Length of announcements

In message <1j6mmlaxo0ro3$.u7d9gmkg4uw0.dlg@40tude.net>, at 10:43:05 on
Mon, 11 Jun 2007, Chris Tolley <cjt.7@supanet.com> remarked:
>> Because so many of the announcements are content-free, and people begin
>> to subconsciously ignore them. Being told that "this train is for
>> Portsmouth Harbour" at every stop from Chichester to East Croydon (sic)
>> soon leads to my brain trying to filter out the announcements as
>> annoying background noise, like mobile phone conversations.
>
>I don't understand. You've just alleged that announcements are content
>free, but presented an example of one which is content-rich.

They could announce the recipe for apple pie, but that wouldn't be
"content" that's relevant or timely for the rail traveller.

I was at an airport recently and in the hour I was sat at the gate (my
flight was delayed) there wasn't a single pause of more than about 15
seconds between announcements - most of which started with a feedback
howl, and all of which were at ear-splitting volume. How anyone works
out the very few which apply to them, I don't know [1].

The most puzzling were ones (accounting for perhaps 50%) that started
"Passenger name check only - would Mr Smith travelling to Barcelona
please go to Gate 7". What happens then, do they check that his name
really is Mr Smith and send him away again. Or is it code for something
else?

[1] In fact, I saw the problem in action. The flight at the nextdoor
gate was "called", "last called", "last remaining passengers" called,
and finally "too late we've gone" called - at which point a young couple
who had been sat there all along suddenly looked at one another, jumped
up and ran the twenty feet to the now deserted departure desk!
--
Roland Perry

In message <flrr93texwrx$.mfc85bknnfvi.dlg@40tude.net>, at 13:25:58 on
Mon, 11 Jun 2007, Chris Tolley <cjt.7@supanet.com> remarked:
>> the real issue here is the plethora of announcements that means people
>> tune all of them out.
>
>Some people might. But I think you only genuinely have a point if you
>can persuasively argue it from the POV of those who have to depend on
>the announcements because they have no other way of acquiring the
>information.

Much of the information is not required at the frequency and detail that
it is given.

>FWIW, I see no problem in the fact that people who are not dependent on
>the announcements can mentally filter them out.

A problem arises when the announcements are so loud you can't filter
them out. That is often true on Meridians, for example.

And it also means that genuinely rare and important ones are filtered
out too (when filtering is a possibility).
--
Roland Perry

Chris Tolley <cjt.7@supanet.com> writes:

> But the announcement in question was about where that particular train
> is going,

NO! It was an announcement of where the train had come from!
Announcements giving incorrect information are worse than useless.

On Mon, 11 Jun 2007 12:11:32 +0100, Roland Perry wrote:
>
> The most puzzling were ones (accounting for perhaps 50%) that started
> "Passenger name check only - would Mr Smith travelling to Barcelona
> please go to Gate 7". What happens then, do they check that his name
> really is Mr Smith and send him away again. Or is it code for something
> else?
Yup, that's pretty much it. I got "name checked" at ORD many years ago
(pre 11-sept). The security person at the desk looked at my passport,
thanked me and I went back to my seat - which some git had already
grabbed.

Pete
--
.................................................. .........................
.. never trust a man who, when left alone ...... Pete Lynch .
.. in a room with a tea cosy ...... Marlow, England .
.. doesn't try it on (Billy Connolly) .....................................

In message <slrnf6requ.j3f.pete@freyr.local>, at 21:12:21 on Mon, 11 Jun
2007, Peter Lynch <pete@freyr.local> remarked:
>> The most puzzling were ones (accounting for perhaps 50%) that started
>> "Passenger name check only - would Mr Smith travelling to Barcelona
>> please go to Gate 7". What happens then, do they check that his name
>> really is Mr Smith and send him away again. Or is it code for something
>> else?
>Yup, that's pretty much it. I got "name checked" at ORD many years ago
>(pre 11-sept). The security person at the desk looked at my passport,
>thanked me and I went back to my seat - which some git had already
>grabbed.

So is it because some sort of security pre-screening has highlighted
that the passenger concerned requires a more rigorous additional
passport/visa check? After all, they will have been "name checked" once
already when they checked in.
--
Roland Perry