Twice...

So far this morning I have attempted to get my season ticket for this week.

Once at the ticket office at Braintree where the clerk decided there wasn't enough time to issue me with a ticket before the train departed, (there was, it left 5 minutes late) and directed me to get my ticket from the conductor on the train instead.

The conductor was refusing to issue tickets because he was 'locking the doors out'.

Couple this with an automatic ticket machine being on the blink and we had yet another perfect storm of lazy incompetence typical of Greater Anglia lately.

Quite why the conductor considered it more important to lock the doors out is a mystery unlikely ever to be solved, given this is an 8 coach train and normally only the doors on parts of 12 coach trains are routinely locked out because some of the platforms between Braintree and Witham can't accommodate 12 coaches.

The last we saw of the conductor was as he disappeared into the drivers cab in the company of the driver.

So as it stands, 2 Greater Anglia employees have refused an offer to pay for my ticket.

It'll be interesting if any ticket inspector should decide I'm traveling without buying a ticket given the effort I've already gone to today.

UPDATE

I was finally  able to obtain my ticket at Stratford.

Thank you to the BTP constable manning the barrier for understanding my garbled account and for directing me to the right window.