XC Staff gets upset that they need to move luggage for wheelchair user in 1st

[realemil]

Original tweet: https://twitter.com/Doug_Paulley/status/1695187378564948405

Totally unnecessary:
@CrossCountryUK
conductor harangues
@northernassist
Blue Star staff for no reason whatsoever. Right in front of passengers, too. Hugely disgracefully unprofessional

Video link:

Train Manager seems to get quite upset that a northern staff member let a wheelchair user on without “checking” the space first… which was filled with luggage.

 

[Energy]

Wheelchair reserved in coach A, surely this shows on the voyager overhead reservation screens? The train manager should be aware of booked disabled passengers anyway.

 

[Russel]

Terrible attitude by the XC train manager, hopefully his superiors see this and take the appropriate action, but please, lets not turn this into an XC bashing thread, the majority of their staff are excellent.

All TOCs have a few bad apples, some more than others.

 

[liamf656]

but please, lets not turn this into an XC bashing thread

Definitely. I’ve seen some exceptional service from XC in the past, and other TOCs for that matter

 

[Russel]

Definitely. I’ve seen some exceptional service from XC in the past, and other TOCs for that matter

For all the issues XC have, I've found the staff to be excellent and always try to the do best with what they have.

 

[yorkie]

At first glance (I've not been able to hear it in detail), it does seem very poor behaviour.

XC Train Managers are very varied; the best are great but there are some who are really awful.

As is often the case at numerous train companies in Great Britain, there are insufficient safeguards in place to ensure consistency and competency among their staff.

 

[66701GBRF]

At first glance (I've not been able to hear it in detail), it does seem very poor behaviour.

XC Train Managers are very varied; the best are great but there are some who are really awful.

As is often the case at numerous train companies in Great Britain, there are insufficient safeguards in place to ensure consistency and competency among their staff.

While I agree this was pretty poor, competency management is very high and taken very seriously on the railways. What safeguards are missing in respect of competency? As for consistency (or lack of), you get that in any industry that employs humans and is next to impossible to have 100% 100% of the time.

 

[Harpers Tate]

The underlying poor behaviour here is the government/TOC/whoever in not providing enough usable luggage space on these (especially, but pretty much every other) trains.

 

[Bantamzen]

That is really poor behaviour. All he had to do, as he eventually did, was ask the passengers to move their luggage. None of the passengers seemed to have an issue with doing it, so what was his problem? That's a really good look for the railways, grumpy sod!

 

[norbitonflyer]

To be fair, he did say that he had only just joined the train himslef, so the luggage had been allowed in the wheelchair space by the colleague he was taking over from.

 

[irish_rail]

I would just point out that videoing rail staff and other passengers in this way, is in itself a bit disrespectful , especially then posting it all over the Internet. Could at least have blurred out all the faces. People often react differently when they have a camera shoved in their faces, though I do agree it wasn't great customer service.

 

[owidoe]

Does he really deserve castigating like this for being a bit grumpy? He did his job; he just complained a bit whilst doing it.

 

[northwichcat]

The underlying poor behaviour here is the government/TOC/whoever in not providing enough usable luggage space on these (especially, but pretty much every other) trains.

I thought XC coverted the shop space to extra space for suitcases. Surely, these should have better provision than the TransPennine 185s.

 

[Silenos]

Does he really deserve castigating like this for being a bit grumpy? He did his job; he just complained a bit whilst doing it.

Yes, seems a little bit harsh. Presumably if the TM had been at the other end of the train, the customer would have had to sit there blocking the vestibule, or shout down the carriage and hope that the luggage owners both heard and took notice.

I would just point out that videoing rail staff and other passengers in this way, is in itself a bit disrespectful , especially then posting it all over the Internet.

In these litigious days, I would have thought that videoing someone without permission and posting said video was an invitation to a legal complaint.

 

[GusB]

I don't really think it's fair to heap all the blame on just one member of staff. A quick check of the wheelchair space beforehand would have allowed the assisting member of staff to explain that there was some offending luggage there and that boarding would be delayed slightly while the train manager made arrangements to get it shifted. By putting the ramp down, allowing the passenger to board then having to deal with it just makes the situation awkward for everyone concerned.

Let's not forget that the passengers who put luggage in a wheelchair space are also to blame here, especially if the space was reserved. I've never used Cross Country, so I'm not sure how clearly this would have been indicated (if at all).

Of course it's easy to say this with hindsight, and we don't know what went on during the time between the TM taking over the train and what was captured on video.

 

[Surreytraveller]

In these litigious days, I would have thought that videoing someone without permission and posting said video was an invitation to a legal complaint.

Nah

 

[Bantamzen]

Does he really deserve castigating like this for being a bit grumpy? He did his job; he just complained a bit whilst doing it.

His job is to accomodate his passengers, not belly ache about it to the passengers. All he had to do was ask the Northern guy to give him a moment whilst he asked the passengers to move their luggage. That's all. But instead he made a scene, including in front of the passengers who were willing to help out more than he was. Even if it had not been filmed and published it was still a bad impression to give. If he hates his job so much then I'm sure their are other professions he could pursue.

 

[robert thomas]

Yes, seems a little bit harsh. Presumably if the TM had been at the other end of the train, the customer would have had to sit there blocking the vestibule, or shout down the carriage and hope that the luggage owners both heard and took notice.

In these litigious days, I would have thought that videoing someone without permission and posting said video was an invitation to a legal complaint.

No permission is needed

 

[Silenos]

No permission is needed

I’m aware that no consent is needed in a public place, provided such videoing isn’t able to be construed as harassment. But technically, aren’t railway stations and trains private property, thus changing the expectation of privacy that passengers (and even staff) might reasonably expect?

 

[Davester50]

I don't get it. He was talking to the guy with the ramp, and he was honest there was little space, and was better in the other train.
Some folk take grievance at the drop of the hat, and looking at a few of his other videos, it seems that that's a hobby.

 

[Snow1964]

I love his excuse for grumpiness "I got on at Leeds"

reminds me of Fawlty Towers "He's from Barcelona"

So ok to be grumpy if join at Leeds, umm....

 

[Bantamzen]

I don't get it. He was talking to the guy with the ramp, and he was honest there was little space, and was better in the other train.
Some folk take grievance at the drop of the hat, and looking at a few of his other videos, it seems that that's a hobby.

The passenger doesn't care that there was little space, they had a reserved spot. It is the job of the train crew to assist, not moan to the passenger and not to give the member of staff from another company grief for doing his job.

 

[SteveM70]

One of the worst traits in customer facing roles is to blame everything on a colleague who isn’t present. Whether it is true or not is irrelevant from the customer’s point of view: what they need is a constructive attitude to resolve the issue. The bitching can wait for the rest room

 

[Davester50]

The passenger doesn't care that there was little space, they had a reserved spot.

Wasn't the reserved spot on the other train, and they moved to an unreserved spot as there wasn't a first class host?

 

[Ash Bridge]

I thought XC coverted the shop space to extra space for suitcases. Surely, these should have better provision than the TransPennine 185s.

Yes that’s correct , only problem is that this seemed to be luggage belonging to 1st class passengers so at virtually the opposite end of the set to where the former shop was located and not of much use to them unfortunately.

 

[yorkie]

While I agree this was pretty poor,

Only pretty poor? It's abysmal.

competency management is very high and taken very seriously on the railways. What safeguards are missing in respect of competency?

It's not my problem to propose solutions but if sufficient safeguards were in place, incidents such as this (and numerous others, notably on ticketing matters but that's not for this thread) would not be happening; I've experienced several poor interactions by XC staff over recent years.

As for consistency (or lack of), you get that in any industry that employs humans

Not on my experiences; plenty of other customer facing industries don't seem to have the sort of issues the rail industry has

and is next to impossible to have 100% 100% of the time.

Is anyone asking for 100 per cent perfection?

People often react differently when they have a camera shoved in their faces

What do you mean by shoving the camera in their faces? Are you making an allegation of wrongdoing? Also how do people react differently, and do these different reactions also apply to passengers being videoed by staff and what differences have you noticed?

, though I do agree it wasn't great customer service.

That's a huge understatement.

The underlying poor behaviour here is the government/TOC/whoever in not providing enough usable luggage space on these (especially, but pretty much every other) trains.

That's not behaviour; the XC staff member is the only one who behaved badly.

He could have handled the issue completely differently and also easily avoided undermining and publicly criticising the Northern rail staff member, who did absolutely nothing wrong.

Wasn't the reserved spot on the other train, and they moved to an unreserved spot as there wasn't a first class host?

They were advised to move by an XC member of staff, who was likely a member of the crew who had taken the set to Leeds. The reason for suggesting the other set was indeed due to a lack of 1st class host in the set in which the customer was reserved.

I don't get it. He was talking to the guy with the ramp, and he was honest there was little space, and was better in the other train.
Some folk take grievance at the drop of the hat, and looking at a few of his other videos, it seems that that's a hobby.

Are you condoning the abysmal behaviour/attitude of the XC train manager?

The Northern "guy with the ramp" staff member had done nothing wrong, was even following advice from XC staff; whether or not the XC TM was talking in such a manner to the passenger directly or to a member of rail staff, neither of whom had done anything wrong, it was an appalling way to behave in a customer facing role in the presence of members of the public.

I’m aware that no consent is needed in a public place, provided such videoing isn’t able to be construed as harassment. But technically, aren’t railway stations and trains private property, thus changing the expectation of privacy that passengers (and even staff) might reasonably expect?

There is no expectation of privacy in a place open to the public; this has been covered in other threads.

 

[Watershed]

I would just point out that videoing rail staff and other passengers in this way, is in itself a bit disrespectful

Do you also consider it disrespectful for rail staff to use body-worn cameras?

People often react differently when they have a camera shoved in their faces

Does that justify anything the member of staff did? If so, would that also justify poor behaviour by a member of the public?

though I do agree it wasn't great customer service.

I'd go so far as to say it was unacceptable!

I’m aware that no consent is needed in a public place, provided such videoing isn’t able to be construed as harassment. But technically, aren’t railway stations and trains private property, thus changing the expectation of privacy that passengers (and even staff) might reasonably expect?

The ownership of property is irrelevant as far as the expectation of privacy is concerned; it's the circumstances that matter. A train is a public place, even if private property, and so there's no more a reasonable expectation of privacy there (other than in the toilets) than on a public road or park etc.

 

[Krokodil]

The underlying poor behaviour here is the government/TOC/whoever in not providing enough usable luggage space on these (especially, but pretty much every other) trains.

Relying on pairs of non-gangwayed units with duplicate facilities doesn't help either.

To be fair, he did say that he had only just joined the train himslef, so the luggage had been allowed in the wheelchair space by the colleague he was taking over from.

And his response should therefore have been "bear with me, I'll get this lot shifted".

I thought XC coverted the shop space to extra space for suitcases. Surely, these should have better provision than the TransPennine 185s.

That's one carriage dealt with. The other three/four need extra space too.

Do you also consider it disrespectful for rail staff to use body-worn cameras?

BWV is tightly-controlled.

 

[AlterEgo]

Does he really deserve castigating like this for being a bit grumpy? He did his job; he just complained a bit whilst doing it.

Well yeah, he was acting like the passenger in the wheelchair was an inconvenience, which is very bad, really. Wheelchair users should not be made to feel like they are making someone's day more difficult, nor should they be asked routinely if they have the correct ticket on boarding; that doesn't happen to me.

I’m aware that no consent is needed in a public place, provided such videoing isn’t able to be construed as harassment. But technically, aren’t railway stations and trains private property, thus changing the expectation of privacy that passengers (and even staff) might reasonably expect?

No, they are still public places regardless of who owns the premises.

You can reasonably expect privacy in a closed office, or the toilet, for example, but not in a train carriage or a shop floor.

 

[northwichcat]

I’m aware that no consent is needed in a public place, provided such videoing isn’t able to be construed as harassment. But technically, aren’t railway stations and trains private property, thus changing the expectation of privacy that passengers (and even staff) might reasonably expect?

Aren't there railway staff and BTP who routinely use video recording?