not *my* worst experience, but I think I had a hand in it...
Seat reservations on trains - the dumbest idea since, well, privatisation.

Picture the scene, the minus-one-carriage commuter special between London Paddington and the South West. And it's rammed. Every seat taken, corridors full, vestibules full. We're only a few people short of thinking about using the roof.

At the front of our carriage, I sense a disturbance in the scrum. It's a middle-aged woman, fighting her way through the crowd. "scuse-me, sorry, scuse-me, sorry".

She slowly moves down the corridor, and gets to my seat.

"That's my seat" she says.

"How so?"

"I've a seat reservation"

(thinks - seat reservation, great, so you paid less for your ticket than me, and you got a seat reservation for free with it. Riiight. That's convinced me to stand for the rest of the journey.)

So I say. "No, sorry, the train is rammed, there's no seats anywhere. I made a point of getting to the station early so I could sit down."

"mutter-mutter-grumble-grumble-dreadful"

And she pushes on through the train.

"Ah, good." thinks I, problem solved.

I settle back and try to do some work.

Halfway to Reading, she's back. With the guard. Bewildered head shaking from around the carriage.

Poor guard is obviously embarrassed. But he's only trying to do his job so I close down my laptop and start to stand up.

"Can I just check your ticket?" he says to the by-now triumphantly beaming woman.

He frowns.

"Ah. This isn't your seat. This reservation refers to the next train. In fact this ticket isn't valid on a peak time train. So you need to pay £65 or get off at the next station, and let this gentleman sit back down."

Her face falls as she shells out the extra for a valid ticked. I retake my cherished seat. And then I suddenly have an evil thought.

"would you mind my seat while I go and get a coffee?"

(apologies for length, but it was missing a carriage...)
(nordelius, Fri 30 May 2008, 10:51, 3 replies)

why are seat reservations so bad?
I like knowing that I'm going to get a seat when I book a five hour train journey.
(Bazongaloid, Fri 30 May 2008, 11:06, closed)

hmmmm
but do you sit in seats that are clearly reserved with one of they little tickets?
(tweebianmonkey Should be known as Widget, Fri 30 May 2008, 11:12, closed)

hahaha pwnd!
Clicky.
(Axeman Jim, Fri 30 May 2008, 11:16, closed)