Complaint Processing Time

[b243923]

When I started this thread it was not intended to complain about the Auto Train.

We have taken it in the previous year and was quite happy. The service on this trip we felt was not up to Amtrak level of service. We are going to be regular passengers every year as we own property in Florida and want the use of our car while there.

If you paid me to take a sleeper roomette I would not travel that way ever again. Only took the roomette as it was

$30.00 more than coach on the way down.

I realize in coach you do not have the same privacy and will be disturbed by passengers and others going through the coach. But we did not expect to have the conductor flashing lights in our eyes in the middle of the night. As mentioned previously we were happy last year and the car attendant was quite visible and available when needed. The issue of no heat was a great inconvience. I was scheduled for surgery the next week and could not afford to get sick.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Because there was absolutely nothing to get offended over. You can only defend something if it's attacked, and nothing is being attacked here.

I wasn't outraged or even offended. Annoyed maybe, but that's about it. I tend to ride in sleepers most of the time myself, but I can still remember the days when coach was all I could manage and I see no reason for coach passengers to be ignored or mocked when it comes to shabby service. I would expect that many, perhaps even most, new passengers will start with coach first and if they find their service levels to be sub par they are unlikely to continue using the service at either level. That seems like a reasonably important consideration to me. I fear the same is true of AU itself, insomuch as the less we address coach concerns and the more we mock such complaints the less we will hear from coach passengers. Some of whom may have equally valid perspectives on the issues and problems currently facing Amtrak and potential solutions to those issues.

Such momentary disturbances are NOT a reasonable cause to demand a refund from Amtrak.

How about the continued lack of heat and a permanently disappearing car attendant? Are coach passengers supposed to expect that sort of treatment as well? This is supposed to be one of Amtrak's premier lines. It only has two stops, only one of which is a valid destination for passengers, so there's no obvious reason why anyone would need to wake up coach passengers in the middle of the night. The combination of those issues seems worthy of a refund to me, and apparently to Amtrak from the sounds of it. Why AU members would want Amtrak to treat their coach passengers even worse than Amtrak itself is willing to accept is quite simply beyond my comprehension.

 

[daveyb99]

Thanks I will call them today. I will report back as the compensation they offer.

Just curious: why does everyone think they are due some compensation if something goes wrong.

I would let my sternly worded letter stand.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Just curious: why does everyone think they are due some compensation if something goes wrong. I would let my sternly worded letter stand.

Just curious, but at what point would you consider compensation to be warranted?

 

[Ryan]

To me it sounded like he was only in this thread to demean coach passengers and remind them that they're somehow inferior to sleeper passengers. Maybe that sort of thinking has become so endemic to AU that it no longer stands out to most members.

IMHO, it is nothing more than a reality check. A reality check originally meant for b243923, and I guess now for a few others too.

If one decides to ride in coach for an overnight trip, one should expect that one could be briefly disturbed during the night. This could be by another passenger, the car attendant, or yes, the conductor.

Such momentary disturbances are NOT a reasonable cause to demand a refund from Amtrak. :angry:

Additional privacy in a sleeper compartment is one of the perks those are afforded. That isn't discrimination. Get real here. What's next? Some of you are going to picket outside the Acela Lounges, demanding equal access for all coach passengers? hboy:

Seconded wholeheartedly.

When I started this thread it was not intended to complain about the Auto Train.

We have taken it in the previous year and was quite happy. The service on this trip we felt was not up to Amtrak level of service. We are going to be regular passengers every year as we own property in Florida and want the use of our car while there.

If you paid me to take a sleeper roomette I would not travel that way ever again. Only took the roomette as it was

$30.00 more than coach on the way down.

I realize in coach you do not have the same privacy and will be disturbed by passengers and others going through the coach. But we did not expect to have the conductor flashing lights in our eyes in the middle of the night. As mentioned previously we were happy last year and the car attendant was quite visible and available when needed. The issue of no heat was a great inconvience. I was scheduled for surgery the next week and could not afford to get sick.

That's certainly unusual on the Auto Train, as it goes to the more senior crews and tends to attract the best and the brightest. Were you given any indication who/what the conductor was looking for? As far as the heat goes, the HVAC has had issues on enough trips that it's best to be prepared - I always dress in layers (if it gets to hot I can always go to a short sleeved shirt) and have a blanket in the carry on bag.

I wasn't outraged or even offended. Annoyed maybe, but that's about it.

Call it whatever you want, but accusing someone of "class warfare" over a simple question is uncalled for.

I tend to ride in sleepers most of the time myself, but I can still remember the days when coach was all I could manage and I see no reason for coach passengers to be ignored or mocked when it comes to shabby service. I would expect that many, perhaps even most, new passengers will start with coach first and if they find their service levels to be sub par they are unlikely to continue using the service at either level. That seems like a reasonably important consideration to me. I fear the same is true of AU itself, insomuch as the less we address coach concerns and the more we mock such complaints the less we will hear from coach passengers. Some of whom may have equally valid perspectives on the issues and problems currently facing Amtrak and potential solutions to those issues.

I don't disagree with any of this, but fail to see how it's relevant to the thread at hand. I don't see anyone getting ignored or mocked here except for the guest that had the audacity to ask a simple question.

Why AU members would want Amtrak to treat their coach passengers even worse than Amtrak itself is willing to accept is quite simply beyond my comprehension.

[citation needed] I'm not seeing anyone advocating for coach passengers to be treated "even worse than Amtrak itself".

Just curious: why does everyone think they are due some compensation if something goes wrong. I would let my sternly worded letter stand.

Just curious, but at what point would you consider compensation to be warranted?

I won't speak for daveyb, but for me compensation would be warranted for several situations:1. Amtrak fails to get you to your final destination (for example the recent thread where the Ambus couldn't make it through and returned the passengers to SAC).

2. Amtrak is forced to downgrade your accommodations (bedroom to roomette, sleeper to coach, perhaps train to bus depending on circumstances, etc).

3. Massive delays (although I'm really having trouble quantifying what a cutoff would be - I think that part of it depends on the reason for the delay).

4. Equipment problems (again, I can't really come up with a definitive criteria, but no heat in the wintertime would likely qualify for something).

I'm sure that I'm missing something...

 

[AlanB]

That's certainly unusual on the Auto Train, as it goes to the more senior crews and tends to attract the best and the brightest. Were you given any indication who/what the conductor was looking for?

Actually that's not true at all. The Auto Train has plenty of less senior workers, as compared to the rest of the Amtrak system. The Auto Train tends to be more selective about its crews and they're probably more closely monitored than else where in the system. But the AT, at least as far as the employees are concerned is a different company. An employee moving from the rest of Amtrak to the AT loses all of their seniority in the union. They essentially have to apply for the job as a new hire and start at the bottom of the totem pole in terms of seniority, they can't just bid for an AT job like they can do in the rest of the Amtrak system.

As for that conductor, I have to wonder if he wasn't told to go looking for someone for some reason. Be it a police request or for some other reason. Or perhaps this has something to do with that women who fell off the train a year or so ago.

 

[PaulM]

Just curious: why does everyone think they are due some compensation if something goes wrong.

The main reason is that some years ago Amtrak made it part of a marketing campaign; and it still seems to be in place.

Personally, I don't expect anything if a problem is completely out of Amtrak's hands, e.g., freight wreck, floods, mudslide, etc. I definitely go for it if it is a mechanical problem (I consider an engine failure due to cold weather mechanical, not weather related). Otherwise if Amtrak didn't have to compensate for mechanical problems, it would be foolish for a manager not to skip on maintenance (just as a bank would be foolish not to grant junk mortgages if they can unload the default risk on someone else).

As far as on board service personnel are concerned, because of the decentralized nature of the business the customer to a large extent performs the quality assurance function. After all if one had a complaint, I doubt the conductor could do much about it, even if the passenger knew the difference between a conductor from an engineer.

 

[gregsandiego]

So I wonder if anyone else around the country noticed the disappearance of the official complaint form. The "Blue Card"

http://surfliner.blogspot.com/2011/02/amtrak-blue-card.html

 

[AlanB]

So I wonder if anyone else around the country noticed the disappearance of the official complaint form. The "Blue Card"

http://surfliner.blogspot.com/2011/02/amtrak-blue-card.html

That's the official complaint form for Amtrak California, which despite the name Amtrak, technically has nothing to do with Amtrak. If that form is gone, it's because the State of California wants it gone or failed to fund it.

Only those riding in California on the Pacific Surliners, Capitol Corridor, or the San Joaquins would know about that form.

 

[Greg]

you stated you "folded the bed" in the middle of the night" were you not using both beds? (upper and lower)?

Yes we were in coach. What difference would that make. On the way down we did the sleeper car thing and that was not pleasurable either. The roomettes are not suitable for 2 person. We ended up folding the bed closed in the middle of the night and slept in the seats. We would never take a roomette again.

Well I got through to customer service finally after being on hold twice and haveing to wait to speak to customers service department. Julie does not give you the option of speaking to customer service she connect you to an agent who in turn transfers you customer servic.

They offered me $50.00 voucher towards next years travel. I was not really pleased with the amount, but I guess it is better than nothing.

n.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Call it whatever you want, but accusing someone of "class warfare" over a simple question is uncalled for.

I'd say there is a rather large difference between "outrage" and "annoyance." I routinely see numerous posts that mock coach passengers and it gets tiring after a while. Maybe you don't see it that way or simply don't feel the same way about them as I do. Such is life.

Why AU members would want Amtrak to treat their coach passengers even worse than Amtrak itself is willing to accept is quite simply beyond my comprehension.

I'm not seeing anyone advocating for coach passengers to be treated "even worse than Amtrak itself".

Well, if Amtrak apparently thinks that the OP deserved compensation because of the poor level of service they received while multiple AU members apparently feel zero compensation was warranted, what would you call that? If I removed the word "want" and replaced it with "allow" would that work better?

4. Equipment problems (again, I can't really come up with a definitive criteria, but no heat in the wintertime would likely qualify for something).

Number four works for me, and apparently worked for Amtrak as well, so in that sense I think we're on the same page.

 

[b243923]

We folded the lower bed up and used it as 2 separate beds as nobody could take sleeping in the upper bed. It was too close to the ceiling and felt like sleeping in a coffin. We both gave it a try and neither one of us could sleep there.

We slept better in the upwright seats than in the 2 beds.

The sleeper portion is not part of our original complaint. I just mentioned it and would never do it again.