# Bad Experience on Amtrak



## NColling (Jul 29, 2012)

My husband and I took the Amtrak train to Chicago on July 17th, returning 12:30pm Friday, July 20th. Going to Chicago took us 5 hours, which was fine. The return trip was over 10 hours, which was just horrible. The train was to arrive in Royal Oak at 7:05 pm, but it did not arrive until 10:45pm.It was stopped three times, in which we had to wait over 45 minutes each time.

The conductors kept saying this was very unusual, but after we returned we heard stories from friends that their train was held up 12 hours, 8 hours, etc. Amtrak customer service is horrible and we will never ride Amtrak again. We will tell our 1000 friends on Facebook not to ride Amtrak, and I am sure they will tell their friends. If Amtrak can’t do something about these delays you should do your customers a big favor and go out of business. You government should hire different staff who actually care about people. To be cooped up on a train for ten hours is inhumane to us and all the passengers who rode with us. We were all very upset.

We would like to ask for a refund of our $70 return trip. We were told Amtrak never gives refunds.We don’t want a voucher because we will never ride our train again. If you don’t refund our money, your company should be ashamed of themselves. You should try being stuck on a train and see how it makes you feel.


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## AlanB (Jul 29, 2012)

NColling,

First, please let me point out that this site is not owned & operated by Amtrak, as noted in the disclaimer at the bottom of the page. At best, all we can do is provide advice and explanation. But we have no power to change anything or to help you obtain a refund.

Next, I am sorry that your trip didn't go quite as planned.

However, please understand that most of your trip occurs on tracks owned by the freight RR's. They control the signals; not Amtrak. There is little that Amtrak can do when the engineer is staring at a red light controlled by a freight company. That said, the state of Michigan did just sign a deal to buy most of the track that the train uses through Michigan. One ownership is transferred and some improvements are made, that will help considerably to cut down on this type of delay.

That said, Amtrak would love to do something about the delays. But until & unless the Federal government decides to either take over the tracks from freight companies or at least allow the Federal Railroad Administration to place heavy fines on the RR's that don't follow the terms of the contract, there is little that Amtrak can do.

As for being "cooped up on a train for 10 hours being inhumane" there are people who ride Amtrak from Chicago to the west coast and spend 2 days on the train. I'm quite sure that they don't find it "inhumane" or they wouldn't be doing it.

Moving on, I agree with what you've already learned/been told, that it is highly unlikely that Amtrak will provide you with a refund of your money. After all, they still did get you from Chicago back to Royal Oaks, even if you were hours late. The best is likely going to be credit towards a future trip. You can still try, you'll have to call the 800 number and then ask for customer service, as that is the only department that can do anything for you.

Finally, I note that you've just registered for our forum, so hopefully you'll come back and keep us updated on things and maybe provide a few more details on just what happened.


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## amamba (Jul 29, 2012)

NColling said:


> You should try being stuck on a train and see how it makes you feel.


NColling - I am sorry you did not have a good trip on Amtrak. However, many of us have been on long delays - we know it is not fun for the passenger as we have all been there, done that.

I encourage you to call amtrak directly at 1800-USA-RAIL and ask for customer relations. They can give you a voucher for future travel. Unfortunately, you are unlikely to receive a full refund. Would you get a refund if your flight got delayed for 5 hours because of thunder storms or snow? Amtrak is the same way. They fulfilled their contract to get you to where you needed to go, albeit with a long delay and not in a manner that was to your liking.

I hope you consider taking amtrak again in the future. You might be surprised!


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## the_traveler (Jul 29, 2012)

I agree. One bad trip does not represent Amtrak on all trips. Please try Amtrak again!






FYI - I once was delayed on a airline for 5 hours! And it was only a 3 hour flight!



But I still fly when necessary - but I'd much rather take Amtrak!


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## benjibear (Jul 29, 2012)

1000 friends on facebook! :giggle:

They must ask everyone they meet to be their friends.


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## Rail Freak (Jul 29, 2012)

Like was posted previously, we are not AMTRAK!!! I personally feel your pain, as my 1st trip was a Bummer because of a Tremendously Rude Sleeping Car Attendant! I came very close to never riding Amtrak again but, with a little cooling off I did. Since then I've traveled almost all Long Distant Routes available & have thousands of photos to reflect back to! Do yourself a favor & reconsider! Please!!!


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## Swadian Hardcore (Jul 29, 2012)

NColling said:


> My husband and I took the Amtrak train to Chicago on July 17th, returning 12:30pm Friday, July 20th. Going to Chicago took us 5 hours, which was fine. The return trip was over 10 hours, which was just horrible. The train was to arrive in Royal Oak at 7:05 pm, but it did not arrive until 10:45pm.It was stopped three times, in which we had to wait over 45 minutes each time.
> 
> The conductors kept saying this was very unusual, but after we returned we heard stories from friends that their train was held up 12 hours, 8 hours, etc. Amtrak customer service is horrible and we will never ride Amtrak again. We will tell our 1000 friends on Facebook not to ride Amtrak, and I am sure they will tell their friends. If Amtrak can't do something about these delays you should do your customers a big favor and go out of business. You government should hire different staff who actually care about people. To be cooped up on a train for ten hours is inhumane to us and all the passengers who rode with us. We were all very upset.
> 
> We would like to ask for a refund of our $70 return trip. We were told Amtrak never gives refunds.We don't want a voucher because we will never ride our train again. If you don't refund our money, your company should be ashamed of themselves. You should try being stuck on a train and see how it makes you feel.


IMHO, I've been stuck on a trains not moving for many hours and it's not that bad. I realize this is not the case for you, but for me, the longer the ride, the better. I love to ride Amtrak trains for over 40 hours straight, and I never complain that it's too long, I say it's too _short_.

Amtrak will not give a full refund for you trip simply because your ticket is to get you there and they got you there. did you ask your conductor about the delays? Do you think the engineer will just stop the train for no reason? Do you even know it's Amtrak's fault?

If the delays were not just one big delay, but three little ones added together, then they were probably caused by the track owner (host railroad) blocking the Amtrak with their own freight trains. The reason they give you a voucher is to mean that they still care about you and they want you to take them again. If you're never going to take them again, why should they bother to give you a refund? You say you'll hate them enoguh that even if they give you a refund you won't take them again. I hope you will come back to read this, and understand what I mean.

If the host railroad caused the delay, they should compensate you, not Amtrak. But the host railroads will never compensate Amtrak passengers, ever!

BTW, Amtrak still has full trains, increasing ridership, too much demand, and railcar shortages despite heavy delays. Amtrak still loses money anyway, so they are only surviving to government subsides. Yes, these delays are very unusual for the train to Royal Oak, the Wolverine. The delays that are really long are on long-distance trains, like the 40-50 hour ones I was talking about. A 10 hour delay on a 45 hour ride is quite insignificant IMO.


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## wkaemena (Jul 29, 2012)

It is for sure not the best experience when you get stuck on your first Rail Trip. As already explained there are many reasons beyond the power of Amtrak.

Well you can get also stuck on the highways, where are you going to complain and ask for "refund".???? In any case I prefer to get stuck on a train than being held hostage on a highway.


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## Guest 21 (Jul 29, 2012)

Amtraks going to get you from point A to B. They got you to point B. The train was late yes, but you got to your destination. No refunds for delays few and far between.


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## Shanghai (Jul 29, 2012)

I'm sorry your trip home was unpleasant. Earlier this year, the train in which I was riding

hit a trespasser and we were held by the police for about 4 hours. I was sitting with a college

girl who was going to the airport for a trip to Europe. She was meeting a friend and her parent's

were driving both girls to the airport. With the delay, all she could do was get off the train

in New York and take a cab to the airport. I stayed with her until she got the cab (her first &

only time in the Big Apple) and gave her some money for the cab fare. She sent me a text when

she got to the airport saying she had only minutes to spare but made her flight. Luckily, I think

you were returning to your home.


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## amamba (Jul 29, 2012)

Shanghai, that was so nice of you to help that girl.


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## AmtrakBlue (Jul 29, 2012)

amamba said:


> Shanghai, that was so nice of you to help that girl.


Ditto


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## TimePeace (Jul 29, 2012)

I'm still worrying about those 1000 Facebook friends... none of whom will ever ride Amtrak when they hear of this outrage... and then they each tell their 1000 friends, and none of them will ever etc etc etc... doing the math, how long can it be before no one ever rides Amtrak again? Only a matter of hours or days before total shutdown, I would say. Well, it's been good while it lasted.


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## AmtrakBlue (Jul 29, 2012)

Maine Rider said:


> I'm still worrying about those 1000 Facebook friends... none of whom will ever ride Amtrak when they hear of this outrage... and then they each tell their 1000 friends, and none of them will ever etc etc etc... doing the math, how long can it be before no one ever rides Amtrak again? Only a matter of hours or days before total shutdown, I would say. Well, it's been good while it lasted.


Then we AUers better get the word out to our thousands of friends that Amtrak is a great way to travel and that they better hurry up & try it before it disappears. 

But maybe wait till after my hope for trip in the next two weeks...maybe the mass exodus will bring the roomette prices down for me


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## FunNut (Jul 29, 2012)

Sorry your trip didn't go as planned. Have you ever had mechanical problems or a flat tire while driving? When traveling things happen that cause delays.

Among many things that can cause a train delay are the following: a fatality on the track ahead (must be investigated and train traffic is stopped for that), the freight companies that own the track can hold passenger trains while they expedite their own trains, mechanical difficulties with your or another train ahead of you, weather (not so much a factor this time of year, but in the winter you can have frozen switches, avalanches, etc.).

You will not receive a refund because Amtrak fulfilled their contract and got you to your destination. I'm sorry you were so late, but you did arrive on the same day. Being late, by air, land or sea, is frustrating. If you don't want to ride Amtrak in the future, then don't. And have a nice day.


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## pennyk (Jul 29, 2012)

AmtrakBlue said:


> amamba said:
> 
> 
> > Shanghai, that was so nice of you to help that girl.
> ...


Ditto 

Shanghai is always going out of his way to be kind to friends and strangers (and especially to Archie the dog :lol: )


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## Guest (Jul 29, 2012)

Amtrak may not give refunds, but if you paid with a credit card you can try for a chargeback. Some of these AmApologizers say the ticket is for the transportation only and, but I am like the OP in that a reasonable ammount of time should be expected. Going from 5 to 10 hours is unacceptable. Sure it is the host railroad that screwed it up, but it is Amtrak's responsibility to ensure they host railroad cooperates.


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## AlanB (Jul 29, 2012)

Guest said:


> Amtrak may not give refunds, but if you paid with a credit card you can try for a chargeback.


That's why Amtrak requires that you sign your ticket, so that they can prove you were on the train.



Guest said:


> Some of these AmApologizers say the ticket is for the transportation only and, but I am like the OP in that a reasonable ammount of time should be expected. Going from 5 to 10 hours is unacceptable. Sure it is the host railroad that screwed it up, but it is Amtrak's responsibility to ensure they host railroad cooperates.


Amtrak would love to ensure that the host RR's cooperate, or that they could take them to court. Congress has to allow that. And up until 2008, Congress didn't allow for anything. In 2008 some rules were changed and now the FRA is just starting to test those rules.


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## Pam (Jul 29, 2012)

I'm sorry that you had such a bad experience!

But it definitely isn't inhumane to be cooped up on the train for 10 hours. We just completed the trip from Seattle, WA to Dearborn, MI with our family, including 3 children, and had a wonderful time! This was our second trip across the country and would definitely do it again, even with the delays we experienced!

Consider giving it another try.


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## me_little_me (Jul 29, 2012)

Guest said:


> Amtrak may not give refunds, but if you paid with a credit card you can try for a chargeback. Some of these AmApologizers say the ticket is for the transportation only and, but I am like the OP in that a reasonable ammount of time should be expected. Going from 5 to 10 hours is unacceptable. Sure it is the host railroad that screwed it up, but it is Amtrak's responsibility to ensure they host railroad cooperates.


At what point is it reasonable? 4 hours? 2? 30 minutes? If a bus is caught stuck on the freeway for a few hours because of an accident then has to be detoured adding 2 more hours because the freeway bridge was damaged, whose fault is it? Who should the bus company blame and are you entitled to your money back from the bus company? If you are a passenger in your parents' car and that happens, can you demand compensation from them?

If Amtrak knows there will be a problem before a passenger boards and fails to tell the passenger, then refund is in order. If you had something really special planned and had allowed a few hours extra time and Amtrak ruined your special occasion then Amtrak should (even if not legally required to) mitigate your loss to some extent just as a courtesy for good customer relations. If the car or room or seat is unusable, that is Amtrak's fault and refund or rerouting (at your option) is in order even if you got to your destination.

Unfortunately, like any other mode of transportation, guaranteed arrival time is not offered.



Pam said:


> I'm sorry that you had such a bad experience!
> 
> But it definitely isn't inhumane to be cooped up on the train for 10 hours. We just completed the trip from Seattle, WA to Dearborn, MI with our family, including 3 children, and had a wonderful time! This was our second trip across the country and would definitely do it again, even with the delays we experienced!
> 
> Consider giving it another try.


Cooped up? Sitting in a plane for hours on the tarmac with no way to get out of your seat or get food and with stopped up toilets is cooped up. Not being able to get off or say "I think I want to take another plane or just take a plane back home" is cooped up. Being able to walk to the lounge car or move around on a train is not "cooped up". Being able to just get off at the next stop even if it means it will cost you money is not cooped up.


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## EB_OBS (Jul 29, 2012)

AlanB said:


> Guest said:
> 
> 
> > Amtrak may not give refunds, but if you paid with a credit card you can try for a chargeback.
> ...



From sessions I've had with CS representatives and Amtrak legal department, the credit card companies will not routinely do a chargeback for Amtrak ticket purchases. Even if one does manage to get the credit card company to do a chargeback, the very basic, minimal investigation they perform will result in the charge being paid. You purchase transportation from point A to point B. If the transportation was provided the credit card company will pay the charge.


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## EB_OBS (Jul 29, 2012)

As others have mentioned I also don't expect this person to come back but at any rate, if they do;

I would encourage you to call Amtrak Customer Service at 1-800 USA-RAIL. No they will not give you a refund. However as many other forum members here can attest your trip is not typical but it does happen. You should take the voucher and give Amtrak another chance.

From me personally, I'm sorry you had a bad experience on what appears to be your first Amtrak train ride. If you ever do ride the train again, and if you ever take a trip on the Empire Builder, give me a heads up here before the trip and I'll try to make it up somehow.


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## Ana (Jul 29, 2012)

To the OP, I'm sorry you had a frustrating ride. Delays can be really annoying, especially when you don't know what's happening. But you got there, safely, and that's what matters. I hope now that you've had a chance to relax back home again, you're less frustrated and angry.

I get that anger and frustration make people behave overly dramatically, I've ranted and raved about plenty of things too. I just hate to read the threat implied in the "I'll tell my 1000 friends and they'll tell their friends" type of attitude. That kind of "omg, I am so super important that I am going to rant and rant because I can't believe things didn't work out perfectly for me" behaviour can destroy a small business. Even with Amtrak, I don't understand why people threaten such things, why do you want to harm an organisation? Sure there are lots of things they could do better but better than no train service at all! God knows airlines are delayed all the time. My 15 hour flight from LAX recently ended up being a 26 hour trip by the time I landed in my destination city, having been diverted because of fog. Believe me, that sucked and I was exhausted by the time I got home but such is life. It was a quite funny experience too as we were waiting at the service desk line and people would try to push in and the service agents kept sending them to the back of the line and people would start to splutter and you could just see that they were DESPERATE to say "but I'm more important than those people". Hehe. They restrained themselves 

edited to put in 'hour' because of confusion as pointed out below


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## Swadian Hardcore (Jul 29, 2012)

me_little_me said:


> Guest said:
> 
> 
> > Amtrak may not give refunds, but if you paid with a credit card you can try for a chargeback. Some of these AmApologizers say the ticket is for the transportation only and, but I am like the OP in that a reasonable ammount of time should be expected. Going from 5 to 10 hours is unacceptable. Sure it is the host railroad that screwed it up, but it is Amtrak's responsibility to ensure they host railroad cooperates.
> ...


Exactly. If Amtrak gave a refund to you for a three hour (you had a three hour, not five hour) delay then everybody else is going to want a full refund. Nobody can draw the line between reasonble and not, it's all a matter of opinion.

No, I'm not am apologist, along with most of us as was proven in a poll.



Ana said:


> To the OP, I'm sorry you had a frustrating ride. Delays can be really annoying, especially when you don't know what's happening. But you got there, safely, and that's what matters. I hope now that you've had a chance to relax back home again, you're less frustrated and angry.
> 
> I get that anger and frustration make people behave overly dramatically, I've ranted and raved about plenty of things too. I just hate to read the threat implied in the "I'll tell my 1000 friends and they'll tell their friends" type of attitude. That kind of "omg, I am so super important that I am going to rant and rant because I can't believe things didn't work out perfectly for me" behaviour can destroy a small business. Even with Amtrak, I don't understand why people threaten such things, why do you want to harm an organisation? *Sure there are lots of things they could do better but better than no train service at all!* God knows airlines are delayed all the time. *My 15 flight from LAX recently ended up being a 26 hour trip by the time I landed in my destination city, having been diverted because of fog.* Believe me, that sucked and I was exhausted by the time I got home but such is life. It was a quite funny experience too as we were waiting at the service desk line and people would try to push in and the service agents kept sending them to the back of the line and people would start to splutter and you could just see that they were DESPERATE to say "but I'm more important than those people". Hehe. They restrained themselves


Well said! Totally agree, except I'm confused about the "15 flight" part. Does that mean "15 hour flight" or "Flight 15" or something else?

edit: error, spell check dosen't work.


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## Ana (Jul 30, 2012)

Swadian Hardcore said:


> me_little_me said:
> 
> 
> > Guest said:
> ...


D'oh, I meant 15 hour flight, sorry for the confusion. I had a connection into that 15 hour flight, so I was actually travelling for 5 hours before that 15 hours then adding the 11 hours and even though it's 5 days later, I'm still feeling a bit wrecked!


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## Swadian Hardcore (Jul 30, 2012)

Ana said:


> Swadian Hardcore said:
> 
> 
> > Well said! Totally agree, except I'm confused about the "15 flight" part. Does that mean "15 hour flight" or "Flight 15" or something else?
> ...


Thanks for the clarification. Intercontinental flights can be bad even without delays. Do you know why the plane was delayed? Maybe we can compare it to Amtrak delays.


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## amtrakwolverine (Jul 30, 2012)

To the OP so you givin' Up on amtrak after 1 trip. Are you going to fly everywhere from now on? What happens if you're on a flight to say detroit from LAX and your stuck on the tarmac at LAX for 5 hours with no access to food or water due to thunderstorms in detroit. You going to give up flying also?


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## Ana (Jul 30, 2012)

We were all diverted due to thick fog in Sydney. It's pretty rare, so I was unlucky. Our pilot warned us just before landing, he tried landing once but had to abort at about 1000ft. Since they didn't know about the fog ahead of time (it's rare) we didn't have enough fuel to mess around waiting, we had to go straight to Brisbane. Of course, everyone else was going there too (I think some flights diverted to Melbourne) and Brisbane just does not have the capacity to deal with so many extra flights all at once, so we had to sit on the tarmac for nearly 2 hours before we got a gate. Then we cleared immigration, customs & quarantine, transferred to the domestic terminal and had to be rebooked on flights to where ever our final destination was supposed to be (people who had connecting flights from Sydney weren't automatically sent back to Sydney, if they didn't need to be). I was originally given a one pm flight but I gave it up to travel with my younger sister, so that the other sister could go on to her final destination without going via Sydney. The 2pm flight we got ended up leaving at 4pm, because inbound aircraft were delayed by late departures out of Sydney.

The fog was unusually heavy, is rare in the first place and hadn't been predicted when we departed LA. So it was one of those situations that was not in the slightest the fault of the airline, but they had to deal with all the grumpiness. We got given vouchers for food - three each at $8 per voucher, probably could've grabbed more as they weren't being stingy with them - and lots of sympathy. And of course, we got home safe and sound.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Jul 30, 2012)

amtrakwolverine said:


> To the OP so you givin' Up on amtrak after 1 trip. Are you going to fly everywhere from now on? What happens if you're on a fight to say detroit from LAX and your stuck on the tarmac at LAX for 5 hours with no access to food or water due to thunderstorms in detroit. You going to give up flying also?


Excuse me, but a fight? This is fight or flight?


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## winterskigirl (Jul 30, 2012)

Most delays are beyond the control of Amtrak. You didn't mention if the Conductor made an announcement for the reason of your delay. I think an extended delay should be addressed by the Conductor.

My first trip on the CZ became a re-route through Wyoming when UP was doing track work. I was extremely disappointed to have missed the most scenic part over the Rockies. I have since put all this in perspective because the rest of my journey was fabulous from Seattle to Santa Barbara on the CS and Chicago to Seattle on the EB.

Since then, my train friends who follow railroading with a passion are jealous that I got to ride a re-route that the usual Amtrak rider doesn't get to see. LOL

I'm excited because I'm flying down to Reno to get on the CZ once again and ride through to Denver over the Rockies!

I do hope you will reconsider riding Amtrak again


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## henryj (Jul 30, 2012)

You can run into the same kind of delays flying or taking the bus or even driving. Stuff happens. That said it is very frustrating when your train is substantially delayed. It's like you are being held 'prisoner' and there is no escape. I enjoy riding trains also, but, call me old fashion, but I expect them to be on time.


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## Guest (Jul 30, 2012)

Yes, delays are very inconvenient and often uncomfortable. The only way to avoid the unforeseen while traveling is to stay home.

I have probably taken Amtrak 100 times and have had only two delays of over a couple of hours. Maybe just good luck, or maybe it's that people complain about severe delays but the other thousands of people that ride Amtrak every day don't expound to their 1000 Facebook friends that there train was once again on time.

Who gives you a refund when you're caught in a traffic jam on the interstate?


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## MiRider (Jul 30, 2012)

Sorry, ZERO sympathy from me.

Things happen..... like my BIG delay going to Kalamazoo to catch the Wolverine to go to Chicago to take the CONO for a New Orleans getaway.

We just pulled out of the driveway, just 1/2 block away from home - got t-boned by a stop sign runner, car was totaled but, unbelievably, neither of us were injured.

After all the police and towing stuff.... walked back home, checked the train status - train was running a couple of hours late due to the slow orders this past spring.... YAY!

Grabbed the other car, husband drove me to New Buffalo, I caught the Wolverine and had a great time in NOLO.

Like I said, things happen.

Do people actually believe that companies of any kind make bad things happen just so they can spend unnecessary resources fixing them and dealing with complaints?

Does this particular complainer think that the crew was delaying the train because they wanted to?

Exactly what did they expect to be done?

I don't get all of the complaining about things not going perfectly.

I LOVE the train but I don't bother to tell anyone how great I think it is anymore.

People are way too spoiled, entitled, narcissistic, and high maintenance - my husband is one of them and I don't care if he rides or not - I enjoy all of my solo trips without the extra added burden of a person like that.

The world does not revolve around you, your schedule, life, or your idea of comfort.

Seriously, drive your car or fly - no guarantees in life no matter what you do.


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## TimePeace (Jul 30, 2012)

JoanieB said:


> Like I said, things happen.
> 
> I don't get all of the complaining about things not going perfectly.
> 
> The world does not revolve around you, your schedule, life, or your idea of comfort.


I think by now our posts are lost on the OP, but these are good comments for many forum members as well. Thanks, JoanieB


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## caravanman (Jul 30, 2012)

Considering the number of posts that originate from the errors of folk thinking this is *THE* Amtrak site, is it not time to EMPHASISE the point that we are *NOT AMTRAK*

Ed


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## Big Iron (Jul 30, 2012)

EB_OBS said:


> As others have mentioned I also don't expect this person to come back but at any rate, if they do;
> 
> I would encourage you to call Amtrak Customer Service at 1-800 USA-RAIL. No they will not give you a refund. However as many other forum members here can attest your trip is not typical but it does happen. You should take the voucher and give Amtrak another chance.
> 
> From me personally, I'm sorry you had a bad experience on what appears to be your first Amtrak train ride. If you ever do ride the train again, and if you ever take a trip on the Empire Builder, give me a heads up here before the trip and I'll try to make it up somehow.


Wow!! That is going above and beyond, great customer service!!!! I hope the OP takes you up on your offer. A bad experience can be turned into a lifelong customer with this type of attitude. You are to be commended.


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## jackson1604 (Jul 30, 2012)

NColling said:


> My husband and I took the Amtrak train to Chicago on July 17th, returning 12:30pm Friday, July 20th. Going to Chicago took us 5 hours, which was fine. The return trip was over 10 hours, which was just horrible. The train was to arrive in Royal Oak at 7:05 pm, but it did not arrive until 10:45pm.It was stopped three times, in which we had to wait over 45 minutes each time.
> 
> The conductors kept saying this was very unusual, but after we returned we heard stories from friends that their train was held up 12 hours, 8 hours, etc. Amtrak customer service is horrible and we will never ride Amtrak again. We will tell our 1000 friends on Facebook not to ride Amtrak, and I am sure they will tell their friends. If Amtrak can’t do something about these delays you should do your customers a big favor and go out of business. You government should hire different staff who actually care about people. To be cooped up on a train for ten hours is inhumane to us and all the passengers who rode with us. We were all very upset.
> 
> We would like to ask for a refund of our $70 return trip. We were told Amtrak never gives refunds.We don’t want a voucher because we will never ride our train again. If you don’t refund our money, your company should be ashamed of themselves. You should try being stuck on a train and see how it makes you feel.


You never want to be in a hurry riding AMTRAK.Yes,the customer service is just awful,you can not get through.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Jul 30, 2012)

caravanman said:


> Considering the number of posts that originate from the errors of folk thinking this is *THE* Amtrak site, is it not time to EMPHASISE the point that we are *NOT AMTRAK*
> 
> Ed


So why are we not doing it? How do we do it?





Big Iron said:


> EB_OBS said:
> 
> 
> > As others have mentioned I also don't expect this person to come back but at any rate, if they do;
> ...


Yes, but what do you work as on the EB?


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## nferr (Jul 30, 2012)

It's transportation. Stuff happens. I've had planes cancelled, and arrive hours late. I've had my car break down. I've had motorcycle problems. Yes, one can even can get delayed when traveling by train. What a surprise.


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## EB_OBS (Jul 30, 2012)

Swadian Hardcore said:


> caravanman said:
> 
> 
> > Considering the number of posts that originate from the errors of folk thinking this is *THE* Amtrak site, is it not time to EMPHASISE the point that we are *NOT AMTRAK*
> ...


If your question is directed at me, then I am an OBS supervisor and my immediate _direct_ report is to the Train Manager.


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## VentureForth (Jul 31, 2012)

I'm glad none of us are Amtrak Customer Service. LOL.


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## MiRider (Jul 31, 2012)

VentureForth said:


> I'm glad none of us are Amtrak Customer Service. LOL.









I've always worked with the public my whole life in managerial/owner positions - retail





As an owner, I have never once refused a *reasonable* request.

The woman who tried to return a faux berry wreath where the berries basically exploded because she went on vacation in the middle of the summer and turned her air off ?

Sorry, I can't lose money because you're clueless, especially when you tell me that, because of the heat, your kitchen cabinet doors cracked.

My personal feeling is that it's not worth it to pay / lose money to keep an unreasonable customer with unrealistic expectations.

I just read a post from the executive cruise director of a cruise line addressing a complaint from someone complaining about the 5 days of rain on their cruise.

The passenger felt that an appropriate apology for the weather would have been the cruise line opening the bars for free for 3000 passengers.











I also just read a 1star review of a product that specified 'clean professionally'.

The customer complained that the item was ruined and frayed after only one washing - maybe she thought 'clean professionally' entailed wearing a suit and holding a clipboard when she threw it in the wash


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## Acela150 (Aug 1, 2012)

jackson1604 said:


> NColling said:
> 
> 
> > My husband and I took the Amtrak train to Chicago on July 17th, returning 12:30pm Friday, July 20th. Going to Chicago took us 5 hours, which was fine. The return trip was over 10 hours, which was just horrible. The train was to arrive in Royal Oak at 7:05 pm, but it did not arrive until 10:45pm.It was stopped three times, in which we had to wait over 45 minutes each time.
> ...


The customer service isn't awful.. Their are SOME bad apples. But I've had about 90% or more of my trips I've had great Service, and those people make me want to come back!


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## Linda T (Aug 1, 2012)

nferr said:


> It's transportation. Stuff happens. I've had planes cancelled, and arrive hours late. I've had my car break down. I've had motorcycle problems. Yes, one can even can get delayed when traveling by train. What a surprise.


I had the Greyhound trip from Hell many years back. It was the driver's first time out without his trainer and he was petrified. We were traveling down the interstate and he stopped at literally every rest stop along the way (apprently had a case of the runs). He then got off the wrong exit for DC and wound up driving around on some God forsaken dark, dreary streets. I admit, I was now petrified. The driver refused to call for assistance as he was afraid that he'd lose his job. We had a connection that we needed to make in DC and time was ticking. Finally some Greyhound route regulars moved up to the seat behind him and guided him into the station. Who'd have thought that a 4 hour layover from Jersey to DC could be eatten away by a novice driver? Our bus was loading as we arrived. We were just lucky that some regulars were able to convince him to allow them to direct him in.

Things happen. In the Greyhound situation it was totally controllable by Greyhound (don't send a novice out when he's not ready). With Amtrak in the op it was clearly weather related and out of the control of earthly inhabitants.


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## Ana (Aug 1, 2012)

I thought of this thread today. I got delayed walking because they made us use the other side of the road because they were digging up the pavement on our side. In 7 years i'd never walked on the other side of the street



. Wasted valuable moments crossing over and back and nearly missed my train- it was on time!


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## AmtrakBlue (Aug 1, 2012)

Ana said:


> I thought of this thread today. I got delayed walking because they made us use the other side of the road because they were digging up the pavement on our side. In 7 years i'd never walked on the other side of the street
> 
> 
> 
> . Wasted valuable moments crossing over and back and nearly missed my train- it was on time!




Did you receive an email or phone call letting you know that you would be delayed getting to your train? :help: :lol:


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## Gingee (Aug 1, 2012)

Our first train was round trip from Peoria, Il (bus to Indy) on Cardinal to NYC. Coming home we were so late that we missed out bus connection back to Peoria. We would have had to wait four hours for the bus. Ended up cancelling the bus portion (got our money back) and rented a car home. Got home in approximately three hours or so and even had a quick breakfast. After that, we haven't been really late on any of our trains. Another time we took the train to LA. Our daughter flew. She was delayed a lot. We got there early on the train.


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## johnny.menhennet (Aug 2, 2012)

Swadian Hardcore said:


> edit: error, spell check *dosen't* work.


Clearly not. 

Swadian we don't need to know the need for the edit. If you need to make it, just make it.


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## johnny.menhennet (Aug 2, 2012)

Also, Shanghai, that was incredibly thoughtful and kind of you. It's nice to know that people like you still exist.


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## AlanB (Aug 2, 2012)

johnny.menhennet said:


> Swadian Hardcore said:
> 
> 
> > edit: error, spell check *dosen't* work.
> ...


Actually, sometimes it is nice to know why someone changed their post so that you know what is different.

That said, there is actually a special box below the regular typing box to put the reason in. That way the reason doesn't show up as part of the actual post when people go to quote it.


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## henryj (Aug 2, 2012)

Riders pass out waiting for Megabus in DC. http://www.tbd.com/blogs/tbd-on-foot/2011/06/today-s-megabus-wait-from-hell-video--11645.html


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## Swadian Hardcore (Aug 2, 2012)

AlanB said:


> johnny.menhennet said:
> 
> 
> > Swadian Hardcore said:
> ...


I cannot find the special boz, I would have used it if I knew what it was. The reason for me writing the reason for edit is due to compalaints about too much editing.

Yes my spell check does not work because it gives me the message "ieSpell was not detected".


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## johnny.menhennet (Aug 2, 2012)

Swadian Hardcore said:


> AlanB said:
> 
> 
> > johnny.menhennet said:
> ...


OK that's fine, it's not really important. I was just laughing about how you should have edited your edit


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## oldtimer (Aug 3, 2012)

I think that what Swadian is trying to get across is that if you click on the spell check icon in the edit box it does not work. It has worked in the past for me, but not now.

Also in the past I have never had a "reason for edit box" poopup and lord knows I need it with arthritic and locking fingers I have made not only my share but also probably hundreds of others share of typo's.

oldtimer

PS I couldn't use spell check for the above stated reason but: Eye no eye maid know miss steaks!

:help: :wacko: :giggle: :help:


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## MrFSS (Aug 3, 2012)

oldtimer said:


> I think that what Swadian is trying to get across is that if you click on the spell check icon in the edit box it does not work. It has worked in the past for me, but not now.
> 
> Also in the past I have never had a "reason for edit box" poopup and lord knows I need it with arthritic and locking fingers I have made not only my share but also probably hundreds of others share of typo's.
> 
> ...


If you switch to Google Chrome it has spell check built right in and highlights incorrectly spelled words as you type. Right click on that word and it gives you the correct spelling. and, you can add proper names to the dictionary. There are some other technical reason to use other than IE, too.


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## jis (Aug 3, 2012)

MrFSS said:


> oldtimer said:
> 
> 
> > I think that what Swadian is trying to get across is that if you click on the spell check icon in the edit box it does not work. It has worked in the past for me, but not now.
> ...


Firefox is similar to Chrome in the spellcheck functionality, though I think Chrome is probably less bloated than Firefox at present. But then again I use some Firefox plugins which I can't get for Chrome, so I mostly still use Firefox.

Didn't you know that _IE is the number one browser for downloading a better browser_?


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## williamflemming (Aug 3, 2012)

NColling said:


> My husband and I took the Amtrak train to Chicago on July 17th, returning 12:30pm Friday, July 20th. Going to Chicago took us 5 hours, which was fine. The return trip was over 10 hours, which was just horrible. The train was to arrive in Royal Oak at 7:05 pm, but it did not arrive until 10:45pm.It was stopped three times, in which we had to wait over 45 minutes each time.
> 
> The conductors kept saying this was very unusual, but after we returned we heard stories from friends that their train was held up 12 hours, 8 hours, etc. Amtrak customer service is horrible and we will never ride Amtrak again. We will tell our 1000 friends on Facebook not to ride Amtrak, and I am sure they will tell their friends. If Amtrak can't do something about these delays you should do your customers a big favor and go out of business. You government should hire different staff who actually care about people. To be cooped up on a train for ten hours is inhumane to us and all the passengers who rode with us. We were all very upset.
> 
> We would like to ask for a refund of our $70 return trip. We were told Amtrak never gives refunds.We don't want a voucher because we will never ride our train again. If you don't refund our money, your company should be ashamed of themselves. You should try being stuck on a train and see how it makes you feel.


What!! being stuck on a train is awesome :lol: My saying is,: "the later it is the longer you can stay on the train!"

As for being unusual, yes this is unusual. Seriously, Don't spoil amtrak for the other people. Just because you had 1 bad experience doesn't mean that Amtrak is crap. Give it a second try! On our first ever train trip, the train was cancelled.  We were really annoyed (like the way you feel, yet worse), but you can't blame 'em, they don't own the tracks etc. It is like lighting, you can't stop it. Luckily, Amtrak has worked out for us every other time for us. Yes probably the odds of it being that late are maybe 1 in 200???

There are always stories of it being late, but I'm guessing those were from the web. We go to Germany, England, Florida, Every where, but nothing beats a ride on amtrak in our opinion.

Please don't spoil the most scenic and leisurely form of transport for every one though :unsure: , give it a second try and you will love it.


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## Guest (Nov 11, 2012)

This is a bit of a thread resurrection, but I have a question:

I am currently sitting on a stuck train (the Amtrak Cascades, from PDX to SEA). We have been sitting for over 2 hours on the bridge over the Columbia River waiting for a replacement engine. The conductor has kept us very informed that the problem is definitely due to the engine breaking down ("it's dead in the water," he said, while we're stuck above a river  ). It broke down about 5 minutes out of the station. If the replacement engine arrives when he has said it should arrive, we look to be delayed by about three hours for a 3.5 hour trip.

I ride this train a lot and have never had any significant problems, so I am likely to ride it again, despite today's issue. How likely am I to get a voucher for this if I call Amtrak Customer Service? Anyone have any experience for an issue that is clearly at Amtrak's fault -- namely, a maintenance issue?


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## AlanB (Nov 11, 2012)

Guest said:


> I ride this train a lot and have never had any significant problems, so I am likely to ride it again, despite today's issue. How likely am I to get a voucher for this if I call Amtrak Customer Service? Anyone have any experience for an issue that is clearly at Amtrak's fault -- namely, a maintenance issue?


I'd say you have a decent chance at getting a voucher for at least part of the fare paid. It is clearly Amtrak's fault.


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## the_traveler (Nov 11, 2012)

If you contact Customer Service and explain calmly and clearly what happened (including date and train number), and leave out statements like ”I will *NEVER* ride Amtrak again!", it is very likely!


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## Guest (Nov 11, 2012)

Thanks for the fast replies and the information! I'll give them a call when I get back home.


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## Devil's Advocate (Nov 11, 2012)

the_traveler said:


> If you contact Customer Service and explain calmly and clearly what happened (including date and train number), and leave out statements like ”I will *NEVER* ride Amtrak again!", it is very likely!


Why would somebody requesting a voucher toward FUTURE travel claim they would NEVER ride Amtrak again?! :blink:


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## Swadian Hardcore (Nov 12, 2012)

Texas Sunset said:


> the_traveler said:
> 
> 
> > If you contact Customer Service and explain calmly and clearly what happened (including date and train number), and leave out statements like ”I will *NEVER* ride Amtrak again!", it is very likely!
> ...


That seems to be the point.


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## George Harris (Nov 12, 2012)

Swadian Hardcore said:


> Texas Sunset said:
> 
> 
> > the_traveler said:
> ...


This person did not say, I will never ride Amtrak again. Instead they said that they would probably ride it again.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Nov 12, 2012)

George Harris said:


> Swadian Hardcore said:
> 
> 
> > Texas Sunset said:
> ...


I know! That IS the point! The point is that if you say you are not going to ride Amtrak again, they will not give you a voucher! Nor will they give a refund.


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