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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 3, Issue 12 (April 1, 1929)

[section]

With so many means available for the transport of passengers and commodities, the Railways everywhere are setting new standards in courtesy towards their patrons.

But courtesy should not be dependent for its finest flowering upon the vagaries of competition. It is the best habit to have for making life easy. “Manners,” said Emerson, “aid our dealing and conversation, as a railway aids travelling, by getting rid of all avoidable obstructions of the road, and leaving nothing to be conquered but pure space.”

Do we live up to Emerson's fine conception? Is there nothing to conquer in travelling by rail but pure space? Whatever may be the mechanical imperfections that sometimes bring a touch of irksomeness to any journey, there is no doubt that courtesy exhibited by the train and station staffs will help to smooth the road and ease the mind of every traveller. From the general public have come many indications that the attitude of our New Zealand railwaymen towards them is frankly helpful, and is enriched by that costless courtesy which is the index of well-balanced and properly educated minds.

But occasionally we hear of mistakes by members that do harm to the service as a whole. Any enquiry by one of the public, even if it appears to be superfluous or unrelated to the enquirer's ostensible business, deserves to be answered with patience and understanding. This not only produces a pleased client but assists the individual railwayman to a greater enjoyment of his job and a higher capacity for it.

To be witty at the expense of a client is about the most foolish mistake any employee can make. What we sometimes regard as the “colossal ignorance” of the public in regard to things that are common knowledge to railwaymen often affords opportunity for a smart shot that will bring a laugh from the bystanders and make the enquirer uncomfortable. Such wit, being divorced from courtesy, always does harm and sometimes brings sudden reprisals seriously detrimental to the Department's business.

Our own lack of knowledge regarding the details of other businesses, sciences, and arts, should be a warning against discourtesies of this type, but apart from the possibility of an interchange of snubs that the same attitude adopted by all classes would produce, the main consideration should be for one's own character, which suffers from every self-engendered discourtesy. The Prince of Wales travelling page 8 incognito should be assured of the same courteous treatment that he receives when his identity as heir to the throne is known. There have been occasions when members of our own staff have had cause to regret impoliteness to people in a position to bring them to book. Instances of discourtesy on the railways of this country are, of course, rare, but they serve to bring such discredit on the service that, in the interests of the business as a whole, a process of elimination should be followed that will lead to their absolute cessation.

Everyone has not the ready tongue that can soothe the ruffled customer; all are not gifted with a disarming smile or a personal magnetism that draws the bitterness out of justifiable complaint; but all have it in their power to listen carefully, reply considerately, and act generously in those little courtesies of business life that, taking their rise in a fellow feeling for the rest of humanity, find their highest—because most practical—expression in the methods adopted in dealing with the vital daily personal contacts and problems of modern transport.

All Safe And Well. Great relief was occasioned throughout the Empire by the news that the aeroplane Canberra had located the Southern Cross and its intrepid crew, safe and sound, after being lost for eleven days in north-western Australia.

All Safe And Well.
Great relief was occasioned throughout the Empire by the news that the aeroplane Canberra had located the Southern Cross and its intrepid crew, safe and sound, after being lost for eleven days in north-western Australia.