Another Non-Jobsworth
I had dinner with my son at Carluccio’s in Upper Street and we walked back to Highbury and Islington station to get our trains home.
I was intendimg to take the North London Line to Dalston Junction for a bus home and as I walked down the stairs to the platform, I noticed that the train doors were closed. But the driver waved me to open the doors and get on!
He was on time at Dalston Junction despite waiting for me.
Where Have All The Jobsworths Gone?
I’ve had a friend staying for the last few days and I accompanied her to Stratford to get her train back to Ipswich this morning on the North London Line. Changing from the North London Line to the main line at Stratford is particularly easy, as the platforms are virtually next to each other. And there are lifts, if you aren’t so good on your pins.
My friend had bought her tickets on the TrainLine, which is a company, I only use as a last resort, as I know the system and can often get a better deal elsewhere. Her tickets were actually to Ipswich via Colchester and I know that ticket inspectors can take non-compliance with rules seriously. So when the first train came, which was going to Colchester and then on to Ipswich, she took it. But to be fair to National Express East Anglia, the inspector on the train accepted her ticket without question.
Then when I got home, I found that my recycling had been collected. Nothing special about that, except perhaps that they’d done it an hour or so earlier than normal. But they had replaced one of my recycling bins with a brand new one, which they had clearly numbered.
So sometimes people do use a bit of initiative to do their jobs better! And of course make things more pleasant for their customers and clients.
There was slight downside this morning. A guy was cleaning the train between Stratford and Hackney Wick. In trying to remove one of the disposable newspapers, he inadvertantly touched someone. The guy mouthed him off in no uncertain terms.
How To Handle Enquiries
Horse racing often gets a certain amount of negative publicity.
On Saturday, I am thinking of going to the Epsom Derby, as if the Queen’s Horse, Carlton House, should win, it will be one of those truly I-was-there moments, that only happen once in a century.
So I phoned the enquiries number at the course, got straight through to a real person and the conversation went like this.
Q: Can you buy tickets for the Upper Tattersalls Enclosure on the day?
A: Yes! We hope to have lots on the gate.
Q: Will I be able to get into the centre of the course to the fun fair and the market from there?
A: Yes!
Q: How far is the enclosure from Tattenham Corner Station?
A: About half-a-mile.
I then decided I was going, especially as there is a direct train from London Bridge at 11:45.
So why sometimes do simple questions about events sometimes take hours?
Saying Sorry
Camilla Cavendish hit the nail firmly on the head with her piece entitled Just say sorry, I promise I won’t sue you! in yesterday’s Times.
It makes a lot of difference and is so easy, especially with new technology. For instance, why not have a Sorry, your points are noted signature in your Outlook setup, so when someone e-mails you with a complaint about a late train, you can at least get the start of the reply right.
I recently made a complaint to O2 about the non-performance of the courier swapping a mobile phone. I Got a proper letter starting with a sorry, going through the problems with the courier and then ending with a thank you.
In fact, as they had my e-mail address, they didn’t actually need to write, so they obviously thought about their response.
i’ve also had an apology from my John Lewis Partnership card about the non-delivery of vouchers, as they are having troubles with the supplier. That came with 500 extra points.
So perhaps things are getting better.
I know that when I bump into people on the street because of my bad visibility because of the strokes I have had, I more often than not get a sorry in return. Often before I’ve spoken!
I hope so!
The Anonymous Widower 