British Rail no longer announces "service disruption". They would only announce "route improvements". By doing so, they see no need for apology for any inconvenience. Neither do they need to provide travellers with any revised timetables. Distortion in messages have become the norm. Distortion is a form of dishonesty, which is unacceptable.
When I arrived Liverpool Station in London today, I was surprised to find no trains to Chelmsford, Colchester, Clacton, Harwich, Ipswich, Norwich, and any places along those lines. Travellers, myself included, had to queue at the information counter to find out how to go to those destinations. Only when I reached the counter did I spot a leaflet entitled "Route Improvements". The leaflet stated that travellers to these destination had to travel to various stations for bus connections.
British Rail could have announced the service disruption on the large electronic board, or put up notices at all entrances to the station.
The announce should have never been "Route Improvements". It should have been "Service Disruption", which more more accurately described the situation.
This kind of distortion in announcement is not acceptable. Distortion in messages have become the norm. Distortion is a form of dishonesty.
Nowhere did I find any apologies by British Rail for the inconvenience and delay. Of course, why should they apologise for "route improvements"? By distorting the message, the management convinced themselves that they didn't need to apologise.
Travellers need to plan their journeys. Nowhere were they given any revised timetable. Of course, if this was nothing more than a "route improvement", there was no need to provide new timetables, was there? Message distortion had not only eliminated British Rail's sense of guilt, it had also waived their responsibility to provide proper services!
A responsible announcement should not only state "service disruption" clearly, it should have come with an apology. It should also have given an estimation of the delays to the various locations.
Honesty used to be the best policy in this society. Where has this policy gone!?
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Related article:
George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language," 1946
George Orwell concluded that political language "is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind".
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