New Faces in Chicago Met Lounge... Alert AGR S+ members

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rtabern

rtabern

Conductor
Joined
Nov 15, 2006
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1,606
Location
Northwest Wisconsin
It's been about 3-4 years since I got hassled last in the Chicago Metropolian Lounge about being admitted without having to show tickets per Amtrak Guest Rewards S+ policy.

But, low and behold... there were a bunch of new workers in there on Saturday morning (11/3/12) and I got hassled again.

The first agent told me that she didnt know what Select Plus was -- and didn't think I could be admitted without a sleeping car ticket. (I actually had one, but it was easier to get my card out of my wallet than rifle around for the ticket stub)

The second agent said that I could be admitte with the S+ card... BUT... I "HAD TO" show her a ticket for the Hiawatha (which I was connecting to).

I had that in my pocket, but refused to show it, because she should have know the Select Plus policy. Finally, when I showed her I had several station managers phone numbers in my cell phone... and asked her which one she would like me to call... she admitted me to the lounge, but cocked quite an attitude.

She also refused to provide me her name (another Amtrak policy) until I asked 3 times. If I remember it was "Ms. Dee" or "Ms. McPhee" or some BS like that.

Anyway, just a heads up to S+ passengers... please be aware.

If this happens to you -- go in the Amtrak passenger services office -- right across from the water fountain... towards the right... between Lounge G and the shop there -- AND ASK FOR A MANAGER.

I did this... the female manager I spoke with (really tall lady)... was very nice. I provided her a copy of a daily service builliten reminder about S+ that a manager at Amtrak gave me in 2011 (that I keep in my wallet for such occasions)... and she photocopied it... and said she would put it in all of the Metro Lounge agent's boxes and follow up with the "bad apples" in the lounge on Saturday AM in Chicago.
 
Good job. :) I'm glad she's going to take care of the issue.
 
It will be interesting to see if the attitude of these CML "bad boys (girls)" ever change. I had some choice words for them that I posted here after I (Select Plus) was embarrassed in front of my family in October. A couple fof the members here took offense at my language. They really don't understand how the "ladies" can put you down.
 
Not related to S-Plus, but I've had a question for a while...

I haven't used the lounge since they changed to E-tickets. Should I show them the ticket on my phone, or should I bring a print-out of the confirmation?
 
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rtabern said:
It's been about 3-4 years since I got hassled last in the Chicago Metropolian Lounge about being admitted without having to show tickets per Amtrak Guest Rewards S+ policy.

But, low and behold... there were a bunch of new workers in there on Saturday morning (11/3/12) and I got hassled again.

The first agent told me that she didnt know what Select Plus was -- and didn't think I could be admitted without a sleeping car ticket. (I actually had one, but it was easier to get my card out of my wallet than rifle around for the ticket stub)

The second agent said that I could be admitte with the S+ card... BUT... I "HAD TO" show her a ticket for the Hiawatha (which I was connecting to).

I had that in my pocket, but refused to show it, because she should have know the Select Plus policy. Finally, when I showed her I had several station managers phone numbers in my cell phone... and asked her which one she would like me to call... she admitted me to the lounge, but cocked quite an attitude.

She also refused to provide me her name (another Amtrak policy) until I asked 3 times. If I remember it was "Ms. Dee" or "Ms. McPhee" or some BS like that.

Anyway, just a heads up to S+ passengers... please be aware.

If this happens to you -- go in the Amtrak passenger services office -- right across from the water fountain... towards the right... between Lounge G and the shop there -- AND ASK FOR A MANAGER.

I did this... the female manager I spoke with (really tall lady)... was very nice. I provided her a copy of a daily service builliten reminder about S+ that a manager at Amtrak gave me in 2011 (that I keep in my wallet for such occasions)... and she photocopied it... and said she would put it in all of the Metro Lounge agent's boxes and follow up with the "bad apples" in the lounge on Saturday AM in Chicago.
Click to expand...
Would it be possible to get a copy of that service bulletin in PDF form? Some of us might have uses for it.
 
Anderson said:
Would it be possible to get a copy of that service bulletin in PDF form? Some of us might have uses for it.
Click to expand...
Ditto - a lot of us would like a copy of that document.
 
:blink: And the Beat Goes On! With Sharon Reassigned to Tickets and Tim having seen the Light in regards to Customer service, the New Crew Working the CHI Metro Lounge seem to be determined to provide a Minimum of Customer Service! Those of us in AU might not be so easily cowtowed but wonder what Newbies and First Time Travelers think when they are treated like they are @ an Airport and the Amtrak Staff thinks they are TSA Brown Shrts! :angry: Hopefully the Managers in CHI will follow through but hopefully Everyone that is treated this way Will Follow Through by contacting Customer Relations so Everyone Gets the Word! :help:
 
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Sadly, this is not the first complaint we have heard about staff (new or old) in the Metropolitan Lounge. I once saw a female staff member absolutely harass and abuse a mother traveling alone with her children. The children were not loud, they were not running around, they were playing quietly in the farthest corner from the entrance, but the woman repeatedly came back and told the mother that the children had to behave better and that basically they had to sit and not move and not talk. The mother was harassed until she cried, despite myself and other passengers defending her.
 
This is NOT directed at any posters, BUT as someone who has worked on and off in the customer service business for 40+ years, I had made it a habit to take NO crap from CSR personnel when I am right and who salaries I am paying or about to pay with my purchase of a good or service. When I am about to "educate" a person, my wife steps out of the area to provide space for the pesonnel nearby so they might learn.

I don't raise my voice, I don't call people names, I don't raise my hands, arms or fists in a threatening manner. I use rapier sharp words to explain why they are wrong, what they are going to do to correct it and who my step above them is going to be if they don't correct the problem. 90% of the time it is corrected right there. 10% of the time I have had to take it further.

I stand down to no one regadless of their sex or color or size when it comes to customer service and I am paying for a service. I would not and never have treated any of my customers like that and I don't take it from others . If you don't stand up to people who don't provide the proper service, then you are enabling them to bully other people. You're either part of the problem or part of the solution. I choose to be part of the solution. The customer sevice degradation in this country has gone on too long. It is time to turn it around.

NAVYBLUE
 
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Sorcha said:
Not related to S-Plus, but I've had a question for a while...

I haven't used the lounge since they changed to E-tickets. Should I show them the ticket on my phone, or should I bring a print-out of the confirmation?
Click to expand...
I was in Chicago about three weeks ago and I just showed them my phone. No problem whatsoever.
 
You can have officious people of any gender or color. I will say, however, that there is definitely a change in attitude on trains east of the Mississippi River. The LSAs, sleeping car attendants, gate agents, etc. out in the West, of any race or gender, are much friendlier than the ones in the Midwest and the East.
 
calwatch said:
You can have officious people of any gender or color. I will say, however, that there is definitely a change in attitude on trains east of the Mississippi River. The LSAs, sleeping car attendants, gate agents, etc. out in the West, of any race or gender, are much friendlier than the ones in the Midwest and the East.
Click to expand...
But let me add that my SCA on the Silver Star - Jim - was both competent and helpful on my recent trip WAS-JAX. And the staff at WAS Acela lounge was competent and helpful, but NOT subservient.

Don't know -- and it would take more miles than I can buy - to make a valid generalization.
 
Sigh... :huh: Getting back OT... Thanks for the 'heads up' on problems in CHI's lounge. I was through there a couple of weeks ago with a friend who was taking Metra and we got in with just my S+ card. Come to think of it, I probably still had my sleeper ticket on me from my arrival earlier that day, but obviously it shold have not come to that and would have p***ed me off. Who, and who does not, have access to the lounge is not that complex a policy. I mean if United Club personel can figure out that S+ has access to United Clubs...

It really shouldn't come down to this, but thanks for directions to the Station Manager's office. If the nonsense continues and enough of us beat a path to their door, they will take action just to get us to go away. :p
 
The fact that this keeps happening would seem to imply that the management either doesn't fully understand the problem or doesn't care enough to resolve it permanently. This isn't just about teaching a couple new employees what Select Plus is and what it does for those who obtain such status; it's also about teaching all front facing employees why maintaining a professional attitude is important to maintaining customer loyalty. Apparently that part still isn't making it into the training manuals or each set of new hires wouldn't be so quick to attack and berate their own best customers as a result of what is in reality little more than a simple misunderstanding.
 
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I've never had trouble but then maybe I'm a bit of a foamer and blind to some of Amtrak's problems.

But then I also think that people sometimes have a bad day. That's no reason to act unprofessionally but sometimes things can wear a bit thin and add in some miscommunication and things can go wrong. You haven't seen what the other person's been through so you respond by getting an attitude. That's not just so in the Met lounge but wherever you go, be it at the supermarket checkout or a top notch hotel.

Sometimes live and let live can go a long way.

Of course if it's the same individuals who appear to be causing the trouble every time, it may be time to report them.
 
A number of posts in this thread have inched away from the original topic and become what some other forum members are calling racist, a term that may mean different things to each of us. Those posts have been removed from view, not deleted, until the admin/mod staff can deal with them and even edit as the staff feels necessary. This may take a while.

Any new posts in this thread that stray from the original topic, Select + knowledge by Lounge Employees, will also be appropriately dealt with.

Thanks - if you have a question/comment about this, let the staff know.
 
Another option to help get S+ers into the lounge might be to print the page Select Plus Benfits and show it at the desk.

From the linked page, with emphasis added:

Select Plus status:

  • A 50% point bonus on every Amtrak trip, excluding bonus points
  • A Select Plus membership card
  • Unlimited access to all ClubAcela®, Amtrak Metropolitan Lounge™, and First class lounge locations
  • Access to United Clubs with valid Select Plus card.
  • "Rule Buster" award availability for redemption travel during blackout dates.
  • Dedicated phone numbers for reservations and priority Amtrak Guest Rewards service.
  • Select Plus members-only offers and exclusive deals from Amtrak Guest Rewards partners
  • Exclusive redemption opportunities
Click to expand...
 
This topic took an unfortunate turn and I've now cleaned things up. A few posts that were hidden very quickly because I wasn't sure about them have been restored, several were deleted because they no longer had any context after a few other posts were edited. If your post was one of those deleted, please don't take it personally. It wasn't that you did anything wrong, but rather the fact that your post no longer made sense based upon the edits to previous posts or deletions of prior posts.
 
At least in the case of the CHI lounge, I think it comes down to Amtrak needing to "sort out" a station with some issues with its staff. Then again, CHI seems to be perhaps a bit prone to having issues. This may ultimately be a case of Amtrak needing to do a pretty thorough housecleaning at the station more than anything.
 
I checked in at the Chicago Metropolitan lounge with a printed eticket on October 29th (ELP to PNT) and also November 4th (PNT to ELP) (a day after rtabern was there). No problems for me, pleasant professional staff always announcing boardings with plenty of time.

(note, I am NOT Select or Select +)
 
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