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News: the Great Western Coffee Shop ... keeping you up to date with travel around the South West
 
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Question: When do you normally arrive at the station for your outward journey?  (Voting closed: August 28, 2015, 10:57:47)
Less than 2 minutes before train leaves - 4 (8.5%)
2 to 4 minutes - 4 (8.5%)
4 to 8 minutes - 11 (23.4%)
8 to 12 minutes - 15 (31.9%)
12 to 16 minutes - 5 (10.6%)
longer than 16 minutes - 8 (17%)
Nothing is "normal" for me! - 0 (0%)
Total Voters: 47

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Author Topic: How long ahead of your train are you at the station [outbound, morning]  (Read 40448 times)
grahame
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« Reply #30 on: March 10, 2016, 07:19:11 »

When is there not a time when there could be somebody rocking up last minute to both buy their ticket and board a train?

First come, first served. It's a simple concept.

Fine at a large station with a number of clerks where you can have separate counters for tickets for immediate travel and others,

But for a small station with one clerk and a very peaky load. On occasions good customer service may sometimes dictate otherwise.

As one who occasionally buys some really time-consuming products I try to approach the ticket desk at the start of a longer rather than shorter gap between trains.   Typically single-clerk stations, advanced purchase that can't be done easily on line or by phone; and I'm darned if I'm going to travel to a station with multiple open windows!
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #31 on: March 10, 2016, 08:38:04 »

...........sounds worse than trying to get served in a Wetherspoons on a Saturday night! (..........tip - get there early and buy 7 pints!)  Wink
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Billhere
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« Reply #32 on: March 10, 2016, 23:29:09 »

I share the idea of dealing with the person standing in front of me but if they wag up at the busiest time of the day and the option is putting them off for ten minutes and selling to others then that is surely the best option.

In todays gated environment at Newbury the time spent dealing with some complicated enquiry for something happening at another time is the difference between dealing with one, and dealing with a dozen, none of whom would even make it onto the platform let along get on the train if the front person in the queue persists in being dealt with there and then. 

For those that might remember it the busiest cheap day train of the day was the 1016 off Newbury to Padd, and even with two windows open the queue was always out of the door. Have a lady wanting to know all the ins and outs of travelling to Windsor including the fares and a series of alterative times for a journey taking place a week later and arriving at the window at ten past ten is not the best either for the clerk or other intending passengers. She wouldn't go away or come back in ten minutes later either, she just stood there even after I told her she was stopping other passengers travelling there and then.

It isn't always the clerk being unreasonable.

I did it for eighteen months, enjoyed most of it, but got exasperated with the selfishness of a small minority. A long retired colleague was asked by a passenger why he was always so miserable, to which the response was "Come round this side and see some of the people we have to deal with". That raised a smile amongst the regulars standing behind the lady at the window.
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #33 on: March 11, 2016, 09:51:15 »

If there's more than one window open I guess one can be designated "tickets for travel today only" which alongside TVMs (Ticket Vending Machine) should mean that the other one can deal with more complex enquiries?

If there's only one window however I guess its every man for himself/FCFS........I've been stuck behind someone renewing an annual season ticket at Taplow before in the rush hour on the first day back after Christmas -  the guy was using a combination of vouchers and a cheque and wanted to argue about something.......he wasn't exactly Mr Popular by the time he'd finished! Angry
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