Quick ticket? Oh no it isn't!

It's the third time I've used this facility recently. Each time, I've pre-bought my ticket online, arrived punctually at East Croydon station, then had to choose a queue from the eight tentacles of twitchy commuters encircling the machines in the centre of the concourse and hesitantly navigating their way around the touch screen maze. It's a badly designed layout and non-intuitive interface. Just what you don't need when people are in a hurry to catch their train!