Twitter-the train driver's enemy

[infobleep]

If you have a complaint, never swear, it weakens your argument. If you are polite but firm then the staff can't ignore you so easily. I saw a friend do that once when he missed his train because the timetable had been printed incorrectly for the engineering works and he had followed the timetable. I can't remember if there had been a later one.

I know another time he and some other friends had to get a taxi and claim it back because of a timetable printing error and missing the last train during engineering works. Again the wrong timetable had been printed online. So as I said in such cases one should always be firm but never swear. It works so much better that way.

However unfortunately a certain number of people don't seem to get that point and swear. I once missed a train and swore and then apologised, although I wasn't even swearing at the staff.

 

[455driver]

I once missed a train and swore and then apologised, although I wasn't even swearing at the staff.

We all do that as we see the tail light disappear into the distance and is more aimed at ourselves than anyone else.

 

[LBSCR Times]

We all do that as we see the tail light disappear into the distance and is more aimed at ourselves than anyone else.

Especially when it is your going home train.....

 

[LondonJohn]

On the first point it sounds like you are just lucky then.

As for abusive tweets I completely disagree with you. Customer or not swearing, threatening and abusing is never justified. It's not the fault of the twitter operator and tweeting offensively is the same as shouting offensively at staff on a crowded platform. Swear at staff and see what happens.

Totally agree about the abusive tweets but it should apply both ways.

Here is a tweet from a TOC person's account.

: Really cannot be ****ed with scum that frequent our Reading services. They can all gladly **** right off!”

Now whilst I appreciate (s)he has had a very bad shift Friday night shift with abusive passengers and fare dodgers too I believe they should not be allowed to tweet like that. Even by saying my views my own and not that of my employer don't absolve them from being associated with that TOC.


I know someone that pointed this out and got a whole load more abuse from the individual and their colleagues. When the TOC were contacted they TOC they did not reply or offer an apology and the abusive/threatening tweets continued.

Whilst my colleague was not expecting to be told what happens in any disciplinary action (if taken), they would expect to be be reassured that this was an isolated incident and that staff had been reminded of the need to be careful etc etc and maybe an apology. When the abusive/threatening tweets continued it sadly became necessary to involve the police as they were a passenger on that line. The police advised that people had been spoken to and the twitter accounts were closed down.

Used properly, I think twitter is amazing and is being used more and more now with virtually every tv show having a dedicated hashtag.

My opinion is that some TOC are better than others and I will go so far as to say I think London Midland's is one of the best, followed closely by FGW and Virgin Trains. Some others are poor/useless in comparison. I will often tweet that I have had great service or clean trains, and this has been acknowledged so I do hope that it filters down to the relevant teams/individuals.

One of those rocky roads for a new social media.

 

[A-driver]

Totally agree about the abusive tweets but it should apply both ways.



Here is a tweet from a TOC person's account.



: Really cannot be ****ed with scum that frequent our Reading services. They can all gladly **** right off!”



Now whilst I appreciate (s)he has had a very bad shift Friday night shift with abusive passengers and fare dodgers too I believe they should not be allowed to tweet like that. Even by saying my views my own and not that of my employer don't absolve them from being associated with that TOC.





I know someone that pointed this out and got a whole load more abuse from the individual and their colleagues. When the TOC were contacted they TOC they did not reply or offer an apology and the abusive/threatening tweets continued.



Whilst my colleague was not expecting to be told what happens in any disciplinary action (if taken), they would expect to be be reassured that this was an isolated incident and that staff had been reminded of the need to be careful etc etc and maybe an apology. When the abusive/threatening tweets continued it sadly became necessary to involve the police as they were a passenger on that line. The police advised that people had been spoken to and the twitter accounts were closed down.



Used properly, I think twitter is amazing and is being used more and more now with virtually every tv show having a dedicated hashtag.



My opinion is that some TOC are better than others and I will go so far as to say I think London Midland's is one of the best, followed closely by FGW and Virgin Trains. Some others are poor/useless in comparison. I will often tweet that I have had great service or clean trains, and this has been acknowledged so I do hope that it filters down to the relevant teams/individuals.



One of those rocky roads for a new social media.

If it's not an official toc account then I can't see a problem with it. Again it's similar to me going to the pub with mates after work and swearing about passengers, I'm not representing my employer any more and everyone has the right to vent frustration after a bad day. Anyone who works with customers does the same and has every right to do so.

 

[bairy]

One thing that really annoys me about the TOC I work for is the way they answer comments on twitter. I often have a look to see what's going on and quite often people will say something like "I f*****g hate the s**t that is your train service" kind of thing and our control will say "I'm sorry about that is there anything we can do to help?"

Anything with bad language and aggression should be immediately ignored. Yet here are our control pandering to aggressive trolls. It happens daily.

I followed a few TOCs for a while. One of the companies - can't remember who but I think it was Southern - did tell those people that abuse wasn't tolerated and in some cases blocked them. The response from the original abusers was usually more anger and more abuse.
Then one day there was either a change of staff or manangement waded in and suddenly they started pandering.

My local TOC London Midland on the other hand seem to answer everything (including being called c**ts) and it takes a lot of abusive replies before they'll get firm.

 

[jon0844]

If it's not an official toc account then I can't see a problem with it. Again it's similar to me going to the pub with mates after work and swearing about passengers, I'm not representing my employer any more and everyone has the right to vent frustration after a bad day. Anyone who works with customers does the same and has every right to do so.

But I think it's been established that it is a bit different to talking in a pub, which is still considered private (even if others could hear) compared to broadcasting on Twitter which is very much public.

Absolutely anyone can read your Tweet, not just your followers, and that's why people might find themselves in court (or just hot water) if they aren't careful about what they say, or how they say it.

It doesn't surprise me that some staff might say inappropriate things just like members of the public. They're normal people too, and loads of people have no idea of what they're doing and the laws they could be breaking (e.g. Harassment, libel or contempt of court).

While moaning about your job or customers etc might not land you in trouble if you're anonymous, should the police get involved then the anonymity quickly disappears.

 

[A-driver]

But I think it's been established that it is a bit different to talking in a pub, which is still considered private (even if others could hear) compared to broadcasting on Twitter which is very much public.

Absolutely anyone can read your Tweet, not just your followers, and that's why people might find themselves in court (or just hot water) if they aren't careful about what they say, or how they say it.

It doesn't surprise me that some staff might say inappropriate things just like members of the public. They're normal people too, and loads of people have no idea of what they're doing and the laws they could be breaking (e.g. Harassment, libel or contempt of court).

While moaning about your job or customers etc might not land you in trouble if you're anonymous, should the police get involved then the anonymity quickly disappears.

Complaining on twitter about passengers won't get the police involved.

 

[TDK]

Here is a question for all railway staff. Do you think that if someone tweets a complaint that the staff member should be taken off the job to be questioned costing the company a lot of money if the staff member is found not to have breached company policy? If not what method do you think should be used to solve any complaints:

I think a note in the staffs pigeon hole with a print out of the tweet and a form to explain what happened would be best. Anyone have any better ideas?

 

[Johnny_w]

Companing about your employeer (or customer's I would imagine) has lead people to
be dismissed.

The example above, providing the 'tweeter' could be identified *AND* the toc identified, should lead to a very serious displinary

Just a thought.

JW

 

[sheff1]

Complaining on twitter about passengers won't get the police involved.

The poster said the police were involved and the abusive twitter accounts were closed down.

 

[LBSCR Times]

and the abusive twitter accounts were closed down.

And go and open another Twitter account, as has happened on one London TOC after they were blocked......
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

One thing that really annoys me about the TOC I work for is the way they answer comments on twitter. I often have a look to see what's going on and quite often people will say something like "I f*****g hate the s**t that is your train service" kind of thing and our control will say "I'm sorry about that is there anything we can do to help?"

Anything with bad language and aggression should be immediately ignored. Yet here are our control pandering to aggressive trolls. It happens daily.

Most TOC's do not have their Twitter teams in Controls, which explains why a lot of messages get mixed up, or not understood. When I asked if I could have a company Twitter account so that I could reply, the answer was a very robust NO!
Can't think why.......

 

[Dieseldriver]

I have got absolutely no time for ignorant, rude or abusive people. I find it disgusting that so many in our society find it acceptable to look down their nose at people working particular jobs and view them as mere verbal punching bags. I don't tolerate it and they are more than happy to write in and complain about me.

 

[jon0844]

Complaining on twitter about passengers won't get the police involved.

Not in the case of someone just ranting about customers, but my point is that a lot of people aren't aware of the risks of going only a relatively small step further.

You are effectively publishing your comments/opinions and open to the same laws that any other form of publishing is bound by.

Just because Twitter has billions of Tweets and many will be overlooked doesn't change that fact.

 

[455driver]

Funniest one I ever dealt with-

its 2240 at Woking and the service is up the wall, I have just worked a special from Waterloo to Woking so people can connect into Portsmouth and Weymouth etc, I am out on the platform helping the staff sort the passengers out. One moron decides he is going to tell me exactly what he thought about the situation so I let him vent, when he has finished I say "have you finished" to which he replies "yes", so I turn away from him to deal with some other people at which point he grabs my arm and spins me around, so fearing that he is going to take a swing I grab him round the neck, push him up against the wall and state "if you ever touch me again I will knock you the f##k out" and then let him go. I turn around to a lot of astonished looking people and say "right anyone need any help" everyone just stands there in silence, so I say "come on the fun is over, who wants help" and off we go sorting people out.

The moron did report me but the company had also received 8 letters (or emails) saying what a wonderful job I had done dealing with everyone including an abusive violent passenger.
End result was my manager telling me not to do it again but well done anyway!

Oh everyone, including mr moron, got their trains home as well!

 

[306024]

I have got absolutely no time for ignorant, rude or abusive people. I find it disgusting that so many in our society find it acceptable to look down their nose at people working particular jobs and view them as mere verbal punching bags. I don't tolerate it and they are more than happy to write in and complain about me.

Spot on.

I can't believe TOCs respond to any abusive tweet. Fortunately I have rarely been sworn at face to face, but it was the end of the conversation when it did happen. Usually my tactic is to be polite but assertive. In fact being overly polite usually throws them! Not easy in the heat of the moment though.

 

[sheff1]

Funniest one I ever dealt with...... {snip}

Excellent stuff, would loved to have been there ....

 

[TOCDriver]

Here is a question for all railway staff. Do you think that if someone tweets a complaint that the staff member should be taken off the job to be questioned costing the company a lot of money if the staff member is found not to have breached company policy? If not what method do you think should be used to solve any complaints:

I think a note in the staffs pigeon hole with a print out of the tweet and a form to explain what happened would be best. Anyone have any better ideas?

100% agree. It's up to the manager to provide evidence of any wrong-doing. If you haven't done anything wrong, you haven't anything to worry about

 

[455driver]

Corporate law says otherwise!

 

[TOCDriver]

Corporate law says otherwise!

Corruption is something I don't know anything about, mate

 

[455driver]

It could be used where they have reason to believe a worker has brought the good name of the company into disrepute etc!

The laws are written in such a woolly way that they can be used for a lot more than their intended purpose.

 

[TOCDriver]

It could be used where they have reason to believe a worker has brought the good name of the company into disrepute etc!

The laws are written in such a woolly way that they can be used for a lot more than their intended purpose.

Yes, but just like in a court of law, you cannot convict on one persons word against another. I'm no fan of the Unions, but they do serve a role in circumstances like this

 

[455driver]

I agree but would you want to be up in court on such a charge?
I wouldnt!

Yes unions do a good job on these things and many others!

 

[TOCDriver]

I agree but would you want to be up in court on such a charge?
I wouldnt!

Yes unions do a good job on these things and many others!

I'll keep myself to myself. Never done me any wrong so far

 

[richw]

Corporate law says otherwise!

Corruption is something I don't know anything about, mate

Yes, but just like in a court of law, you cannot convict on one persons word against another. I'm no fan of the Unions, but they do serve a role in circumstances like this

employment law doesn't require the same levels of proof as law courts. Employment law allows for basis of probability in disciplining and dismissing. Anything more than 50% probability they can discipline for.

 

[BravoGolfMike]

Here is a question for all railway staff. Do you think that if someone tweets a complaint that the staff member should be taken off the job to be questioned costing the company a lot of money if the staff member is found not to have breached company policy? If not what method do you think should be used to solve any complaints:

I think a note in the staffs pigeon hole with a print out of the tweet and a form to explain what happened would be best. Anyone have any better ideas?

I disagree. The response from the TOC should be:

"Staff complaints must be put in writing to either (email) or (address.)"

That's it, nothing else. How can you respond to a 140 character tweet?

 

[KA4C]

I disagree. The response from the TOC should be:

"Staff complaints must be put in writing to either (email) or (address.)"

That's it, nothing else. How can you respond to a 140 character tweet?

Correct, I will not proceed against any of my staff unless there is a proper complaint, in writing, against them

A twitter only complaint would merely be brought to their attention

 

[TOCDriver]

employment law doesn't require the same levels of proof as law courts. Employment law allows for basis of probability in disciplining and dismissing. Anything more than 50% probability they can discipline for.

I would think one word against the others is 50:50 at best!

 

[12CSVT]

Rather than just run away from this can ypu answer a question please-

You have 20 peolple around you and 2 of them are being very abusive, what do you do in that situation?

1/ Ignore them which winds them up even more.
2/ tell them to stop being abusive which winds them up even more.
3/ walk away which winds up the other 18 people,
4/ just accept it and deal with the gobby tossers first which sends the message out to all the others that being abusive will get you to the front of the queue.
5/ Some other magic method!

Over to you!

or
6/ call the BTP to deal with the two that are being abusive. Hopefully they'd be arrested for public order offences and / or threatening behaviour.

 

[tony_mac]

employment law doesn't require the same levels of proof as law courts. Employment law allows for basis of probability in disciplining and dismissing. Anything more than 50% probability they can discipline for.

It's not even balance of probability - for dismissal it's sometimes written as "a genuine belief, on reasonable grounds, after a reasonable investigation"

I seem to remember (but can't find it) that it was considered lawful to dismiss a number of employees because one of them had been stealing, but the employer didn't know which one.