Sweeping it under the carpet

Oldfield Park station has been without a ticket machine for 2 months and is staffed only irregularly. So, arriving this morning I was pleased to see a member of FGW staff on the station. Maybe today I could buy a ticket before I boarded the train and would not have to join the long queue at the barrier at BTM.

The ticket office was shut, so customers asked the man, who was swepping up rubbish, whether he was selling tickets. To which he replied Yes, but he had to finish sweeping up the rubbish. This drew an amused and frustrated reaction from those wanting tickets, since with several dozen people of the platform it seemed that selling tickets ought to take priority. But no, he continued sweeping and then eventually...VERY slowly, opened the ticket office and prepared to sell tickets. By which time my train had arrived and it was too late. Excellant customer service FGW!