Amtrak's Policy on Reaccomodations for Misconnect

[diesteldorf]

I had posted this question in a previous thread, but it's been buried and I was curious if anyone knew.

I am wondering if Amtrak has any kind of set policy on reaccomodating people on the next day's trains after a missed connection or delay.

Should people in bedrooms normally expect bedrooms if bedrooms are available? If a person in a roomette previously was on the next train and it was out of roomettes, should they expect coach or a bedroom? If a coach passenger on the previous day's train happens to be in line with passenger services ahead of a sleeper pasenger, can they take the accomodation by virtue of being 1st in line and pay the difference?

Also, would Amtrak normally split accomodations if they had to and put someone in a roomette or coach for part of the trip and a bedroom for the rest?

If there is no set policy, is it up to the passenger to tell the agents what they want and negotiate?

Until my parents' experience, I never really thought how reaccomodations worked.

When I've taken sleepers, I've always been fortunate to make my connection and have also not had the pleasure in coach

 

[guest]

I had posted this question in a previous thread, but it's been buried and I was curious if anyone knew.
I am wondering if Amtrak has any kind of set policy on reaccomodating people on the next day's trains after a missed connection or delay.

Should people in bedrooms normally expect bedrooms if bedrooms are available? If a person in a roomette previously was on the next train and it was out of roomettes, should they expect coach or a bedroom? If a coach passenger on the previous day's train happens to be in line with passenger services ahead of a sleeper pasenger, can they take the accomodation by virtue of being 1st in line and pay the difference?

Also, would Amtrak normally split accomodations if they had to and put someone in a roomette or coach for part of the trip and a bedroom for the rest?

If there is no set policy, is it up to the passenger to tell the agents what they want and negotiate?

Until my parents' experience, I never really thought how reaccomodations worked.

When I've taken sleepers, I've always been fortunate to make my connection and have also not had the pleasure in coach

not buried just on pg 3 you just have to look

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

not buried just on pg 3 you just have to look

Where on "pg 3" is Amtrak's policy?

 

[RRrich]

not buried just on pg 3 you just have to look

Does that answer the OP's questions in any way shape or form???

 

[Ryan]

Page 3 of the vacation guide is a pull page picture, so that ain't it.

Maybe he's talking about page 3 of the new timetable, I haven't snagged one of those yet.

 

[catblue]

I think they mean page three of this forum is where her lost topic is.

Seems if the trains sleepers are sold out on the train they put you on after you miss connections because it is now a different day than your original travel date it could be a problem. Kind of like airlines over booking and people get bumped. Either way someone gets their plans changed. Some possibly will miss important events. Does not always make for happy travelers I am sure. I think what someone once said it is a good idea to have a extra travel day built into your plans just in case.

 

[EB_OBS]

I don't work in customer relations or in ticketing and reservations either. I do however frequently communicate with CNOC when rooms or cars are Bad Ordered, in order to assist to re-accommodate passengers.

It's been my experience that simply due to the sheer number of situations and possibilities that there is no specific exact policy or formula to re-accommodating passengers whether be it on the same train the same day or on say the next days train.

I can tell you that my boss expects that each passenger is notified to the extent possible and that every effort is made to get passengers to where they are going and ensure they are comfortable and that the service received reflects positively upon the value of the ticket price. It's left up to the Customer Relations department to field calls and handle TCs. All customer relations reports are forwarded to the appropriate train managers and superintendents.

Ive seen from a few rooms to entire cars pulled out of service and not replaced. I've been on late trains where from 10 to 50 or 60 passengers missed connections. In Chicago Amtrak puts up passengers, if space is available, at the same hotel the crews stay in. I've met and talked to many passengers at the hotel about their experiences. Without any specific data to back it up, I'm still comfortable guessing that 90% or so of passengers are satisfied with the results in these situations. You can't always make everyone happy or completely satisfied, especially when you missed out on time with loved ones or lose a day of precious vacation time. I do think though that Amtrak and it's agents and representatives make every effort when re-accommodating passengers.

I have personally seen coach passengers moved into a sleeper or given complimentary meals. I've seen roomettes upgraded to bedrooms. I've personally worked in dining cars that fed complimentary meals to the entire train coach included when the train was late. I've seen conductors and attendants on-board, performing back flips to ensure that service recovery opportunities aren't missed. I see regularly customer relations reports, reporting mechanical defects or late trains but praise for how well their attendant still took good care of them during the trip.

Basically there is no short answer to your question. Situations and the strength and weaknesses and training of the people involved matter greatly when handling customer service recovery.

 

[RRrich]

I've only been riding Amtrak for a bit more than a year - during that time I have gotten the impression that the vast majority of Amtrak do all that they can to make the pax happy. There are of course a few rotten apples - amoung Amtrak personnel AND Amtrak pax!

 

[AlanB]

I am wondering if Amtrak has any kind of set policy on reaccomodating people on the next day's trains after a missed connection or delay.Should people in bedrooms normally expect bedrooms if bedrooms are available? If a person in a roomette previously was on the next train and it was out of roomettes, should they expect coach or a bedroom? If a coach passenger on the previous day's train happens to be in line with passenger services ahead of a sleeper pasenger, can they take the accomodation by virtue of being 1st in line and pay the difference?

Also, would Amtrak normally split accomodations if they had to and put someone in a roomette or coach for part of the trip and a bedroom for the rest?

If there is no set policy, is it up to the passenger to tell the agents what they want and negotiate?

Chris,

Ez223, hit the nail right on the head. There really is no "set" policy and there really can't be, as every situation is unique and different. That said, there are I believe some general rules.

Like, no a coach passenger should not be able to obtain any type of a sleeper on the next day's train, at least until all sleeping car passengers have already been accommodated or otherwise dealt with. In fact, I believe that once Amtrak realizes that a misconnect is going to happen, that all sleepers not already sold for the next day are blocked out from sale via an agent or Amtrak.com.

Bedroom people tend to get bedrooms until they're gone; roomette people tend to get roomettes until their gone. I'm not sure if there is any policy that states that roomette people aren't given rooms until bedroom people are accommodated either in a bedroom or a roomette. I believe that if someone had a roomette, and the only room left was a bedroom, that they would indeed be given the bedroom assuming that everyone else at the bedroom level had been accommodated.

One thing that I can tell you in the case of a misconnect, be first! That's very important. While I'm not suggesting that you trample others to get to the front of the line, being first gives you the best chance of being re-accommodated on the next day's train at the same level of accommodation that you originally had. This is especially true in the summer when trains are often sold out or close to it. Being last in line almost assures that you'll be downgraded to coach.

In fact, if you realize that you're going to misconnect, you may even want to try to be proactive and call Amtrak to make and hold a reservation for a sleeper on the next day's train. Then just exchange your tickets when you get to the station.

 

[diesteldorf]

I don't work in customer relations or in ticketing and reservations either. I do however frequently communicate with CNOC when rooms or cars are Bad Ordered, in order to assist to re-accommodate passengers.
It's been my experience that simply due to the sheer number of situations and possibilities that there is no specific exact policy or formula to re-accommodating passengers whether be it on the same train the same day or on say the next days train.

I can tell you that my boss expects that each passenger is notified to the extent possible and that every effort is made to get passengers to where they are going and ensure they are comfortable and that the service received reflects positively upon the value of the ticket price. It's left up to the Customer Relations department to field calls and handle TCs. All customer relations reports are forwarded to the appropriate train managers and superintendents.

Ive seen from a few rooms to entire cars pulled out of service and not replaced. I've been on late trains where from 10 to 50 or 60 passengers missed connections. In Chicago Amtrak puts up passengers, if space is available, at the same hotel the crews stay in. I've met and talked to many passengers at the hotel about their experiences. Without any specific data to back it up, I'm still comfortable guessing that 90% or so of passengers are satisfied with the results in these situations. You can't always make everyone happy or completely satisfied, especially when you missed out on time with loved ones or lose a day of precious vacation time. I do think though that Amtrak and it's agents and representatives make every effort when re-accommodating passengers.

I have personally seen coach passengers moved into a sleeper or given complimentary meals. I've seen roomettes upgraded to bedrooms. I've personally worked in dining cars that fed complimentary meals to the entire train coach included when the train was late. I've seen conductors and attendants on-board, performing back flips to ensure that service recovery opportunities aren't missed. I see regularly customer relations reports, reporting mechanical defects or late trains but praise for how well their attendant still took good care of them during the trip.

Basically there is no short answer to your question. Situations and the strength and weaknesses and training of the people involved matter greatly when handling customer service recovery.

Thanks for all the time you put in this thoughtful reply. I figired there can't be an exact policy but was curious about what others had witnessed. I know Amtrak can be extremely accomodating when they want to be.

To Alan's point, I can understand how it can help to be proactive. At the time of my parents' problems, I thought about trying to prebook a room on the next train day's train. However, I waited because I figured Amtrak would already have the situation handled.

 

[Tony]

In fact, I believe that once Amtrak realizes that a misconnect is going to happen, that all sleepers not already sold for the next day are blocked out from sale via an agent or Amtrak.com.

Well, that is kind-of a piece of a policy. A good piece.

In fact, if you realize that you're going to misconnect, you may even want to try to be proactive and call Amtrak to make and hold a reservation for a sleeper on the next day's train. Then just exchange your tickets when you get to the station.

So any block out, or hold, doesn't stop passengers who are directly affected by a missed connection, from calling into the "800" number and getting a first crack on any available accommodations?

I am just wondering how use Amtrak is, with passengers being able to call in from the (late) train itself. In other words, Amtrak's procedures pre-date cell phones.

 

[Chatter163]

The importance of Alan B's point about being proactive and calling ahead is well-taken. Though only a small part, a grand example of this may be found here:

http://www.on-track-on-line.com/trips/trip...-00-calta.shtml

 

[AlanB]

In fact, if you realize that you're going to misconnect, you may even want to try to be proactive and call Amtrak to make and hold a reservation for a sleeper on the next day's train. Then just exchange your tickets when you get to the station.

So any block out, or hold, doesn't stop passengers who are directly affected by a missed connection, from calling into the "800" number and getting a first crack on any available accommodations?

I am just wondering how use Amtrak is, with passengers being able to call in from the (late) train itself. In other words, Amtrak's procedures pre-date cell phones.

Well I was referring to just calling up and making a reservation with a regular agent, which means that you'd have to realize that a misconnect is going to happen and call before Amtrak puts up any block on things.

That said however, if you can get connected to a customer service agent, they can handle the reaccomodation even with a block on the normal sale of the rooms. The larger problem here though is that takes time, and depending on the route your on, time on a cell phone may not be something that you have. It only takes one dead spot to disconnect you.