Welcome!

Welcome to this, the blog of a temp working in the UK rail industry. Things you can expect to see here will include encounters with the great British public, dealings with staff, etc. In short, the usual things you get in front-line staff blogs ;-)

One thing you won't see, however, is the real names of any people or companies involved, as I'd quite like to keep my job.

And so, without further ado, here's my first story, based on a transaction some time last week:

Customer: (Shows a Transport for London Oyster card, allowing one to "PrePay" for Underground, Bus and certain rail journeys, or also containing a weekly or longer Travelcard) I'd like a ticket to Central London and a return from London, because someone's coming back with me.
Me: *duly issues a Single to the first station within the zones covered by said Oyster, and a single from London back to our station*
Customer: *pays and heads to the platform*

Bear in mind that I have just sold what I think are the most appropriate tickets based on what the customer has told me.

A few moments later, the customer returns and claims I've sold her the wrong tickets(!) as it transpires that the person travelling back to the station is, in fact, heading into London with her now, and returning later.

So at this point, I cancel the single from London, and issue a return to London instead, in exchange for the difference in fares. The pair head back to the platform, only to return for a third time:

Customer: Will this get us on the Underground?
Me: No, only to London and back.
Customer: But why not? I asked for a ticket to Central London.
Me: (thinks) Which is precisely what you got you daft cow. (says) Okay...In that case, you actually need a Travelcard. Give me the tickets back, and I'll sort them out.
Customer: *hands the tickets over*
Me: *cancels the whole lot, issues a Travelcard for her travelling companion, single to London for her* Okay...That'll cover you for that. And as you're returning to a different place, you're better off using your Oyster for your journey, as it'll be cheaper.
Customer: *leaves, and boards the train*

That's just another typical example of customer stupidity that occurs almost every day. And you think you've seen it all, but you then find a bigger idiot.

At the station I'm currently working at, the Passenger Information Screen on one platform hadn't been working since the start of January, and the other died in mid-February following a power cut. They finally replaced both monitors (at a vastly over-inflated cost!), along with fitting a new Time Lapse VCR for one of the CCTV cameras, and new tapes in all three of the VCRs, on Thursday, so I duly sent an e-mail out to our Team Leader, Station Manager and Control informing them of this, only to get an e-mail back from the Station Manager suggesting my e-mail had a "sarcastic tone" and I should "be more professional" in future.