BBC Documentary 'The Railways'

[Clip]

I've had personal dealings with that manager and can vouch that I genuinely believe he is the salt of the earth. I had reason to complain about a team leader and a travel consultant in the ticket office (who were both caught in the show!) who spent the best part of 40 minutes coming up with rubbish reasons to refuse to sell the ticket what was asking for. The complaint went through the company from the very top downwards and I received a personal phone call from him, stating the incident had been investigated and actually saying "I'm sorry," before confirming that I was right to ask for what I asked for and should have been sold it without any hassle.

Not very many managers will engage with end customers like that and it certainly knocked me for six. The impression given was that the company cared, which is not something all companies will go to the effort of doing.

Steve is a genuinely nice bloke and I do admit he came across quite bad in that programme - but again all down to editing and what the producers thought the viewers would like to see.

Of course within such a short amount of time for the Kings Cross story they couldnt fit everybody in and I actually thought it a pretty poor reflection of the staff - some who I have known for years - and I dont understand how East Coast let them show what they did.

 

[jon0844]

It's rare to allow any external editorial control. Unless EC threatened legal action or tried to get an injunction, they'd have to accept whatever the BBC (well, the production company) decided to produce. Of course I don't know how the production company got permission in the first place, and this may well have seen some people not included simply because they didn't agree to be filmed at all.

I doubt EC could have forced staff to appear on the programme either.

We've had companies asking us to show a review or feature for approval before and they're always told to sod off. Of course, if something is wrong it can be corrected - but we won't allow someone to see something in advance and then request changes (which will almost always be trying to remove anything that sounds negative, not factual errors).

Naturally, EC might now have some issues with the staff and how they came across. Most likely the ticket seller that sounded so depressed and negative.

 

[Mechy]

All in all I thought it was quite a good programme. As has been mentioned before though it did miss out quite a number of people who keep things at Kings Cross going. As a power box signaller, I was hoping to see some footage from the PSB so that viewers could get an idea of how hard we work to keep the trains moving during times of disruption. I suppose however this may be included in a later episode.

 

[D1009]

I reckon the £301 fare incident was probably set up. Having only so far seen half of the programme, I thought it a pretty accurate reflection on what goes on on the railway, possibly a little too accurate for some of the staff posting on here. In making a programme of that nature, particularly for the BBC, you have to avoid it becoming a commercial, and also make it interesting to watch. It highlighted both the bad and the good.

 

[Silv1983]

Nice of the BBC to remark about drivers': "With pay starting at £50k.... etc etc etc"

Way to disillusion the public about pay!

 

[A-driver]

Nice of the BBC to remark about drivers': "With pay starting at £50k.... etc etc etc"

Way to disillusion the public about pay!

To be honest I wouldn't mind if it was true!

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Repeated at 2320 tonight on BBC2 for those who cannot access iPlayer.

 

[aylesbury]

Thoughorly enjoyed this programe , change to see the railway in a generaly good light.I liked the singing customer care assistant and the chap who retired, he could be a consultant in how to run the railway.Good shots of trains as well, I am looking forward to seeing the rest of the series.

 

[HYPODERMIC]

Who was that young guy wearing the casual blue shirt during the two customer service presentations? He looked really young and wasn't wearing a formal shirt/jacket and tie, unlike almost everyone else in the room.

Presumably some kind of intern or graduate? Didn't realise EC did those kind of schemes.

 

[asylumxl]

I found the start too annoying and didn't watch the rest.

 

[LE Greys]

Who was that young guy wearing the casual blue shirt during the two customer service presentations? He looked really young and wasn't wearing a formal shirt/jacket and tie, unlike almost everyone else in the room.

Presumably some kind of intern or graduate? Didn't realise EC did those kind of schemes.

Or somebody from the production company.

 

[the sniper]

I found the start too annoying and didn't watch the rest.

Your loss I'd say.

 

[martin2345uk]

Who was that young guy wearing the casual blue shirt during the two customer service presentations? He looked really young and wasn't wearing a formal shirt/jacket and tie, unlike almost everyone else in the room.

Presumably some kind of intern or graduate? Didn't realise EC did those kind of schemes.

Maybe he came in on a day off for the training? He was cute though

 

[michael769]

I also agree that the manager was playing up to the cameras a little, but despite that he came across quite positively. It was noticable that he made a point of publicly talking up several staff members, and also made some effort to give Laxman a little send off. All of which suggests someone who does care about his people (an attribute that is sadly lacking in many middle managers within service industries).

I too share the caution about editing, and how it betrayed a little bit of an agenda from the producers. This was quite noticable when David Cameron was on the train and the camera made a point of lingering on a First Class macassar for no obvious reason, other than to make sure that the viewers were all aware that the PM was in first class. The lingering shot on him reading a copy of the Telegraph (aka the Torygraph) also stood out to my eyes.

With such overt editing, one does have to wonder what other editorial slants were introduced into the show.

Despite that I did find it an interestng a lively insight into some of the staff who worked on the railway.

 

[jon0844]

I hope the next few shows don't have political messages in them, either anti-railway, anti-union or whatever. I just want to see how things are done every day and the people that do them.

 

[LE Greys]

I hope the next few shows don't have political messages in them, either anti-railway, anti-union or whatever. I just want to see how things are done every day and the people that do them.

I'm not holding my breath. I'll still watch them, though.

 

[Butts]

Why are they left open so often, then? The ones near the end of platforms 0-6 at KGX have been open on each of the several occasions I've been there this month.

Or is this something to do with the final works at the front of the station - are these 'old' barriers going to disappear, leaving only those at the entrance from the new concourse?

When I was at Kings Cross last week all the barriers were open on arrival (Lunchtime)

At my departure time (1800) they were all shut and manned apart from the ones on The First Floor by the Food Courts which give direct access to Platforms 0-8 or whatever the precise numbers are. Up the escalator , past the food court and down the stairs to the required platform - no barriers

 

[martybabes]

3 or 4 pages back are some comments about buying tickets, possibly from travel centres, but maybe from the ticket office at the railway station itself. These comments seem to suggest that it is company policy not to provide the customer/passenger with the cheapest ticket available nor to provide opportunities by splitting the journey to take advantage of fare differentials to the customers' advantage. Maximising profit appears to be the mantra of the ticket office staff.

My view of customer service (which may now be considered old-fashioned and out-dated) is that the customer's needs are paramount, and that assistance should be given to him/her in securing the best deal available. This means doing more than just the minimum. You should be able to ask yourself "could I have done more?" and get the answer as a resounding "no" but this seems now to be entirely contrary to running a public service or an organisation with a view to profit (or both). If you thought the people on whom you depend each day for a variety of society's functions - firemen, ambulance personnel, lawyers, doctors/surgeons, for example - only did as little as they thought they needed to, would you be happy to put your trust (or your life) in their hands?

If the above is the current philosophy of the TOCs, is it any wonder that there is deep-seated customer dissatisfaction in the railway network. The customer is not particularly bothered/interested/knowledgeable in who does what in this multi-layered transport medium, but it is not unreasonable for him to expect to be able to buy a ticket, at a reasonable cost, to be able to have a seat and to depart from/arrive at his chosen locations on or near the time posted.

 

[RJ]

Speaking as someone who has worked in a ticket office, it is bad practice to offer split fares. I suggested it once and once only, never again. People generally want the simplest and cheapest ticket, which is the reason why this is peddled in training and the Retail Standards Guide.

It is ok to offer an Anytime Single for one direction, then advise them to buy the cheapest appropriate ticket when return. I would not advise selling an Anytime Single for part of the journey, then an Off Peak Single for the remainder if they're remaining on the same train, because the guard might say it's not permissible. It's best to avoid selling anything to customers which might make their journey anything less than seamless.

It's bad practice to offer Sailrail or other tickets representing loopholes. I never did this when in the ticket office. When in the Customer Information Point, I would never volunteer this information but if someone asked, I would confirm what was correct but remain neutral.

 

[the sniper]

Maximising profit appears to be the mantra of the ticket office staff.

Ticket Office staff are supposed to sell the cheapest fare available for the journey the passenger is wishing to make. What they aren't expected to do is split tickets on behalf of the customer, which is sensible IMO. If the customer asks for numerous tickets for a journey though, i.e. the passenger has worked out the best splits themselves, the clerk should happily sell them what they want.

EDIT: I don't know any ticket office staff who'd deliberately sell a more expensive ticket than necessary. There's no reason to. They don't earn commission and I doubt many are inclined to give their TOC any more money than they are owed!

 

[313103]

I actually thought that the David Brent-style manager came over as a really nice bloke. He seemed to know every member of staff there personally and I'd rather have someone like him as my boss as opposed to some of the more dour characters there are around. The FCC woman in the info point (Alexis?) also came across as a nice person. Laxman looked like a top bloke, you have to go a long way sometimes to find staff that dedicated (him even having an overnight kit if situation ever dictated that he may need to stay and cleaning up after the Kings Cross fire etc). You could tell he loved his job and would go above and beyond at every chance. A credit to himself, East Coast and the rail network generally.

Just a shame i remember him being (well children visit this site and i dont want to break any rules of the group so i will leave it at that) suffice to say there was a sigh of relief when he left London Midland. What is that saying that is overused and understated 'One cock up after another'.

Not yet seen the program yet, so will reserve judement on whether he has changed much since i remember him.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Just a shame i remember him being (well children visit this site and i dont want to break any rules of the group so i will leave it at that) suffice to say there was a sigh of relief when he left London Midland. What is that saying that is overused and understated 'One cock up after another'.

I assume you're talking about the David Brent bloke there?

 

[313103]

I assume you're talking about the David Brent bloke there?

If the persons initials are SN then yes i am. If this David Brent type person is someone else then i have got my wires crossed. So apologies may yet be required.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

3 or 4 pages back are some comments about buying tickets, possibly from travel centres, but maybe from the ticket office at the railway station itself. These comments seem to suggest that it is company policy not to provide the customer/passenger with the cheapest ticket available nor to provide opportunities by splitting the journey to take advantage of fare differentials to the customers' advantage. Maximising profit appears to be the mantra of the ticket office staff....

Sometimes not realising that a first class ticket is 2% cheaper than a standard class ticket is an honest mistake, these things happen sometimes. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and often a member of a forum with the inclination to check these things up will have more time to be thorough than ticket office staff on a Friday evening with a queue of people waiting to catch their trains and a target of five minutes to serve the last of them (lets not forget that queuing times are regularly amongst complaints about the railway, have you got your cake ready?).

....My view of customer service (which may now be considered old-fashioned and out-dated) is that the customer's needs are paramount, and that assistance should be given to him/her in securing the best deal available. This means doing more than just the minimum. You should be able to ask yourself "could I have done more?" and get the answer as a resounding "no" but this seems now to be entirely contrary to running a public service or an organisation with a view to profit (or both). If you thought the people on whom you depend each day for a variety of society's functions - firemen, ambulance personnel, lawyers, doctors/surgeons, for example - only did as little as they thought they needed to, would you be happy to put your trust (or your life) in their hands?....

It's not a realistic aim to offer splits to every person, but even if it was, there would be no guarantee that every clerk would find the same price. Just yesterday I had a lady come to my office and ask for a split, she couldn't remember exactly what split point it was nor what ticket type she had been sold, but was adamant it cost £3.85+£1.60. For the first part the cheapest I could see, based on the information she gave me, was £8, and for the second was £3.60. If indeed she did pay £5.45 I don't have the foggiest idea what she was sold and she doesn't know. Presumably my customer service skills suck as I couldn't match what she alleged to have previously paid. On this occasion I suggested she keep hold of the tickets next time so I could see what they were and effectively copy them. She ended up buying a through to ticket to another local station for £7.20, but that little episode took 3-4 minutes, time staff at Kings Cross just don't have.

....If the above is the current philosophy of the TOCs, is it any wonder that there is deep-seated customer dissatisfaction in the railway network. The customer is not particularly bothered/interested/knowledgeable in who does what in this multi-layered transport medium, but it is not unreasonable for him to expect to be able to buy a ticket, at a reasonable cost, to be able to have a seat and to depart from/arrive at his chosen locations on or near the time posted.

With customers leaving their costs in the hands of salesmen, is it any wonder the comparison websites not only exist, but thrive in modern times. If people want to save money they can look for cheaper options, but it is easier not to and moan about things being expensive.

 

[Aictos]

I got asked the other day by a passenger who thought he was retailed the wrong ticket, I just explained to him it was a popular ticket choice and it actually saved him some money by getting a return to Crews Hill and then a London Travelcard for the rest of the journey.

Most passengers I've seen know of this splt ticket offer and these who don't soon do.

 

[jon0844]

When I was at Kings Cross last week all the barriers were open on arrival (Lunchtime)

At my departure time (1800) they were all shut and manned apart from the ones on The First Floor by the Food Courts which give direct access to Platforms 0-8 or whatever the precise numbers are. Up the escalator , past the food court and down the stairs to the required platform - no barriers

It used to be easy to bypass the gates to platform 9-11 by walking down platform 8 and looping back. A few times they'd put revenue staff there, but very rarely.

I used to do it not because I didn't have a ticket, but simply because I often arrived quite early and knew the platform - and my train would be at platform 9a, so my walk down 8 and back was an effective shortcut!

If you can now gain access to platforms 0-8 over the bridge, you can of course get in and walk down platform 8 to loop back to 9-11... so those open gates upstairs now give access to every single platform! Whoops.

 

[pinguini]

I hope the next few shows don't have political messages in them, either anti-railway, anti-union or whatever. I just want to see how things are done every day and the people that do them.

But surely that is what happens on a daily basis? Isn't the whole industry just politics

 

[jon0844]

If the people on the programme were giving their political views about how the railway should be run, I could accept it (although it might be a rather boring show, as I took it to be more about how the railway is run day to day, and the people that make it possible etc).

It's rather different when the BBC/production company has an agenda and chooses to film and edit the programme in a certain way. I am not saying that's definitely the case (we'll get more of an idea by the time the series ends) but it certainly has been the case on other programmes. Not just the BBC either, obviously.

 

[Clip]

3 or 4 pages back are some comments about buying tickets, possibly from travel centres, but maybe from the ticket office at the railway station itself. These comments seem to suggest that it is company policy not to provide the customer/passenger with the cheapest ticket available nor to provide opportunities by splitting the journey to take advantage of fare differentials to the customers' advantage. Maximising profit appears to be the mantra of the ticket office staff.

.

Not really. Passenger comes up to the window and asks for a certain ticket from point A to point B then that is what they will get sold. It is not the job of the ticket clerk to sit there working out all different routes and splitting possibilities. They are there to seel the ticket(s) that are asked of them.


You may not like it but I am not having ever increasing queues at my stations incconveniencing other travellers.

If you want to complicate and search out the cheapest way of doing things then im afraid you do that research on your own., then come to the station and the clerk will happily sell you what you ask for.

 

[GodAtum]

Just watched it and feel sorry for the crying young lady who forgot there ticket.

I think the cleaner Ronnie must of saw me sitting in 1st :P

If the TOC has to pay a fine for every minute a train is delayed isnt that a downward spiral? The more trains are delayed the more the TOC pushes up ticket prices?

The overcrowding on an Intercity is very poor. Fine if you are only traveling for a short while but to stand up for a 2 hours I would suffer a mental breakdown!

I really admire Laxman and hope I could hold down a job for 30 years!