I think the title of this blog says it all.
Most of us have been there. We’re at a train station and we need to buy a train ticket. I usually allow an extra 15 minutes or so, to give me time to get a ticket because of the general stupidity of the people of this world. However, the extra time allowed doesn’t make me anymore patient. I still tap my foot and huff and puff and sigh and lament.
It’s always the same. All the machines are in use and I am always the first person in the queue. I know, I know, this isn’t bad, this shouldn’t be a long wait and I am naive enough to always think this myself. However, the same thing always happens.
Everyone at the machine stands and looks at their respective machine. The set up is generally one young woman at the end machine, a couple or two friends at the middle machine and a scruffy looking man at the third.
The young woman is generally smart enough to select a ticket to her destination. She puts in her £10 note. The £10 note is spit out again. She swears and tries again. The same thing happens. She tries for a third time. The third time certainly is not the charm. I would be sympathetic, but this would be the point where I would give up and either pay by card or see the nice ticket man. She, however, tries many more times. Love, it doesn’t work. Give up.
Onto the middle machine. Two people together standing at the machine and giggling, whilst staring at it in an inane manner. They press random buttons. They giggle. They press more buttons. They ask each other how it works. I glare disdainfully in their general direction.
The last machine. Similar set up, but scruffy man on his own. He stares at it, inanely. Painstakingly slowly, he manages to search for his destination. He reaches for his wallet to pay. He feeds in his 10p coins, one by one.
FINALLY, a machine is free.
And this is the stage where typically, you’ll get queue jumped.
If you haven’t missed your train, you have now.
Please, please, please could we round up all the stupid people of the world and make them dig a deep hole?
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