Angry commuters bombard Southern Rail staff with abuse on social media

But customers have also expressed support for the people handling Southern Rail's Twitter account today
Stranded commuters: Frustrated passengers wait on overcrowded platforms at East Croydon station
Jeremy Selwyn
Fiona Simpson13 December 2016

Thousands of commuters left stranded by Southern Rail strikes have directed their anger at the anonymous staff members behind the company’s Twitter account.

Two employees, going by the initials M and T, seem to have been taking the brunt of complaints since the early hours, offering plenty of apologies, despite being called c**** and receiving dozens of messages of hatred.

Several customers Tweeted in support of the pair – who are likely to face yet more abuse during the evening rush hour.

Jennifer Prout wrote on Twitter: "Tough day in the office for whoever is manning the @SouthernRailUK Twitter feed today. So much hate flying around!"

Phil Leivesley added: "I feel sorry for the people in @SouthernRailUK's social media department today. Getting abuse for their management's failings."

Abusive messages sent to the Southern Rail Twitter included people wishing for them to lose their jobs, for their Christmases to be ruined and for them to be f***** up.

One annoyed Twitter user complained he had got his head stuck in a London Underground door after taking two hours to get to work - calling Southern "w******".

One Southern customer service worker - going by the initial R – responded: "Very sorry to hear this, I hope your head is okay," they replied.

Another demanded to know where they could post a claim for the reimbursement of petrol.

Southern Rail strike: December 2016

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T was quick to reply: “We don’t reimburse petrol, Kelly.”

However, the advice offered on social media, has not gone down well with some recipients.

One user, who was told that no replacement bus services would run between Brighton and Chicester, simply replied: “You’re f****** useless”.

Another, angrily dismissed an offer to help - 90 minutes after posing a question to the company’s account.

She wrote at 12.36pm: “Not now, I had to get to London Bridge for 7 this morning.”

Despite the chaos, there was time for a little bit of light-hearted chat as one user asked if there were any vacancies on the social media team.

There were, said T, who directed user @br0llz to the job website for a Southern external social media advisor.

However, T came under fire for saying "what a dream" when a Twitter user Neil Webster shared a photo of an empty Thameslink carriage.

Lucy Evans replied: "Think everyone is finding this a bit of a nightmare T. #thinkbeforeyoutweet"

A spokesman for Southern told the Press Association: "I'm afraid there's no one available today to speak to you on this as they're all (understandably) very busy keeping passengers informed and managing responses."

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