South Central's reply to Dave Thompson contradicts itself.

Firstly, the spokesman states the company takes good customer service very seriously and then goes on to say the ticket machine that gives authority to travel tickets is switched off when the booking office is open.

The spokesman admitted that because of the staff shortage at the booking office, queues had been testing the patience of customers.

It would make good customer service sense to keep the machine turned on and possibly relieve the stress of the customers queuing up.

-Tony Gunn, Hillrise Avenue, Sompting