When I checked my e-mail this morning, I had a message from my Group Manager saying my station was not performing properly.
Being a hard working railwayman I was a bit put out by this and went on to check the attached “mystery shopper survey.” For those not in the know, mystery shoppers are know-nothing civilians with time on their hands and a bad attitude to rail workers.
Well I could see the problem straight away. The customer service was abysmal. Even I would complain faced with this kind of service. The booking office was shut, no staff on the gateline, one gate left open so anyone could walk in and out, and No sign of staff.
All true when I checked the logbook for the days concerned. Guilty as charged your honour. The company is letting the travelling public down badly. They should be ashamed of themselves.
Why the company? I hear you cry. Surely it is your fault. You are the Supervisor after all. You are paid to have your ass kicked. I answer with these few points:
- The company shut my ticket office permanently in January.
- The company took away my part-time barrier staff that used to cover the peak and replaced them with cover from 11:00 until 14:30 when the station is empty.
- There was a job out on the open gate for nearly a week before it was fixed.
The so-called bonuses that are being offered in this year's pay deal will be guaged on these scores. How on earth could a station like mine earn any bonus when we are marked down for management’s bad decisions?
We should be going to ballot soon over the pay issue. Vote to strike until the bonus is scrapped and a decent pay settlement for all is achieved.
