(09 Feb 2014, 5:10 am)Coastliner700 wrote Having dealt with complaints for GNE and Stagecoach South, as well as in my current job I sympathise completely with bus drivers. In general anyone who makes a complaint isn't going to say the bus driver's are lovely if they drove off. Bus drivers are put in a position where they are given little respect from members of the public especially the CONC freebies who don't deserve to travel for free at all. I've dealt with people trying to complain bus drivers leave early when actually there watches are either wrong or they turn up at the last second. Then passengers standing at bus stops with little notice or no indication at all that they wish to board. And then the change so ignorant to the world around them they simply have the largest change possible although the synical amongst us would say this is a deliberate attempt to avoid payment for their bus fare... So in my view and after dealing with complaints most of the genuine complaints themselves relate to areas that bus drivers have no control over and I feel the public should be more grateful and offer lots more respect to them../
I agree with most of what you say, but about Conc pass holders, I agree in part with that, some people just have them for the sake of it, but to say we dont deserve it is a bit harsh, that pass could be old Bettys only link to the outside world, without that pass she may not be able to nip down the shops and end up been stuck indoors all day, somebody with a disability may never get out and that pass may keep them included in society, I have one for various and when I got it, I didnt think I deserved one, Durham Council thought different, I close to being agoraphobic, hadn't been anywhere for months, barely left the house for months, and getting that pass saved me at the time, I take advantage of it and probably saved hundreds, if not thousands, of £'s using it, to say I dont deserve it is a bit harsh, given the circumstances I was in and still am to this day and will suffer from till I leave this mortal coil.
I am never intentionally rude to drivers, unless there rude to me, I always speak to a driver, even if they say nothing back, I will say hi, bye, thank you, it is courteous and it is how I expect to be treated by people...
If I am a c**t to people then people will be a c**t back which is why I try to be a decent person with decent enough morals and values
As for not hearing the good drivers do, I have on more than one occasion spoke to GNE about the good things drivers do, I will make a point of doing so if I think it is warranted...
A couple of examples, about 5 years ago, I was asking a driver what time another bus came when I got off, this guy on thr bus drunk and drugged started verbally abusing me and frightened 2 old ladies and a 14 yo old girl, driver kicks the drunk off who I thought was going to attack me, stops the bus, gets out the cab and talks to the ladies and girl for a minute to reassure them, now I knew they probably wouldn't have told the company about it, I took it upon myself to commend the driver to his bosses on behalf of the passengers.
Another time I witnessed a mixed race driver being racially abused by some muppet, said driver tried talking to the man, but he was getting all kinds of abuse w*g, p**i and n****r, driver just took it by laughing at him, again I thought that was worthy of his bosses of knowing about it, because he showed amazing restraint, I would not of have blamed the man for kicking the shit out of this other guy