Do you deal with customers who:
1. Verbally abuse you
2. Physically confront or harm you
3. Bite you (yes, you read that right!)
4. Menacingly threaten to have you ‘removed’
5. Launch personal attacks on your character
6. Publicly criticize or defame you
7. Attempt to sabotage your work
8. Incite others to gang up against you for no fault of yours
9. File baseless complaints against you
10. Manipulate you emotionally
Perhaps you don’t. But the Ticketing Staff of Western Railways face this regularly.
Worse, such uncouth behaviour isn’t the exception—it’s the rule.
Worse still, many of these incidents involve ‘educated’, seemingly ‘respectable’ individuals.
One of the staff members showed up at the workshop with a bandaged hand. She had been bitten by a college student caught traveling without a ticket who, while being escorted to the Station Master’s Office, attempted to escape by biting down hard on the TTE’s hand.
Just one of the many ‘daily hazards’ for the ticket checking staff.
I used to think that the armed forces had a tough job, but after seeing the challenges these employees face, I have newfound respect for their resilience. Despite the demanding nature of their job, they approach each day with professionalism, calmness and courage, demonstrating a remarkable ability to remain emotionally controlled & cool headed in the face of such hostility.
They abide by the traditions and values of Western Railway by putting passengers first, treating everyone with respect, and working tirelessly to ensure the safety and integrity of Indian Railways. Managing thousands of passengers a day, fielding complaints – from the genuine to the bizarre - and handling confrontational situations is no easy task. Yet they maintain their calm, enforce the rules, and carry on with courage.
Kudos to them. Let’s give them the respect and appreciation they truly deserve.
The next time you travel ticketless in a Mumbai local train and get caught by the ticket checking staff, don’t blame them. Blame your parents for raising an idiot.
Mission Samaanubhuti (Empathy With Customers) Batch 1 – for Ticketing Staff of Western Railway, Mumbai
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