@hello mentioned a 7hr round trip by train to the Etihad, so he's probably Bolton way.
haha train would have been London to Hampshire & back, which fortunately is no longer needed. TBF the individual I spoke today was great and I actually have a solution that's not too much of a hassle, but 3 10-15 minute calls to the ticket office post purchased just seems like they are making extra work for themselves and pissing customers off unnecessarily.
Thanks for all the suggestions I'll bare in mind alternative print solutions should the inevitable city ticket office cock up happen again.