Possibly I suppose.
Although someone with an ASD is more likely to have preoccupied themselves with the details of the journey than to just turn up 3 hours before and wing it.

From Peoria, Illinois?

Stupid Customer for shits and giggles decides to check online later, and is astounded to find that, according to the national rail website, that awfully helpful person was actually wrong and they could have got there after all...Well, fuck me..., he thought, can you believe they all lied when they said how helpful people would be...

Except that the journey planner rather optimistically suggests that arriving at Euston at 13.43 for a 13.43 departure is remotely possible...

Jah Womble wrote:
Heh, I doubt Canning to Bank to Euston takes 45 minutes so I'll take the 13.43 arrival as the guide. I hope the stupid customer isn't quite so stupid not to see that the train for Coventry departs at 13.43 but you know, he's stupid so what hope has he got?

ETA I meant to add the small point that this also meant £45* quid into the ether, only a small sum but it all adds up.

*Assuming there was only one ticket of course, not a party of ten or something.

No, that is the full-size guide. That really is all there is

diabloinglés wrote:


Possible, but not all people on the spectrum display that type of behaviour.

But anyhow let’s not hijack the thread.

I await more stories about visitors to our country who are unsure about an unfamiliar mode of transport and people who may genuinely need help.

You haven't added on time to get from the station to the stadium. You're also assuming people know their way around stations and understand what to do once in Coventry.

The bloke didn't seem to concerned about it. He just shrugged his shoulders and walked off.

At Stratford station this afternoon - very busy, dealing with loads of people, sending them left right and centre to various platforms. Along comes a woman with a Union Jack on her t-shirt and a flag as well. She comes up to me:

Union-jack woman: Can you help me?
Me: Of course I can. Where would you like to go?
Union-jack woman: Where can I can I buy a new hoover?
Me: <Stand there bewildered and puzzled>

<regain composure>

Me: You can try Westfield or there is an Argos in Stratford High Street
Union-jack woman: Oh great thanks

<Union-jack woman walks away to friends saying "we can get one in Argos">

Me: <Stand there and loook around for hidden TV camera or the ghost of Jeremy Beadle>

Still puzzled over that one - even now.

What's Argos?

This.

I did that and didnt come up with an edifying answer 'cos their site is down.

Loads of Hoover sales blew up the website.

'Sucked up', surely?

The only things I am assuming is that most people, even stupid ones, have grasped the concept of a taxi and that asking the people who work in service industries is the best way to get help.

And just for your future reference, Coventry railway station to the stadium by taxi is approx 12 - 16 minutes.

From the Coventry City Council's London 2012 FAQ :

It means "shimmering and quick" and derives from the word for silver. It's an extremely clever name for the outlet, relating to the fleeting pleasure one feels between purchasing a product at point of sale from a warehouse at a discount price, and getting home and opening the box to compare one's purchase to the picture in the brochure.

[Edit: in response to Fussbudget's quotes]

I'm parking "off-site" to attend an event at Coventry tomorrow. I have booked the car park to arrive between 3.30pm and 4pm for a 5pm start. It's a fifteen-minute walk between car park and stadium. While I'm noting people's advice about not taking a bag, allowing any more time than that seems deranged.

Oh don't get me wrong, I'm sure two and a half hours is a massive exaggeration. But Paul S's customer was still unlikely to make it on time to a 3pm kickoff with his hypothetical train arriving at 2.42pm at Coventry station (and, as Jah Womble pointed out, with the caveat that he might not have managed to catch the train at Euston in the first place). I'm a bit staggered that MarkF is still arguing otherwise to be honest.

Went fine for me today, but one of my colleagues made a blunder.

Customer: I want to go to Victoria Park to watch the Olympics on the big screens.
Colleague: Ah yes - Victoria. Take the train from here and change at <wherever>

Colleague sends customer to London Victoria station. Victoria Park is in Bow.

Oh dear.

I also saw the brilliance of guide dogs. A Visually Impaired (VI) chap walks onto the station and after looking around proceeds to the down escalator. He is trying to go up. Dog (a German shepherd) sits in front of VI chap just before he goes the wrong way on the escalator - which is what they are trained to do. Lots of shouting from police and station staff who witnessed the incident, but it was the dog who acted first. Well done dog.