MNCR Conductor Apologizes to Riders about missed train

Everyone: I saw at least two TV news reports and a Yahoo News mention of MNCR Conductor Mike Shaw and his letter apology to commuters for a missed train on
2/24...With all the bad publicity that MNCR has been getting this Conductor - more then likely at his own time and expense - went out and wrote an apology
letter for what had happened and left 500 copies on his assigned train as a seat drop...I think that this is a great example of going "over and above" and
a commendation from MNCR management is the least they can do for Mr. Shaw...

Yahoo News Report: http://news.yahoo.com/metro-north-condu ... .html?vp=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

MACTRAXX

Instead they publicly say they frown upon it!

No wonder morale on MN is so low. A conductor takes the time to explain to his passengers why a connection was not made and in no way made any comments against MN. But MN reprimands him instead of praising his efforts. Now I see why so many people complain about how bad things are on MN.

This apology was definitely on his own dime.

Not only did the carrier say they frown upon his actions, he could get reprimanded if Metro North wanted to purse it.

Management should just let it go and maybe follow their employee's good example. I think it's really cool that this conductor takes his responsibility to his passengers that seriously and felt compelled to apologize for a serious mix-up involving his train. Management should be proud to have such a conscientious guy working for them in train-service!

Looking at this from both sides I can see why management would frown upon an employee making a personal, but -I guess technically- "unauthorized" apology. No doubt MNR doesn't want personnel making "unauthorized" statements, etc. for every single situation if for no other reason than the statement in question might not be polite, professional, charitable, etc. In other words, employees ranting and getting nasty about something in a written letter placed on the seats of the train would necessitate some serious damage control.

OTOH in this particular case the conductor came across as very sincere and direct in his note which no doubt had a positive effect on commuters who saw it. For my money the commuting public on MNR are for the most part understanding -or at least try to be so- but at some point reading and hearing an "official"/"rehearsed" message sounds like fluff. Furthermore the fact that MNR actually said that they don't condone what he did (even though he didn't badmouth ANYONE) only gives a more negative/less personable impression of how MNR is run. And considering the kind of person Joseph Giulietti has been described as I would think the railroad would have commended the conductor for taking the time to help explain what happened. Unless it's not in his place to intervene in a matter like this for some reason?

When I travel to NY on weekdays, I usually take train #1529, which is the train that conductor Shaw is usually on. I have always been impressed by the way that the conductors on this train interact with the passengers. When there have been delays there have always been frequent, clear announcements about what was going on, and an occasional lighter comment that gets a chuckle out of many on board. Metro North should be proud of Mr. Shaw and the other members of this particular crew, and let the matter drop. They represent Metro North at its' best.

Bill

A few letters to MN's management applauding Conductor Shaw's performance, by customers may give them a wake up.

Engineer Spike wrote:A few letters to MN's management applauding Conductor Shaw's performance, by customers may give them a wake up.

Doubtful.

Mr. Shaw only got a stern warning, it seems as it was a wakeup call to many in management on how deep we have fallen.

Being a long-time employee in the private sector, in one huge corporation: (1) having a consistent message from the entity is important, and (2) a letter like the one that was given out seems to accept liability for something, which could open up Metro-North to all sorts of additional problems. Mr. Shaw definitely meant well and clearly knows how to connect with customers, but I couldn't see any corporation liking what he did.

Metro-North Railroad wrote:Metro-North Railroad cannot assume responsibility for inconvenience, expense or damage resulting from errors in timetables, delayed trains, failure to make connections, or for changes in or shortage of equipment. The schedules in this timetable are subject to change without notice.

That's means even if the conductor tells you what train is next, that is always subject to change! I'm very particular when dealing with passengers in this regard, I never say: "the next train is at..." I always say: "the next train is scheduled to arrive at..." When I say that to passengers I've had some angrily ask me not for when the train is scheduled to arrive, but for when the train will arrive. Unfortunately, no one can predict the future with 100% accuracy, this also makes passengers upset.

SouthernRailway wrote:Being a long-time employee in the private sector, in one huge corporation: (1) having a consistent message from the entity is important, and (2) a letter like the one that was given out seems to accept liability for something, which could open up Metro-North to all sorts of additional problems. Mr. Shaw definitely meant well and clearly knows how to connect with customers, but I couldn't see any corporation liking what he did.

Except that -IIRC- MNR does state in their timetables that they are not liable for shortage of equipment, cancellation of trains, etc. so Mr. Shaw's letter technically could not be seen as an "admission of guilt", no?

RearOfSignal wrote:That's means even if the conductor tells you what train is next, that is always subject to change! I'm very particular when dealing with passengers in this regard, I never say: "the next train is at..." I always say: "the next train is scheduled to arrive at..." When I say that to passengers I've had some angrily ask me not for when the train is scheduled to arrive, but for when the train will arrive. Unfortunately, no one can predict the future with 100% accuracy, this also makes passengers upset.

Considering how many trains DO run on MNR (especially during the AM and PM peak) they don't have too much reason to complain to begin with. Obviously people need to get where they're going on time, but I don't think waiting 5-10 minutes for the train or another train behind it is worthy of getting that worked up. And for those experienced commuters who know all too well how there can be problems at any given time.. they should know better (and to be fair I've seen a number of commuters on the TV more or less take it in stride whenever there's a mishap).

NH2060 wrote:

SouthernRailway wrote:Being a long-time employee in the private sector, in one huge corporation: (1) having a consistent message from the entity is important, and (2) a letter like the one that was given out seems to accept liability for something, which could open up Metro-North to all sorts of additional problems. Mr. Shaw definitely meant well and clearly knows how to connect with customers, but I couldn't see any corporation liking what he did.

Except that -IIRC- MNR does state in their timetables that they are not liable for shortage of equipment, cancellation of trains, etc. so Mr. Shaw's letter technically could not be seen as an "admission of guilt", no?

I think another problem the "devils advocates" might point out is that the whole ordeal degrades the credibility of the train crew. After people have read about how this one conductor screwed over passengers by suggesting they hop off and wait for another train (as minor as that inconvenience may have been) it instills an element of doubt in the train crew's directions. If there was an emergency one day where the train crew ordered passengers in unaffected cars to get off the train, you wouldn't want a bunch of people staying put thinking "I wonder if this guy's pulling our leg, we better just stay" and make what could be a potentially routine incident have a less desirable outcome.

It's a small consideration and many will probably forget about the whole incident in a few hours/days/weeks, but there is still that risk. I definitely think it was a nice gesture, but do I think it was 100% appropriate? No, not really.

RearOfSignal wrote:

Metro-North Railroad wrote:Metro-North Railroad cannot assume responsibility for inconvenience, expense or damage resulting from errors in timetables, delayed trains, failure to make connections, or for changes in or shortage of equipment. The schedules in this timetable are subject to change without notice.

That's means even if the conductor tells you what train is next, that is always subject to change! I'm very particular when dealing with passengers in this regard, I never say: "the next train is at..." I always say: "the next train is scheduled to arrive at..." When I say that to passengers I've had some angrily ask me not for when the train is scheduled to arrive, but for when the train will arrive. Unfortunately, no one can predict the future with 100% accuracy, this also makes passengers upset.

Subway conductors promise a following train. The old time instructors told them not to so. When you make a promise, you better deliver.