / antibacterial spray with you at all times and use it as needed.
2) Frequent trips through the train - I tend to traverse a 2/3 car set once every half an hour or so. Keep an eye on pax flows - if you've just completed a perambulation and suddenly 50 people get on, don't wait for them all to trickle off at intermediate stations while you're having your five minute sit down. Get out there and get selling.
3) Don't compromise your integrity - it'll only come back to bite you firmly on the buttocks. Don't allow passengers to dictate any behaviour from you which they may then use against you should things go wrong -- examples being asking for cups of hot liquid without lids, asking you to provide hot water for babies bottles, asking for excessive amounts of milk/sugar, changing their mind after an irreversible fact (such as opening a bag of crisps etc), and other such behaviours.
4) Always allow the passengers to decide how they want their item. Place the item unopened, untouched on the table in front of them. Similarly place milk sachets and sugar sachets to the side of the cup of tea/coffee and allow them to add it as they wish. Always provide a cup for cold drinks, offer ice when available.
5) If an item is damaged or melted etc, remove from sale. You can waste it and not be penalised for it so long as there is a valid reason for doing so. I once had a whole set of KitKats water damaged (nothing to do with us, they came out of the box like that) so was unable to offer a staple snack for that trip. Better safe than sorry however.
6) Upsell. Always offer "anything else" at the end of service and before payment. When traversing the train, make pax aware of the many different items you offer, especially some of the more obscure ones (popcorn, peanuts, mints etc)
7) Liase with your guard. You don't want to get in his/her way and vice versa. Especially important on long journeys with many different guards on different parts of the route.
8) Learn your diagrams by heart. Know which platforms you come in on at any station so you know whether to park your trolley on the left or right of the vestibule so you are not blocking the door. Remember you may be the only staff member the pax see on a journey, so be prepared to offer rudimentary useful information. Carry a timetable booklet with you so you can look up train times and connections.
9) I carry the job title "Steward". As such I also take it upon myself to help with luggage, direct bikes and buggies to correct areas, investigate anything suspicious and be the guard's extra pair of eyes and ears. If you see someone struggling to make it to the door in time, let the guard know so that he/she doesn't close the doors and cart a customer off further than they wanted to go.
10) Enjoy yourself. You are there to improve the customers' day or quench their hunger or thirst. Except in emergencies, you don't have any safety-critical responsibility of the running of the train, but you have enormous freedom of personal responsibility, an ever-changing vista from your "office" window, a huge variety of personalities to interact with... it's a fantastic job with some fantastic experiences.
I love doing it. I love the early morning runs, the evening rush hours, the 10-hour jaunts to the other end of the country and back.... it's a great way to get yourself involved in the railway. And keep your eyes and ears open. Learn the way of the railway. Educate yourself in the whys and wherefores. If you want to progress up to Guard / Train Manager etc, there's no better way than to learn from those doing the job already.
