The RailStaff Awards 2024

Jonathan Louis

Govia Thameslink Railway

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Cindy Morse - HAS LEFT

Said the following about Jonathan Louis:

“Jonathan is an OBS at East Croydon and joined the organisation in January 2017; Jonathan has embraced the change establishing himself in the organisation and is already considered a role model for the OBS role and customer service in particular. His positive attitude to work and charismatic personality has led him to become the most complimented member of staff in the organisation, gathering an average of three positive tweets a day and multiple formal written compliments every week.

A testament from his OBS Line Managers Phil Tobin and David Mitchell:

“Jonathan is a shining example of what an On Board Supervisor can achieve. On a daily basis we get tweets and positive feedback from passengers and staff that have been on Jonathan's train or had the pleasure to interact with him. His commitment to our customers exceeds all expectations for the OBS role. The sheer volume of positive communications we receive for him is astounding. For Jonathan Louis to get a minimum of 15 a week is a true testament to the customer service he provides. Jonathan leaves every passenger smiling and knowing they are being looked after by someone who genuinely loves his job. To quote one email we received; ‘Today I took the 20:53 train from Gatwick airport to London Victoria. Jonathan, who inspected our tickets and made announcements, made our journey! He was absolutely brilliant and made everyone on board smile. It made and created a really pleasant atmosphere. I think we can all learn from his positive attitude - I will be taking this to work with me tomorrow! Just wanted to share this with the team at Southern Rail.’

Not only does he carry himself in this way, but actively wants to improve himself, colleagues and the OBS role itself. He volunteered to be the engagement champion for the depot. He is very eager to make the OBS role succeed and will actively help out his colleagues to achieve his level of success. In times of disruption Jonathan is the first person to be out on the platforms to assist and help our passengers and fellow staff, which only further demonstrates his commitment to business.

To conclude, not only is Jonathan a shining star within the depot, his work ethic is an example to all across the network. To say Jonathan sets or exceeds the standard of what an OBS can achieve is a gross understatement. Jonathan Louis drives the standard to another stratosphere. As his Line Managers he is absolutely invaluable to us, the brand and his peers. We could not be more proud of him.”

Jonathan’s work ethic is extraordinary, he says that every day when he comes to work he’s thinking about how he can deliver the best service he possibly can. He also considers how to create a great on board atmosphere and customer service experience on all of his trains. Regardless of location or time of day, he aims to deliver great customer service on a personal level, with some examples of this described below. Jonathan is a great ambassador for the OBS role, something that has helped improve the public view of this new role. In addition to his OBS duties, Jonathan is also a mentor for new OBS staff, something that we as an organisation are incredibly lucky for as he is given an opportunity to inspire and help develop our newest members.

Jonathan has proven to be a true role model for the role and really improves our customer’s journeys. He strives to leave his customers happy and his personality shines through his public announcements (PA) leaving customers entertained and well informed.

Jonathan’s impact on his customers are reflected in these comments from passengers, making their journeys better, going above and beyond his duties, and lightening their days. His positive individual PA style has not gone unnoticed by our customers with many complements mentioning this.

When talking about Jonathan, a recurrent theme is the fact that he makes our customers smile and feel happy. One particular example of Jonathan’s outstanding personal contribution is when he helped a customer that was in distress from anxiety. The customer in question wrote in to say that travel makes her dizzy, nauseous and anxious, and her condition had left her unable to travel by herself in over a year. On the day in question she started suffering from her condition and was going to leave the train and go home as her symptoms were so bad. However, Jonathan was able to help her feel better by making witty and humorous announcements which helped her stay calm and eased a lot of her symptoms, and she was able to continue to London and spent the day with her friends as planned. The customer felt very grateful for Jonathan’s help and said that without his help she would have had a panic attack which would have left her in agony for the next few days.

To conclude, Jonathan has been a great addition to the company and has set a new standard for customer service, not only in our company but in the industry as a whole. His colleagues see his level of praise and the way that he works trains as something to aspire to and to try and beat, which is one factor in the overall increase in the level of praise that we get for on board staff.“