I always have SCA get ice. They usually have those cardboard plastic coated ice buckets. Then I put a towel over it to last most of the night. Altho last July on the Zephyr they would bring two glasses of ice with lids due to covit I guess.
Amtrak dining and cafe service
- Thread starter Railspike
- Start date
Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:
- Status
Devil's Advocate
⠀⠀⠀
When US airlines stopped serving alcohol passengers reacted by drinking at the airport instead. Downing several drinks just before boarding did not improve anything, and airport bars are less likely (and less invested) to stop someone from overindulging, which ended up making things worse for everyone.
Another example of how not serving "unlimited" alcohol does not stop people from getting drunk.
AA's current policy is that alcohol is free in First Class (or MCE) and available for sale in coach. That being said I've found that AA staff sometimes make up their own rules just like Amtrak staff are known to do.
Last edited:
Do they pay the staff to do that work before departure? That has been a real issue towards the end of the trips, since the obs go off clock. Nobody can be reasonably expected to work off the clock as a standard procedure.
west point
Engineer
That is no excuse by Amtrak.
Devil's Advocate
⠀⠀⠀
Customers never wrote or signed the contract that prevents staff being paid when a train or plane is stopped. If the staff agreed to those terms (presumably in exchange for some other benefit) how is that our fault? Do people think nobody works unpaid hours outside the travel industry? It's standard procedure because they formally agreed to it.
Last edited:
west point
Engineer
Do OBS persons report to work one hour before scheduled departure from originating station? SAS is a special case with change of OBS staff,
No, the menu says alcoholic beverages are available for purchase, but the first is free at dinner.
I'm on 92 approaching Petersburg right now.
I tried the salmon and shrimp for dinner last night. The fish was OK but a bit dry. I could taste the lemon in the sauce at first bite, but it faded as I continued and the salmon just tasted like salmon. The 2 shrimps were fine. The rice was tasty but a bit mushy.
I just had the Thai curry noodles for lunch. I would definitely get this again, butkbeware: I found it surprisingly spicy. To my uncultured tastes, I think it was just black pepper spicy, not anything exotic. The noodles seemed to be ordinarily linguine, not rice noodles or anything fancy. There were a few big chunks of carrot and broccoli. The plant-based meatballs were very tasty, and both speecy-spicy and very sturdy. Do not attempt to cut them with a fork. Sorry, I forgot to snap the noodles before starting. My phone seems to be giving things a yellowish tint.
Duplicate post due to fighting with Amtrak wifi and vanishing cell service.
crescent-zephyr
Engineer
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2015
- Messages
- 4,796
They certainly don't look any better than the entrees I was served. :-/
How's the ability to use the “sleeper Lounge” on your train?
If they agreed not to be paid for time after the arrival, then you cannot expect them to do work. I doubt they agreed to unpaid time, it is usually contrary to FLSA or NRLA provisions. Not the passengers' fault, an Amtrak problem, but people who work unpaid hours are usually getting screwed by people who are typically violating the law.
Devil's Advocate
⠀⠀⠀
They did not agree to unpaid time specifically, but they did agree to finish tasks that cannot be completed in-transit without negatively impacting customers. They could do those tasks (stocking and cleanup) before departure or after arrival but that time would be unpaid so they make customers work around staff schedules. When it's time for a new CBA the lawyers and managers sit down to decide what the customer needs to sacrifice next in order to keep everyone else happy. Degrading the customer experience is an easy compromise because we have no seat at the negotiating table.
Last edited:
Dakota 400
Engineer
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2014
- Messages
- 3,741
The station where the Cafe/Lounge car was closed while we were in the station was Washington. There was no restocking taking place for that car. I was sitting there and I did not see any. The attendant was not on duty.
I can understand the reason why the car would be closed for awhile in the station. When the engines switch, the power goes off. But, when the power comes back on, why is there no service while the train is in the station? Why does it take the train nearly arriving in Alexandria for the service to begin again? The attendant returned to the car just before the train pulled out of the station. She was there, but, observing her, simply dawdled while the line of customers grew longer and some were becoming irritated.
I had the Thai noodles on the 92 a week ago (the one that was like 7h late by the time we got to Orlando), and I was honestly shocked at how good they were. You're right about the heat, my guess would just be some chili pepper and not black pepper though. Had it again on the way back south Monday & Tuesday. Didn't need the Tabasco like I did for the salmon & shrimp.
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2017
- Messages
- 2,926
They serve the meals in the VL2 diner on both the “Super Star” and the Lake Shore Limited. Access to the diner for lounge use is never an issue on either train - at least from my experiences. Seems it’s more an issue when they are trying to do everything out of one Food service car.
No problem using it as lounge on the Lake Shore in November.
ehbowen
Engineer
Remember what happened when the Sunset Limited's arrival in L.A was changed to oh-dark-thirty. Amtrak announced that arriving sleeping car passengers could remain on board until 6, and the car attendants were paid for the extra time. They took the money...but most of them rousted out the passengers as soon as the wheels stopped turning, even if it was four in the morning. Eventually Amtrak threw in the towel and gave up.
Devil's Advocate
⠀⠀⠀
Somebody must have realized it was a bad experience for their best paying customers, and for a while the arrival process was greatly improved, but eventually whoever came up with that solution was ignored, overruled, or replaced and the SCA's reverted back to announcements and door banging as early as 4am. I hope whoever was responsible for the sleep-in option knows it meant a lot to some of us.
Dovecote
OBS Chief
I can substantiate that a full menu meal is served on Train 2 prior to arriving in NOL. My first Amtrak trip in over three years was on this route In late April. The meals were most impressive especially since my last experience being subjected to the flex meals served on the LSL. Another surprise on the meal side was the availability of all menu items on the final day of the trip. My past experiences on western routes always noted this to the contrary.
I am not sure what you mean by this. Do you have a cite to the CBA language you seem to be referring to?
Thank you for your post and pictures.
I was asking about the free alcoholic beverage offered during dinner. I'm glad they're still offering that. Do they still serve Barefoot wine? I hope not.
We've been riding the Meteor, and occasionally the Star for many, many years. I have always enjoyed their fish options. Even when the salmon was dry, it still had great flavor. My favorite overall was the crab cakes they served 12? years ago. I wish they would bring back the black bean veggie burger. There should be a lighter option for lunch.
Devil's Advocate
⠀⠀⠀
What exactly are you finding hard to believe? That a train must be ready for the next departure before OBS can leave, that OBS are not paid for work after passengers have disembarked, or that OBS tell paying passengers to leave the diner or lounge and get packed early so they can finish before arrival?
Do you at least agree with this part or are we still pretending that seniority contracts promote good frontline service despite all evidence to the contrary?
Just rode the Empire Builder from Chicago to Portland. The dining car was available to sleeping car passengers only. It was a great experience! No lines at the door. Seating from one to four by choice, cloth table cloths, conventional place settimgs, etc. The menu was basically the same as pre-covid, and prepared to order. Our entrees were quite tasty. The flat iron steak was superb and cooked to order and the carrot cake was one of the best I've had.
The wait staff indicated a new menu was coming soon, but still secret. They were excited with anticipation of it being revealed. Even though there were only two staff, they seemed to be able to serve the reduced number of diners easily (and cheerfully)
Here, I might add that sleeping car attendant did an excellent job taking care of the riders and keeping the car and facilities clean.
It was an enjoyable trip!
The wait staff indicated a new menu was coming soon, but still secret. They were excited with anticipation of it being revealed. Even though there were only two staff, they seemed to be able to serve the reduced number of diners easily (and cheerfully)
Here, I might add that sleeping car attendant did an excellent job taking care of the riders and keeping the car and facilities clean.
It was an enjoyable trip!
I think it was Barefoot. Tasted fine to me, but about the only time I drink wine on Amtrak to help me sleep thru the bumps and bounces.
I find none of those hard to believe (well, except for # 2). I am mostly having a hard time deciphering what you meant by "they did agree to finish tasks that cannot be completed in-transit without negatively impacting customers" (and it might be just me; the sort-of double negative "cannot" / "without" might be confusing me) so I was wondering if you had an example to help me understand what you are getting at.
- Status
