Having a less than ideal trip so far!!

[musikdude]

Boarded the Crescent in ATL headed towards DC on Sunday night. I'm in a roomette. Boarding from ATL station was unorganized to say the least. Aren't sleeping

car passengers supposed to board first?? No help/no announcements, etc.

At the Lounge in DC, wifi not working. It has only worked 1 out of last 4 times I was in there fyi. If starbucks and mcdonalds can have functioning wi-fi 99.9% of the time at hundreds

of different location, why can't Amtrak provide it at 4 or 5 key locations??

On Cap Lim from DC to CHI, was stuck in transdorm car (again)- no big deal except you tend to get neglected by attendant back there. No paper in the morning

yet I see it in other cars. Went to diner car at 7am, was full. Put name on waitlist. They never called my name. Went back to diner car about 8am, now it is "too late" to get breakfast. So no food! Lame! The same lady who was in charge of dining car did not call my 8pm dinner reservation the night before. I just walked in there at 8:20 and was last person to be seated. Just bad customer service from her (the server was fine).

Then I go into Lounge in CHI and the wifi is not working there either!!!

When you pay for sleeping car service, you should expect to receive all the amenities that are advertised as well as good service. Am I wrong to want to call in and complain at this point??

 

[jerichowhiskey]

No, call it in.

 

[the_traveler]

ATL is the worst station for boarding, especially if you must use the elevator. Did you mention the non-working wifi to the desk at either WAS or CHI?

I have had that also, and as soon as I asked about it, they reset the router and it worked fine! (sometimes at home, I also have to reset my router.) But there is no excuse for not being called for meals!

 

[Guest]

Did you mention to the attendants in WAS and CHI that the wifi was not working? I have done that before and they say they will "reset it," and that brings it back. I guess they don't constantly monitor it to make sure it's working.

Sleeper passengers not getting served in the diner is terrible. Definitely report this to Customer Relations. They do take this seriously and there is follow-up with service managers.

 

[Railroad Bill]

Yes, on our last trip on the Crescent, the Atlanta agents made announcements for the coach passengers to board the front of the train even though the sleepers were up front. We were on the train and heard the conductor go bonkers because he had told the agents inside to hold all passengers for a few minutes.

Then here comes the thundering hoard on the platform-- sleeper passengers at the rear and no sleepers. Coach passengers in the front--and no coaches.

Needless to say, the passengers were upset, the train crew shook their heads--and we just took some photos of downtown Atlanta and wondered -- "who is running this station??" :giggle:

 

[guest]

Boarded the Crescent in ATL headed towards DC on Sunday night. I'm in a roomette. Boarding from ATL station was unorganized to say the least. Aren't sleeping

car passengers supposed to board first?? No help/no announcements, etc.

At the Lounge in DC, wifi not working. It has only worked 1 out of last 4 times I was in there fyi. If starbucks and mcdonalds can have functioning wi-fi 99.9% of the time at hundreds

of different location, why can't Amtrak provide it at 4 or 5 key locations??

On Cap Lim from DC to CHI, was stuck in transdorm car (again)- no big deal except you tend to get neglected by attendant back there. No paper in the morning

yet I see it in other cars. Went to diner car at 7am, was full. Put name on waitlist. They never called my name. Went back to diner car about 8am, now it is "too late" to get breakfast. So no food! Lame! The same lady who was in charge of dining car did not call my 8pm dinner reservation the night before. I just walked in there at 8:20 and was last person to be seated. Just bad customer service from her (the server was fine).

Then I go into Lounge in CHI and the wifi is not working there either!!!

When you pay for sleeping car service, you should expect to receive all the amenities that are advertised as well as good service. Am I wrong to want to call in and complain at this point??

Welcome to Amtrak!!! Where no trip can be taken without some service screw-up somewhere along the line!! That should be Amtrak's slogan!!

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

ATL boarding being bad and Wi-Fi not working is not unusual. I'm using a router right now and sometimes I do have to reset it. However, not getting served is very bad! Definately report this to Amtrak. I've never had a problem with not getting served.

 

[the_traveler]

1344365187[/url]' post='385620']Welcome to Amtrak!!! Where no trip can be taken without some service screw-up somewhere along the line!! That should be Amtrak's slogan!!

I'm going to approve this post, but you can say the same thing about just about any plane, bus or car trip also!

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Boarded the Crescent in ATL headed towards DC on Sunday night. I'm in a roomette. Boarding from ATL station was unorganized to say the least. Aren't sleeping

car passengers supposed to board first?? No help/no announcements, etc.

At the Lounge in DC, wifi not working. It has only worked 1 out of last 4 times I was in there fyi. If starbucks and mcdonalds can have functioning wi-fi 99.9% of the time at hundreds

of different location, why can't Amtrak provide it at 4 or 5 key locations??

On Cap Lim from DC to CHI, was stuck in transdorm car (again)- no big deal except you tend to get neglected by attendant back there. No paper in the morning

yet I see it in other cars. Went to diner car at 7am, was full. Put name on waitlist. They never called my name. Went back to diner car about 8am, now it is "too late" to get breakfast. So no food! Lame! The same lady who was in charge of dining car did not call my 8pm dinner reservation the night before. I just walked in there at 8:20 and was last person to be seated. Just bad customer service from her (the server was fine).

Then I go into Lounge in CHI and the wifi is not working there either!!!

When you pay for sleeping car service, you should expect to receive all the amenities that are advertised as well as good service. Am I wrong to want to call in and complain at this point??

Welcome to Amtrak!!! Where no trip can be taken without some service screw-up somewhere along the line!! That should be Amtrak's slogan!!

Not always! And bus, car, and airplane trips are prone to similar problems. I find your post extremly disrespectful and sarcastic to the employees of Amtrak. You sound like all of them are trying to give passengers a bad day.

 

[NY Penn]

Welcome to Amtrak!!! Where no trip can be taken without some service screw-up somewhere along the line!! That should be Amtrak's slogan!!

I'm going to approve this post, but you can say the same thing about just about any plane, bus or car trip also!

I'd call your response very untrue.

I've had many perfect or almost-prefect trips on other modes, but fewer on Amtrak.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

As others have said, call Customer Service. Be polite and diplomatic and support your argument with examples and times, which it sounds like you have well documented.

 

[me_little_me]

Boarded the Crescent in ATL headed towards DC on Sunday night. I'm in a roomette. Boarding from ATL station was unorganized to say the least. Aren't sleeping

car passengers supposed to board first?? No help/no announcements, etc.

That's the Atlanta I have taken a number of trips out of.

It's a zoo with everyone either standing by the elevator blocking passengers exiting after deboarding the train or just blocking the whole entrance area.

Sleeper passengers get cut no slack in Atlanta. You just push your way through like everyone else.

Have heavy bags, are elderly or are in a wheelchair and need the elevator? You'll have to wait for the elevator behind the young healthy people with just a little bit of luggage who don't want to make the effort to walk DOWN the stairs.

Station is too small so no place to wait unless you want to be the last to board. One elevator. No escalator. Lots of passengers.

This is the way it seems to have been for years.

On the other hand, no need to rush if you are in a sleeper. Nobody is going to get your room or grab all the good seats leaving you with no place to sit.

 

[PRR 60]

1344365187[/url]' post='385620']Welcome to Amtrak!!! Where no trip can be taken without some service screw-up somewhere along the line!! That should be Amtrak's slogan!!

I'm going to approve this post, but you can say the same thing about just about any plane, bus or car trip also!

Not with the frequency of screw-ups on Amtrak.

I don't think that excusing Amtrak's service issues by saying it can happen on other modes is helpful, and in many cases the comparison is totally false. I've never been in an airline lounge where the wifi was not working, and for facilities and amenities, even the most modest airline lounges put Amtrak lounges to shame. I've never been in airline first class and been denied a meal.

 

[Ispolkom]

On the other hand, no need to rush if you are in a sleeper. Nobody is going to get your room or grab all the good seats leaving you with no place to sit.

That's what we have done. We just wait for the teeming masses to make their way down, and then go at our leisure. There are so many people boarding and leaving the train that we've always had plenty of time to board.

 

[Mackensen]

It's been my experience that the wifi at Chicago works fitfully, mostly because they're using a single residential-class router that probably needs its firmware updated. Resetting it tends to resolve the issue. This isn't true in DC, which has proper wifi. I'm surprised to hear that it wasn't working, and I haven't had that problem myself. I wouldn't personally generalize said experiences into a statement that Amtrak can't do wifi but your mileage may vary. I also don't know what Amtrak has to do with McDonalds. One provides public transport, a money-loser, and the other sells fast food. I think if Amtrak would love to have McDonald's financial resources.

Peachtree Station in Atlanta is a nightmare, from what I've heard. It's an ex-Southern Railway commuter station and was never meant to handle major traffic. That being said it hasn't been my experience, outside of truly major stations like Chicago and Washington, that sleeper passengers board first. I don't believe Amtrak promises any such service.

The Capitol Limited is scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 8:45 AM Central Time. You didn't say whether it was ET or CT. Breakfast is first-come first-served and often quite busy by 7 AM since coach passengers are hungry too. They probably never called your name because they never got to it.

I'll admit that I've had problems with the OBS staff on the Capitol Limited, mostly having to do with dinner reservations. I think we had the same person taking them, and I know exactly what you mean about her attitude. That aside, I don't see a litany of screw-ups myself, and since it wasn't mentioned apparently the trains actually ran on time.

 

[the_traveler]

The CL (and also the LSL) generally stop serving breakfast around South Bend.

 

[yarrow]

1344365187[/url]' post='385620']Welcome to Amtrak!!! Where no trip can be taken without some service screw-up somewhere along the line!! That should be Amtrak's slogan!!

I'm going to approve this post, but you can say the same thing about just about any plane, bus or car trip also!

i don't think there should be any question of approving the post. i thought personal attacks and non-amtrak content were about the only prohibited items. from my experience amtrak is by far the worst transportation modality i have used in terms of otp and employee attitude(not that there aren't many great employees).

 

[Mackensen]

1344365187[/url]' post='385620']Welcome to Amtrak!!! Where no trip can be taken without some service screw-up somewhere along the line!! That should be Amtrak's slogan!!

I'm going to approve this post, but you can say the same thing about just about any plane, bus or car trip also!

i don't think there should be any question of approving the post. i thought personal attacks and non-amtrak content were about the only prohibited items. from my experience amtrak is by far the worst transportation modality i have used in terms of otp and employee attitude(not that there aren't many great employees).

I think it would be interesting to poll the regulars on where they get the worst customer service. For me, hands down, it's the station staff in Chicago. Comparatively, I've never had anything less than average service from an SCA, and some were truly memorable.

 

[jb64]

Welcome to Amtrak!!! Where no trip can be taken without some service screw-up somewhere along the line!! That should be Amtrak's slogan!!

I'm going to approve this post, but you can say the same thing about just about any plane, bus or car trip also!

Was there a question about approving this post? On what grounds, because they have a different opinion than you? Is this your personal forum? I don't understand your statement. Poster was just stating an opinion which contained no offensive words, personal attacks, or political content.

 

[RampWidget]

Peachtree Station in Atlanta is a nightmare, from what I've heard. It's an ex-Southern Railway commuter station and was never meant to handle major traffic.

Correct, although I'd term it more of a suburban station than a commuter station. That's one reason there was no parking designed around the station; most of the clientele then was Pullman-oriented and were dropped off at the station by their drivers or by taxis; their luggage was handled by baggagemen & porters so they didn't have to shlep it down those long, narrow stairs!

Now, the station loads seen at ATL are far and away above the ridership the station was designed to handle when it was opened to serve passengers in the then-new suburbs of the Northwest Atlanta area. The location of the station near the wealthy Brookwood Hills neighborhood just to the northwest is the reason why locals refer to the station as "Brookwood Station" instead of its official name of Peachtree Station.

 

[Nathanael]

I don't think that excusing Amtrak's service issues by saying it can happen on other modes is helpful, and in many cases the comparison is totally false. I've never been in an airline lounge where the wifi was not working, and for facilities and amenities, even the most modest airline lounges put Amtrak lounges to shame. I've never been in airline first class and been denied a meal.

I have had every last one of these things happen, from airline lounges with roaches to airline first class with no meal. Friends have had airlines refuse to provide them with rooms after cancelling their flights at midpoints. You must be flying on better airlines than I. Many airlines don't even provide enough *oxygen* in the cabin, which would really be the most basic service.

Many US airlines suck, big time. Certainly, sometimes Amtrak's service is unacceptable and this should be reported.

But if you've been a regular traveller on US Air regional flights, or America West, you would probably retract your claims that it's unusually bad. And don't get me started on the quality of rest stops on highway trips.

 

[Nathanael]

i don't think there should be any question of approving the post. i thought personal attacks and non-amtrak content were about the only prohibited items. from my experience amtrak is by far the worst transportation modality i have used in terms of otp and employee attitude(not that there aren't many great employees).

Well, from my experience Amtrak is by far the best transportation system *in the US* which I have experienced in terms of employee attitude. Most of the others have *sucked*. I think the last helpful US airline employee I dealt with was sometime in the 1980s.

Foreign transportation systems are generally in another league of customer service entirely, however -- in all of Europe and Asia I've had consistently impressive customer service compared to anything in the US.

I can't argue about OTP. Amtrak is really bad about that. Sigh.

 

[Nathanael]

I think it would be interesting to poll the regulars on where they get the worst customer service. For me, hands down, it's the station staff in Chicago. Comparatively, I've never had anything less than average service from an SCA, and some were truly memorable.

There really is a lack of uniformity. Worst I've ever seen was RedCaps in LA who simply failed to show up to a call for a mobility-impaired passenger, three times -- that's unacceptable. Everything else was tolerable at least.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I think it would be interesting to poll the regulars on where they get the worst customer service. For me, hands down, it's the station staff in Chicago. Comparatively, I've never had anything less than average service from an SCA, and some were truly memorable.

Rude and indifferent station staff is a big one. However, I've also seen some really great staff here and there and I'm typically only at the station for a brief period. In many cases I can simply avoid the station staff altogether if the QuikTrak machine is functioning and I can avoid checking any baggage. For me the dining car staff are the most likely to disappoint me on any given trip. It's exceedingly rare that they don't get short with someone in my presence, usually by shouting at them directly or launching into a train-wide warning over the public address system to everyone else. I've managed to figure out how to avoid their bad attitudes myself, mainly by never asking for anything they don't offer themselves, but the poor quality grade school cafeteria style food still manages to sour my mood.

Many passengers don't seem to realize what they're up against until they enter and that's when things start to go south. I get tired of watching the staff challenge and/or ignore their customers over and over again. It just gets so old after a while. The admonishments at the door. The warnings over the public address system. The needlessly confusing ordering process. The disappointments when the food finally arrives. The refusals to make exceptions for anyone. Watching two different families try to figure out how to order food in a way that would fit into their budget without running afoul of the contradictory warnings from the no-exceptions staff gave me some insight into what a pain this can be for the uninitiated. I sincerely doubt politicians like John Mica have our best interests at heart, but I do agree that something needs to be done to make the diner a more enjoyable experience than it currently is.

Next up would be SCA's. I've had good, bad, and ugly SCA's. The good ones really enhance the experience and can make the trip even more enjoyable than you hoped for. In fact a really good SCA can help you get around just about anything that your trip might throw at you. The bad SCA's can make the trip a bit more tedious but most of the handful of services the SCA role still provides aren't even all that important to able-bodied folks me so it's not much of a loss. However, the "ugly" SCA's can make the trip into a major letdown by making a fuss over nothing, needlessly shouting at passengers, bitching about their responsibilities or compensation, or even admonishing paying passengers for not doing the SCA's job for them. I understand that some folks just want "consistency" but if we end up with consistently bad employees I'm done.

The Coach Attendants can be surprisingly abrasive as well, but you're not really expecting them to do much of anything beyond herding you into a specific car or seat and kicking you off the train, or at least I'm not. So in that sense it's not as much of a problem for me. After that you have the reservation desk, which I've actually had pretty good luck with. Then there's the Ministry of Chaos, otherwise known as Amtrak Quantum Rewards, which I can barely understand let alone complain about.

 

[Peter KG6LSE]

Welcome to Amtrak!!! Where no trip can be taken without some service screw-up somewhere along the line!! That should be Amtrak's slogan!!

A much as I am a supporter of the rails . I will not Lie to others and put lipstick on a pig.

Amtrak has A wonderful potential l to be WAY better then any other transport in the USA.

Lets Be frank . People by nature tend to dwell on Negatives . More then the positives .

WE and I use that term lightly and not in a normal context .

but WE tend to put up with the bad to do what we love . We rationalize the lack of consistency we ignore the problems cause WE feel WE made a Lesser of the 3 evli's choice to ride a train .

Aware or not Our heads make a choice knowing we have a chance to be delayed . a chance to have bad employee and the like .

I have met some wonderfull train staff and station staff. some know me and remember me from trips a year apart! this tickeles me pink . BUt I have had some real fools too. the kiddi walk at SAC . the understandably busy but have a I dont really care tude at CUS.

But hey My Old HOME station of OTM I knew the station master there well as I often got there WAyyy early when I did my trips home to my parents house in Cali and then oregon . . Me and him were on a first name basis and have pro respect for eatch other .

I look at it this way

some of Us here vet riders and are OK with some of the games amtrak plays .

I am a novice and I am OK to a extent with what happens .But I like the comic con thread . you REALLY shoot your foot when 1000s of green horns ride and get a bad taist the first trip ......

Heck had my 1st trip been bad I might have never rode again . But in the early 2000s I took a trip on a train from Lompoc to FUL . as My mom and I were seeing friends at teh AFB there . . I had NO plans to be in a darn car for hours again and we for craps and giggles got me a Tix I THINK was was Just old enough .... I had a blast !

for Years I had no Need to take a train . but I moved to Iowa and OTM as NO flights . I had to rail or take a bus . .

I am what you might call a heavy user of the SWC and the CZ . and CS .

I have had some bad trips . but many good ones . funny my least fave is the CS ..

The KEY to amtrak is gonna be consistency . I dont care how crappy or good but its bad face to have this two-face behavior from a company whom needs now more then ever some soild Long term riders .

I do not think every mess up is voucher worthy but I really think the customer service Dept needs to think like customer retention ..

In this day and age one screw up with people who are in the media can have a negative effect ..

N, amtrak does not need to Fear the News but like ANY biz Esp one in the transport industry they need to be on there toes .

My fears are people whom are train users from accross the pond will EXPECT by human nature to have on time trains . to have polite staff and have a clean seat or room(ette) . While they are not gonna be Repeat users for decades . They do have opinions that matter......

If I was From France with the SNCF and had a busted down SWC in needles on a visit here . I am gonna formulate my opinion that the USA have trash for trains .

WE ( the USA ) need to have more PRIDE in what we have ! . No wonder half the world laughs at us .

Our rolling stock is the laughing stock .

Its time for amtrak to get some Clue that this is not 1992.

This whole E Tix mess up is un excusable . And 100% preventable .

I really hope that this mess is fixed fast ..

Peter..