ravenousveggie

It never ceases to amaze me how the attitude of staff in the same company can vary so much and make so much of a difference to your experience with that company.

Today  I ventured out to meet a friend and decided that I would take the bus rather than drive or take the train. I travel a lot for work and tend to drive so was keen to be able to switch off for a bit.  I could have taken the train however it means changing and hopping the connecting trains are working. And with Southern and that is all a bit up in the air. The bus gave the option of starting my journey within easy reach of my home, takes rough the same time as the train, but required no changes.  On top of that the return fare was over £4 cheaper.

It is my first time doing such a journey on a bus and the driver on the way out did not instill me with the sunny disposition a first time journey requires.  In fact he was quite gruff and appeared bored, even slightly annoyed, that someone wanted to get on his bus. When I arrived at my destination I wanted to check where the return bus stop was.  He looked slightly miffed at my question and, whilst answering, did not look at me at all.

Ho hum. At least I knew how to get home.  

The driver on the way back was completely different. Friendly smile when I got on, and happily checked my ticket and welcomed me aboard.   He greeted everyone who got on board and patiently and politely answered all questions- giving extra details so you would know exactly where you were going to get off.  This is a man who knows that just having a seat on a bus does not make the journey for a lot of people.

Overall the bus journey was a lot more sedate than taking the train. The passengers tended to be less noisy and would be having happy conversations with each other.  They tended to be on the more mature side. As there are no tables on a bus there was less spreading of belongings and generally people kept themselves and their litter, to themselves.

I will be taking the bus more often in the future.