ptigga Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 Only one desk open for advance tickets manned by a very very grumpy man; at 6.40 when the station is fairly busy. It took 25 minutes to get served. Mutter mutter whinge whinge moan mutter. Train tickets are too expensive too. Whinge whinge moan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy C Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 Most travel agents in town shut at 5pm! So being open at all makes it better! Or if you pay by card you could book online at http://www.thetrainline.com or http://www.qjump.co.uk and have the tickets either posted to you, or collect from the Fast-ticket machine at the station, avoiding the queue! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
semerpus Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 The reason it takes so long in the advance section is quite simple---irregardless of the ammount of windows open.Its because customers want to purchase the cheaper limited availability tickets so have the sellers checking every train til they find one and if theres not one on the day the originally intended to travel they have them check another day. Its exactly the same principle as when you are at a travel agents and that takes over 25 minutes to book usually while you search for the best deal. Ptigga perhaps you know when you want to travel then use the other options to book ie internet.telephone booking. Only1 gent on? at 640pm ? Well that is after the main rush hour perhaps the other staff were having their breaks which they are LEGALLY entitled to Your title is 'understaffed ticket office'. Do you know this for a fact? Or make this conclusion because you have had to endure a wait. Are you aware how long the training period is to work in the booking office so that you are sold the right ticket for your journey out of the 1,000's to choose from? Also 45,000 students descended on Sheffield in September and a hell of alot of them go home at weekends and want the advanced tickets with their railcard discount. No matter where we go in life these days shops,post offices,banks,cinemas queuing is a fact of life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuf_said Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 Originally posted by semerpus The reason it takes so long in the advance section is quite simple---irregardless of the ammount of windows open.Its because customers want to purchase the cheaper limited availability tickets so have the sellers checking every train til they find one and if theres not one on the day the originally intended to travel they have them check another day. Its exactly the same principle as when you are at a travel agents and that takes over 25 minutes to book usually while you search for the best deal. Ptigga perhaps you know when you want to travel then use the other options to book ie internet.telephone booking. Only1 gent on? at 640pm ? Well that is after the main rush hour perhaps the other staff were having their breaks which they are LEGALLY entitled to Your title is 'understaffed ticket office'. Do you know this for a fact? Or make this conclusion because you have had to endure a wait. Are you aware how long the training period is to work in the booking office so that you are sold the right ticket for your journey out of the 1,000's to choose from? Also 45,000 students descended on Sheffield in September and a hell of alot of them go home at weekends and want the advanced tickets with their railcard discount. No matter where we go in life these days shops,post offices,banks,cinemas queuing is a fact of life If the rail system has hundreds of ticket options then we ought to be able to check them all - perhaps simplifying the ticket prices and availability would be the solution. Don't blame a customer for wanting the best of all the options on offer. Most shops would arrange their staff breaks around the customer's needs - not the other way round. To have a queue so long that it takes 25 mins to get served is wrong - get it sorted. The length of time to train the staff is not relevant to the question. And were the staff caught out by the thousands of students who arrive in Sheffield every year at the same time. Sorry, but I prefer service to queueing, which as you rightly say has become out national sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flossie Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 had to reply to this one! We are all suppposed to be using our cars less and public transport more - aren't we? However why is it so b*****y difficult and expensive to do so. No-one would blame the staff. But..... Last time I went to London with Midland mainline it took ages to get thro on the phone to book tickets and they said there were no discount tickets avilable. Then I tried on the internet - none came up and the cheapest optin was over £100 for two adults and a child for a weekend away. So finally I went to the station and low and behold was able to purchase a discount ticket for the journy I wanted. Cost about £45. Took me loads of time and effort for what should have been a very strightforward process. Why is it like this?????? Can anyone help??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
some_boy Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 i can help. i wanted to go to london. i decided what day. i went online. i found my ticket for £15 i booked it i picked it up from the fast ticket machine without a wait i travelled down south! easy as pie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flossie Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 Please, please, please tell me where you booked ticket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lea1979 Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 Originally posted by some_boy i can help. i wanted to go to london. i decided what day. i went online. i found my ticket for £15 i booked it i picked it up from the fast ticket machine without a wait i travelled down south! easy as pie only thing is, like a lot of people i imagine, i don't always know that much in advance i'm travelling somewhere. it is always so very busy at the ticket office, but its the same everywhere - ever tried to get a ticket at a busy time in Manchester Piccadilly?? oh dear lord; compared to that Sheffield is wonderful.... apart from the station itself - love piccadilly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazyfish Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 Originally posted by flossie Why is it like this?????? Can anyone help??? It's called privatisation... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igm1 Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 Originally posted by ptigga Only one desk open for advance tickets manned by a very very grumpy man; at 6.40 when the station is fairly busy. It took 25 minutes to get served. The reason the guy was grumpy is probably because he was on his own! If he's trying to get everyone served at a busy time by himself it's a difficult job. Cut the guy some slack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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