AT Booking Strangeness

[Allypet]

I just booked my AT trip 11 months out to get the lowest bucket. I learned from these forums to call the 877-SKIP-I-95 number to get a AT specialist as I also had some questions. I wanted to book for 5 persons with a bedroom and a roomette. First off the women was rushing me off the phone by just rapidly asking me questions and never really giving me a chance to ask anything. At one point I had to interrupt her so I could just get my AGR number on the booking! After she rushed through and finalized everything without ever asking me if there was anything else I wanted, I asked if the rooms were in the same car and she said "no", like I should know that. The bedroom was in 5341 and the roomette was in 5342. I told her I wanted the same car and she then reluctantly had to go back and redo the reservation.

I thought it was strange that the computer would split cars like that in the same reservation on an empty train. In the end I did get all rooms in 5341, but I'm glad I asked.

 

[me_little_me]

Call the regular number late at night for reservations. I've had conversations with agents about L.A. where some of them are and N.C. where I live. I've never had them rush me through reservations as they are probably not very busy. Especially true for the AT as all the old people going to FL are in bed by 10PM. :giggle:

 

[Ryan]

I thought it was strange that the computer would split cars like that in the same reservation on an empty train. In the end I did get all rooms in 5341, but I'm glad I asked.

It does that on purpose to balance the load between the sleeping cars, when you ask for 2 rooms it just gets the next 2 rooms off the list.

 

[PRR 60]

I thought it was strange that the computer would split cars like that in the same reservation on an empty train. In the end I did get all rooms in 5341, but I'm glad I asked.

It does that on purpose to balance the load between the sleeping cars, when you ask for 2 rooms it just gets the next 2 rooms off the list.

I understand that for picking rooms as reservations come in, but shouldn't there be a presumption that someone booking two rooms on one reservation would like them together or at least in close proximity?

 

[jb64]

I thought it was strange that the computer would split cars like that in the same reservation on an empty train. In the end I did get all rooms in 5341, but I'm glad I asked.

It does that on purpose to balance the load between the sleeping cars, when you ask for 2 rooms it just gets the next 2 rooms off the list.

Okay, except an agent with half of a brain should know that the person making the reservations for a group would most likely want to have them near each other, not in different cars. Makes you wonder how many people were rushed off the phone before they got to ask about location and didn't know they had rooms in different cars until they checked in or boarded. I would think that would leave a bad taste in your mouth if it was your first trip.

 

[Ryan]

Easy guys! I never said that it was right, just explaining how the system works.

Yes, it would be logical to do things differently. Maybe one day Amtrak will upgrade their systems to behave that way, or train their agents to override the system and put people in adjacent rooms, but I won't hold my breath waiting...

 

[Anthony]

Always a good idea to mention a location preference, if you have one, as early in the call as possible -- but what you'll find is that many agents don't understand how to request that preference correctly in the system, leading to such assertions as "This upper-level roomette in car A costs more than this lower-level roomette in car B on the same train," which is never true all else being equal.

(Exception: It could be true for a shared/split train like 7 and 27 - the different train numbers are the key here, as in, a roomette on 7 could be a different price than on 27 at the same moment.)

 

[jb64]

Easy guys! I never said that it was right, just explaining how the system works.

Yes, it would be logical to do things differently. Maybe one day Amtrak will upgrade their systems to behave that way, or train their agents to override the system and put people in adjacent rooms, but I won't hold my breath waiting...

Didn't mean to imply that you were promoting the action, just furthering the conversation.

 

[Allypet]

I thought it was strange that the computer would split cars like that in the same reservation on an empty train. In the end I did get all rooms in 5341, but I'm glad I asked.

It does that on purpose to balance the load between the sleeping cars, when you ask for 2 rooms it just gets the next 2 rooms off the list.

Okay, except an agent with half of a brain should know that the person making the reservations for a group would most likely want to have them near each other, not in different cars. Makes you wonder how many people were rushed off the phone before they got to ask about location and didn't know they had rooms in different cars until they checked in or boarded. I would think that would leave a bad taste in your mouth if it was your first trip.

That's what I was thinking. I knew enough to interrupt her and ask if the rooms were all in the same car, but someone booking for the first time would be very disappointed. I actually called at almost 9PM eastern time so I would have time to talk.

I do have to give her credit for one thing, for as fast as she was talking and typing, she never asked me twice about anything I said and got all the information I gave her correct.

Thanks all for your responses!

 

[AlanB]

Call the regular number late at night for reservations. I've had conversations with agents about L.A. where some of them are and N.C. where I live. I've never had them rush me through reservations as they are probably not very busy. Especially true for the AT as all the old people going to FL are in bed by 10PM. :giggle:

If one has specific questions related to the Auto Train, like Allypet did, then calling the regular number is never a good idea. The special number for the AT leads to agents specially trained in the AT operations and AFAIK they have access to information that the regular agents don't, or at least wouldn't know how to find.

If you just need a reservation, then calling either number is fine. But if you want to ask questions specific to the AT, then call the AT number.