If the customer service, or one persons lack of it, has been experienced by so many, I just wonder if anyone here has complained to Northern about it, and if so what has been the response?
I'd have thought continued complaints would ring alarm bells and result in some action if the problems are as bad as described, especially if it's such a contrast to their other stations.
No idea if there have been complaints, I'd be amazed if none, however from my observations there I'd say quite clearly this is *not* an exaggerated issue, there is a *big* issue with the attitude and behaviours of some staff at Blackpool North.
I suspect the issue boils down to them being a comparatively unimportant, out of the way, station tucked away at the end of a dead-end branch line, therefore perhaps the staff seem to feel they can get away with whatever they like. Although busy at times, Blackpool North is not really core to Northern's radar compared with the urban areas like Liverpool, Manchester, West Yorkshire, etc. One wonders if many of the staff at Blackpool North have ever had much exposure to the rest of the railway network, so perhaps they see their procedures and attitudes as 'normal', which could explain why they are so rude to those passengers who quite reasonably arrive thinking Blackpool North station operates the same as any other.
I don't really buy the arguments about crowding or passenger types -- every London terminus is *far* busier, yet none seem to feel the need to operate with strange arrangements and extremely rude staff. Having carriage cleaners shouting across 4 platforms "Get in the waiting room" is simply not acceptable by any standards.
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Skegness operate a similar system but for different reasons - there's often only a short turnaround time for trains and holding the passengers back allows the station staff to go down the train and clean it - a lot of fairly disgusting folk travel to and from Skegness and the state of the train has to be seen to be believed. They also tank the toilets. The guard or station guys then have a chance to get any passengers with special requirements on first before some knuckle dragger deposits a load of suitcases/bin bags in their space - cyclists, wheelchair users etc.
Finally the barrier check gives you a chance to tell folk with large items of luggage and pushchairs etc where best to stow them - despite the announcements and signs everywhere the amount of dissent you get over folding pushchairs has to be seen to be believed.
If you're an enthusiast who just wants to get some photos of the signals or have a look around you won't have any problems as long as you shown a reasonable regard for other passengers and don't use it as an opportunity to jump the queue on to the train. Anyone who does that on my trains gets kicked off and sent to the back behind the smellies.
All well and good, but this reeks of penalising the majority of trouble-free passengers due to the behaviours of a minority.
Trains also arrive at London termini in disgusting states, sometimes 8 carriages of it instead of, perhaps, 2 at Skegness. These far busier stations don't feel the need to implement arrangements which basically force passengers to stand in a line until the last moment.
Scarborough asks people not to join TPE trains whilst being prepared, however they don't force people to stand in a line at a barrier. For the majority of the time Skegness is not particularly busy, weekends excepted.
hock:
