Station Manager Corner

[SMBJones]

Good afternoon

For those passengers using Tulse Hill Station ticketing facilities I am afraid to say we have had to close the office untill further notice. This is due to the ceiling collapsing causing extensive damage to the office and injuring staff.

Southern is working very closely with Network Rail to rectify the problem as quickly as we can so business can resume.

I attended the incident today and glad to report that the staff only suffered minor injuiries and shock and are ok

Apologies for the inconvenience this may cause and suggest using West Norwood for weekly and monthly tickets. Revenue Protection staff are fully aware that the office is currently closed if there are issues at London Bridge/Victoria

Regards

Barry

[sophiesofa]

Blimey, glad everyone is ok and thanks for letting us know.

[Friskeypeter]

Gold card annual season ticket holder zone extension discount.

Barry, the man at EDW station ticket office I have found to be very unhelpful on this issue. I have an annual gold card season ticket from EDW to all London Stations as I live in East Dulwich and work near London Bridge. However, on occasion I have to go to attend meetings at offices in Croydon requiring a zone extension to my gold card. The journeys can be before or after the 0930 "watershed." I would be happy if a consistent message was given regarding the cost of the zone extension. I seem to have to pay a diferent price depending on who i speak to. This morning the man at EDW ticket office refused to sell me a discounted fare as it was before 0930 and was forced to pay the full fare. I spoke to Southern customer services earlier and they were unsure what the correct price should be. Do you know what the discounted cost should be from Z2 - Z5 for gold card holders before and after the 0930 watershed? Has anyone else found this man at EDW ticket office unhelpful too? Peter, the guy who worked in the ticket office for many years until recently couldn't have been more friendly and is sadly missed. Bring on oyster card travel from EDW so I never have to deal with this new man again.

[paulino]

good grief friskeypeter, what an awful, awful, awful time you must have had, having to buy tickets from the man at the station.

how DARE he refuse to sell you a discounted fare during the peak morning rush hour!!! i hope you told him you had a GOLD card!

[SMBJones]

Hi Peter

First of all apologies if you feel the customer service is not up to your expectations however I believe that previous staff have not given you the correct information.

My staff member on this occasion is absolutely correct you do not get discounted tickets with a "Gold Card" before 0930hrs, I have checked this with senior people at my HQ.

I am not sure exactly what the staff member said or how he treated you, so if you would be so kind to let me know via a personal message I will look into this further for you.

Regards

Barry

Friskeypeter Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Gold card annual season ticket holder zone

> extension discount.

>

> Barry, the man at EDW station ticket office I have

> found to be very unhelpful on this issue. I have

> an annual gold card season ticket from EDW to all

> London Stations as I live in East Dulwich and work

> near London Bridge. However, on occasion I have to

> go to attend meetings at offices in Croydon

> requiring a zone extension to my gold card. The

> journeys can be before or after the 0930

> "watershed." I would be happy if a consistent

> message was given regarding the cost of the zone

> extension. I seem to have to pay a diferent price

> depending on who i speak to. This morning the man

> at EDW ticket office refused to sell me a

> discounted fare as it was before 0930 and was

> forced to pay the full fare. I spoke to Southern

> customer services earlier and they were unsure

> what the correct price should be. Do you know what

> the discounted cost should be from Z2 - Z5 for

> gold card holders before and after the 0930

> watershed? Has anyone else found this man at EDW

> ticket office unhelpful too? Peter, the guy who

> worked in the ticket office for many years until

> recently couldn't have been more friendly and is

> sadly missed. Bring on oyster card travel from EDW

> so I never have to deal with this new man again.

[SMBJones]

Good evening

Apologies on behalf of Southern Railway for the severe disruption to your services this evening. Unfortunately somebody to decided to commit suicide at Wandsworth Common bring the network to halt. I attended this personally as one of my stations and the emergency services worked extremely well to get the lines back into a degree of normality very quickly.

Service disruption plans are in operation and hope to get your services back to normal asap. Please be patient with staff and crews they are working very hard to get you home!

Regards

Barry

[sophiesofa]

Oh that's so sad, his/her poor family. Not at all nice for the poor people who have to deal with it either.

[Alex K]

Barry -- what a treat to have you available for comment / whinge.

Now, some whinge.

Direct services from ED to East Croydon (and transfer to trains onward to Gatwick). Oh, how I wish there were more of those in the morning!

And a query: The East Dulwich Garden Centre is to be sold and flats erected on its footprint. Will you be reclaiming the bit that used to be station?

[ruffers]

Probably not the most original point but there was a 'meet the manager' thing the other day at London Bridge.... in the morning. I've only ever seen these things in the morning when most people, people like me anyway, haven't got much fat in their schedule to stop and talk. If it was in the evening I would.

Can we have these in the evening as well please?

[London WildlifeTrust]

Hi Barry, Can you please get in touch with me.

Thanks,

Chantal, Centre for Wildlife Gardening, 0207 252 9186

[SMBJones]

Hi

There was a study carried out and the majority of passengers wanted to have meet the manager sessions in the mornings. I will bring this up again with our communications department.

Regards

Barry

ps Remember I am here 5 days a week to answer any issues you may have, you very own "Question the Manager"

ruffers Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Probably not the most original point but there was

> a 'meet the manager' thing the other day at London

> Bridge.... in the morning. I've only ever seen

> these things in the morning when most people,

> people like me anyway, haven't got much fat in

> their schedule to stop and talk. If it was in the

> evening I would.

>

> Can we have these in the evening as well please?

[SMBJones]

Hi

Once the works are completed I will be putting up an electronic clock, as a temporary measure I placed the current clock in the booking hall just to help with train times etc

Regards

BArry

amzel Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Whilst the new screens at Peckham Rye are in a

> much better position, there is still the problem

> of the clock disappearing from the "Next Train To"

> screen when it flicks over to "Announcements".

> Can a digital clock be installed somewhere around

> the stairs area?

[SMBJones]

Thank you Jack, very kind comments

Regards

Barry

Jyaque Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Barry

>

> I'd like to add my twopen'orth in congratulations

> to you. Your decision to interact directly with

> the users of your stations displays a remarkable

> awareness of how to improve services according to

> localised needs. I wish that more politicians

> seized the bit as you have, and wish you all

> success in what must often be a frustrating

> middle-ground between your customers and the The

> Powers That Be. Having scanned through this

> thread, I hope you take strength from the obvious

> desire of many authors that you succeed, and their

> gratitude to you for taking a serious interest in

> their individual opinions.

>

>

> Jack

[SMBJones]

Good morning

Pleased to report Tulse Hill Ticket office fully operational again

Regards

Barry

SMBJones Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Good afternoon

>

> For those passengers using Tulse Hill Station

> ticketing facilities I am afraid to say we have

> had to close the office untill further notice.

> This is due to the ceiling collapsing causing

> extensive damage to the office and injuring

> staff.

>

> Southern is working very closely with Network Rail

> to rectify the problem as quickly as we can so

> business can resume.

>

> I attended the incident today and glad to report

> that the staff only suffered minor injuiries and

> shock and are ok

>

> Apologies for the inconvenience this may cause and

> suggest using West Norwood for weekly and monthly

> tickets. Revenue Protection staff are fully aware

> that the office is currently closed if there are

> issues at London Bridge/Victoria

>

> Regards

>

> Barry

[northernmonkey]

Brian,

Another comment about revenue protection I'm afraid:

When I arrived at London Bridge this morning I realised that my season ticket had expired on Friday (clearly as it has been a bank holiday, I haven't been commuting so haven't looked at it since). I went over to the excess fare window and was told that if it had been one day out of date then that would have been ok, but because it was more than that I'd have to pay a fine. After about 5 minutes of arguing that realistically there was no threat to revenue(I was essentially buying the same ticket (a monthly season ticket) that I would have done from East Dulwich and that realistically to penalise what was essentially a mistake is unreasonable) I was finally allowed to buy my travelcard.

Whilst I appreciate that technically by not having a ticket I am in contravention of the rules, I was not trying to fare evade and once I'd realised my mistake, I instantly went to address the situation. Therefore there was no possible loss of revenue and threats of fines seem heavy handed and unreasonable. Realistically if there were barriers at East Dulwich I'd have realised before I got my train and wouldn't have been in that situation. The fact that Southern don't want to man the station and are therefore saving costs there makes it a little unfair to then benefit from this situation at the other end!

Overall it was a stressful start to my day that I didn't need. I had hoped that after comments on here, the Revenue Protection staff would have a more pragmatic viewpoint (ie - allowing discretion for a one day expired ticket to be renewed in normal circumstances, but the next working day for bank hols / weekends in terms of tickets expiring), but sadly that was not my experience.

[Huggers]

peckham rye b.r. today at lunchtime, four staff on electronic gates to catch evaders plus two staff at stop of stairs ditto, yet one bloke in ticket boothe enabling people to actually legally purchase a ticket.

[ralphation]

I'm with Huggers on this one. There are loads of occasions when the revenue bods are out in full force or other staff are milling about by the barriers but there is only ever one ticket window open plus the machine. Sometimes there are even no ticket windows open. This invariably creates queues which cause people to miss trains and does rather give the impression that there is a revenue maximisation operation afoot rather than a revenue protection one trying to rack up as many penalty fares as possible.

[Nero]

Agree. Lots of random millage by staff around the barriers (which are sometimes left open) whilst the queues snake ever longer at the solitary ticket window that's open. Please sort Mr Station Manager!

[hensamenities]

Reading through this and overjoyed at thought of pre pay oyster coming into operation at ED station this september...... morning of the third has arrived.... are my hopes to be dashed??

[SMBJones]

Hi All

Can I just say the staff on the gates are not revenue staff, they are there to offer customer service and staff the gates. Gates have to stay open if staff are on a break this is for safety reasons. The revenue protection staff do not come under my remit and they are there solely to penalty fare passengers.

I will look into the queues and speak with my ticket office manager to ascertain why the windows are closed during the peaks

Regards

Barry

Nero Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Agree. Lots of random millage by staff around the

> barriers (which are sometimes left open) whilst

> the queues snake ever longer at the solitary

> ticket window that's open. Please sort Mr Station

> Manager!

[SMBJones]

Hi

I am sure I have posted somehwere that there would be a delay for Pay As You Go, this has now been put back to January 2010.

Apologies for these delays which are beyond Southern's control

Regards

Barry

hensamenities Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Reading through this and overjoyed at thought of

> pre pay oyster coming into operation at ED station

> this september...... morning of the third has

> arrived.... are my hopes to be dashed??

[aligs]

Barry, not that I wish to sound like this is my pet peeve or anything but there was an incident yesterday at the now notorious P. Rye barriers that left me infuriated. Just for the record, I don't want to moan aimlessly about the station or local rail services - they're usually pretty good and this idea to get direct feedback from passengers will probably get you a knighthood. It certainly deserves to. Anyway...

Like the honest citizen I am, I bought my ticket from the machine (4:40pm yesterday, long queues, one window, you know the drill) and walked over to the barrier. Some bloke asked me if he could follow me through the barrier as he didn't have a ticket. I said I didn't think so, perhaps he should ask the guy manning the barriers. He didn't and just tailgated through after me. He then bolted up the steps never to be seen again. I looked round at the guy manning the barriers and all he did was just stand there shaking his head having seen the whole thing.

What are the staff on the barriers actually supposed to do? Admittedly, I wouldn't be prepared to get a smack in the chops/spat at/abused by unruly non-paying customers (though there was no evidence to suggest this would have happened) if I was doing that job so I can see why the guy would want to keep a low profile but are they really just supposed to ignore fare dodging when they see it? It rather sends the message that it is acceptable for all of us to just vault over the barriers when we can't be bothered to pay or queue for a ticket.

[SMBJones]

Hi

This is a very tricky subject, staff are not allowed to chase or haul passengers back beyond the gates for their own safety. Like most industries, safety is paramount and we have to ensure not only staff safety but passengers aswell. Unfortunately we have had a few repeat offenders like this in the past, the staff are instructed to log the time of the incident and a brief descreption of the offender. We then pass the information to our "Task Force" or the BTP for them to come to the station and carry out an undercover operation. We had a very similar case at Balham approximately 2 months ago and the person was arrested for fare evasion and threatening behaviour. Sometimes these can take time because we have to gather enough intel and of course see if there are any patterns in travelling times etc. Staff will do as much as they can to stop someone travelling without a valid ticket or trying to double through the gates.

Please be assured this kind of behaviour does not go unoticed and it is managed

Hope this helps

Barry

aligs Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Barry, not that I wish to sound like this is my

> pet peeve or anything but there was an incident

> yesterday at the now notorious P. Rye barriers

> that left me infuriated. Just for the record, I

> don't want to moan aimlessly about the station or

> local rail services - they're usually pretty good

> and this idea to get direct feedback from

> passengers will probably get you a knighthood. It

> certainly deserves to. Anyway...

>

> Like the honest citizen I am, I bought my ticket

> from the machine (4:40pm yesterday, long queues,

> one window, you know the drill) and walked over to

> the barrier. Some bloke asked me if he could

> follow me through the barrier as he didn't have a

> ticket. I said I didn't think so, perhaps he

> should ask the guy manning the barriers. He didn't

> and just tailgated through after me. He then

> bolted up the steps never to be seen again. I

> looked round at the guy manning the barriers and

> all he did was just stand there shaking his head

> having seen the whole thing.

>

> What are the staff on the barriers actually

> supposed to do? Admittedly, I wouldn't be prepared

> to get a smack in the chops/spat at/abused by

> unruly non-paying customers (though there was no

> evidence to suggest this would have happened) if I

> was doing that job so I can see why the guy would

> want to keep a low profile but are they really

> just supposed to ignore fare dodging when they see

> it? It rather sends the message that it is

> acceptable for all of us to just vault over the

> barriers when we can't be bothered to pay or queue

> for a ticket.

[Huggers]

If people have to queue for a long time to buy a ticket and miss trains as a result it is not supportive of honest passengers (who are punished with lateness for actually trying to buy a ticket) and just encourages dishonest passengers. Cynics might even be tempted to think that not making it easy to buy a ticket but making it easy to be caught if you don't is a revenue enhancing technique.

[SMBJones]

Good afternoon, just thought I would give you a small update on the area

West Norwood Gates go live from 1000hrs tomorrow

Tulse Hill Gates goes live on the 15th September and rear entrance reopens

The mobile cleaners contract has been extended for a further 6 months, this covers South Bermonsey, East and North Dulwich and Queens Road Peckham

The Peckham Rye booking hall will be painted in the next three weeks, apologies for this delay

The scaffolding is being errected and the last of it should be done over night tonight. Work will then begin on the graffiti removal and painting of rear exterior windows

Also pleased to announce that the waiting room has been refurbished on platform 4 at Peckham Rye (added bonus)

The extended hours in the ticket offices at East and North Dulwich will continue for another 3 months and then they will be reviewed

Pay as You Go Oyster is still scheduled for the new year

Very shortly I will be able to publish the next batch of engineering works for the area and (please dont groan) Christmas and New Year train services, well some of you may want to spend time in the sales, once confirmed they will be posted on here.

Also, a reminder that the following stations under my control are being handed over to LOROL on the 20th September. New X Gate, Annerly, Crystal Palace, Brockley, West Croydon, Norwood Junction, Honor Oak Park, Penge West, Sydenham and Forest Hill.

It is also my intention to update this thread with some information regarding London Bridge and the proposed works that will take place over the next 5 to 6 years. There are two major projects and the first has already started and not affecting passengers at this moment in time, the first is the Shard Project and the second is the Thameslink Programme. I am now attending meetings and once schedules are released I will advise accordingly

There are some other projects in the pipeline, these relate to , Balham, Queens Road and East Dulwich, however these programmes are in the early stages and will post accordingly

Plenty here to digest and as per usual I welcome your comments and any ideas for future updates that you wish to see here

Regards

Barry