Underground Gal (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} underground_gal) wrote,@ 2007-10-12 02:02:00 |
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Busy-ness
Busy day today. For one thing I had to do overtime, which meant I started work at 2pm and finished at 1.10am. I started at Turnpike Lane, and we had a few 'stand-out' customers: a bloke with a buggy who got all abusive when I didn't instantly open the manual gate because I was answering a question from someone else - he smashed his fist on the GLAP door then started swearing and yelling at me, then when I did go over to open the gate (which, after that treatment, wasn't fast) refused to show me his ticket a) the right way up or b) at any distance where I could reasonably have read it, then when he finally did and I let him out, he was still swearing and saying he should have spat on me. Which was nice of him, I hear being spat on is a turn on for some people... ;)
Then we had the poor old couple who'd managed to become separated from a five year old child, presumably their grandson, on the train - he hadn't got off in time. The woman was really quite upset but luckily we got onto the station staff at Manor House and they got the child off the train alright, so that ended happily.
And then the drunk, with crutches and a foot in plaster, who couldn't even walk the width of the barriers (seven gates, if you want to picture it for yourself) without falling on me at the end and getting in everyone's way, who was quite insistant that he was perfectly capable of travelling to Croydon. Alone. Despite not actually knowing where he was, or how to get to Croydon. And the whole not-able-to-stand thing. When I left at 9 he was still sitting in a corner; the supervisor had called the police about an hour before because he had no idea what else to do.
Then we had a young lad having trouble getting through the gate, and his companion yelling at me that I was confusing him by asking for his ticket, and threatening to scream if I didn't let him out. As it was, it only took five seconds to find the ticket and show me it. Honestly, people - travelling isn't *that* hard.
While we're on the Turnpike Lane bit still, I should probably note the poor American who managed to drop his phone on the track a few nights back. One of the supervisors who is a bit of a character was there and called him - jokingly! - an idiot, and teased him a bit more when he said he was American. He did, however, go down and have a look to see if it was somewhere where he'd be able to get it, but the back had fallen off when it landed, and the sim card fallen out, so there was nothing that could be done until the current went off that night.
And lastly we had another visit from a rather persistant beggar that hangs around the station, also a few days ago. He's made death 'threats' to various supervisors because they have no compunction about 'escorting' him from the station, and decided to give me verbal because I'd asked him to leave alone a poor woman who was trying to use the ticket machine.
So, back to today: just after 9 I headed off for Southgate, via Bounds Green to pick up a fire extinguisher. I had a five minute wait for a train from Turnpike, and then at BGR they'd forgotten which type of extinguisher was needed, and were having a simultaneous disaster with a missing padlock key. And the fire extinguisher was very heavy, and very dirty, and because I was switching station duties I also had my rather heavy shoulder bag with me - funnnn escalator ride. Then of course we got held outside Arnos for ages, waiting for a platform to be free. But to my relief the supervisor was down on the platform when I got to Southgate so I didn't have to carry it up the escalators again. It was also a supervisor who's quite easy to get along with, and so was the late turn.
Busy day today. For one thing I had to do overtime, which meant I started work at 2pm and finished at 1.10am. I started at Turnpike Lane, and we had a few 'stand-out' customers: a bloke with a buggy who got all abusive when I didn't instantly open the manual gate because I was answering a question from someone else - he smashed his fist on the GLAP door then started swearing and yelling at me, then when I did go over to open the gate (which, after that treatment, wasn't fast) refused to show me his ticket a) the right way up or b) at any distance where I could reasonably have read it, then when he finally did and I let him out, he was still swearing and saying he should have spat on me. Which was nice of him, I hear being spat on is a turn on for some people... ;)
Then we had the poor old couple who'd managed to become separated from a five year old child, presumably their grandson, on the train - he hadn't got off in time. The woman was really quite upset but luckily we got onto the station staff at Manor House and they got the child off the train alright, so that ended happily.
And then the drunk, with crutches and a foot in plaster, who couldn't even walk the width of the barriers (seven gates, if you want to picture it for yourself) without falling on me at the end and getting in everyone's way, who was quite insistant that he was perfectly capable of travelling to Croydon. Alone. Despite not actually knowing where he was, or how to get to Croydon. And the whole not-able-to-stand thing. When I left at 9 he was still sitting in a corner; the supervisor had called the police about an hour before because he had no idea what else to do.
Then we had a young lad having trouble getting through the gate, and his companion yelling at me that I was confusing him by asking for his ticket, and threatening to scream if I didn't let him out. As it was, it only took five seconds to find the ticket and show me it. Honestly, people - travelling isn't *that* hard.
While we're on the Turnpike Lane bit still, I should probably note the poor American who managed to drop his phone on the track a few nights back. One of the supervisors who is a bit of a character was there and called him - jokingly! - an idiot, and teased him a bit more when he said he was American. He did, however, go down and have a look to see if it was somewhere where he'd be able to get it, but the back had fallen off when it landed, and the sim card fallen out, so there was nothing that could be done until the current went off that night.
And lastly we had another visit from a rather persistant beggar that hangs around the station, also a few days ago. He's made death 'threats' to various supervisors because they have no compunction about 'escorting' him from the station, and decided to give me verbal because I'd asked him to leave alone a poor woman who was trying to use the ticket machine.
So, back to today: just after 9 I headed off for Southgate, via Bounds Green to pick up a fire extinguisher. I had a five minute wait for a train from Turnpike, and then at BGR they'd forgotten which type of extinguisher was needed, and were having a simultaneous disaster with a missing padlock key. And the fire extinguisher was very heavy, and very dirty, and because I was switching station duties I also had my rather heavy shoulder bag with me - funnnn escalator ride. Then of course we got held outside Arnos for ages, waiting for a platform to be free. But to my relief the supervisor was down on the platform when I got to Southgate so I didn't have to carry it up the escalators again. It was also a supervisor who's quite easy to get along with, and so was the late turn.
