Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1921-04-07
HOW A TICKET AGENTa"rHANk
YOI" WON THE DAY FOR 7.
& NJ, V, EMPLOYEES
Efficiency and Courtesy viii Win.

conversation was gay and spirited.
1t drifted from one topic to another
until, finally, the question Of whether
Yazoo g. Mississippi Valley Railroad
employees practice courtesy In their
dealings with the public was brought
up. The entire party agreed that the
Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad
trains were always on time and that
the service was excellent and could
scarcely be improved upon, but one OF
the party took the position that the
employ ees were not courteous to the
public, and that all the talk to the con
trary was fiction pure and sliple. and
be in for drubbing, when the hosplt-
able and charming hostess, Mrs. Don
erty, came to their rescue with a con-
crete case to back up her convincing
argument in behalf of the employees.
"Why," said Mrs. Doherty, "only a
few days ago | was in New Orleans
and went to the ticket Office of the
Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad
to buy ticket to Baton Rouge. The
ticket agent was most courteous, and
when | paid him for the ticket he said
Thank YOU as though ne meant it.
That was courtesy. 1t impressed me"
! Here is a valuable lesson, not only
for ticket agents, but for all the en-
ployees of the Illinois Central System.
The railway and its employees are
servants of the public. Efficient ser
vice on the part of the employees, &C
companied by courtesy, will win in
creased patronage for their employer,
the railway company, and esteem and
support for them.
Mrs. Doherty is right. A large
per cent of the employees of the
Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad
are courteous. The same may be said
truthfully of the employees of the
entire Illinois Central System. Why
shouldn't they be? Courtesy is pre-
ached and practiced by the officials
from President Markham down. They
consider courtesy an outstanding
word-the practice of it by employees
as of paramount importance to sue
cessful operation of the railway.
Out of the Illinois Central Systems
organization, composed of approx
mately sixty thousand employees,
there may be a few scattering ones
who do not practice courtesy to the
public, but they constitute the eXcep-
tions and not the rule. Such employ
ees reflect discredit upon themselves,
their supervising officers and the rail
way generally. 1t is the duty of sup
lervising officers of the railway to loo
ate those who compose that class OF
employees, appeal to them, work with
them, and endeavor in every proper
way to. induce them to mend their
ways and become courteous to the
public, and thus of mora value to the
railway and to themselves. Employ
ees who combine the qualities of cour-
tesy and ability will be the railways
officers of the future.
How easy it is to do little acts of
kindness for others! 1t is the little
things that favorably impress those
with whom we are thrown in contact
and that sweeten our own lives. The
ticket agent, when appealed to by a
patron to change bill, can do it in
manner that will make friend out of
that patron for himself and the rail
way, or he can do it in a manner that
will be offensive and will cause the
patron to feel hesitancy in asking
another little favor. Il requires no
more affort to be pleasant and it is by
far more satisfying. 1t is like cast
ing bread upon the water-it will be
returned in many ways. The gate
man can greet passengers with a
smile and a pleasant word and make
them feel pleased that they are using
the Illinois Central System instead OF
some other route. The passenger
conductor is in a fortunate position
because he has more opportunities to
favorably impress patrons than any
other employee. If he makes his pas
sengers feel that it is pleasure to
him to answer questions and give lit
tie bits of information about schedu-
les, connections and the thousand and
one other things that passengers want
to know, his services are invaluable
to the railway. Other employees
might be mentioned, but these will
suffice. Frequently patrons, for one
reason and another, become irritated
over seemingly trivial matters. In
dealing with this class it is important
that every employee remember that
ga soft answer turneth away wrath.
The Baton Rouge gathering of
friends might have been failure for
the employees of the Yazoo & Missis-
sippi Valley Railroad Company, and
the management, too, had it not been
for the "Thank you" Of the New Orl-
cans ticket agent. With that "Thank
you" the ticket agent won Mrs. Doher-
ty, and with the same "Thank you"
she won the gathering to her position
that the employees of the Yazoo &
Mississippi VALLEY Railroad are cour-
teous to the public.
A "Thank you" uttered with the
right infection of voice by railway
employee travels swift, far and wide.
1t goes without saying that if every
employee of the Illinois Central Sys-
tenn would say "Thank you" to a, pat
ron every time he or she has the OPP
portunity, it would add increased str
ength and popularity to the railway.
1t is true that most of the employ
ees of the Illinois Central System are
courteous to the public, but it may
also be true that they could be more
courteous. Employees affect different
standards of courtesy. There are