Delayed Train-Forced out of Met Lounge at CHI?

[jis]

The prime contracting airline generally takes full responsibility for misfortunes that befall the operations of flights operated by outfits to whom such is contracted. E.g., when a passenger was dragged off a flight operated by United Express, which was operated by a regional airline, the airline that took the primary responsibility and the hit for it was United, which contracts those flights to the regional airline.

Similarly, it stands to reason that when things go wrong at the Met lounge, the outfit that ought to take full responsibility for it is Amtrak irrespective of whther they have contracted out the operations of some aspects of it to some other outfit.

There are many airports now where baggage handling is contracted out by airlines. Can you imagine the hue and cry that will arise if the airline simply said to its customer - you didn't get your bag? Tough go and talk to thus and such, and don't bother us?

 

[Lonestar648]

I thought the Lounge operations were sub-contracted, but that two Amtrak employees man the check in desk. Since Amtrak owns the Lounge, mans the check in desk with employees, they should be able to keep at least the front portion of the lounge open. There might not be any snacks, etc. with the contractor having gone home, but at least a comfortable place to wait.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I thought the Lounge operations were sub-contracted, but that two Amtrak employees man the check in desk. Since Amtrak owns the Lounge, mans the check in desk with employees, they should be able to keep at least the front portion of the lounge open. There might not be any snacks, etc. with the contractor having gone home, but at least a comfortable place to wait.

This!

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Franchises hotel operations, especially Choice, have done just that to me.

 

[CoachSlumber]

What's with all the "but Amtrak doesn't own or operate the lounge"? That's an excuse of interest to people involved in Amtrak operations, but is irrelevant as a matter of customer service. It's a service marketed by Amtrak to Amtrak customers. Who provides it is irrelevant in terms of what the expectations are and should be. Airlines don't fuel or stock their own airplanes in general, but no one would say, with a flight cancelled because of fueling or food delays , well, it's not the airline's fault so don't complain.. And this is something actually under direct control of Amtrak--the terms of when the vendor keeps the lounge open. This isn't some freak occurrence.

 

[Thirdrail7]

Airlines don't fuel or stock their own airplanes in general, but no one would say, with a flight cancelled because of fueling or food delays , well, it's not the airline's fault so don't complain.. And this is something actually under direct control of Amtrak--the terms of when the vendor keeps the lounge open. This isn't some freak occurrence.

Ummm...if you read the thread, you'll see pretty much EVERYONE said to complain. This is particularly true if this lounge is not directly operated by Amtrak since it would take high level administration (possibly an addendum, modification or clarification of the operating agreement) to settle this. Even if it is under Amtrak's direct control, as Greatcats indicated, they may be under the gun about overtime. Again, this take high level interference and it must come from the top. They must clarify that it is acceptable to spend the money on direct customer service or set limits on what is acceptable vs what is unacceptable.

I have my fingers crossed that the OP writes. As a matter of fact, everyone in this thread should write, email, tweet and then go to the PPC and do the same thing. When you're done with that, standby for the next station closure and be prepared to write about that.

That's the only thing (besides funding) that may get attention.

WRITE!!!!

 

[neroden]

Write directly to the CEO. As I said, the only reason I'm not doing so is that I'm laser-focused on a different severe customer service failure and don't want to distract from it.

 

[Adrouault]

I sent an email to Customer Relations.

 

[EchoSierra]

Where you'll be assigned a "Case Number" and you'll never hear from them again.

 

[cirdan]

I guess the question from me is WHY Amtrak has to sub-contract the lounge operation to a private money making business?

Ed.

If it provides the same or better level of service for less costs, why not? There are large swaths of programs/services that are outsourced.

In other words, the saving lies in paying people less, and then being surprised when they aren't prepared to go the extra mile in customer service.

 

[PVD]

Actually, while that is the usual driving force in outsourcing, in this case, they kept Amtrak employees at the desk and doing the wine tasting, it is the cleaning and food stocking that is outside. Since those are functions that were minimally done before, and the area was much smaller, they probably added cost in enhancing the service, The job cuts came in eliminating the checked baggage holding service, and the red caps who manned that area.

 

[Manny T]

When the staffed luggage room was eliminated from the Lounge when it moved, I always considered the purported "upgrade" to really be a downgrade. The one amenity of any value that Amtrak used to provide its Lounge customers--security for their left luggage--was gone, replaced by better seating, lighting and space. Not a fair exchange, in my view.

 

[PVD]

It was an anomaly in the way all of their lounges were operated, none of the others have it. I liked it and used it, but I doubt that the greatest majority of lounge users share your view about the relative value, and would swap the old for the new in a second.

 

[tricia]

Actually, while that is the usual driving force in outsourcing, in this case, they kept Amtrak employees at the desk and doing the wine tasting, it is the cleaning and food stocking that is outside. Since those are functions that were minimally done before, and the area was much smaller, they probably added cost in enhancing the service, The job cuts came in eliminating the checked baggage holding service, and the red caps who manned that area.

So, coming back to the original reason for this thread: It's Amtrak, not a contractor, who's deciding not to pay its employees to keep the lounge open long enough for the delayed departure of a train that originates in the lounge's station.

 

[TiBike]

In other words, the saving lies in paying people less, and then being surprised when they aren't prepared to go the extra mile in customer service.

Wrong. The people actually doing the work might be paid more or less, but even if they are paid less, that's a relatively minor benefit. The major benefit comes from getting rid of the management and logistic tail behind them. The contractor still has a tail -- although with a profit-making company it's likely to be shorter -- but you're sharing the cost with other customers of the contractor. That tail is also likely to be more effective -- it should include managers whose compensation depends on producing profits, which means efficient use of resources and keeping the customers, and the customer's customers, happy.

I haven't been in the new lounge in Chicago, but the old one was awful, at least the one time I was there. it was cramped and crowded, the WiFi was a joke and staff did nothing to help passengers, other than checking them in -- no boarding call for my train, I had to figure it out myself. Some free soft drinks aside (that was the only food and bev that hadn't run out), it was worse than a standard, public airport gate lounge during an airline meltdown. It's only saving grace was that it was better than the public area at Union Station.

Amtrak has a real problem with quality and consistency -- it doesn't have the management structure or employee culture for it. Outsourcing is a great solution -- Amtrak should do more of it.

 

[zephyr17]

Agree completely that Amtrak has a real problem with quality and consistency, in almost all aspects not limited to the Chicago lounge. Telephone agents that can't change rooms without changing the fare and who often know nothing at all about services, particularly on LDs and who make things up. Onboard service that ranges from pretty good, to non-existant, to hostile.

It is a very longstanding cultural and managerial problem that Amtrak has never seriously tackled.

A word about the lack of Red Cap baggage storage at the Chicago Metropolitan Lounge. I remember when Chicago did not do it in the old lounge, and they used a self service storage room to the right of the check in desk. When they started it, I found the Red Cap check in a pain in the rear and never liked it, and I always wondered why Chicago did it that way when no other lounge did. I continued to think it was a pain and I, for one, am glad they went back to self service.

 

[caravanman]

"Outsourcing is a great solution -- Amtrak should do more of it."

Strange, I thought the outsourcing was the reason for turning passengers out at 9pm, how is this so great?

Training or managing employed staff to do a decent job is not rocket science, I am astonished that folk always imagine that paying an outside company to do the job for less money will provide a better service, like for like.

We have the same mindset in the UK, which results in exploitation of staff for shareholder's profits...

Ed.

 

[TiBike]

Strange, I thought the outsourcing was the reason for turning passengers out at 9pm, how is this so great?

I don't know why passengers were turned out at 9pm. According to the OP, Amtrak employees and contractors punched out together. My working assumption is that the contractors were fulfilling their obligations under their contract, which Amtrak agreed to. But you make a fair point. You won't get better results unless contracts are written and managed with that objective in mind.

 

[me_little_me]

Sometimes lower cost occurs because of better efficiency. If Devil's Advocate is correct that "Only ancillary tasks like the snack service and cleanup were being handled by another company", then if tat company doesn't have enough work there to keep employees busy with snack service and cleanup for a full day, they can possibly us them elsewhere in the station. Amtrak may not have sufficient work in the lounge so they would have to pay people who do nothing for part of the day.

 

[Thirdrail7]

I don't know why passengers were turned out at 9pm. According to the OP, Amtrak employees and contractors punched out together. My working assumption is that the contractors were fulfilling their obligations under their contract, which Amtrak agreed to. But you make a fair point. You won't get better results unless contracts are written and managed with that objective in mind.

That is exactly why this has to go high. The OP should bypass customer service (who will send a voucher and apologize which accomplishes nothing) and email the CEO. Someone has to know it is acceptable to pay to keep the lounge open. If it is outsourced, it needs to be stated in the contract the lounge remains open until the last outbound train leaves (or something like that.) If it is not outsourced, then the employees need to know they can remain open until the last train leaves (or something like that.)

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Just out of curiosity do airline lounges normally stay open past normal closing during IRROPS?

 

[jis]

Just out of curiosity do airline lounges normally stay open past normal closing during IRROPS?

I have hd the privilege of staying in the IAD United Club way beyond normal closing time in an IRROPs situation. However, I don't know if that is the norm or an exception.

 

[willem]

When the staffed luggage room was eliminated from the Lounge when it moved, I always considered the purported "upgrade" to really be a downgrade. The one amenity of any value that Amtrak used to provide its Lounge customers--security for their left luggage--was gone, replaced by better seating, lighting and space. Not a fair exchange, in my view.

It was an anomaly in the way all of their lounges were operated, none of the others have it. I liked it and used it, but I doubt that the greatest majority of lounge users share your view about the relative value, and would swap the old for the new in a second.

Chicago still is the anomaly, in that the Metropolitan Lounge is the only lounge in the Amtrak system to offer showers, as far as I know. Amtrak is not averse to unique features, and could offer a staffed luggage storage facility in Chicago with minimal change to the layout.

 

[PVD]

Sure they could, but is there a good reason to? I personally like the checked service and used it. But not having it has not deterred my use of the lounge. The poster indicated that what the new lounge offers is not a fair exchange for baggage security, I disagree, and believe that most lounge users feel the same way.

 

[willem]

In answer to PVD's question, I believe there is a good reason to restore the checked luggage room. The new layout would make such a change easy, and some people (Manny T and me, at a minimum) would like to have the security.

The old lounge had an area that could have been used for unsecured storage (just to the right of the check-in desk), and I didn't understand why management thought that unattended luggage storage needed to be secure or not, rather than offering both. The new layout is not as conducive to offering both, which I think is unfortunate.

In short, I don't see that secure baggage storage and the change in lounge location are mutually exclusive.