Ticket office clerk - What is the job like?

[mel_b]

Hi all, new poster here! I'm curious about what working in the ticket office is like as a job? What qualities and experience will stand out in an application and interview? And how well can it work as a stepping stone to a more prestigious, onboard the train position such as guard/train manager or driver?

As I understand it it's a customer service heavy role where knowledge of and/or ability to very quickly learn the complex ticket system is going to be necessary. These are things I consider myself good at, I already have a very good starting point of knowledge from being a railway enthusiast and I am gaining experience at and enjoy customer service, as I'm about to explain:

See I currently work in telephone customer service for a timeshare company. I've only been doing it about 4 months but the plan is to stick around long enough to get some good experience under my belt and then move into the railways where I will actually have some passion for the field. I'm only 21 and this is my first salaried job after uni, I've got plenty of time ahead of me to do this job to gain experience, I don't hate it, I just don't have any passion for the industry. The question is how much experience is the right amount? I was thinking 2 years but would more be better or could less work okay?

And then of course what am I missing? There's got to be more to ticket office roles than just selling tickets and giving information/advice but what? I'd love some insight. I'm hesitant to say it but my dream is to drive trains, I don't know for certain if I'm the right kind of person for it but it's something I want it work towards. Would work in a ticket office be a good way into the industry to work my way up to that goal or could I do well jumping straight in and applying for a conductor/guard/train manager role and progressing straight into driving as many others have done?

 

[skyhigh]

I suspect you're overthinking it.

You definitely don't need 2 years experience to get a job in a ticket office.

There are no guarantees that you'd progress from a ticket office to driving - there is no formal line of promotion. If you want to drive, apply for driving jobs.

And then of course what am I missing? There's got to be more to ticket office roles than just selling tickets and giving information/advice but what?

That's pretty much it. At some locations you'd also do bits such as light cleaning duties, passenger assistance and dispatch but the vast majority of the job is just selling tickets and helping passengers.

 

[12LDA28C]

Previous experience of customer-facing roles such as retail would be a definite advantage and I mean in person, face-to-face not over the telephone. A good general knowledge of UK geography and the rail network would also be beneficial but in terms of knowledge of ticketing you will be taught that by your employer.

It’s perfectly possible to move into operational roles from the ticket office if you just wanted to get a ‘foot in the door’ of the railway industry as a starting point to see how you like it but if you’re really set on becoming a driver or guard then you should apply directly for any trainee/apprentice jobs you see advertised.

 

[WAB]

I generally advise against talking about being an enthusiast in interviews. Although the industry is full of people with a liking of railways to various degrees, you don't know who's interviewing you and how they view enthusiasts. Their views could range from enthusiasm being a distraction to full-on judgement. Think about how you could frame this differently - a regular customer of the railway (so you understand the customer's perspective), good geographical knowledge of the railway, etc.

For this to work out, I suggest that you go into this expecting and wanting to be a booking clerk, with any opportunities that arise being an added bonus. There are plenty of station staff who want to become traincrew who are stuck where they are for whatever reason, so you can't expect quick progression.

 

[cebz9]

I strongly agree with what has been mentioned so far. It’s very good advice. Whatever path you want to take, go for that. I would recommend getting more experience before going for the driver job-just because it’s well known that many many people apply for just a single vacancy. You want to put yourself in the best position possible so that you can beat the competition.
Also I apologise for how long this will be; but I’m sure it’ll be worth the read for you.

For the ticket office, excellent customer service skills are what you need. Before I joined the railway, I also was doing customer service on telephone. I probably did 6 months of it with an insurance company and then 4 months with a bank (all part time) before I applied for the ticket office job. After going through the application process, to my surprise I got the job. On the day of the assessment; I went in as my natural self, taking part in the assessment day activities-listening to other people’s opinions on the tasks that we had to do and tried to work well as a team (for the team work exercises). What they wanted to see (back when I did it) is that you can be polite, you have good listening skills, you can communicate clearly and effectively, you have a passion for providing great customer service and that you try your best to do the right thing. At the end of the day you will be the face of the company for so many people so your job is to provide that great service.

When I got this job, I had no idea about train drivers. I didn't join the railway with the intention of becoming a driver. I had dropped out first year of uni and just wanted a full time job that would allow me to save money so that I could go back to uni the next academic year.

Then when I found out about drivers and what kind of a career it would be like, since then-I tried my best to get the job. I knew that I would need some safety related experience. I had none as I was 18 when I got the ticket office job, all I had was the small amount of customer service experience that I’ve already mentioned and my school life.

After a year or so of being at the ticket office; I started applying to become a conductor. I thought that it was the best way to gain experience to help me to become a driver. *I FAILED 13 times to become a conductor, 14th time I got it. I was over the moon with that, but my point here is that if you do get rejected, don’t give up. If you’re passionate about a job, keep trying. Keep learning. Don’t be afraid to also talk to people that do the job that you want to do, they will give you valuable advice.

I was a conductor for 2 years and then applied to the drivers job, as I felt I had gained some valuable experience in that time. I had a few emergency situations that I had to deal with and it helped me immensely when I ended up doing my driver interviews.

One piece of advice-because I keep having to say this to myself, is remember that you are still very very young. I got the drivers job at 22 years of age. I’ve been qualified for 2 years now, I love the job and I’m so glad that my hard work paid off. I’ve moved to different cities for the conductor role and also my current role. I’m quite a distance away from family at the moment because of it, but I’m so happy that the sacrifices that I’ve made have allowed me to be in this wonderful position.

My issue is that sometimes I think I now want more. Not in a greedy sense. But like I want to progress more. I want to challenge myself further. What’s most important is the current job that you have, firstly you don’t want to lose it because until you get the next opportunity-you will still need your current job. You need to make sure that you stay grounded and you do your job well. There are a lot of people out there who dream about another job and forget how important their responsibilities are in their current job and consequently get fired or suspended because they had an incident-usually due to a lack of concentration. It’s good to have dreams and aspirations, but don’t neglect whatever job you have in the meantime.

Then of course, we literally have years and years and years to try and progress. I initially thought that I’d get the drivers job when I’m around 35-45 just because of how fierce I’ve heard that the competition is. I’m a whole 10 years younger than the first figure and I’m already thinking about potentially becoming a driver mentor/instructor.

You journey will likely be different to mine, and it’s okay if you have set backs. I’ve had plenty but never gave up. The best advice I can give you is to not give up. That’s not just about applying for jobs but also about bettering yourself. Every time you have your assessment day/interview, get feedback and try to improve on the things that you didn’t do so well in. The best way to learn is by making mistakes and acknowledging them