Why do some people begrudge showing their ticket?

[revenueadvice]

I really do not understand why some people huff and puff so much when asked too produce a ticket on a train. I'm always polite when asking for tickets but am greeted with grunts. Or people that have the ticket in their wallet (not ticket wallet)so the majority of the ticket is obstructed by the leather but they only slide out the edge of the ticket. So the destinations and expiry date cannot be seen. When asked to take the ticket out of the wallet so it can be read you would think that I had just asked them to go and clean the train toilet from their reaction!

The attitude seems to be " You can see I have a piece of orange card, what more do you want?"

 

[RJ]

It's part of the job. People will grumble if they have to start fidgeting through their pockets, especially if they have already passed through barriers or had their tickets checked previously.

It's something you just have to accept, learn to appreciate and devise a way to deal with it without it getting you down.

 

[bb21]

Some people moan at anything. Don't take it personally. You're only doing your job.

 

[SS4]

Any number of reasons I suppose including, but not limited to.

• Laziness - they can't be bothered to get it out
• They've had to show it before and/or use barriers
• They're used to giving it out all day (especially business types)
• They think because they've paid for a ticket that they're paying you personally and so can treat you as they wish
• Arrogance, like above but they simply think they're better than you
• You represent the money grabbing TOC and decide on fares personally
• They've got something to hide

As a passenger I leave my ticket and railcard in an otherwise empty pocket, it's wallet or infront of me on the table. I'm not expecting to get checked twice in one journey so do give a bit of time to retrieve the ticket from the money wallet.

 

[revenueadvice]

It's part of the job. People will grumble if they have to start fidgeting through their pockets, especially if they have already passed through barriers or had their tickets checked previously.

It's something you just have to accept, learn to appreciate and devise a way to deal with it without it getting you down.

I wouldn't let it get me down..It makes me laugh more than anything, the fact that some people let having their ticket checked bother them so much. Always funny to see other peoples reaction.

 

[dk1]

& as for those who put their tickets in their holdall on the overhead rack!! Dont get me started

 

[craigwilson]

It really doesn't bother me. My commute involves two trains (no barriers at any point though) so I go in expecting to possibly be checked up to 4 times a day.

Sometimes it happens, sometimes not - and sometimes I get checked on each train and get RPIs doing a revenue block at one end of the journey!

It is amusing the fuss that some folk make about it.
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& as for those who put their tickets in their holdall on the overhead rack!! Dont get me started

Oh dear! :roll:

 

[telstarbox]

IMO it's worse when you make a long journey and don't get your ticket checked at all (eg on Virgin Trains north of Manchester) because you know that this encourages less honest passengers to not bother buying a ticket.

 

[elagueesti]

I think most people don't understand that a ticket barrier will only validate whether a ticket is valid from X station and not for the entire journey or whether or not the passenger is eligible to use it. I recall during my commuting days a lot of people getting shirty about having to produce tickets after leaving London Bridge but before reaching East Croydon. This was mainly before Oyster was valid on NR trains though.

It sometimes puzzles me being asked for a ticket on a Virgin train out of Euston (before having stopped anywhere) for tickets and railcards etc if one has already had them inspected in great detail by staff before boarding the train. I suspect however that the problem is down to the on-train staff not knowing that all tickets/railcards/reservations have been checked scrupulously before platform access is granted and is not done intentinally to annoy customers!

 

[Captain Chaos]

I have one particular person who always ignores me by reading her Kindle. So I stand next to her and keep repeating myself. She then pulls it and often says something along the lines of: 'Oh look, it's the same as yesterday when you saw it (it's a train I work regularly)' and put it back. Strangely she only does this in the mornings, not in the evenings on the way back. Strange. It seems quite often to be people heading to London with their annual Travelcards that seem to be the most awkward about it. Maybe it's to do with the high number of times they know they are going to have to go through ticket barriers.

Still doesn't justify rudeness though for showing a ticket. It only takes a couple of seconds. I used to get annoyed when it wasn't checked before I joined the railway. Still do now TBH.

 

[elagueesti]

I should add that I also find it annoying to travel and not have my ticket checked at all. The railways aren't supposed to work on an honour system!

 

[transportphoto]

I work on a preserved line, the amount of people who keep it in a wallet just so it doesn't get cancelled (so it doesn't get a hole put in it) is amazing. I just politely demand to see the ticket as I need to see the reverse of the ticket to make a full inspection (check the date) and then put a hole in it whilst I'm at it. Only once have I had to make a slightly less polite demand to see the ticket or I'll have to charge a again and ask him to leave if he refused. Also what gets me is when people moan that I've already seen it, I'm sorry, but with 64 seats in a TSO and often 4 of these full per train, I can't remember every face!

TP

 

[CNash]

I don't get annoyed as such when an inspector calls, unless I'm engrossed in whatever book I'm reading - nothing like "Tickets or passes please!" to break immersion!

On the instances of having my ticket inspected on an SET metro service, my reaction is usually one of amazement - it's such a rare occurrence on the services I take!

 

[Class172]

& as for those who put their tickets in their holdall on the overhead rack!! Dont get me started

...or worse, buried in the luggage rack at the other end of the carriage.

On the instances of having my ticket inspected on an SET metro service, my reaction is usually one of amazement - it's such a rare occurrence on the services I take!

Indeed, it used to be the same on my train in the mornings, however for the past few months, there has been a gang of RPIs that board the train at Droitwich Spa most days.

 

[Flamingo]

"Can you get your tickets, passes and excuses ready please"

 

[Class172]

"Can you get your tickets, passes and excuses ready please"

I do take enjoyment listening to peoples excuses; the worse the better! Last month the RPIs caught this guy clearly in his 30s and around 6' 5'' tall, with a child's ticket, to which he replied he was very advanced for his age. His friends whom were standing with him burst into laughter instantly.

 

[SS4]

I don't get annoyed as such when an inspector calls, unless I'm engrossed in whatever book I'm reading - nothing like "Tickets or passes please!" to break immersion!

On the instances of having my ticket inspected on an SET metro service, my reaction is usually one of amazement - it's such a rare occurrence on the services I take!

What if the book was An Inspector Calls

 

[island]

IIt sometimes puzzles me being asked for a ticket on a Virgin train out of Euston (before having stopped anywhere) for tickets and railcards etc if one has already had them inspected in great detail by staff before boarding the train. I suspect however that the problem is down to the on-train staff not knowing that all tickets/railcards/reservations have been checked scrupulously before platform access is granted and is not done intentinally to annoy customers!

Normally the TM is one of the people checking tickets on the ramp, so should know! Although if you were in first, I could understand the desire to check tickets.

 

[Optimo]

Likely for the same reasons that some RPI staff forget the basics of please and thank-you when doing ticket checks at stations without barriers (Finsbury Park or Harringay come to mind from experience).

Everyone forgets their manners sometimes, so best not to let it get to you.

 

[dcsprior]

There's no good reason for customers being rude to staff who've asked to check their ticket.

Having said that, I find that having my ticket checked more than once per leg can be annoying - one particular example is when I travel on the 0540 EDB-KGX, and wait on the ticket check before having a wee sleep - to then be woken up by the new guard who's got on at NCL. Would never take this out on a member of staff though.

 

[Temple Meads]

There's no good reason for customers being rude to staff who've asked to check their ticket.

Nor is there any good reason for staff being rude to passengers who just happen to have their ticket in a slightly awkward location..

I say this because I travel on day ranger tickets mostly (which don't need to be stamped), and once when I was making a trip further afield I just showed my ticket in the wallet, and the reaction of the guard was (IMO) overly brusque, he said in a sarcastic (and not sarcastic humour) voice "and how am I supposed to stamp that?", on the other hand, I've seen passengers take offence at being asked far more often than grips do at awkward pax.

 

[northwichcat]

I suppose one objection people may have is they might have already shown their ticket to someone before getting on to the platform, then another conductor on the train before a crew change occurred.

IMO it's worse when you make a long journey and don't get your ticket checked at all (eg on Virgin Trains north of Manchester) because you know that this encourages less honest passengers to not bother buying a ticket.

VT don't run north from Manchester. Do you mean north of Warrington? When I've used Virgin north of Preston there's always been a Scottish 'train manager' on board whose done a full inspection.

According to some people Virgin never check tickets north of Stoke/Crewe on Manchester-London services. Even though half of the time when I've boarded at Stockport and been asked to show my ticket before Stoke. It's seems to be just the London based 'train managers' who don't do inspections north of Crewe/Stoke.
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Or people that have the ticket in their wallet (not ticket wallet)so the majority of the ticket is obstructed by the leather but they only slide out the edge of the ticket.

I actually had the opposite experience with a Northern conductor. I opened up my wallet and thought the leather was partially obstructing the ticket but the conductor looked and said "That's fine. You don't need to take it out."

 

[185]

I really do not understand why some people huff and puff so much when asked too produce a ticket on a train. I'm always polite when asking for tickets but am greeted with grunts. Or people that have the ticket in their wallet (not ticket wallet)so the majority of the ticket is obstructed by the leather but they only slide out the edge of the ticket. So the destinations and expiry date cannot be seen. When asked to take the ticket out of the wallet so it can be read you would think that I had just asked them to go and clean the train toilet from their reaction!

The attitude seems to be " You can see I have a piece of orange card, what more do you want?"

One the other day. "I'm not showing it again" which... to be honest implies she actually showed it. With 400 glaring passengers looking round, she reluctantly showed it without her hand across the front of it. Young, tidy looking girl? Elderly lady? No. A middle aged, suited & booted businesswoman.

 

[Flamingo]

One the other day. "I'm not showing it again" which... to be honest implies she actually showed it. With 400 glaring passengers looking round, she reluctantly showed it without her hand across the front of it. Young, tidy looking girl? Elderly lady? No. A middle aged, suited & booted businesswoman.

Middle-aged, suited & booted are often the rudest and most unreasonable passengers to deal with.

 

[AndyLandy]

There's no good reason for customers being rude to staff who've asked to check their ticket.

Having said that, I find that having my ticket checked more than once per leg can be annoying - one particular example is when I travel on the 0540 EDB-KGX, and wait on the ticket check before having a wee sleep - to then be woken up by the new guard who's got on at NCL. Would never take this out on a member of staff though.

Whenever I'm travelling, I keep my railcard wallet with my tickets handy at all times. If I want to nap, I usually leave the wallet on the table in front of me, or held loosely in my hand. Plenty of occasions when I've been dozing and the gripper has come round, taken the wallet from my hand, checked and stamped the ticket and put it back. He gets to do his job and I can remain largely undisturbed.

 

[Flamingo]

I do take enjoyment listening to peoples excuses; the worse the better! Last month the RPIs caught this guy clearly in his 30s and around 6' 5'' tall, with a child's ticket, to which he replied he was very advanced for his age. His friends whom were standing with him burst into laughter instantly.

I once referred a chap on a child ticket to BTP (it ŵas 11am so they were on the platform). He insisted "I'm 15, ring my mother and ask her". So they did.
"Mrs Jones, what age is your son? 22? Thank you."

 

[craigwilson]

It sometimes puzzles me being asked for a ticket on a Virgin train out of Euston (before having stopped anywhere) for tickets and railcards etc if one has already had them inspected in great detail by staff before boarding the train.

As island said, the TM is usually one of the ticket barrier staff in these cases at Euston. I've rarely been re-checked on the train if there's been a human barrier at the entrance to the platform.

 

[IanXC]

I actually had the opposite experience with a Northern conductor. I opened up my wallet and thought the leather was partially obstructing the ticket but the conductor looked and said "That's fine. You don't need to take it out."

I've had this, only on my local line though. When I was a regular rail commuter I got to know one particular RPA quite well, I discovered that the revenue team had an astounding knowledge of which passengers travelled where and when, and which tried various ploys to avoid payment. Forget the "swat team" revenue bods, the regular Guards and RPAs operate on a very effective risk based approach!

 

[6Gman]

Many years ago I grew a beard. My photocard was beardless (it took a lot longer to change the photocard than to grow the beard!). The Conductor on the Glasgow - Fort William train tugged my beard to make sure it wasn't fake.

Funny lot up there!

 

[Roverman]

Some people moan at anything. Don't take it personally. You're only doing your job.

+1

I've had some right miserable people at work the last few days including today a man complaining that we were working slowly, we'd slowed down as we'd been serving stacks and stacks of elderly people who appreciate us taking our time. The customer in question was not exactly young himself!

I've always wanted to know how it would be on the other foot if I went into their place of work and acted like a petulant child. I know two wrongs don't make a right but there are some people in this country that really need to learn how to behave in public.