On 19/02/2012 10:56, tim.... wrote:
wrote in message
...
On 18/02/2012 13:59, tim.... wrote:
wrote in message
...
On 14/02/2012 06:29, Neil Williams wrote:
On Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:11:39 +0000, "
wrote:
The Royal Mail has undertaken a redesign of its branches. Instead
of
queuing in a line, you take a number from a machine for the type of
service that you require and approach a counter when your number is
called.

The Swiss do that, and it's a good system as it means you can prepare
paperwork more easily while waiting.

Neil

I think that the Dutch and Germans also do that.

They do it flipping everywhere they can think of in Sweden. I even used
to
make the joke that it was so prevalent they did it in the supermarket
when
you queued up with your trolley to pay - until one day I visited a
supermarket that did exactly that!

tim


I would think that they are using automatic checkout points now, as they
do here in England.

Yeah there was some of those on my last visit.

They were as poorly used as they are in GB

tim


I actually see some pretty large queues for them here in London, at least.

On Sun, 19 Feb 2012 03:25:53 +0000 (UTC) [UTC], Hans-Joachim Zierke
wrote:
Bruce schrieb:

Not just in Britain, then!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/02/german-fare-dodgers-public-transport
German fare dodgers cause headache for public transport operators

Vienna action instead of German whining:
http://www.wienerlinien.at/eportal/e...ontentId/25239

Yeah, but WienerLinien carefully forget to mention that they announce
most of the routes on which they'll be checking tickets in advance, so
it's really only the stupid who get caught.
The actual level of "black riding", fare evasion, is almost certainly
higher than they choose to acknowledge.

If they were serious about fare evasion, they wouldn't announce any of
their checks - and they'd do a heck of a lot more of them.
(Despite their claims to checking a huge amount of tickets, I've never
seen a single ticket check on WL routes, including when I've travelled
on routes which have been announced on the website as being checked
that week).
--
Ross

Speaking for me, myself and I. Nobody else
- unless I make it clear that I am...

On Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:05:21 +0000, "
wrote:
I actually see some pretty large queues for them here in London, at
least.

I think people are getting used to them. And the new "chuck cash in
a bucket" type are a good way of getting rid of change without
bagging it up at the bank or paying a fee to Coinstar and the likes.

Neil

--
Neil Williams, Milton Keynes, UK

wrote in message
...
On 19/02/2012 10:56, tim.... wrote:
wrote in message
...
On 18/02/2012 13:59, tim.... wrote:
wrote in message
...
On 14/02/2012 06:29, Neil Williams wrote:
On Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:11:39 +0000, "
wrote:
The Royal Mail has undertaken a redesign of its branches. Instead
of
queuing in a line, you take a number from a machine for the type of
service that you require and approach a counter when your number is
called.

The Swiss do that, and it's a good system as it means you can prepare
paperwork more easily while waiting.

Neil

I think that the Dutch and Germans also do that.

They do it flipping everywhere they can think of in Sweden. I even
used
to
make the joke that it was so prevalent they did it in the supermarket
when
you queued up with your trolley to pay - until one day I visited a
supermarket that did exactly that!

tim


I would think that they are using automatic checkout points now, as they
do here in England.

Yeah there was some of those on my last visit.

They were as poorly used as they are in GB

tim


I actually see some pretty large queues for them here in London, at least.

between 12:00 and 14:00?

At my local Tesco there's a queue for them a mile long then.

the rest of the time you are often the only punter using them

tim

In message , at 15:06:37 on Sat, 25 Feb
2012, tim.... remarked:
I would think that they are using automatic checkout points now, as they
do here in England.

Yeah there was some of those on my last visit.

They were as poorly used as they are in GB

I actually see some pretty large queues for them here in London, at least.

between 12:00 and 14:00?

At my local Tesco there's a queue for them a mile long then.

the rest of the time you are often the only punter using them

All the supermarkets I've been to recently, the queues for the
self-checkout naturally balance themselves with the queues for the
staffed checkouts. The problem being that the management tune the number
of till operatives to keep approximately three customers in each queue.

You can only check out "quicker" if the shop is unusually quiet.

The same happened at banks with ATMs. We were promised that the new (as
it was then) technology would avoid the need to queue; yet now there are
commonly long queues for ATMs. And don't get me started on queues for
train ticket machines! (The one here in the foreground is for the
subsurface lines at St Pancras, in the background is the scrum/queue for
the windows): http://www.perry.co.uk/images/stp-western-queue.jpg
--
Roland Perry

On 25/02/2012 15:38, Roland Perry wrote:
... And don't get me started on queues for
train ticket machines! (The one here in the foreground is for the
subsurface lines at St Pancras, in the background is the scrum/queue for
the windows): http://www.perry.co.uk/images/stp-western-queue.jpg

Looks familiar.

--
Graham Nye
news(a)thenyes.org.uk

In message , at 15:51:36 on Sat, 25
Feb 2012, Graham Nye remarked:
... And don't get me started on queues for
train ticket machines! (The one here in the foreground is for the
subsurface lines at St Pancras, in the background is the scrum/queue for
the windows): http://www.perry.co.uk/images/stp-western-queue.jpg

Looks familiar.

That was taken soon after it opened (a few years ago). Silly me, I
thought a new ticket hall, lots of new machines and windows, would
reduce the legendary queues experienced at the old Kings Cross tube
ticket hall. The photo expresses my disappointment.
--
Roland Perry

En el artículo , Roland Perry
escribió:

the windows): http://www.perry.co.uk/images/stp-western-queue.jpg

Reminds me of May queuing for his Indian Railways ticket in the
Christmas edition of Top Gear.

--
(\_/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

On 25/02/2012 16:28, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 15:51:36 on Sat, 25
Feb 2012, Graham Nye remarked:
... And don't get me started on queues for
train ticket machines! (The one here in the foreground is for the
subsurface lines at St Pancras, in the background is the scrum/queue for
the windows): http://www.perry.co.uk/images/stp-western-queue.jpg

Looks familiar.

That was taken soon after it opened (a few years ago). Silly me, I
thought a new ticket hall, lots of new machines and windows, would
reduce the legendary queues experienced at the old Kings Cross tube
ticket hall. The photo expresses my disappointment.

The best part is that few will actually know how to use/operate the
machines. Many of them will just sit there in a long pause, wondering
what buttones to first press. Some of them might even turn around ask
the people behind them if they have any idea what to do.

The worst part is that I don't consider myself to be tech-savvy, so the
big block letters on the screen do help.

I was always happy to see the introduction of TVMs, because it would
mean that I would get to bypass the queues as well as surly staff and
quickly get myself a ticket while the other sheep waited in a queue.

Alas, I fear that those days are quickly coming to pass.

On 25/02/2012 18:07, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
En el , Roland Perry
escribió:

the windows): http://www.perry.co.uk/images/stp-western-queue.jpg

Reminds me of May queuing for his Indian Railways ticket in the
Christmas edition of Top Gear.

... whilst probably making snyde and offensive remarks about the
Indians, even though he is a guest in ***their*** country.