ALC Rail Writer
Engineer
Allow me to express my dissatisfaction for AGR.
I have spring break coming up and wanted to get out of Dodge, however I was short on cash. What I was not short on was, of course, AGR points-- so I thought I would book myself the KWD-CBS loophole, and for added funsies I'd go with ()deluxe) bedrooms mainly because... I wanted to have fun!
So, my original plan, and the one I gave to the AGR agent was:
3-30: ALC-CHI 29 (coach-paid)
3-30: CHI-STL-KWD 303/313 (BC-paid)
3-30: KWD-KCS 313 (bc-AGR)
3-30: KCS-LAX 3 (bedroom-AGR)
4-1: LAX-PDX 14 (bedroom-AGR)
4-2: PDX-CBS 28 (bedroom-AGR)
4-4: CBS-CHI 28 (stay in bedroom, with PAID coach ticket)
4-4: CHI-ALC 30 (coach-paid)
Of course I only asked for a bedroom from KWD-CBS. First call I got the "it crosses zone borders" excuse, the second call I got the ressie without question or concern. This was on March 16th.
Cut to March 22nd, today. I received my AGR tickets. First problem, everything got put back a day-- I started KWD-KCS on the 29th, not the 30th. Secondly, for some reason, the ticket from PDX-CBS was a lower level coach seat... so my trip looked like this:
3-30: ALC-CHI 29 (coach-paid)
3-30: CHI-STL-KWD 303/313 (BC-paid)
3-29: KWD-KCS 313 (bc-AGR)
3-29: KCS-LAX 3 (bedroom-AGR)
3-31: LAX-PDX 14 (bedroom-AGR)
4-1: PDX-CBS 28 (coach-AGR)
4-3: CBS-CHI 28 (coach, paid)
4-4: CHI-ALC 30 (coach-paid)
So I called AGR... here's apparently what happened. When I booked on April the 2nd, I hit a blackout date-- so the agent put me on the train that avoided the blackout dates. By doing so she put me on a fully-booked train with no bedrooms and slapped me in coach... without telling me. Now she says, according to her supervisor, that she told me both items and was fine with this-- obviously this is not true. After I got off the phone I got online and booked PAID reservations between ALC-KWD and CBS-ALC on the dates I had given her, not the dates I would have had to "settle" for-- secondly there was no way I was going to take a coach ticket on 28 when I asked (and paid in points) for a bedroom.
The new agent and I tried to work things out-- she suggested I take an "involuntary layover" in SEA by taking 14 all the way to SEA and overnighting then catching a bedroom from SEA-CBS on the next day's train. It was a good idea, except I didn't have the money for a hotel. She then checked again and found a roomette available on 28 for the day I was given a coach seat. Obviously I asked why the original agent didn't offer me the downgrade to which she couldn't answer. She asked if I would take the downgrade and I said I would on the condition that I get a partial refund in points since, obviously, I wasn't getting the level of service I had paid for.
By this time she knew I had paid ressies between ALC-KWD and CBS-ALC... I brought up the issue that if I took this concession these tickets (which are printed out since ALC has no quick-trak) are now nothing more than vouchers and I would have to buy an additional set of tickets at the current (higher) bucket price in order to make this work in ADDITION to making a concession and taking a downgrade of service on 28 and getting a partial refund of points.
All this to avoid a single blackout date.
I told her the options were to A: Give me a rule-bust because my original plan worked perfectly, B: Give me the roomette in 28 on the incorrect date and then also get me to and from ALC without making me purchase an additional set of tickets, or C: Cancel the whole thing all together and receive my complaints via mail.
She was very polite and made it through the hour in good taste and even helped a lot-- she understood what I was trying to do and tried to help me the best she could. But alas we ended up going to Nathan, her supervisor.
Option A was invalid because apparently they can't code a rule-bust or violate a blackout date for sleepers (as only a Select member, I didn't know they couldn't do this) Long story short he choose option B... and he realized "you're going in a big circle, ALC to ALC via CHI, LAX, PDX, CHI" and I said "Yes!" so he offered the following:
3-29 ALC-CHI 29 (roomette, free)
3-29 CHI-KCS 3 (bedroom, free)
3-29 KCS-LAX 3 (bedroom, AGR)
3-31 LAX-PDX 14 (bedroom, AGR)
4-1 PDX-CBS (roomette, AGR)
4-3 CBS-CHI (roomette, free)
4-3 CHI-ALC (roomette, free)
Basically he was doing some fancy ressie work to give me a free ride to/from ALC IF I accepted the downgrade on 28 and the alternative travel dates. I said this would be fine.
However it doesn't end there-- he called back and told me that I would have to switch rooms en route-- while he has roomettes and even a bedroom available on 28 they fill up at SPK. I would have to transfer over to a roomette on 8 when the two trains were joined... at about 1:45AM. I said okay, this was fine as long as I could stay on the same train (albeit two trains combined into one). He attempted to book it only to find out he CAN'T even do that because the computer reads it as two reservations-- 4/1 28 PDX-SPK and 4/2 SPK-CHI... because the transfer happens at one-AM it falls on a blackout date.
The situation remains unresolved. Nathan has been very friendly and the customer service has been nothing less than wonderful (except for the initial agent who failed at booking be correct ressie) but the computers and AGR processes have been, ugh.
Here's the way I see it... our only pitfall is that he can't get the computer to issue me a ticket from PDX-CHI on a one-seat ride, because there is none. It also won't let me move from 28 to 8 which is (as we all know) the same damn train after SPK.
I told Nathan my dates are flexible on the front end, that if booking starting on the 29th isn't working, then try starting on the 28th, if that doesn't work try the 27th, 26th, ect. I told him to call me back when he finds ANY option that gets me back to Ohio.
I think this raises the question, I feel like I'm being too demanding. I want a horrible routing (logically) and the fact is it is so close to the date of travel that we're finding some trains sold out.
On the other hand the simple truth is I can't book a one-seat ride from PDX to CHI leaving on April 1st... and that since the 2nd is a blackout date the computer won't let him let me even stay on the same train.
I have spring break coming up and wanted to get out of Dodge, however I was short on cash. What I was not short on was, of course, AGR points-- so I thought I would book myself the KWD-CBS loophole, and for added funsies I'd go with ()deluxe) bedrooms mainly because... I wanted to have fun!
So, my original plan, and the one I gave to the AGR agent was:
3-30: ALC-CHI 29 (coach-paid)
3-30: CHI-STL-KWD 303/313 (BC-paid)
3-30: KWD-KCS 313 (bc-AGR)
3-30: KCS-LAX 3 (bedroom-AGR)
4-1: LAX-PDX 14 (bedroom-AGR)
4-2: PDX-CBS 28 (bedroom-AGR)
4-4: CBS-CHI 28 (stay in bedroom, with PAID coach ticket)
4-4: CHI-ALC 30 (coach-paid)
Of course I only asked for a bedroom from KWD-CBS. First call I got the "it crosses zone borders" excuse, the second call I got the ressie without question or concern. This was on March 16th.
Cut to March 22nd, today. I received my AGR tickets. First problem, everything got put back a day-- I started KWD-KCS on the 29th, not the 30th. Secondly, for some reason, the ticket from PDX-CBS was a lower level coach seat... so my trip looked like this:
3-30: ALC-CHI 29 (coach-paid)
3-30: CHI-STL-KWD 303/313 (BC-paid)
3-29: KWD-KCS 313 (bc-AGR)
3-29: KCS-LAX 3 (bedroom-AGR)
3-31: LAX-PDX 14 (bedroom-AGR)
4-1: PDX-CBS 28 (coach-AGR)
4-3: CBS-CHI 28 (coach, paid)
4-4: CHI-ALC 30 (coach-paid)
So I called AGR... here's apparently what happened. When I booked on April the 2nd, I hit a blackout date-- so the agent put me on the train that avoided the blackout dates. By doing so she put me on a fully-booked train with no bedrooms and slapped me in coach... without telling me. Now she says, according to her supervisor, that she told me both items and was fine with this-- obviously this is not true. After I got off the phone I got online and booked PAID reservations between ALC-KWD and CBS-ALC on the dates I had given her, not the dates I would have had to "settle" for-- secondly there was no way I was going to take a coach ticket on 28 when I asked (and paid in points) for a bedroom.
The new agent and I tried to work things out-- she suggested I take an "involuntary layover" in SEA by taking 14 all the way to SEA and overnighting then catching a bedroom from SEA-CBS on the next day's train. It was a good idea, except I didn't have the money for a hotel. She then checked again and found a roomette available on 28 for the day I was given a coach seat. Obviously I asked why the original agent didn't offer me the downgrade to which she couldn't answer. She asked if I would take the downgrade and I said I would on the condition that I get a partial refund in points since, obviously, I wasn't getting the level of service I had paid for.
By this time she knew I had paid ressies between ALC-KWD and CBS-ALC... I brought up the issue that if I took this concession these tickets (which are printed out since ALC has no quick-trak) are now nothing more than vouchers and I would have to buy an additional set of tickets at the current (higher) bucket price in order to make this work in ADDITION to making a concession and taking a downgrade of service on 28 and getting a partial refund of points.
All this to avoid a single blackout date.
I told her the options were to A: Give me a rule-bust because my original plan worked perfectly, B: Give me the roomette in 28 on the incorrect date and then also get me to and from ALC without making me purchase an additional set of tickets, or C: Cancel the whole thing all together and receive my complaints via mail.
She was very polite and made it through the hour in good taste and even helped a lot-- she understood what I was trying to do and tried to help me the best she could. But alas we ended up going to Nathan, her supervisor.
Option A was invalid because apparently they can't code a rule-bust or violate a blackout date for sleepers (as only a Select member, I didn't know they couldn't do this) Long story short he choose option B... and he realized "you're going in a big circle, ALC to ALC via CHI, LAX, PDX, CHI" and I said "Yes!" so he offered the following:
3-29 ALC-CHI 29 (roomette, free)
3-29 CHI-KCS 3 (bedroom, free)
3-29 KCS-LAX 3 (bedroom, AGR)
3-31 LAX-PDX 14 (bedroom, AGR)
4-1 PDX-CBS (roomette, AGR)
4-3 CBS-CHI (roomette, free)
4-3 CHI-ALC (roomette, free)
Basically he was doing some fancy ressie work to give me a free ride to/from ALC IF I accepted the downgrade on 28 and the alternative travel dates. I said this would be fine.
However it doesn't end there-- he called back and told me that I would have to switch rooms en route-- while he has roomettes and even a bedroom available on 28 they fill up at SPK. I would have to transfer over to a roomette on 8 when the two trains were joined... at about 1:45AM. I said okay, this was fine as long as I could stay on the same train (albeit two trains combined into one). He attempted to book it only to find out he CAN'T even do that because the computer reads it as two reservations-- 4/1 28 PDX-SPK and 4/2 SPK-CHI... because the transfer happens at one-AM it falls on a blackout date.
The situation remains unresolved. Nathan has been very friendly and the customer service has been nothing less than wonderful (except for the initial agent who failed at booking be correct ressie) but the computers and AGR processes have been, ugh.
Here's the way I see it... our only pitfall is that he can't get the computer to issue me a ticket from PDX-CHI on a one-seat ride, because there is none. It also won't let me move from 28 to 8 which is (as we all know) the same damn train after SPK.
I told Nathan my dates are flexible on the front end, that if booking starting on the 29th isn't working, then try starting on the 28th, if that doesn't work try the 27th, 26th, ect. I told him to call me back when he finds ANY option that gets me back to Ohio.
I think this raises the question, I feel like I'm being too demanding. I want a horrible routing (logically) and the fact is it is so close to the date of travel that we're finding some trains sold out.
On the other hand the simple truth is I can't book a one-seat ride from PDX to CHI leaving on April 1st... and that since the 2nd is a blackout date the computer won't let him let me even stay on the same train.
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What a story!
