I would second that. Both times I have dealt with them to get my ticket replaced I have found the staff in the office to be exceptionally courteous and helpful.
But it still doens't excuse the bloody shambles regarding these ticket barrier machines. They are a hostile piece of equipment - they slam shut in front of you and then you have to do some bizarre standing back raindance to get the buggers to open. And they fail to achieve their purpose on two counts.
Firstly, it is elementary to tailgate through them so they don't even keep the scumbags off the system. And secondly, they are fairly useless for catching fare dodgers anyway. For example, I haven't seen a ticket checker on the 1805 to Longford in over a year so I know that I can get to Longford on a Drumcondra fare. You risk a hundred euro fine but that is the cost of four one-way tickets.
All these stupid machines do is cause hassle for honest fare-paying customers and they are basically indefensible. I remember when they first came in at Grand Canal Dock. As there are only three machines (possibly 4 - it's been a while), if you were at the wrong door on the train it could take you 10 minutes to get out of the station and they were causing dangerous levels of overcrowding on the the exit. It is only the recession that really took care of this problem.
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