SWT Ambassador Role

[Yosser]

Hi Folks,

I have applied for the role of Customer Ambassador with SWT and have been invited to an interview. I was wondering whether anybody who works for SWT could give me any insight into (A) the salary, I did ask but they told me I should ask at the interview which I think is a tad unfair and (B) the general perception of the role within the company.

Any feedback would be very much appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[theironroad]

It's a brand new role for swt.

 

[Yosser]

It's a brand new role for swt.

Hi there, yes I know it's a new role. But I thought perhaps people within SWT might have an opinion on it and maybe an idea of the salary.

 

[455driver]

If it is similar to the customer ambassador role at GWR then it's standing on the concourse answering people's questions, most of the info they need will be on the departure board so it's simply reading that and telling them what it says.

Pay I don't know but GWRs Ambassadors get a lot more pay than the safety critical dispatchers which has caused a lot of bad feeling on the platforms.

Good luck at the interview.

 

[GingerRH]

The job is as mentioned above, standing on the concourse answering questions and just meet and greet, you will also have an iPad on which you will be able to assist people using the TVMs and I think choose tickets for them if they require tickets which aren't on the TVM usually.

Pay wise I believe its around 18/19k. The a little bit more/ the same as Ticket office staff as that is primarily what they're replacing.

SWT is a great company to work for.

 

[TEW]

You should also be fully trained to work in the ticket office as required too AFAIK.

 

[GingerRH]

You should also be fully trained to work in the ticket office as required too AFAIK.

This is not true from what I know, they are reducing ticket office staffing.

ALL ticket office staff have been offered redundancy or to apply for this role, or to keep their current position for the time being.

 

[TEW]

It's not quite that simple. There is to be a reduction in ticket office staff numbers in some locations, and ticket office staff were encouraged to apply for the ambassador roles, for a while they were only open to current ticket office staff. However there are no ticket office closures yet, so SWT are required to maintain the opening hours in the TSA. Company policy is that there will be no more ticket office staff recruited, only customer ambassadors. The only way therefore to maintain the legally required opening hours is for customer ambassadors to have the competency to work in the ticket office. All that I've read about the role mentions maintaining the skills and knowledge to work in the ticket office.

 

[Lrd]

I found this online, worth a read.

http://www.tssa.org.uk/en/Your-union/Your-company/company-pages/south-west-trains/index.cfm/south-west-trains-customer-ambassador

 

[Yosser]

Thanks very much for all the replies.

This business of getting rid of Ticket Office staff is shocking.

18/19k is really bad compared to other TOCs. I guess that's why they are not advertising the salary. Very disappointing.

 

[FGW_DID]

Thanks very much for all the replies.

This business of getting rid of Ticket Office staff is shocking.

18/19k is really bad compared to other TOCs. I guess that's why they are not advertising the salary. Very disappointing.

Customer Ambassadors for GWR, in the Thames Valley, are on 27k-32k depending on location.
(27K -Oxford, 32k - Paddington).

That's the figures I was quoted by a CA about 6 months ago when the Mrs was considering a change in employment and i was doing a spot of research for her.

 

[Yosser]

Customer Ambassadors for GWR, in the Thames Valley, are on 27k-32k depending on location.
(27K -Oxford, 32k - Paddington).

That's the figures I was quoted by a CA about 6 months ago when the Mrs was considering a change in employment and i was doing a spot of research for her.

Yes that's correct. It is infuriating that companies expect people to apply for jobs without indicating what the salary is. 27K is excellent, 18K is rubbish!

Are there any SWT employees who can confirm the Ticket Office rate of pay?

 

[Stigy]

Yes that's correct. It is infuriating that companies expect people to apply for jobs without indicating what the salary is. 27K is excellent, 18K is rubbish!

Are there any SWT employees who can confirm the Ticket Office rate of pay?

I'm not Ticket Office staff, but know that their rates of pay amount to more than £18,000pa. Whilst training it's possible it would be similar rate to this, but once fully qualified it's around £22,000 to £23,000pa. Not sure how overtime would be calculated in the new role, or even if there will be any, but certainly ticket office staff at present seem to be able to up their salary to £30k plus.

 

[332 > 444]

Customer Ambassadors for GWR, in the Thames Valley, are on 27k-32k depending on location.
(27K -Oxford, 32k - Paddington).

That's the figures I was quoted by a CA about 6 months ago when the Mrs was considering a change in employment and i was doing a spot of research for her.

That's bloody good, I don't see Paddington Ambassadors before 6:30 and after 22:30 and get paid more than the other customer facing roles.

SWT don't generally pay that well unless you are a guard (commercial/non-commercial) Better off going for the Passenger Host position at Southeastern if you can get to St. Pancras

 

[TEW]

I'm not Ticket Office staff, but know that their rates of pay amount to more than £18,000pa. Whilst training it's possible it would be similar rate to this, but once fully qualified it's around £22,000 to £23,000pa. Not sure how overtime would be calculated in the new role, or even if there will be any, but certainly ticket office staff at present seem to be able to up their salary to £30k plus.

The Customer Ambassador roles keep all the same enhancements as Ticket Office roles, so overtime pays pretty well.

 

[LBSCR Times]

Some of the titles amaze me....
SWT are having Customer Ambassadors for station work, whilst GTR are using the same title for those who used to be Customer Information Controllers, whilst their station proposals are to refer to them as Station Hosts!

 

[332 > 444]

Some of the titles amaze me....
SWT are having Customer Ambassadors for station work, whilst GTR are using the same title for those who used to be Customer Information Controllers, whilst their station proposals are to refer to them as Station Hosts!

We're moving away from bog standard customer service assistants (which works) to 'hosts' and ambassadors', its ridiculous!

 

[Yosser]

Well after consistent nagging I have been informed that the salary for Customer Ambassadors is £18,000 + regional bonus. I'm guessing if you work outside the London area you won't get the bonus.

Very poor compared to other TOCs. Really annoying they did not advertise this upfront. I'll be withdrawing my application.

 

[BestWestern]

If it is similar to the customer ambassador role at GWR then it's standing on the concourse answering people's questions, most of the info they need will be on the departure board so it's simply reading that and telling them what it says.

Pay I don't know but GWRs Ambassadors get a lot more pay than the safety critical dispatchers which has caused a lot of bad feeling on the platforms.

Good luck at the interview.

It would be fair to suggest that the pay of GWR Ambassadors has caused some bewilderment amongst many. However, it is worth pointing out that they are on low ranking 'management' contracts, which as I understand it means no enhancements, mandatory sunday working for no additional payment, and generally being at the behest of the company. It's still not a bad deal though (particularly when, as 455driver says, the dispatchers with all the same customer facing responsibilities plus accountability for people's lives, are being paid less...)

 

[Jack in England]

SWT are very poor with pay compared to other TOCS seeing as the majority of their network is in the most expensive part of the UK,its widely known that they are totally understaffed due to big cut backs a few years ago but are trying to get jobs back at stations but are still using agency staff

In your contract will be wording other "business needs" in other words they will have you doing all kinds of other work as well as your job

Also on the SWT network disruption is a daily thing and you standing there in all weathers in a bright red coat are a target for complaints & abuse....

And BTW just to give you an idea about the company to celebrate 20 years in the business and earning zillions of pounds they're staff were all given a......badge!

 

[danhenkes]

Not too sure where the 18-19k has been plucked from. There has been no announced figure that has been put out there yet? I haven't heard/read anything and I work for SWT.

 

[TEW]

It's the CO2 rate plus £1,000. That's the rate for any internal applicants going for the ambassador positions, presume it's the same for externals.

 

[danhenkes]

£21,613 is the announced figure

 

[MonJar]

£21,613 is the announced figure

Does anyone know why at interview stage I've been told the salary is £21,613 but in my contract it states £18,000? Is there a reduced rate during probation as this is not stated anywhere. Also in the contract everything keeps relating to "annex A" where can i find this as I can't see any information in the documents I've been sent.

Thanks in advance for any information

 

[TheManBehind]

Also on the SWT network disruption is a daily thing and you standing there in all weathers in a bright red coat are a target for complaints & abuse....

And BTW just to give you an idea about the company to celebrate 20 years in the business and earning zillions of pounds they're staff were all given a......badge!

You sound just a bit bitter about something...

SWT is actually a decent company to work for - customers are demanding but understanding. They expect a level of service and rightly so, especially in the Surrey area.

The £21000 figure probably includes your regional allowance (anywhere between £800 and £2000, depending on how far away from London you're based), plus some other bits. There may also be training-related pay such as for Guards and Control roles.

The pay is comparable with the CO3 (ticket office clerk/help point and CIS operator/video contact centre) position IIRC. The job doesn't entail that much responsibility outside giving information, meet-and-greet and paying attention to updates control send out, hence why there's not a massive wage attached. There may be scope for additional duties to be added, for example Team Leader/coordination duties during major sporting events, but I suspect this hasn't been decided formally yet.

 

[Jack in England]

You sound just a bit bitter about something...
SWT is actually a decent company to work for - customers are demanding but understanding. They expect a level of service and rightly so, especially in the Surrey area.

The £21000 figure probably includes your regional allowance (anywhere between £800 and £2000, depending on how far away from London you're based), plus some other bits. There may also be training-related pay such as for Guards and Control roles.

The pay is comparable with the CO3 (ticket office clerk/help point and CIS operator/video contact centre) position IIRC. The job doesn't entail that much responsibility outside giving information, meet-and-greet and paying attention to updates control send out, hence why there's not a massive wage attached. There may be scope for additional duties to be added, for example Team Leader/coordination duties during major sporting events, but I suspect this hasn't been decided formally yet.

Just facts my friend

 

[theironroad]

You sound just a bit bitter about something...

SWT is actually a decent company to work for - customers are demanding but understanding. They expect a level of service and rightly so, especially in the Surrey area.

The £21000 figure probably includes your regional allowance (anywhere between £800 and £2000, depending on how far away from London you're based), plus some other bits. There may also be training-related pay such as for Guards and Control roles.

The pay is comparable with the CO3 (ticket office clerk/help point and CIS operator/video contact centre) position IIRC. The job doesn't entail that much responsibility outside giving information, meet-and-greet and paying attention to updates control send out, hence why there's not a massive wage attached. There may be scope for additional duties to be added, for example Team Leader/coordination duties during major sporting events, but I suspect this hasn't been decided formally yet.

Clearly you dont work at a coastal or country Depot otherwise you'd know min £800 for regional allowance is rubbish, less than half that.

The badge thing was insulting,petty and divisive - two tier badges, gold and silver, great for building cohesion and morale.

 

[Stigy]

And BTW just to give you an idea about the company to celebrate 20 years in the business and earning zillions of pounds they're staff were all given a......badge!

I never got a badge.....I want a badge