tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2425346921966365551.post2620162490882546859..comments2024-03-25T19:07:29.729+00:00Comments on Steve's Bus & Train Page: Cock Up On The Communications FrontSteve Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852377706742868978noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2425346921966365551.post-64282826654190080422016-07-14T19:02:27.245+01:002016-07-14T19:02:27.245+01:00Yes Matt is good at his job. Always keeps people u...Yes Matt is good at his job. Always keeps people updated. He has a great voice yes. And I know who you mean, but I think they're both rail enthusiasts anyway so they have a passion for their job. They really go for attention to detail which is good. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2425346921966365551.post-13624263125411777502016-07-01T11:03:16.490+01:002016-07-01T11:03:16.490+01:00We always have been the most regulated country on ...We always have been the most regulated country on earth (and it's nothing to do with the EU). The other side of the coin to "You'll do as you're told" is "I can't; I haven't been told anything". Have you read the staff handbook lately? The exact point is to kill off any initiative the staff might have to start with. Compare us with anywhere else (except the North Korean state railways, perhaps).smurfukhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04812247601237248526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2425346921966365551.post-35357990294632821862016-06-29T20:28:22.878+01:002016-06-29T20:28:22.878+01:00Perhaps the companies that ignore this ridiculous ...Perhaps the companies that ignore this ridiculous Government directive appreciate that the majority of their customers are over the age of 3 and can be trusted with the truth. Just a thought.Steve Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06852377706742868978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2425346921966365551.post-29537192107114228562016-06-29T20:27:00.160+01:002016-06-29T20:27:00.160+01:00To access the live diagrams on railcam requires a ...To access the live diagrams on railcam requires a donation - they are not free, so that excuses the individual conductors. However why TOCS don't approach railcam so their staff get access and make arrangements is beyond me.Steve Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06852377706742868978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2425346921966365551.post-78407009577362485292016-06-29T19:07:38.755+01:002016-06-29T19:07:38.755+01:00Well staff need to use their intitiatvie. They are...Well staff need to use their intitiatvie. They are trained that info to pass is vital, but just sometimes don't get going on rail cam etc<br />They have their devices, so why not?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2425346921966365551.post-2962394202158737552016-06-29T19:04:20.750+01:002016-06-29T19:04:20.750+01:00Depends which conductor you get I guess. There are...Depends which conductor you get I guess. There are a few good ones on the main line which stand out and actually give you updated information. For example the man with a voice like a professional (Mat?) and also those twins. Then there are some who try to help, but just go on info from control. Others assume we all know what happensAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2425346921966365551.post-49215128839412707922016-06-29T19:02:26.583+01:002016-06-29T19:02:26.583+01:00New government designed industry standard of repor...New government designed industry standard of reporting fatality as "emergency services attending incident" except half the companies do no even do this as they go and say what they like. Yes Abellio want to tell customer, but don't want to go against standard Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2425346921966365551.post-60432245921572770352016-06-18T20:31:55.708+01:002016-06-18T20:31:55.708+01:00Knowing many people who travel regularly on the An...Knowing many people who travel regularly on the Anglia lines into London as I happily don't now; the trouble is that the really bad days aren't the exception, they're the rule. Sure the problem is that there are just too many of the public. Now where I have heard that one before?smurfukhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04812247601237248526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2425346921966365551.post-30013095120120676522016-06-18T17:09:43.298+01:002016-06-18T17:09:43.298+01:00Sorry, but I don't think the public are the pr...Sorry, but I don't think the public are the problem here. I actually think they are remarkably understanding with what they sometimes have to put up with. Far too often the attitude within the industry is still that the public shouldn't be told. "They'll get what they're given . . . like it or lump it". PR is skin deep, and it shows. <br /><br />I also think the public facing parts of the business are, too often, treated in the same contemptuous manner, which is why they have my sympathy too. Yes, people are trying their best, sometimes in extraordinarily difficult situations, but it doesn't mean they can't be accountable too.<br /><br />London is perhaps lucky, in that it has strong and well-resourced, though it may be bureaucratic, regulation that is to a degree accountable. Out in the sticks the patchwork quilt is much more threadbare, and the regulation beyond basic licensing, and accountability, almost non-existent. smurfukhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04812247601237248526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2425346921966365551.post-17117252334634388952016-06-18T16:40:31.908+01:002016-06-18T16:40:31.908+01:00Steve - you've actually answered your own ques...Steve - you've actually answered your own question there!! It's great that you were able to look on a website to see what the problem was, but you were also in the envious position in being able to understand the information presented to you in detail, and that you had the luxury of not being pestered by passengers for information.<br />Sometimes it's better to actually say "at present I don't know, but I'll try to find out". it's also courteous, when told that, to leave that person alone to get on with the job, and not continually annoy them for an update.<br />On the journey you've described, there appear to have been multiple problems, some of which were caused by earlier upsets, so it's not surprising that the system was in some disarray.<br />Almost everyone nowadays demands instant information, and simply cannot cope when it's not available. We all need to take a chill pill, sometimes!<br /><br />{{As an aside . . . . I used to be a radio bus controller in London not so long ago, and we had a saying in the office: after a really bad day, when we had bomb alerts, serious accidents, collapsing scaffolding, hotel fires (and they all happened to me one afternoon on my three routes!) . . . . never mind; all the buses will come back to the garage at some time this evening; and then tomorrow we can start again! Sometimes we forget that staff are dealing with random occurences, and they really are trying hard, but they just can't know everything!!}}greenline727https://www.blogger.com/profile/03033268278026535109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2425346921966365551.post-74692741839087729402016-06-18T12:06:30.252+01:002016-06-18T12:06:30.252+01:00Of course the bus companies are even worse! I thin...Of course the bus companies are even worse! I think Chelmsford depot have a carrier pigeon, that has a habit of getting distracted on its journey to Norwich. We might get one piece of information volunteered a day, and that's our ration. I feel sorry for the CS people, I really do. And it's not just First.<br /><br />But it's the problem in many, if not most, of the so-called public service industries isn't it? They just don't trust the staff. I recall the local case where a poor soul locally got electrocuted because they couldn't turn the public supply off until someone had been the look at it. Their policy (in place for decades they argued in justification, as ever) didn't allow them to believe a member of the public who was pleading with them and describing the damage in graphic detail. A million pound fine, paid for by us, helped to focus their mind; I hope.smurfukhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04812247601237248526noreply@blogger.com