Warning - long thread!
I was told millennials were a big target market now, so my last recent trip I kept notes on what I'd like to see. I really doubt it differs much from the majority of passengers tbh.
Of note, I've only traveled on Superliners - so these suggestions are mainly tailored to those cars, and mostly to Roomettes at that. Some of these may already be in the works for Superliner refurbs.
1) Bathrooms - oh man. I think I've gotten lucky and mostly only had the Superliner 1 refurb bathrooms with the "granite" style sink. These ones are fine. Small but workable. The type I had recently was the one with the sink and cabinet panel all along the side, dark grey, where you spray water all over yourself and the bathroom trying to use it. And can only wash one hand at a time. Can't get trash to go down in the can without sticking your hand all over it. Can't even bend over for the most part. Also, maybe a notification button light outside the door that can be lit up if bathroom needs servicing and attendant could get alerted. Also could prevent other passengers from having to discover this on their own (
) I saw a button in that bathroom but I wasn't touching anything else and didn't want to have to wait there.
2)Roomettes
- nightlight and outlet for use by upper berth when pulled down
- 2 outlets by the pullout table, and more room around outlets to fit charge cubes, etc
- tables definitely need improvement - coach pullout tables were nicer
-more climate control (have seen this mentioned a lot). 4 directional vents, 2 on top (one on each side for head/feet) for upper berth, 2 for lower
- fix that lever that pulls out the bottom seats for the bed - kept cutting my leg on it when bed was down
- also for having beds made up - feels like you have to do it pretty early. 10 is ok but with a time change sometimes it's 9 and with dinner reservations starting at 8 that can be awful early. I get the SCA can't be up all night and needs to get up early. Maybe a general staff member not assigned to a specific car to do tasks like that? Monitor bathrooms overnight too. I get it, more staff more $$$.
- I'd like the printed route brochures back. I'm thinking a brochure box near the coffee, no need to put in every room but those that want one can grab it. I like them, especially as souvenirs.
- sell the new blankets! Maybe 50% off for sleeping car passengers?
3) Announcements and Notifications
- in coach, I couldn't hear half of the announcements, some of which were quite important. Need to work on speakers and volume control in coach and in roomettes too.
- do more to standardize announcements. Some engineers really keep us informed, others don't say much. I feel it's better to know what's going on, people will likely be less agitated. Be clear about delays. I hate sitting there wondering.
-maybe create an opt-in text line for announcements? I know there's Twitter, that's more for major items. Also, able to text in safety concerns rather than call or have to speak in person (I only saw a phone number but maybe that is already an option).
- a little speaker box in roomettes/bedrooms you can flip open to speak to attendants, like maybe dining car taking breakfast reservations but you're still in bed and don't want to open the door or yell...
4) Dining
- the fresh flowers/tablecloth at dinner are nice, so is the free alcoholic beverage. Keep that up! I'll be even happier the day I can get something like a margarita.
- more lighter fare options, especially at dinner. Or some credit to cafe car. I'm not paying $10 for a small frozen pizza when I'm already paying $$$$$ for a roomette/bedroom.
- a few more vegetarian/vegan options. More customizable salad options. The vegan chili was actually really good!
- also more basic items on the menu. Sometimes maybe I just want pizza or a burger but not paying extra for cheaper food.
- stock - should not be running out of basics like halfway through the trip. Makes it especially hard for those with food allergies or sensitivities who can eat some items on the menu but not all. Or quite frankly at that price point should be able to get what you'd like barring extreme delays/circumstances.
- not gonna lie, a bar car could be cool. Especially in art deco style. Could probably really make up some $$$ there. I understand this used to exist on some routes.
5) General
- more washing of the windows! Also inside too, coach particularly behind the curtains was a lot of dust.
- more recycling - I start to feel a little guilty about all the trash
- WiFi!!! This is a biggie. I don't think SWC has it at all, even in the bigger cities. If they can figure out a way to offer it most of the way, even in the boonies, that would be cool. I ran out of data and I wasnt streaming anything. I was mostly looking up places we stopped, any route delays, etc. Can advertise this to those who may need to do work on board long routes but don't have the time off so choose to fly instead.
I don't expect anyone to read all this -
I was told millennials were a big target market now, so my last recent trip I kept notes on what I'd like to see. I really doubt it differs much from the majority of passengers tbh.
Of note, I've only traveled on Superliners - so these suggestions are mainly tailored to those cars, and mostly to Roomettes at that. Some of these may already be in the works for Superliner refurbs.
1) Bathrooms - oh man. I think I've gotten lucky and mostly only had the Superliner 1 refurb bathrooms with the "granite" style sink. These ones are fine. Small but workable. The type I had recently was the one with the sink and cabinet panel all along the side, dark grey, where you spray water all over yourself and the bathroom trying to use it. And can only wash one hand at a time. Can't get trash to go down in the can without sticking your hand all over it. Can't even bend over for the most part. Also, maybe a notification button light outside the door that can be lit up if bathroom needs servicing and attendant could get alerted. Also could prevent other passengers from having to discover this on their own (
) I saw a button in that bathroom but I wasn't touching anything else and didn't want to have to wait there.2)Roomettes
- nightlight and outlet for use by upper berth when pulled down
- 2 outlets by the pullout table, and more room around outlets to fit charge cubes, etc
- tables definitely need improvement - coach pullout tables were nicer
-more climate control (have seen this mentioned a lot). 4 directional vents, 2 on top (one on each side for head/feet) for upper berth, 2 for lower
- fix that lever that pulls out the bottom seats for the bed - kept cutting my leg on it when bed was down
- also for having beds made up - feels like you have to do it pretty early. 10 is ok but with a time change sometimes it's 9 and with dinner reservations starting at 8 that can be awful early. I get the SCA can't be up all night and needs to get up early. Maybe a general staff member not assigned to a specific car to do tasks like that? Monitor bathrooms overnight too. I get it, more staff more $$$.
- I'd like the printed route brochures back. I'm thinking a brochure box near the coffee, no need to put in every room but those that want one can grab it. I like them, especially as souvenirs.
- sell the new blankets! Maybe 50% off for sleeping car passengers?
3) Announcements and Notifications
- in coach, I couldn't hear half of the announcements, some of which were quite important. Need to work on speakers and volume control in coach and in roomettes too.
- do more to standardize announcements. Some engineers really keep us informed, others don't say much. I feel it's better to know what's going on, people will likely be less agitated. Be clear about delays. I hate sitting there wondering.
-maybe create an opt-in text line for announcements? I know there's Twitter, that's more for major items. Also, able to text in safety concerns rather than call or have to speak in person (I only saw a phone number but maybe that is already an option).
- a little speaker box in roomettes/bedrooms you can flip open to speak to attendants, like maybe dining car taking breakfast reservations but you're still in bed and don't want to open the door or yell...
4) Dining
- the fresh flowers/tablecloth at dinner are nice, so is the free alcoholic beverage. Keep that up! I'll be even happier the day I can get something like a margarita.
- more lighter fare options, especially at dinner. Or some credit to cafe car. I'm not paying $10 for a small frozen pizza when I'm already paying $$$$$ for a roomette/bedroom.
- a few more vegetarian/vegan options. More customizable salad options. The vegan chili was actually really good!
- also more basic items on the menu. Sometimes maybe I just want pizza or a burger but not paying extra for cheaper food.
- stock - should not be running out of basics like halfway through the trip. Makes it especially hard for those with food allergies or sensitivities who can eat some items on the menu but not all. Or quite frankly at that price point should be able to get what you'd like barring extreme delays/circumstances.
- not gonna lie, a bar car could be cool. Especially in art deco style. Could probably really make up some $$$ there. I understand this used to exist on some routes.
5) General
- more washing of the windows! Also inside too, coach particularly behind the curtains was a lot of dust.
- more recycling - I start to feel a little guilty about all the trash
- WiFi!!! This is a biggie. I don't think SWC has it at all, even in the bigger cities. If they can figure out a way to offer it most of the way, even in the boonies, that would be cool. I ran out of data and I wasnt streaming anything. I was mostly looking up places we stopped, any route delays, etc. Can advertise this to those who may need to do work on board long routes but don't have the time off so choose to fly instead.
I don't expect anyone to read all this -
