it often is. To think otherwise is naive. That or I am a suspicious and cynical individual who trusts no one
I'd suggest to perhaps moderate that a bit. The proverbial "win win situation" does exist to some extent. I win by being able to book an easyJet flight or a train ticket at 3am without faffing about. easyJet or the railway wins by not having to pay someone to sell it to me.
My bank, as you might guess, is a primarily online one. Most of the time I deal with them online. Today I had to do something out of the ordinary (a fairly large transfer to purchase a car) and so I phoned them up. Because people weren't phoning up to check their balance or create a standing order, the phone was answered quickly and the process completed quickly and efficiently. As for queueing in a branch - whyever would I want to do that? I can deposit cheques (antiquated though the things are) by posting them off. I can deposit cash at a post office, but I can't remember as an adult the last time I had to do that.
If we want to keep jobs, they could do other, more useful, things.
I don't often use a booking office but i still do if i need tickets that cant be sold by a machine or the journey is complex. An example: tonight I need to buy a railcard that i need to use on Friday night. At present i need a human for that.
So why can't I buy one online and print a 7 day temporary card out at home with the final one being posted? That would work too.
That's why i will always focus on that aspect and challenge those who don't or seek to dismiss concerns of individuals in a callous manner.
It depends. I do agree it is sad when people lose their jobs - but that should not stand in the way of genuine improvement to service.
To avoid this thread being deleted...the method of working being debated on another thread is not in itself an improvement. However online ticketing, mobile ticketing etc demonstrably are - I would prefer to use these methods to buy tickets and I am not alone.
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Not yet, but while there will always be people who prefer to speak to a real person when buying their tickets, they should not be effectively subsidised by other passengers who are quite happy to get a ticket from a (much cheaper) machine - there shouldn't really be a need for more than one or two staff selling tickets at a time at medium sized stations.
I agree, and think the Dutch method of a small fee for making transactions at a manned ticket window that could be made at a TVM, with staff assistance if necessary, is a reasonable approach to keep those few windows open for exceptional transactions. Even 50p or £1 would work - small amounts still have psychological power.