NightatLaira
Member
- Joined
- 14 Jun 2010
- Messages
- 490
You hear a lot of bad stories about rail staff out there, but there are also some very good ones it would seem:
My sister was on the 0857 Spondon to Tamworth XC service earlier today. And this guard made a number of valid observations - and yet on each occasion made the right decision in respect to the old 'following the rule book to the letter of each word' versus 'just good old fashioned common sense' argument.
What a sterling asset this guy is to XC! It's a shame more rail staff can't be like him. I don't know his name, but I'm sure someone on here will do, or will be able to work out who he was from the train time and day. It would be nice to see him get recognised for these actions in some way I feel, as he is probably like this to passengers every day, and on all his services. Is there an 'employee or of the month' competition for XC? Or a way of members of the public commending staff who 'go the extra mile' or 'surpass the expectations placed upon them by the travelling public'. I just wish every conductor I come across was like this guy...
A big hats off to that man!
My sister was on the 0857 Spondon to Tamworth XC service earlier today. And this guard made a number of valid observations - and yet on each occasion made the right decision in respect to the old 'following the rule book to the letter of each word' versus 'just good old fashioned common sense' argument.
- Spondon is an unstaffed station with no ticket machine, so it's completely ok to board without a ticket. My sister boarded with a ticket from Derby to Tamworth.
- First of all, he came round to check everyone's tickets who had boarded at Spondon - even though there were only two or three people - first gold star
- Secondly, when he checked my sister's; instead of blindly issuing an unconcessioned Spondon to Derby peak time single, he checked the ticket price from Derby to Tamworth and compared it from Spondon to Tamworth. Finding it to be the same - he did not charge her for Spondon to Derby. Many conductors would have charged a passenger anyway - but this chap, used his common sense and good judgement to work out that the railways weren't really being deprived of a fare anyway, and took the unusual but very welcome decision of not charging her for the 3 miles journey accordingly. Good for him! Second gold star. :0
- It was then that he noticed that her ticket from Derby to Tamworth had been issued as a 'Senior Railcard' fare - my sister is a Y-P holder, but not a Senior Citizen, and she did have her Y-P on her. The ticket had been mistakenly been issued by a clerk at Tamworth the day before as a 'Senior Citizen' concession rate, but neither my sister nor the ticket seller had apparently noticed this (the price still being the same). And seeing as the conductor recognised the fact that the discount of 33% was the same anyway, and that the Y-P was nevertheless valid and in-date, he declined to charge her again, and accepted the ticket graciously. Another third gold star and a big thumbs up in the common-sense stakes from me!
- Finally, he then helped her with her connections enquiries and continued to do the same to many other people in the carriage from the reports I hear.
What a sterling asset this guy is to XC! It's a shame more rail staff can't be like him. I don't know his name, but I'm sure someone on here will do, or will be able to work out who he was from the train time and day. It would be nice to see him get recognised for these actions in some way I feel, as he is probably like this to passengers every day, and on all his services. Is there an 'employee or of the month' competition for XC? Or a way of members of the public commending staff who 'go the extra mile' or 'surpass the expectations placed upon them by the travelling public'. I just wish every conductor I come across was like this guy...
A big hats off to that man!
But what they don't know , won't hurt them!