Enough with the "Stand Behind The Yellow Line!"

[Deleted]

I think this now deserves a thread of it's own.

The reopened ELL seems to have gone completely overboard with this - with staff continually barking this instruction (often through loudhailers) at many of it's stations.

It's becoming rather annoying and officious in tone and, sooner or later, is going to lead to needless antagonisms between staff and passengers - as it gives the impression of staff being there to marshall and keep the passengers in order rather than provide help. Whilst I'm sure that not the intention, it's how it's starting to feel.

[mcmaddog]

Why do they need to shout it out when a train is at the station with its doors open? It's crazy and annoying. I really hope when the new PIS gets installed these guys disappear. Maybe they'd be better manning barriers as since the ELL opened the barriers are generally left open after 8pm on the Croydon line.

[Deleted]

Jun 2, 2010 14:08:59 GMT mcmaddog said:

Why do they need to shout it out when a train is at the station with its doors open?

Or, indeed, when you're walking alongside a stationery train at it's terminal station.

They need to give this one a rest already. To my knowledge, NOWHERE else on the TfL network is this overzealous approach considered proportionate or necessary.

[Deleted]

Were many people standing the wrong side of the yellow line to cause this?

[mcmaddog]

Witnessed the first argument this morning. At Forest Hill a lady took great objection and said something to the effect of "I've been commuting from here for the last 30 years, why has it suddenly become dangerous to stand where I've always stood without incident. This is unwarranted harrassment of the public". Also noticed they guys at NXG were announcing the train destination and stops with loud hailers at the same time as the automated announcement doing exactly the same thing. They really add nothing and are a nuisance.

[gregoryinuxbridge]

It is getting really tedious now. I was at Wapping the other day on my own, just me and megaphone-man on the platform. He shouted out to keep behind the yellow line when I was very clearly behind it then when the train arrived he bellowed it's destination over the top of the automated announcement meaning I couldn't actually work out where it was going until I boarded it.

Totally over-zealous considering there was only 1 person on the platform (me) and I didn't look confused or in need of information to be bellowed at me.

mcmaddog: Good for that woman, I'd be very irritated if I had to commute everyday under the hail of loudspeakers.

[Colin]

I wouldn't be at all surprised if LO staff are under the same regime as LU staff - monitoring of particular PA's which lead to disciplinary action if they're not heard.

For example, the LU standard when doing SATS (person with a bat on platform) in the peaks is that they must say things like "use all available doors" or "move down inside the cars" even if it's blatantly not required. If they don't say these things and are caught.....

As an LU employee I agree that the current situation with regard to PA's really has gone too far, but you have to understand that if management are prepared to dangle the threat of disciplinary action over employee heads, it's no wonder employees are complying with something they know is totally ridiculous.

[mcmaddog]

I'll be making sure to let the managers know my thoughts whenever the next 'meet the managers' day is.

[Chris M]

Jun 4, 2010 10:40:34 GMT Colin said:

I wouldn't be at all surprised if LO staff are under the same regime as LU staff - monitoring of particular PA's which lead to disciplinary action if they're not heard.

For example, the LU standard when doing SATS (person with a bat on platform) in the peaks is that they must say things like "use all available doors" or "move down inside the cars" even if it's blatantly not required. If they don't say these things and are caught.....

As an LU employee I agree that the current situation with regard to PA's really has gone too far, but you have to understand that if management are prepared to dangle the threat of disciplinary action over employee heads, it's no wonder employees are complying with something they know is totally ridiculous.

Do these managers actually travel on the system?

[Deleted]

Jun 3, 2010 8:19:49 GMT mcmaddog said:

Witnessed the first argument this morning. At Forest Hill a lady took great objection and said something to the effect of "I've been commuting from here for the last 30 years, why has it suddenly become dangerous to stand where I've always stood without incident. This is unwarranted harrassment of the public".

Oh dear. This is precisley the sort of thing I predicted.

[Deleted]

I'm also baffled as to why this should be considered necessary on the ELL part of the LO system, but not on the other parts!

[Deleted]

It's a microcosm of all other aspects of life I'm afraid. Nobody is regarded as having the intelligence to make up his or her mind about anything anymore without some hectoring from those terrified by the legal consequences of not doing so. Unfortunately this is the result of the litigeous society we have become with legal firms almost breaking there necks encouraging us all to sue for everything we can get even if the cause was our own stupidity.

And like Colin says, if the staff don't persist with this ridiculous charade their own jobs are on the line. Pathetic.......but as a society we've brought it on ourselves.

[Colin]

Indeed - it's going off topic really, but there was a classic example in the Metro today....

A woman is suing Google for $100,000 because she was using one of their maps, in Los Angeles, on her Blackberry and it advised her to cross a dual carriageway. Needless to say she got hit by a car.

She is claiming it's Google's fault as they didn't warn her of the dangers.

This is what it's come to.

[mrfs42]

Jun 4, 2010 20:38:53 GMT @whistlekiller said:

Pathetic.......but as a society we've brought it on ourselves.

I shouldn't really ask this - but: How?

I'm interested on your take with this Helleresque [1] situation - reply by PM, if you'd rather.

I write this, realising that in my youth I could have encouraged far more people to become responsible for their own actions.......

Absurdity and senselessness are the norm. If the accounts are true then the megaphoneage overload is unnecessary and will in time <I give up.... I think we're singing from the same hymnsheet>

[1] well.... If the truth be known, I think the Third Policeman has a hand in this matter.. ;D

[pakenhamtrain]

Jun 4, 2010 19:39:53 GMT @vitesse said:

I can appreciate why they have the people there as it's a) reassuring to the public especially late at night having a staff presence at the platform.

To be honest I would feel more safer if it was the police more than a bunch of people in Hi-vi's. All the staff will be able to do is call for help and watch. They're not going to invervne becuase of the risk of injury. All they're going to do is help you afterwards.

[Deleted]

Jun 5, 2010 1:43:17 GMT mrfs42 said:

I'm interested on your take with this Helleresque [1] situation - reply by PM, if you'd rather.

mrfs42, I will PM you when I get a bit of time. It would be drifting a bit on here!

Regards

Rich

[mcmaddog]

The orange jackets upped the ante this morning at Forest Hill - using some form of wailing siren (a bit like Red Alert on Star Trek) out of the loud hailers first before repeatedly shouting SBTYL.

[Deleted]

Jun 7, 2010 11:48:59 GMT mcmaddog said:

The orange jackets upped the ante this morning at Forest Hill - using some form of wailing siren (a bit like Red Alert on Star Trek) out of the loud hailers first before repeatedly shouting SBTYL.

This is just getting silly now - if not downright insulting.

I simply CANNOT see the merit in this. I understand it was part of the agreement that the stations should be staffed - but the rest of the LO network has been staffed without them being instructed to do this.

Seriously - LO needs to rethink this piece of temperature-raising idiocy as a matter of urgency.

[mcmaddog]

I'm beginning to wonder whether there is a plan to this. Could it be that with the very intensive (for NR) style of service now running through stations they're worried that every second counts? Perhaps it's just to give the drivers more confidence to brake late. I've seen before on NR that where a platform is extremely full drivers do seem to coast in very slowly (understandably) but that of course just makes matter worse.

[flippyff]

When I was at Whitechapel the other week I kept hearing the SBTYL message and I was over the yellow line - standing at the south end of the southbound platform where there is the barrier at the platform edge anyway.

The other annoying message was "On <date> London Overground operated 97% of services.". This was repeated approx. every four minutes.

Simon

[Deleted]

Interesting thought comes to mind, the fromer Southern stations now passed to London Overground have these megaphone wielding types calling out everytime a train runs in. For those staions between Norwood Junction and New Cross Gate how will they cope on the morning that a train fails on the up fast at Forest Hill and all the up service runs over the up slow. Mmmm.....Do they make an anouncement for a train passing through as it would not be expected to stop.

Anyway at least LO/TfL have created some meaningless jobs and helped the unemployment statistics, that is until they are all made redundant as LO/TfL are forced to make financial savings and they realise that they serve no real purpose.

[Deleted]

Jun 11, 2010 14:46:01 GMT @lnwrelectric said:

Interesting thought comes to mind, the fromer Southern stations now passed to London Overground have these megaphone wielding types calling out everytime a train runs in. For those staions between Norwood Junction and New Cross Gate how will they cope on the morning that a train fails on the up fast at Forest Hill and all the up service runs over the up slow. Mmmm.....Do they make an anouncement for a train passing through as it would not be expected to stop.

Anyway at least LO/TfL have created some meaningless jobs and helped the unemployment statistics, that is until they are all made redundant as LO/TfL are forced to make financial savings and they realise that they serve no real purpose.

The thing is there are various LO stations where they could be redeployed to act as a reassuring and helpful presence to passengers.

[Deleted]

Jun 10, 2010 21:29:54 GMT flippyff said:

The other annoying message was "On <date> London Overground operated 97% of services.". This was repeated approx. every four minutes.

Yeah, have a ruddy medal!

I mean, what's the point of that? When was the last time you were in a supermarket and a continuous tannoy announcement was bellowing that they'd actually managed to serve 97% of their customers with the goods they'd payed for?

[DWS]

Jun 13, 2010 2:40:38 GMT @vitesse said:

Whats more annoying to us is that those damn announcements also play in the messroom at Dalston Jn, over and over and over again, which can be mind numbing listening to that every 5 minutes for 4 hours straight.

Why stay in the messroom for 4 hours, are you locked in

[Deleted]

Stick some gum over the speaker!

[Deleted]

I was told to stand behind the line at Dalston Kingsland the other day. There's a huge gap between the line and the platform edge, it's almost wider than the area behind the line!

[mcmaddog]

This morning there was a hush at Forest Hill. The megaphone guys were there but no shouting was deemed necessary aside from a reasonable "mind the doors". Perhaps they've had feedback from up on high ...

[Deleted]

Jun 14, 2010 11:48:25 GMT mcmaddog said:

This morning there was a hush at Forest Hill. ------ Perhaps they've had feedback from up on high ...

And thus spake The Lord:

"All ye, who doth patrol the platforms with thy megaphones - yea verily shall ye put them down, and not shouteth unto them unless it be really necessary. And verily, shall the good citizens of Forest Hill, and indeed their neighbours at the Gate of the New Cross, offer up their thanks for the silence thereat".

[Deleted]

Jun 14, 2010 12:59:02 GMT @diana said:

And thus spake The Lord:

"All ye, who doth patrol the platforms with thy megaphones - yea verily shall ye put them down, and not shouteth unto them unless it be really necessary. And verily, shall the good citizens of Forest Hill, and indeed their neighbours at the Gate of the New Cross, offer up their thanks for the silence thereat".

"......and I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee."

[Deleted]

Jun 14, 2010 12:59:02 GMT @diana said:

Jun 14, 2010 11:48:25 GMT mcmaddog said:

This morning there was a hush at Forest Hill. ------ Perhaps they've had feedback from up on high ...

And thus spake The Lord:

"All ye, who doth patrol the platforms with thy megaphones - yea verily shall ye put them down, and not shouteth unto them unless it be really necessary. And verily, shall the good citizens of Forest Hill, and indeed their neighbours at the Gate of the New Cross, offer up their thanks for the silence thereat".

Great, hilarious stuff! ;D ;D ;D