In Praise of FGW's Jane Jones

Wed 3 Dec 2008, 13:44

Then FGW should bring Jack out of retirement as an HR and training consultant.

Regular commuters on this line are often stressed out by late trains, delays, erratic schedules etc.
The last thing they (we) need is a stressed out or jobsworth train guard.

Jane's attitude to her job and towards customers is such a breath of fresh air, that it does a great deal to offset the tensions caused by the poor service.

In fact, as a cost exercise, if FGW invested in more polite and considerate customer relations it could probably get away with even worse timekeeping.

That last bit was a joke, BTW.

Mon 1 Dec 2008, 17:40

I wonder whether readers may be interested to learn that Jane (Jones) was spotted in 1996 by another excellent Senior Conductor, now retired, "Jack" Carter, based at Worcester. At the time, she was working for European Rail Catering, based at Oxford (now RailGourmet) and was plying for trade with her trolley on the Cotswold Line Turbos. He noticed that, at each station, she would look out to see who was boarding, and, after a while, would make her presence known to them. Jack thought that her manner and sales technique would be of benefit to Thames Trains and, as there were vacancies for two Conductors at Worcester at the time, he suggested that she should apply. When her application was successful, Jack became responsible for much of Jane's initial training.

Mon 1 Dec 2008, 10:11

Me too, she's charming. And while we're at it, how about three cheers for Nigel, the fairly new station master at Charlbury, who is a breath of fresh air: pleasant, efficient, and always comes out from the office to give up to date info in person and wave the trains off when he can.

Thu 27 Nov 2008, 11:13

I heartily concur - if it is the same woman I am thinking of then I agree that she is excellent. In fact, most of the guards on the CL are fine, it's just that there are one or two rotten apples in the barrel who give the rest a bad name.

I thought it was hilarious when it was reported on this website a while back that FGW staff were being sent to "Charm School" for retraining in personnel skills. Surely the misanthropes should be weeded out at the interview stage? If you can't tell from a personal interview whether a candidate has people skills then what on earth is the point of the interview?

Thu 27 Nov 2008, 10:00

Absolutely: Jane is brilliant and I know plenty of people in Charlbury who would agree.

Thu 27 Nov 2008, 09:13

I'd just like to go on record in the context of my frequent and consistent complaints about FGW (which they justly deserve), that there is a ray of hope and promise that shines through at FGW.

And that ray of hope and promise has a name:
Her name is Jane Jones and she is the blond haired train guard that manages trains to and from Paddington.

Not only does Jane Jones maintain a genuine cheerful air when addressing passengers, she apologies on behalf of FGW when the trains are late or stuck between stations or there's a general communications break down. She actually says :"I guess we didn't get that right", "I'm sorry that we made a mistake".

I've never heard any other train guard or member of FGW staff behave with such cordial and humble integrity.

The day before yesterday, I was struggling down the stairs to platform 2 at Oxford Station to catch the 18.19 against a blind mass of passengers, heads down, climbing the opposite direction taking up the full breath of the stairs. Desperate again to get my bike to the bike carriage before a guard could refuse me carriage, I was giving up hope.

Then, like an angel had calling down from heaven, I heard Jane's familiarly cheerful voice call out from the platform "don't worry, we're running late, I'll make sure you get your bike on before we leave".

She didn't have to do that, but Jane remembered me from my experience with my bike being carried away by an indifferent train guard.

How I wish Jane Jones could be promoted to train all the other train guards on customer relations. She epitomises the basics of genuine, positive and helpful service. Never servile nor arrogant, she understands that her job is to see that the passengers of the train she manages have as safe and efficient a journey as is possible; sometimes given averse circumstances.

But I never have any doubt, that Jane Jones is on our side.

Here's to you, Jane; I wish there were more of you.