"I have been at SWR for nearly a year and a half. I started my railway career as a leadership apprentice where I got to do placements all around the company and learn about different roles and functions and what they do. I really enjoyed this because of the people I met and what I learnt.

An interesting fact about my role is it’s so much more than just making sure rules are implemented, it’s a job role that hugely concentrates on welfare. The thing I like most about my job is speaking to Guards. I really believe that regular little chats go a long way.

A typical day for me includes learning all of Guildford’s routes, so I’m doing a lot of that, answering emails and lots of shadowing to learn about the Guards Manager’s role. 

I bring people together to get the most out of life by being there for my colleagues, even if that just means a chat and a cup of tea. I think one of the most important things we can all do to help each other out is listen so that people feel heard, and I believe this is a big part of a manager’s role.

The behaviour that resonates most with me is “We look out for each other and put ourselves in each other’s shoes.”

My best memory is when I did a placement at Wimbledon depot as an apprentice, I got to help the “heavy lift gang” take some wheels on and off a train, it was so interesting. That and meeting everyone that I have been able to meet. Everybody has been so lovely and supportive. I understand what people mean when they say the term “railway family” now.

When I’m not at work, I like going out with my friends and family, especially to different cities."

"My job at SWR is Customer Care Team Member at Waterloo Station and I have been doing this for seven and a half years. I have been at SWR for 10 years. I first started as a Gateline Assistant for two and a half years, before being promoted to a Customer Care Team Member. I have also been lucky enough to have covered other roles in the station including, Meet and Greet Assistant, Station Coordinator and Gateline Controller.

The thing I like most about my job is meeting people from all walks of life and being able to go above and beyond for our customers. A typical day for me is welcoming and greeting customers in the station and supporting them with any journey enquiries they may have. We have quite a lot of tourists who travel through Waterloo as our trains travel to destinations such as popular beaches, Windsor Castle and Hampton Court Palace. So, I often plan journeys for tourists and give recommendations on where they can visit. During the evening, we get the daily rush hour of commuters, so I am always on hand to provide any updates on their trains and ensure they have a smooth journey home.

I bring people together to get the most out of life by ensuring that all customers have the accessibility and confidence that they need to have the best travel experience with SWR. Sometimes, passengers can be quite anxious to travel due to numerous reasons, but I believe that my personality and my humour helps to put them at ease.

The behaviour that resonates most with me is, ‘We look out for each other, and put ourselves in each other’s shoes’. As I have been able to experience multiple roles in the station, I am able to see the challenges that each of my colleagues face daily. This makes me appreciate my colleagues a lot more and encourages me to support everyone in the station as well as my immediate team. Everyone’s role is crucial, and I value everyone’s role in SWR.

My best memory is my team being nominated for and winning the ‘Commitment to our Customers’ award at the Excellence Awards in 2018. It was a very proud moment and it felt very rewarding to be recognised by the company for all of our hard work and dedication to provide great customer service."

"I’ve been in my role since January 2023, but I’ve been at SWR for four years this month. I started in the Customer Contact Centre as Training & Engagement Manager, moving into the Contact Centre Manager role. During my time there, I developed a training programme for the contact centre which was awarded the TrainingMark by the Institute of Customer Service in 2020. We were the first TOC contact centre to achieve it! I also developed a Colleague Engagement programme in the CSC and VCC which involved fundraising events and increasing morale.  I once spent a lunchtime making cheese toasties for everyone in the Contact Centre and on Pancake Day over 40 pancakes. I have always said the Contact Centres run on cake! In October 2022, I moved into Control, before moving into my current role this year.

Something interesting about my role others may not know is that I introduced the Passenger Assistance App to Guards and station colleagues in March 2023, helping us to improve our Passenger Assistance service to our customers. I have also introduced mobility scooter vinyls at stations, with more going out in the next couple of months.

The thing I like most about my job is meeting new people and visiting colleagues on the network.  I have learnt more about stations and how they work in the last couple of months. I do worry that people run away from me now as they think I am going to talk about the Passenger Assistance App.  I was called the Passenger Assistance App lady the other day!

A typical day for me is to check the Passenger Assistance figures for the day before. I collate these so that we can see how busy and successful our Passenger Assistance service is. I like to go out and visit stations, so usually I try and do this a couple of times a week. I also ‘pop’ in to visit my old haunts in the contact centres. I also spend time coming up with new initiatives for accessibility, so if anyone has any new ideas, I’m all ears!

The behaviour that resonates most with me is “We learn from experience, so we do better next time”. Having worked in the training field for many years, I believe that every day is a learning day.  We learn from people, experiences, good and bad, and situations all the time, usually without realising. My favourite saying is ‘You don’t know what you don’t know’."