Testing experience at Paddington

[RochdalePioneers]

Absolutely. Book and collect is the safe approach, removing the lottery of "I'm not selling you that"

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[bb21]

Booking office staff have to ensure that tickets sold are the right one's for the journey the passenger wants to take, this is why they will ask questions.

Yes, I think that it is good customer service that ticket office staff should do their best to ensure that the passenger has the correct ticket for his journey.

The rail ticketing system is extremely complicated and staff have to assume that passengers have minimal knowledge of ticket types and restrictions.

That would be a sensible approach, and is true in probably more than 99% of cases.

Ticket office staff are in a position of damned if they do and damned if they don't. If they just sell what the passenger asks without asking questions then I can guarantee that somewhere down the line, there will be people who turn around and complain that they were not advised there was a cheaper alternative to the ticket they asked for.

There is obviously a line to be drawn somewhere. If a passenger insists that he is happy with his choice of tickets and knows what he is talking about then said tickets should just be sold without further questioning. There is no definitive answer where this line is and it can sometimes be tricky to get it right.

Absolutely. Book and collect is the safe approach, removing the lottery of "I'm not selling you that"

Where can I get my Boundary Zone extension tickets? This is not a solution for everything, not for now at least.

 

[sheff1]

Ticket office staff are in a position of damned if they do and damned if they don't. If they just sell what the passenger asks without asking questions then I can guarantee that somewhere down the line, there will be people who turn around and complain that they were not advised there was a cheaper alternative to the ticket they asked for.

There is obviously a line to be drawn somewhere. If a passenger insists that he is happy with his choice of tickets and knows what he is talking about then said tickets should just be sold without further questioning. There is no definitive answer where this line is and it can sometimes be tricky to get it right.

I think RJ summed it up well:

"I treat each customer as an individual, listen to them and serve them in a manner that is appropriate to their particular demands and requirements. Many know exactly what they want having made the same journey umpteen times before. Some will be seeking advice and others will have done their homework and just want to be sold what they ask for. Everyone either gets the simplest and cheapest ticket (in that order) for their journey, or the splits/other tickets they specifically request with suitable advice and a stamp if appropriate. Once I have provided the customer with advice and they demonstrate that they understand, I give them the benefit of the doubt"

Whilst it is no doubt tricky to get it right at times, there is no excuse at all for making up fairytale stories just to try and justify not selling a ticket ... not least because such behaviour contravenes 6-30 2(e) of the TSA which yorkie quoted - "The Operator must not give any opinion which is not based on verifiable fact."

Where can I get my Boundary Zone extension tickets? This is not a solution for everything, not for now at least.

Indeed ... more the pity. I do not understand why Boundary Zone tickets are unavailable online - there is no technical reason which would prevent online booking engines recognising the appropriate codes.

 

[bb21]

I think RJ summed it up well:

I absolutely agree with what RJ said.

I think the difficulty is getting the balance right. There is no definitive line. There will be people who make out that they know exactly what they want but in fact it is the complete opposite. Only the other day I witnessed someone asking by name an Anytime Return from Leicester to Worksop and claimed that it is what he wanted. That is until informed by staff that an Off-Peak Return is actually valid at almost any time. The reason he gave? An Anytime Return is required to travel at 0800 when he went to Sheffield so he assumed that it is what he needed.

Yes, passengers must be treated as individuals, but staff asking more questions in order to ensure that a passenger has suitable tickets should not be seen in a negative light. Sometimes it is difficult to tell whether the passenger knew exactly what he wanted and a few extra questions is not going to do any harm. I believe that ticket office staff should ask more questions until they are happy that they have fulfilled their obligations and anything less would not be good customer service. Of course they should not refuse sale of a perfectly valid ticket, including one that is intended for future travel even if not valid at the time of purchase. If they are not sure about the validity, they must state so clearly to the passenger but sell the ticket nonetheless.

... more the pity. I do not understand why Boundary Zone tickets are unavailable online - there is no technical reason which would prevent online booking engines recognising the appropriate codes.

I think the reason is clear, however given that staff don't always bother to check the existence of a Travelcard prior to a sale, they might as well be available online.

 

[sheff1]

Asking whether someone requesting a specific ticket for simple journey from the station of issue is aware of a cheaper ticket for the same journey is perfectly fine and is good customer service. Asking other appropriate questions is also fine, but then refusing to accept the answers is not.

The following examples (all from Sheffield) are the opposite to good customer service.

'We don't sell tickets from Doncaster here'

'You can't start here with a ticket from Doncaster' (heading south towards Chesterfield)

'You must get off at station xxx and buy a new ticket and get on the next train. We can't sell you one here'.

'We don't sell three tickets for one journey and, even if we did, the starting station for the second and third tickets must be the same as the finishing station of the ticket before'.

'Off Peak tickets are never valid before 0900'.

'We can't sell an Off Peak ticket now, you must come back tomorrow'.

'It is not possible to buy a through ticket to Dublin'.

I could go on (and I haven't even mentioned the Routeing Guide yet ), but fortunately all the above are now available from TVMs or online.

 

[bb21]

The following examples (all from Sheffield) are the opposite to good customer service.

I would never defend such responses, and I'm sure you know that.

Meanwhile all I can say about Sheffield ticket office is

.