Southern Staff and Mobile Tickets

[retsim]

Just had an unpleasant experience trying to enter the station at Chichester with a mobile ticket. They only have one gate with a scanner for mobile tickets and the staff member monitoring it has to swap the direction around.

Just had a very rude Southern staff member claim I had to hold my phone up high to be read by a non-existent camera, then telling me to keep moving back until the barcode is viewable.

He was probably bored or thinking I had been drinking, but I was completely sober. After he’d had enough of this game, he decided he would let me in. He also let other passengers watch this charade.

I was polite throughout, knowing that he was probably aiming either for me to miss the last train back towards London, or hoping I would say something so he could claim I was aggressive. Neither were true. I even thanked him and wished him a good night when he eventually decided he would switch the gate side.

I did make the train but it’s put a damper on the evening.

Is this what we should be expecting when using the railways? And is this likely to be the type of trick that gets pulled on people regularly, including those who are less frequently railway users?

 

[gray1404]

I'd stick a formal complaint in about this. If Southern do not offer assurances to deal with the matter, take the complaint to the Rail Ombudsman.

 

[bengley]

Were you dealing with the staff member in person or via the help point?

 

[Robertj21a]

Mountains and molehills. A lot of fuss over very little. Just move on, life is too short.

 

[alf]

Mountains and molehills. A lot of fuss over very little. Just move on, life is too short.I

I don’t think so.

In any organisation 99 % of staff are nice normal people but occasional there is someone who is difficult/nasty.

Probably the same ratio with nice/belligerent passengers.

If a very rare staff member is using their position to bully people it should be reported so if it has happened before & has been noted the staff member can be spoken to & his/her problem sorted before yet more passengers are hurt & embarrassed in public.

Life is too short to see people bullied & humiliated by someone using their uniform to hurt others.
Don’t move on.

 

[skyhigh]

Mountains and molehills. A lot of fuss over very little. Just move on, life is too short.

I disagree. If staff are going to try and make fun of you (and as the OP said, attempt to make you miss your last train on purpose), that is worthy of making a complaint in my opinion.

 

[bengley]

As the OP hasn't yet replied I am going to make an assumption and that assumption is that the gateline was a remotely manned one (anyone who knows Chichester station will be able to confirm whether there is one of these at the station)

If this is the case, there is indeed a camera to hold the ticket/pass/mobile app up to for the member of staff remotely monitoring the gateline by CCTV to inspect.

It doesn't sound to me like the member of staff was being deliberately awkward, he probably just couldn't see the ticket from the position the OP was holding it in.

 

[Robertj21a]

As the OP hasn't yet replied I am going to make an assumption and that assumption is that the gateline was a remotely manned one (anyone who knows Chichester station will be able to confirm whether there is one of these at the station)

If this is the case, there is indeed a camera to hold the ticket/pass/mobile app up to for the member of staff remotely monitoring the gateline by CCTV to inspect.

It doesn't sound to me like the member of staff was being deliberately awkward, he probably just couldn't see the ticket from the position the OP was holding it in.

That sounds far more likely to be the case. The original story doesn't really convince me that all the facts were known.

 

[Argyle 1980]

Slightly different but long before Southern had gateline scanners, I attempted to enter Angmering via the down platform gates with a Southern issued off peak return Angmering to Liskeard printed on A4. Called through on the monitor to the up platform to gain entry and the gateline staff member refused to let me in with it and insisted that I had to walk round to his side in order for him to inspect it. Thankfully I had a little while before the train and the LC barriers were open.
Must say though that ever since Southern has more widely rolled etickets out, then they rarely cause a problem now.
Staff at Southern stations like Brighton, Hove, Shoreham, Worthing and Chichester should be fully experienced with E/mobile tickets as they've handled First Great Western/GWR tickets for years including the old style self print and the self activated mobile app tickets so there shouldn't many excuses for them to not know how they work.

 

[yorkie]

Mountains and molehills. A lot of fuss over very little. Just move on, life is too short.

I disagree.

@retsim please do put a complaint in. Let us know how you get on.

Is this what we should be expecting when using the railways? And is this likely to be the type of trick that gets pulled on people regularly, including those who are less frequently railway users?

It is a minority of rail staff, but they do exist. I've experienced poor behaviour on numerous occasions though it is a minority of journeys, they do tend to be very memorable, for the wrong reasons.

 

[bengley]

I disagree.

@retsim please do put a complaint in. Let us know how you get on.


It is a minority of rail staff, but they do exist. I've experienced poor behaviour on numerous occasions though it is a minority of journeys, they do tend to be very memorable, for the wrong reasons.

I'd suggest we don't lay the blame with the member of staff here. The OP hasn't given us the full story and I'm fairly sure it's the case this involved a remote help point

 

[yorkie]

They still need to be polite though!

 

[bengley]

They still need to be polite though!

As we don't have both sides of the story it could be the case that the OP failed the attitude test. It does seem that he/she doesn't believe the member of staff who was telling them that the ticket needed to be pointed at the 'non-existent' camera.

 

[yorkie]

As we don't have both sides of the story it could be the case that the OP failed the attitude test.

We have to take what they say at face value. As it happens I have met the OP and I do believe them.

It does seem that he/she doesn't believe the member of staff who was telling them that the ticket needed to be pointed at the 'non-existent' camera.

We do need more information to be able to advise on that point, but it's still no excuse for rudeness.

 

[Randomer]

I'm not entirely convinced there should be an attitude test for a public facing role unless any kind of discretion is involved which doesn't seem to be the case here.

Unfortunately people can be impolite to staff in all kinds of job roles, most companies consider it professional to not sink to the level of the person and not be impolite in return.

Not saying the OP or member of staff was impolite here, just an observation more generally.

 

[Robertj21a]

Misunderstandings happen all the time, particularly when not face to face. It still seems fairly trivial to me.

 

[retsim]

It probably is trivial, but it's less pleasant when you are there.

The member of staff was seated next to the gate (at the other side). This was not a remote operation.

Now, there are two entrances to Chichester and there is a slim chance he was monitoring the other exit remotely and his acknowledgement of me and subsequent instructions to someone at that entrance exactly coincided with my reactions. As one of the few people who came into the station quietly, was wearing a mask, used the hand sanitiser and had my mobile ticket ready, I probably was out of place. But I can only give you one side of the story.

I don't intend to take this further. It isn't worth the aggravation. It is a station I use very infrequently. But I will make sure to get paper tickets in future.

 

[WesternLancer]

It probably is trivial, but it's less pleasant when you are there.

The member of staff was seated next to the gate (at the other side). This was not a remote operation.

Now, there are two entrances to Chichester and there is a slim chance he was monitoring the other exit remotely and his acknowledgement of me and subsequent instructions to someone at that entrance exactly coincided with my reactions. As one of the few people who came into the station quietly, was wearing a mask, used the hand sanitiser and had my mobile ticket ready, I probably was out of place. But I can only give you one side of the story.

I don't intend to take this further. It isn't worth the aggravation. It is a station I use very infrequently. But I will make sure to get paper tickets in future.

Isn't it the case that at Chi on the Portsmouth direction side the barrier is (or at least at some times) monitored remotely by the staff who are on the barrier on the Brighton side (main ticket office and concourse side) and thus they must need to see tickets via CCTV if the ticket will not open the barrier. But you said the camera is non existent, were you sure about that?

I would thus think that he was definitely monitoring the barrier remotely if you were coming in on the pompey (west bound) side entrance. And maybe the whole thing can be done vice versa too.

That's no excuse for impoliteness to you etc

 

[skyhigh]

Isn't it the case that at Chi on the Portsmouth direction side the barrier is (or at least at some times) monitored remotely by the staff who are on the barrier on the Brighton side (main ticket office and concourse side) and thus they must need to see tickets via CCTV if the ticket will not open the barrier. But you said the camera is non existent, were you sure about that?

I would thus think that he was definitely monitoring the barrier remotely if you were coming in on the pompey (west bound) side entrance. And maybe the whole thing can be done vice versa too.

That's no excuse for impoliteness to you etc

The post you quoted stated "This was not a remote operation" and that the member of staff was on the other side of the barriers they were at

 

[WesternLancer]

The post you quoted stated "This was not a remote operation" and that the member of staff was on the other side of the barriers they were at

Op @retsim said: "The member of staff was seated next to the gate (at the other side). This was not a remote operation."

Thanks, I took it to mean that it was 'not remote' as in some other building or place, and "other side" to mean on the other platform as opposed to your interpretation ("the member of staff was on the other side of the barriers they were at") which I don't think the OP has actually stated. But now you mention it I may have misunderstood the OP - who I am sure can clarify.

If the staff member was sitting the other side of the actual barrier the OP was approaching, surely they could just see the phone by looking with their eyes at the phone screen if the phone was held at arms length towards them?

I must admit I am a bit confused now by what the OP meant. Maybe I have misunderstood.

 

[matt_world2004]

Couldn't the member of staff swapped the gateline around to determine the validity of the mobile ticket.