Sense of humour failure?
Following on from my Can’t be Arsed post (http://wp.me/p1z7xq-cA) I thought I’d share with you some of the comments that I’ve received from people on the RailUK forum who took exception to my blog post. People who clearly haven’t a clue what irony is and, to be frank, take themselves and their love of all things “trains” just a tad too seriously!
CompactDStrxion – 18/10/11 @ 12.53
“You obviously didn’t give yourself enough time at the station to purchase your ticket without rushing. It would only have been 15 minutes until the next train.The return ticket is a day return and the tiny difference is essentially due to the return journey being ‘free’ if you’re going back the same day. The real injustice on this route is that there is no period return available.I would also have expected the barrier to retain my ticket and exited through the manned barrier at Haymarket. Your labelling of staff as ‘couldn’t be arsed’ is more than a bit sharp considering the circumstances.”
firespire – 18/10/11 @ 15.43
“They obvious “couldn’t be arsed” wait for the next train.It just sound like an irate person who after noticing their mistake, didn’t bother to take any time to sort it out at Glasgow station, simply preferring to get annoyed with the train guard was unable to do anything and didn’t like getting told that Glasgow station was the place they should have sorted it out.”
Deerfold – 19/10/11 @ 11.55
“Sounds like someone with a sense of entitlement wanting to publish her woes far and wide. I doubt she’ll be back to see any responses anyway.Yes, the guard on the train could have helped but it was her initial mistake.I’ve done the reverse – accidentally bought a return from a TVM when all I needed was a single – and the difference was rather more than 10p. What did I do? Told myself not to do something so silly again.”
170401 – 24/10/11 @ 16.10
“You’ve got off quite lucky here, had your “excessed ticket” been picked up by some of Scotrails more enthusiastic staff then best case scenario you would have been looking at paying the single fare again (possibly with a £10 admin fee on top) or worst case you might have currently been at the center of a fraud investigation.The outcome, sadly, for your friendly gateline staff is likely that they’d now be looking for a new job and probably would also be at the center of said fraud investigation.”
When you write things like this you can never be sure of the reactions you’re going to get – these are priceless! What next I ask myself?????
Posted on October 24, 2011, in Edinburgh, General, Glasgow and tagged irony, RailUK, Scotrail. Bookmark the permalink. 1 Comment.
Tessa's Blog 
You asked a forum of rail staff and enthusiasts – you appear to have got some comprehensive answers. Albeit some none too flattering on yourself!
One has to ask the question what you were doing on such a forum, if you are lambasting them for their “love” of trains?
These guys have actually got lives (well, most of them) and they are very knowledgeable and good at their jobs. So good, in fact, that they’ve managed to get cases of prosecution by train companies dropped, penalty fares overturned and saved thousands of pounds in suggesting better deals on train tickets.
Are you aware of the phrase “Don’t bite the hand that feeds” – because, the way you’re going, it sounds like you might make an honest mistake and someone might pick you up on it one day.
Maybe somewhere a bit less friendly than Scotland, say, the commuter routes of London, and you’ll maybe not get someone who “can be arsed” to fix your mistake. Instead, you might just find yourself with a Revenue Protection Inspector who’s heard every story going, a formal caution and a court summons.
Then you’ll see why these guys have a “sense of humour failure”
Happy travelling.