People expect me to know about every form of transport, but the best part of my job is helping tourists understand the tube

Monday

I work as a customer service assistant on a major central London Underground station. We are the people who staff the gatelines, ticket halls, and platforms.

Half of my working day is taken up with pointless queries about how to get to Leeds, Brighton, Colchester, which platform do trains leave from, how long will it take, does the 10.17 stop off at Sutton and so on.

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I work on the underground but people expect me to know everything about every form of transport, as well as every street, building, toilet, shop and hotel. It’s akin to asking the person behind the till in a petrol station in Hampshire where to park in the Lake District.

Tuesday

I get a call to go and check on a woman who has been standing at the end of the platform for 20 minutes. I’d seen her on the cameras during my security check. I ask if everything is OK. She tells me she just lost her job and broke up with her long-term boyfriend, and feels like a failure. She seems pleased that someone has spoken to her and I stay with her until she gets on a train. We have training to deal with situations like this. When I get home, I wonder whether I saved her life – she was 28.

Someone has died on me, but not from suicide. It was in my first year in the job. It was a hot day and a man in his early 50s was sat on the stairs. I asked if he was OK and he said he was fine. A minute later I saw him roll down the stairs, and when I went over he didn’t respond. We did CPR and called an ambulance but he was pronounced dead by the paramedics. It made me consider my own mortality but I don’t dwell on these things. You just get on with it.

Wednesday

“Where’s this address?” a man demands as he thrusts a piece of paper with just the name of a road only on it into my face. I ask if it is close to this station and he says he doesn’t know. I ask him if it’s a landmark or something notable. He doesn’t know. I ask him what is there and why is he going there. He tells me it’s private. I remind him that we are a tube station dealing with the underground and not the internet. He stands to the side silent and dazed for a good five minutes before shuffling away.

Friday

Every hour someone either forces their way through the gates, or doubles through behind customers who have paid their fare for using the underground.

I explain to some of them that this is equivalent to shoplifting only to be met with blank stares. We are not allowed to manhandle anybody – only the police can do that – so it is very frustrating to watch.

One customer insists on taking three large suitcases down the stairs at the same time. The rules state you should not bring in more than you can carry or leave cases unattended. I try to tell him this but he ignores me before falling down the stairs. One case breaks open to reveal that it was packed full of Barbie dolls.

Saturday

The best part of the job is dealing with tourists who are new to London and the underground. I see their fear dissipate as I explain how simple the tube can be. Many are grateful as they don’t receive this level of customer service in their home country.

Today, one Chinese woman doesn’t understand why a train scheduled to terminate at Tower Hill keeps returning to Monument station. She just has to change platforms but she didn’t understand the instructions. Every 20 minutes, the train goes in the reverse direction and she ends up with me again. After a few times, she kneels in front of me praying and begging in Mandarin for me to put her on the right train, which I do.

If you would like to contribute to our My working week series about your job in public services, get in touch by emailing sarah.johnson@theguardian.com

• In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international suicide helplines can be found atwww.befrienders.org.

• This article was amended on 19 August 2019. Text was removed in accordance with the Guardian’s editorial guidelines on suicide.