Maria Stavez

Said the following about Blackpool Travel Safe Officers:

“Travel Safe Officers often go unnoticed but not at Blackpool. These officers always lead the way with their dedication, commitment and enthusiasm and go more than the extra mile of their role whether it is making sure our conductors and customers are safe on our trains with their proactive teamwork flare combined with their situational awareness and their multitasking work ethic. These officers who always say 'we are just doing the job we love' have gained the utmost respect from all colleagues at Blackpool North station. They work together supporting our conductors enabling them to concentrate and carry out their frontline duties in an environment which is safe, customer friendly, and with confidence. Apart from assisting on our trains and out stations our Travel Safe Officers are a welcomed part of the station team. These Travel Safe officers contribute, assist with all aspects of safeguarding issues, assist with crowd control, deal with rowdy revellers and go out of their way to assist customers with any concerns during times of disruption at Blackpool North Station. Each Travel Safe Officer is an invaluable member to our station team at Blackpool.

The station team at Blackpool North have a special bond with these Travel Safe Officers as they work tirelessly together with our station team to try and achieve all our goals together. These Travel Safe Officers are at the heart of Blackpool North station giving fantastic customer service to all our customers. The station staff often forget they are Travel Safe Officers due to the special relationships that have been built together. What is unique about the Blackpool Travel Safe Officers is how engaging and approachable this team are with customers and with all Northern colleagues. They are always looking at ways of improving customer service and support all colleagues throughout the Network. They carry out their role with a can do positive friendly approach even when faced with the most serious of challenges, which often involve putting themselves at risk. These Travel Safe Officers have certainly embedded the railway culture and our railway values. It is hard to believe but as soon as this team arrives at Blackpool North station, they have that ability to engage with our customers and station team showing us how their teamwork shines through it is an awesome sight!

I would like to say these Blackpool Travel Safe Officers have dealt with many demanding situations at the station, but this event on a late August night at Blackpool station really shows the special core strength of this team. The Travel Safe Officers were at Blackpool North Station and had finished their shift for the night. However, a moment before they were about to leave their gut experience kicked in using their vigilant nature and awareness brought their attention to a customer who had entered the station. All Travel Safe Officers immediately said, 'we are not finishing our shift yet.' The team immediately identified the customer as vulnerable. The team approached the lady with a warm friendly approach. The customer began to be more open and explained to the officers that she had a brain injury a few years ago and was not as confident as she used to be when travelling alone. The lady then went on to say due to the late time of travel was now unsure of her journey details. The lady was visibly upset and unsure whether she could get back to her destination to Leeds.. The Travel Safe Officers at Blackpool sat with the lady and explained that there were sadly no trains to get her to Leeds now.

The Travel Safe Officers as a team used all their skills and were very patient and attentive to the customer and asked the lady if she was travelling by herself. The lady at this point began to panic and started to worry about the situation. These officers quickly made the customer feel safe and made the lady feel at ease with their kind words of reassurance. They explained there was nothing to worry about and they would ensure nobody would be stranded. The team explained with their friendly approach that their main priority is to ensure that all our customers get home safely, and in the meantime, they would remain with the lady to offer their support. The lady was emotional at this point the Travel Safe Officers calmly explained how the welfare of all our customers is paramount.

All communication was slowly repeated to the customer enabling the lady to easily understand. All the Travel Safe Officers assisted and asked if the lady required anything and they promptly arranged for refreshments, which made the lady feel more comfortable. The lady explained she was feeling more settled due to the Travel Safe Officers kind nature, positive words of encouragement and the way they handled her situation. The Travel Safe Officers then collaborated as a team and then planned for one part of the team to remain with the customer then the other part of the team was constantly working to contact a family member or friend. Due to their persistent efforts the team were successful and managed to get hold of a friend and explain the situation. The Travel Safe Officers patiently volunteered to wait until the friend arrived at the station. By this point the customer was enjoying the banter with the officers who provided good humour and proved the customer needs came first. They waited and ensured the friend arrived to collect the lady.

The customer service shown by these Blackpool Travel Safe Officers was first class nothing was too much bother. The customer commented how these Travel Safe Officers ‘were able to make me feel the number 1 priority with their fantastic teamwork ’. I would like to say these officers deal with so many frontline situations putting their safety at risk every day but the way they handled this sensitive situation was effective – yes it was not the most challenging of situations they have dealt with but the way they worked and adapted together was exceptional. These Travel Safe Officers demonstrated sincerity and determination and it was a joy to see. The customer echoed these words tearfully, which resonate with all of us ‘I am so grateful to these Travel Safe Officers going above and beyond to help me, someone they didn’t even know’. This team really stood out for me on this occasion - awesome work!“