FGW approach to checking of tickets

[whole diary]

[FGW My Second Home!]

For the 3rd weekend running I have travelled from Bristol to London and at no time has there been any check of my tickets by the Train manager or station staff

For 2 of the journeys i exited Paddington main line to the Hammersmith and City line and was not asked to show my tickets by staff, the other journey i arrived at an open platform.

Last night the train was quite crowded due to the football at Wembley, the Train manager announced at least 4 time s before departure about Leisure Advance tickets and being on the right train otherwise you will be liable to buy a new ticket and nothing happened - how do I know? Well the 2 guys sitting with me had tickets for the 09:30 service - this was the 20:00 departure to BTM^▸ (Bristol Temple Meads (strictly, it should be BRI))

Are FGW^▸ (First Great Western) this lax normally?

I wonder how many 'freebies' travel each Saturday.

Or are they making enough from the mugs who pay and travel on the right train?

(My journey also involved taking a train out of Liverpool Street and then a bus to arrive at my destination due to engineering works- the staff were just as un-interested on the ticket front.....)

[Timmer]

Management may care about revenue protection but I dont think most of the frontline staff really care because of low morale towards their employers. They can hardly afford to sack them as they are short of staff as it is.

[vacman]

Management may care about revenue protection but I dont think most of the frontline staff really care because of low morale towards their employers. They can hardly afford to sack them as they are short of staff as it is.

Personally I think FGW^▸ (First Great Western) should start clampling down on lazy guards, I'm fed up with being one of the only members of staff who actually bother to go through the train and check tickets and yet I see my "colleagues" do bugger all and when they do go out occasionally they sell the wrong tickets and give out duff information. Staff morale IS low but at the end of the day we are all paid to do a job, and we get paid bloody well compared to other industries and it's about time that the lazy individuals stopped letting the side down, it's people like them that just make an already bad company even worse!

[simonw]

Hi

I travel daily from Bristol PW^▸ (Permanent Way) to Reading, and normally I can predict if the Guard is going to check my ticket. If

• The train is busy, no guard
• The train is late, no guard

Guards are like most people, they hate hassle. If FGW^▸ (First Great Western) want to improve ticket checking rates, add more carriages and improve reliability.

[Scooby]

I frequently travel between Exeter/Truro and rarely have my ticket checked, especially on the way down to Truro, the problem seems worse on FGW^▸ (First Great Western) HST^▸ (High Speed Train) services, it makes you wonder just how much money they loose, especially around stations such as Newton Abbot/Totnes which have no barriers....

[Timmer]

Management may care about revenue protection but I dont think most of the frontline staff really care because of low morale towards their employers. They can hardly afford to sack them as they are short of staff as it is.

Personally I think FGW^▸ (First Great Western) should start clampling down on lazy guards, I'm fed up with being one of the only members of staff who actually bother to go through the train and check tickets and yet I see my "colleagues" do bugger all and when they do go out occasionally they sell the wrong tickets and give out duff information. Staff morale IS low but at the end of the day we are all paid to do a job, and we get paid bloody well compared to other industries and it's about time that the lazy individuals stopped letting the side down, it's people like them that just make an already bad company even worse!

Sadly what you say Vacman is endemic in a lot companies these days when the bosses back is turned there are people who sit around all day and do bugger all and get well paid for it and people wonder why this country is in such a state. Try and sack them and you end up in an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal.

[Jim]

Management may care about revenue protection but I dont think most of the frontline staff really care because of low morale towards their employers. They can hardly afford to sack them as they are short of staff as it is.

Personally I think FGW^▸ (First Great Western) should start clampling down on lazy guards, I'm fed up with being one of the only members of staff who actually bother to go through the train and check tickets and yet I see my "colleagues" do bugger all and when they do go out occasionally they sell the wrong tickets and give out duff information. Staff morale IS low but at the end of the day we are all paid to do a job, and we get paid bloody well compared to other industries and it's about time that the lazy individuals stopped letting the side down, it's people like them that just make an already bad company even worse!

Not forgetting the fact that 'as a rule' HS^▸ (High Speed (short for HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) High Speed Services)) guards do less work than local, yet look at the pay difference!

[vacman]

Management may care about revenue protection but I dont think most of the frontline staff really care because of low morale towards their employers. They can hardly afford to sack them as they are short of staff as it is.

Personally I think FGW^▸ (First Great Western) should start clampling down on lazy guards, I'm fed up with being one of the only members of staff who actually bother to go through the train and check tickets and yet I see my "colleagues" do bugger all and when they do go out occasionally they sell the wrong tickets and give out duff information. Staff morale IS low but at the end of the day we are all paid to do a job, and we get paid bloody well compared to other industries and it's about time that the lazy individuals stopped letting the side down, it's people like them that just make an already bad company even worse!

Not forgetting the fact that 'as a rule' HS^▸ (High Speed (short for HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) High Speed Services)) guards do less work than local, yet look at the pay difference!

There's plenty of lazy "West" conductors aswell, also bear in mind that a lot of the former Wessex routes are pay train routes so there is more pressure on the guard to go out and do tickets.

[martyjon]

Without quoting statements made previously in this thread is it not time then for FGW^▸ (First Great Western) to employ a few 'mystery shoppers' to travel on services and produce a log of ticket checks made on the various services travelled.

Also, albeit at the wroth of the passengers, when there is a stop at a major station such as BTM^▸ (Bristol Temple Meads (strictly, it should be BRI)) and such stop involves a crew change why not impose / instigate an "ALL TICKETS INSPECTION".

Last Thursday I travelled from my local station to Taunton and didnt have my ticket checked. The guard / conductor didnt get to me before the stop at Bristol Parkway. Then on leaving BPW^» (Bristol Parkway - next trains) he didnt bother because Filton Abbey Wood was only 4 minutes away then as he was observed going off-duty at BTM presumably he was busy packing up all his paraphanalia to bother with a final ticket check. On leaving BTM the new guard / conductor just passed through the unit to the front end to operate the doors at Bedminster and Parsons Street and on leaving Parsons Street went back through the train asking for tickets from Bedminster and Parsons Street of which there were none as no passengers were on the platform as the train arrived. No passengers boarded at Nailsea and Backwell, a few boarded at Yatton and Worle but they were in the rear car so might have been checked. No check was made in the front coach leaving Weston although there were passengers in the front coach who got on at Weston. Highbridge did solicit an "any tickets from Highbridge" check but Bridgwater didn't and the guard / conductor walked through the train to the front cab with his coat and box of tricks and on arrival at Taunton opened the doors from the front door door control panel and before I got off was stood in the front cab with the door open and with the cup from his thermos at his lips in full view of the disembarking passengers.





 

[devon_metro]

I often get checked on my local line with a friendly line from Paignton, Theres a very friendy woman at Exeter who squeezed through a wedged 153 combo on a peak Exeter - Paignton working. Ticket checks at every station. She was doing a great job.

I have frequently have travelled first class and might as well have not even bought a ticket apart from my complimentary refreshements!

[12hoursunday]

There are at Bristol and Paddington a number of Train Managers who are newly qualified in the grade but have up untill now no training in the selling/checking of tickets.

This may explain some of the reasons as to why ther have been no checks. There are of course a few lazy gits about and the management know who they are!

[vacman]

There are at Bristol and Paddington a number of Train Managers who are newly qualified in the grade but have up untill now no training in the selling/checking of tickets.

This may explain some of the reasons as to why ther have been no checks. There are of course a few lazy gits about and the management know who they are!

There are a couple of guards not yet ticket trained, which is a farce in it's self, but the ones i'm on about are generally ex BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) staff who think that because they've been on the railway since Brunel built the Royal Albert bridge they can do what they want, if management know who these lazy git's are then why don't they do something about it?
All the train crew managers don't seem to care that no one does tickets but kick up F*** when your shoes aren't polished! When FGW^▸ (First Great Western) start paying their rediculous premium back to the Government then their only source of revenue will be from the fare box!

[Mookiemoo]

I travel first class daily and know a lot of the train managers (since they loiter at that end of the train)

They are not paid by how many evaders they get sdo often they dont see why they should have the hastle.

I regularly report standards sitting in first as I dont see why I should pay full first fare when others dont.

In defence of the staff - most of them are great (except london agency buffet/hosts who are crap) and hate FGW^▸ (First Great Western) as much as we do.

ENver forget the staff on the train are human as well

[Shazz]

wait, FGW^▸ (First Great Western) check tickets on HST^▸ (High Speed Train)'s to london? Are you sure about this?

i havn't been checked for at least the last year...

[Jim]

wait, FGW^▸ (First Great Western) check tickets on HST^▸ (High Speed Train)'s to london? Are you sure about this?

i havn't been checked for at least the last year...

I can well belive that