www.waspies.net wrote:

cyril sneer wrote:
I was passing through a metropolitan line station this morning and saw
something that upset me at the time, and I just want to see what
everyone's take on it is. We were waiting on a train, and the customer
service assistant made an announcement that chiltern railways trains
were holding up the met line trains, and he would try and find out
where the next one was.

He went to the ticket office window, and was presumably trying to find
out from a colleague, when a man stormed up to him and asked why the
board said good service, "where is the good service?" he demanded. The
customer service assistant told the man that he was just trying to find
out where the train was, and the man's reply was "well thats no good is
it". As I guess you would expect the staff member then got a little
snappy (it was before 7am) and asked what else he could do, before
turning back to the window to finish finding out.

He then made another announcement about the delays, and said the train
we were all waiting for was 2 minutes away. The same customer piped up
again, and shouted "turn the speakers on and we might hear you." The
speakers were on, and were loud enough for myself to hear. Then the
man started shouting "do your job what are you paid for?" when it was
clear this young man was doing his job more than adequately.

I just wondered what other attrocities of human nature people have
seen. I know its part and parcel of a customer services job, but
surely that is just appalling?

Hmmm let me have a guess, this'll be at Amersham or Chalfont and
Latimer, thats where the arrogant *******s live, (Was it Baltor? GD&C)

I am sorry to burst the bubble of righteous indignation being expressed
at the rudeness of the passenger to whom the original poster referred,
but my personal experience suggests that, unless absolutely necessary,
it is better to have no verbal contact with "customer assistants" or
whatever name they now operate under. My own experience suggests that
ANY word of even mildest criticism, however politely expressed, and I
am a model of politeness at all times, is likely at best to evoke
indifference of the "well what can I do about it, not my job" response
to downright rudeness and an attitude likely to draw attention from
everyone around as if it were I that was being thoroughly unreasonably
for having the temerity to expect a civil response.

I certainly do not condone the rudeness of the passenger concerned, but
nor would I go as far as to suggest that all T.F.L. (or whatever of the
myriad companies now operating public transport in the U.K.) employees
are graduates of the Rank Charm School.

Marc.