Onboard Customer Relations

[John Bobinyec]

In the case where a train going to Chicago is late and will likely miss its connections, has Amtrak ever had a customer service/relations/whatever agent board the train while it was still enroute to Chicago in order to handle the passenger's connection problems - before they get there?

jb

 

[Ispolkom]

In the case where a train going to Chicago is late and will likely miss its connections, has Amtrak ever had a customer service/relations/whatever agent board the train while it was still enroute to Chicago in order to handle the passenger's connection problems - before they get there?

jb

Yes, this has happened several times when I've been on the Empire Builder.

 

[oregon pioneer]

Back in the "olden days" (ha, ha!), we had an ice storm in eastern WA that delayed us a great deal because they had to hand-throw all the switches. I remember it being announced that a customer service person would board the EB at MSP to help us with our connections. Hmmnn, that was a long time ago (don't remember the year, but probably mid-'90s?) because it was the trip where we had planned an overnight in CHI and didn't need the help, but we spoke to the CS agent to confirm that, as she met with people in the diner or lounge and then went through the whole train.

Don't remember any other specific instance, but I think there might have been one other (also on the EB).

 

[will]

Yes. It did save some time, but the passengers still needed to queue up in Chicago to convert the paperwork from the agent to cash.

 

[Willie1946]

I've never dealt with anyone on board the train but once, on a late Empire Builder, I called Amtrak when I knew I was going to miss the City of New Orleans and discovered they had already rebooked me for the CoNO the next day and made a hotel reservation in Chicago for the night. I got cab fare once I arrived and the next day I came back to the station, dropped off my carryon stuff in the Metropolitan Lounge and spent the day at the Museum of Science and Industry.

BN

 

[amamba]

In the case where a train going to Chicago is late and will likely miss its connections, has Amtrak ever had a customer service/relations/whatever agent board the train while it was still enroute to Chicago in order to handle the passenger's connection problems - before they get there?

jb

Yes, when I was on a 30 hour late EB they boarded one at a random place. We stopped and met an EB heading in the opposite direction and they boarded. I can't remember exactly where it was now.

However, they called people by their connections. So they called people with connections to the Cap, etc. They didn't call people with connections to the LSL so I finally just went up and asked them what the deal was. They said they were pretty sure that they were holding the LSL for us (which they did). Mind you it was the NEXT day's LSL. They told the coach pax that they didn't need to bother switching tickets. My tickets were actually for the next day's LSL so I was fine. Some people in my sleeper got roomettes and I saw others forcibly downgraded to coach. But they were handing out the vouchers for the hotels and everything right on the train.

 

[zephyr17]

I've seen it done both ways. I prefer it when they board the Chicago Passenger Services people in MSP and then they call people in to the lower level of the lounge by connecting train and give them their paperwork. Then at Chicago, they only have to line up at the ticket counter to turn their vouchers into cash.

I've also been on a very late Empire Builder that they didn't do that with, and everyone had to line up at Passenger Services in Chicago at 4 am, then line up to get the vouchers cashed.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I've had CS Agents board the Empire Builder in MSP, Columbus and Milwaukee and the Zephyr in Omaha when we were running late! As was said, they called us by Connections (Sleeping Car Pax first) and did the Paperwork required!

Upon arrival into CHI we cashed our Taxi and Food Vouchers, caught our Taxi to the arranged Hotel ( I've been lucky in getting good hotels located close to Union Station) and returned the next day to catch our Connections!

Lately it seems like there are so many late LD Trains into CHI that they are waiting until the Train arrives into Union Station to do the arrangements!

I'd suggest calling AGR or Amtrak from the Train if this happens to you since being down graded to Coach from a Sleeper isn't ideal!! Also beating the crowd to CS when you get off the Train isn't a bad idea since the Early Bird gets the Room so to speak!