"Govia Thameslink boss in first class row"

[bramling]

Plenty of railway staff get first class travel, yet they don’t all end up the focus of derision on social media. It appears fairly obvious why this individual is the odd one out.

 

[Bromley boy]

Plenty of railway staff get first class travel, yet they don’t all end up the focus of derision on social media. It appears fairly obvious why this individual is the odd one out.

If you work in an anonymous management role for an unpopular TOC, start flashing your business card, ordering passengers around, then end up with a photo of yourself looking like a self entitled prat circulating on social media, its been a seriously bad day at the office.

I agree with your earlier point - it smacks of poor judgement on the part of the individual concerned to allow this situation to arise in the first place.

 

[farleigh]

A smarter manager might have said to people to come and sit in First Class and possibly strike up a conversation about the current parlous state of affairs on the railway.

This was a PR opportunity.

This man turned it into a PR disaster.

 

[AlterEgo]

A smarter manager might have said to people to come and sit in First Class and possibly strike up a conversation about the current parlous state of affairs on the railway.

This was a PR opportunity.

This man turned it into a PR disaster.

That would have been a PR disaster too.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I read in a newspaper article that an ill woman (sorry, not pregnant, I remembered wrong) asked if she could sit down and he refused.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/tra...-train-by-govia-thameslink-boss-a3886021.html

A Govia Thameslink Railway manager has been accused of having "contempt" for passengers after a picture emerged of him taking up two seats in first class after apparently ordering other travellers out of the carriage.

Passenger Emma FitzPatrick took a photo of GTR's head of operations Mark Boon claiming he had told passengers on the "packed" service to stay out of first class on the late and busy train.

Perhaps he could instead have assisted her to, and requested the occupant of, a priority seat to give it up to her, rather than just telling her to get lost.

The issue was not that he "enforced" 1st, it was his attitude.

 

[farleigh]

That would have been a PR disaster too.

In my humble experience, most people are grateful when somebody listens to their concerns and gives them what information they can. I take your point, but it may have proved less embarrassing than his choice of approach.

 

[farleigh]

I read in a newspaper article that an ill woman (sorry, not pregnant, I remembered wrong) asked if she could sit down and he refused.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/tra...-train-by-govia-thameslink-boss-a3886021.html

Perhaps he could instead have assisted her to, and requested the occupant of, a priority seat to give it up to her, rather than just telling her to get lost.

The issue was not that he "enforced" 1st, it was his attitude.

Yeah - it does not read well.

 

[Tetchytyke]

He does look a bit of a kn*b in that photo and it is certainly bad PR. I wonder if the situation could have been handled a little more sensitively? Apparently he was handing out his business card to people he’d ordered out of first class which seems somewhat bizarre.

I'd agree with the photo looking bad. But I don't see how much more sensitively it could have been handled. People wanted a free ride in first class, they were told no, they bitched about it on Twitter. It's not like there's a compromise position.

And there were other people sitting in that first class compartment who HAD paid to be there. "Manager sits there doing sweet FA whilst people get a free ride, I pay £10,000 a year for my ticket!" is just as bad PR.

The business card thing seems a bit bizarre, although I suspect he was trying to make it clear who he was and why he was doing it. Taking ownership of it.

The passengers are wrong on this one. It's just the standard self-entitlement. "I want to be in coach 1 with everyone else, to be at the front in Victoria, but don't think I should have to stand, so I'll sit somewhere I'm not allowed and moan on Twitter when I'm called out on it".

I read in a newspaper article that an ill woman (sorry, not pregnant, I remembered wrong) asked if she could sit down and he refused.

Neil, you know as well as I do from London Midland that anyone on a busy train mysteriously feels "ill" when they decide they want to sit down in first class without paying and they're challenged by authority.

This all happened in the very front coach, which is always busy because everyone wants to be first off in London. It happens on every single train into London.

 

[Steve Harris]

The story is currently being discussed on the Jeremy Vine show on BBC Radio 2.

Apparently Mr Boon wasn't asking to see tickets, but was stating that it was/is First Class.

 

[TPO]

If you work in an anonymous management role for an unpopular TOC, start flashing your business card, ordering passengers around, then end up with a photo of yourself looking like a self entitled prat circulating on social media, its been a seriously bad day at the office.

I agree with your earlier point - it smacks of poor judgement on the part of the individual concerned to allow this situation to arise in the first place.

Absolutely. It's a pity he had *apparently* made no serious effort to get the standing passengers seated elsewhere in std before throwing his weight around, I bet a Guard who was that inept at dealing with a situation wouldn't last long! (1) If there's a lot of unreserved seats in std- then work with the on-train crew in a courteous and helpful way to move people to those seats. (2) If std is ram-loaded- then he should be declassifying first class.

The other thing is, if the chap had actually PAID for his first class ticket out of his own pocket, it would not be so bad. But his "job perks" are (like the rest of his pay package) paid for by those who DO pay for tickets.... plus the taxpayer subsidy. I wonder if this chap doesn't realise how lucky he is to get such a benefit as free rail travel- yes I know it is taxed but the Benefit in Kind rate is ludicrously low compared to say a company car/parking on which the taxes are eyewatering if comparing like-for-like (quantity and quality of travel enabled).

Bottom line: he flaunted a perk which had been paid for by the ongoing discomfort of those in whose faces he shoved it. Irrespective of "the rules" he showed a lack of any degree of understanding of his customers' perspective.

This is a bigger-picture thing than "oh well he should be enforcing first class." Outside the passenger rail industry (protected as it is by subsidy and bylaws), the world is changing, has changed. I have a feeling that it's such attitudes of contempt of (a proportion of) rail managers for the MAJORITY of passengers who cough up a lot of money for train fares that is contributing to passenger discontent- basically the service in many areas is declining and many rail managers seem entirely out of touch, securely ensconced in their ivory towers. The irony is, as I have indicated above, that I have no doubt that a front-line traincrew member would have handled the situation waaaay better.

JMO tho.

TPO

 

[rosschap]

Interestingly this topic was the basis for the warm up question at this week’s recording for BBC Question Time in Dartford on Thursday. Before they start recording they do a question to the panel which isn’t broadcast.

All of the panellists (including ex Rail Minister Clare Perry) were not pleased by Mr Boon and also said the press release from GTR was not satisfactory. She also said that she thinks suburban rail services need first class seating removed. During the debate David Dimbleby said that all railway staff, not just management travel in first class and he knew this because he sees them travel in it when he goes by train.

As much as I respect Mr Dimbleby I regret that I didn’t inform him that he was, in fact, mistaken!

Shame it wasn’t broadcast as the rest of the programme was about Brexit which became incredibly repetitive.

 

[jon0844]

Question Time is about nothing other than Brexit these days, as well as bringing on somewhat inappropriate panelists that I assume is to stir up the social media engagement. I wish the BBC didn't feel the need to go down the 'clickbait' route of journalism.

 

[radamfi]

How controversial is first class in other European countries where it exists on almost all local trains?

 

[yorkie]

I read in a newspaper article that an ill woman (sorry, not pregnant, I remembered wrong) asked if she could sit down and he refused.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/tra...-train-by-govia-thameslink-boss-a3886021.html

A Govia Thameslink Railway manager has been accused of having "contempt" for passengers after a picture emerged of him taking up two seats in first class after apparently ordering other travellers out of the carriage.

Passenger Emma FitzPatrick took a photo of GTR's head of operations Mark Boon claiming he had told passengers on the "packed" service to stay out of first class on the late and busy train.

Perhaps he could instead have assisted her to, and requested the occupant of, a priority seat to give it up to her, rather than just telling her to get lost.

The issue was not that he "enforced" 1st, it was his attitude.

His attitude is apparently well known.

Two more of his victims have made allegations on completely separate, unrelated occasions, through Twitter:

https://twitter.com/vonsenger/status/786104679948226564

@GatwickExpress bright sparks now taken away options on ticket machines. Reaction when quizzed? Being shouted by Mark boon.

https://twitter.com/anna_amused/status/1013745113816707072

Boon is representing your company and shouting at me, reducing to answer questions and turning his back and walking off is not good enough. Please review the CCTV footage.

I have witnessed staff at Victoria platforms 13/14 behave in the manner described, even mistreating a vulnerable lone tourist who did not speak good English; I think it is a cultural problem at the company, which is rotten to the core.

I hope that others will recognise him, and step forward to make complaints. I do not have much confidence in the company acting against him though; several of their staff behave in this way and it appears to be considered acceptable by the company.​

 

[Marklund]

Lets be clear: Those standing in second class had no right to be in first class. They might have paid a "substantial" sum but that "substantial" sum allows them to travel in the second class part of the train. It conferred on them no right to travel in first class. They were not deprived of anything. What this is all about is jealousy and envy. Jealousy that someone else gets something you or I don't.

Correct, albeit how did Boon know they weren't first class ticket holders.
From the interviews with the person in question, he never asked...

OBVIOUSLY it looks bad at a time of poor PR for GTR but it isnt really that bad

GTR have been running trains with declassified first for long enough on the 700s and now during peak services.
This is the straw that broke the camel's back for a lot of commuters.

Yet experts here often moan rules aren't enforced. It seems many are happy to have rules that suit their bias rather than rules

When GTR have been abusing the rules of their operation, complaining about rules being broken by customers is hypocritical.
Doctor cure thyself comes to mind.

 

[Dougal2345]

...his "job perks" are (like the rest of his pay package) paid for by those who DO pay for tickets.... plus the taxpayer subsidy.

You might say that free first class travel is a boon Boon's been granted. Boom boom