Here is an opportunity for people to give examples of how they unexpectedly helped customers on their journeys.
I had two today.
The first was really simple; a lady was looking for a power socket on an all stations Northern 323 at Manchester Airport; I suspect she'd just arrived back after a flight. I established she was going to Piccadilly and had an interavailable ticket, so advised her that a non-stop train in the next platform had power sockets. She hadn't realised the other train was quicker, so she got a quicker journey as well as power to her device.
The other one saved a customer an hours' wait at Church Fenton; the Guard as far as Leeds had told the customer he'd make the connection. I said it was risky and advised alighting at Garforth. The customer got off at Garforth and is scheduled to arrive into Hull only 5 minutes after the booked arrival time. The customer won't know this, but the gamble of staying on would not have paid off; the time our doors unlocked was the exact second the doors locked on the other train. It wasn't cross-platform either (it would be in the other direction). He was worried about his Advance ticket, but I pointed out the delay meant the minimum connection time would not have been met, thus validating changing at Garforth instead of Church Fenton.
I had two today.
The first was really simple; a lady was looking for a power socket on an all stations Northern 323 at Manchester Airport; I suspect she'd just arrived back after a flight. I established she was going to Piccadilly and had an interavailable ticket, so advised her that a non-stop train in the next platform had power sockets. She hadn't realised the other train was quicker, so she got a quicker journey as well as power to her device.
The other one saved a customer an hours' wait at Church Fenton; the Guard as far as Leeds had told the customer he'd make the connection. I said it was risky and advised alighting at Garforth. The customer got off at Garforth and is scheduled to arrive into Hull only 5 minutes after the booked arrival time. The customer won't know this, but the gamble of staying on would not have paid off; the time our doors unlocked was the exact second the doors locked on the other train. It wasn't cross-platform either (it would be in the other direction). He was worried about his Advance ticket, but I pointed out the delay meant the minimum connection time would not have been met, thus validating changing at Garforth instead of Church Fenton.
