Modern customer service - rant.

[Dryce]

At time of travel , According the Public Health England it seemed to be against the law not to wear a face coverings in certain situations / area unless exempt - obviously.

Without the thread heading off at a tangent , Avanti overbooked the train / Avanti did not attempt to enforce their policies nor government rules / Avanti customer service is absolutely woeful and clearly not up to the intended job.

If the train wasn`t overbooked then the social distancing would have made the selfish non mask wearers less of an issue , but when you cant actually distance then it becomes more of a consideration for some.

K

The situation with long distance trains broke down a while back.

As regards Avanti and the railways - the staff on the train don't want to confront passengers (and I would say that during the pandemic some of their staff didn't seem to be too keen to have much visibility at all). There was a point where the 'reservation only' rule was relaxed. This is down to practicality - the rail system is not designed to be reservation only and with service changes and reductions. This means with railway journeys there is an element of chance involved - you could have a good journey - you could have a poor one. Once the number of mask avoiders rises then it's like an infection - it spreads - and the problem becomes too large for staff or BTP.

While I appreciate you are angry - the rail companies have to deal with reality - of managing customers and staff - and the requirements of ticketing. In pactical ters it is difficult to stop people with unrestricted tickets to get access to the train once they have access to the platform. And if connecting trains and services are delayed or cancekled then that causes problems with passengers having to use different services.

I also think your consultant was a bit laissez faire in terms of the advice (not uncommon with consultants IME - if the surgery gets delayed their admin staff just reschedule theor diary - and the patient eventually gets rescheduled). Heading off to London on long distant public transport during a pandemic in the run up to major surgery meant taking an exposure risk which ultimately can become difficult to manage on the trains. I think you would have been better advised to shield in the run up to surgery rather than travel.

 

[Dryce]

Far from being a legal eagle, from what i can read here it was an offence not to wear a mask in certain situations and proceedings may be brought by the CPS if required , so could that be done if it wasn`t a law - i dont know.

Problem with all of this has been 'exemption'. Tie this in with the issue of who is actually entitled to ask for proof of exemption and whether and how the individual asked is required to show it? It's a mess.

 

[KennyN]

Heading off to London on long distant public transport during a pandemic in the run up to major surgery meant taking an exposure risk which ultimately can become difficult to manage on the trains. I think you would have been better advised to shield in the run up to surgery rather than travel.

Agreed , however wife felt as though she "needed" to get away and spend a bit of time with our daughter in London when she was still able to and with her present health condition and with major surgery looming i was not going to attempt to argue the case for us staying at home regardless of how logical it seemed and despite what the consultant said.

K

 

[Deleted member 159894]

I have a friend who is a train manager, she get's spoken to like scum for asking people to put their masks on, the public are to be avoided in my view and that is why I would have driven rather than take pubic transport.
City centre driving was a breeze during the pandemic.

 

[Darrell]

Heading off to London on long distant public transport during a pandemic in the run up to major surgery meant taking an exposure risk which ultimately can become difficult to manage on the trains. I think you would have been better advised to shield in the run up to surgery rather than travel.

Was the doctor informed of how you were travelling to London?
If he was and he still though it was a good idea then he needs a firm talking to.

 

[Darrell]

Agreed , however wife felt as though she "needed" to get away and spend a bit of time with our daughter in London when she was still able to and with her present health condition and with major surgery looming i was not going to attempt to argue the case for us staying at home regardless of how logical it seemed and despite what the consultant said.

K

Getting away and spending quality times with relatives is all well and good especially in your circumstances but in my opinion you took a major risk.

I would believe any old waffle from any company of any description when it comes down to any form of H&S.

 

[KennyN]

Problem with all of this has been 'exemption'. Tie this in with the issue of who is actually entitled to ask for proof of exemption and whether and how the individual asked is required to show it? It's a mess.

I have a friend who is a train manager, she get's spoken to like scum for asking people to put their masks on, the public are to be avoided in my view and that is why I would have driven rather than take pubic transport.
City centre driving was a breeze during the pandemic.

The wife works in B+Q (Trade) and over the last 18 months has been met with serious levels of hostility when asking tradesmen to wear masks prior to entering the shop , she (along with many others) is just doing their job and the way they are spoken to is totally unacceptable , no excuses.

What amazes me is that sometimes all occupants of a van are conveniently exempt from mask wearing , as they speed march through the store an manhandle numerous bags of multi-finish plaster and a pallet load of plasterboard

K

 

[KennyN]

Getting away and spending quality times with relatives is all well and good especially in your circumstances but in my opinion you took a major risk.

Absolutely , that was why we did everything possible in our remit to minimise risk. Unfortunately not everyone was singing from the same hymn sheet as us.

Was the doctor informed of how you were travelling to London?
If he was and he still though it was a good idea then he needs a firm talking to.

Yes he was , which amazed me especially in the present health climate , double jabbed or not.

K

 

[Dryce]

I have a friend who is a train manager, she get's spoken to like scum for asking people to put their masks on, the public are to be avoided in my view and that is why I would have driven rather than take pubic transport.
City centre driving was a breeze during the pandemic.

If I were running the railways then I would have allocated a non-mask coach and demanded HMG to introduce some appropriate offences and mandatory penalties to enforce use with BTP in suffficient locations to quickly offload anybody not complying with the seating arrangement requiremets.

No need for staff to ask for or demonstrate exemption.

 

[Deleted member 159894]

If I were running the railways then I would have allocated a non-mask coach and demanded HMG to introduce some appropriate offences and mandatory penalties to enforce use with BTP in suffficient locations to quickly offload anybody not complying with the seating arrangement requiremets.

No need for staff to ask for or demonstrate exemption.

When’s your application going in?

 

[Dryce]

Yes he was , which amazed me especially in the present health climate , double jabbed or not.

It may well be the risks on (some types ?) of public transport are lower than we would think.

 

[Dryce]

When’s your application going in?

Apparently my other suggestions that staff carry tasers and the station platforms be manned by snipers with dart guns to disable miscreants didn't go down too well the interview board .....

 

[Deleted member 159894]

Apparently my other suggestions that staff carry tasers and the station platforms be manned by snipers with dart guns to disable miscreants didn't go down too well the interview board .....

Firm but fair.

 

[st13phil]

It may well be the risks on (some types ?) of public transport are lower than we would think.

As long as there were no Scottish MSP's travelling on the train after they'd tested positive for Covid-19, I thought everyone could travel pretty risk-free?

 

[SpikyMikey]

Apparently my other suggestions that staff carry tasers and the station platforms be manned by snipers with dart guns to disable miscreants didn't go down too well the interview board .....

 

[Deleted member 150136]

What a ridiculous situation to put you and your wife through just before her operation.
I'm so glad to hear everything has gone OK since.

You don't put a date on your post but since July 19th masks are no longer mandatory and neither is social distancing.

But, really!! Have you not watched the news for the last 18 months?

London, trains, pandemic.....let's go!!

Have you been living in a bubble?

Then complain afterwards that other people don't live to your standards. Signs on doors mean nothing, everything is worded to protect the company and not the individual.

Or, sit at home, invite the family up and relax, what's wrong with a beach or open moorland?

Why not go to REMOVED

There's a time and a place to do things, there's a time and a place to say " No love, don't think this is for the best at this time"

 

[bob6600]

When it comes to face coverings, we’ve been very clear about these being mandatory when travelling with us, from the moment the government’s policy was in place.

These policies have been put in place by the government rather than by Avanti West Coast specifically,

It does seem they are referring to the outdated policy that no longer applied after July 19th. The current policy by the Gov states that they no longer have to be worn but if individuals wish to do so they can. It was advised that they would like people to wear them in more crowded areas like public transport but I'm sure that isn't something that can be enforced. Happy to be corrected if I'm wrong.

 

[KennyN]

What a ridiculous situation to put you and your wife through just before her operation.
I'm so glad to hear everything has gone OK since.

You don't put a date on your post but since July 19th masks are no longer mandatory and neither is social distancing.

But, really!! Have you not watched the news for the last 18 months?

London, trains, pandemic.....let's go!!

Have you been living in a bubble?

Then complain afterwards that other people don't live to your standards. Signs on doors mean nothing, everything is worded to protect the company and not the individual.

Or, sit at home, invite the family up and relax, what's wrong with a beach or open moorland?

Why not go to Chernobyl for some chemo relaxation time!

There's a time and a place to do things, there's a time and a place to say " No love, don't think this is for the best at this time"

At the time of travel we were , and still are , unsure how far the cancer has spread ,as much as i tried to reason with her my wife insisted that we go as she felt it maybe her last trip away for a while or may have been her last trip away - full stop for all we know.

We were there the week before the English restrictions were lifted so the distancing / mask rules and regulations were still in place , or should have been.

London (center) was actually much quieter than Glasgow due to the lack of international tourists and we never used public transport , it was cabs everywhere as advised.

Because the surgery was pretty much short notice it was easier for us to travel , stay in a hotel and see the family at night . Bringing the unvaxed family from London into our home for a week to stay would have been more of a risk than us staying in a hotel.

For the record the decision to go was not taken lightly , contrary to what some may think.

I will pass your good wishes onto my wife once i tell her how stupid she has been , thanks for your support and have you ever considered a career with the Samaritans.

K

PS - The line about Chemo relaxation in Chernobyl was totally inappropriate at this point in time , nothing like being kicked when we are already down , cheers.

 

[Deleted member 113659]

What a ridiculous situation to put you and your wife through just before her operation.
I'm so glad to hear everything has gone OK since.

You don't put a date on your post but since July 19th masks are no longer mandatory and neither is social distancing.

But, really!! Have you not watched the news for the last 18 months?

London, trains, pandemic.....let's go!!

Have you been living in a bubble?

Then complain afterwards that other people don't live to your standards. Signs on doors mean nothing, everything is worded to protect the company and not the individual.

Or, sit at home, invite the family up and relax, what's wrong with a beach or open moorland?

Why not go to Chernobyl for some chemo relaxation time!

There's a time and a place to do things, there's a time and a place to say " No love, don't think this is for the best at this time"

What a nice guy you are!

 

[markjay]

If I were running the railways then I would have allocated a non-mask coach and demanded HMG to introduce some appropriate offences and mandatory penalties to enforce use with BTP in suffficient locations to quickly offload anybody not complying with the seating arrangement requiremets.

No need for staff to ask for or demonstrate exemption.

You can't have an official non-mask coach while the law requires mask wearing. It's like inviting people to break the law... you can do it though once the legal requirement for mask wearing has been lifted. But then train staff will probably still get abuse from some of the maskless passengers that they will instruct to move to the non-mask coach......