:angry: I am writing to express my deep disappointment with the conductors on the March 4th, 2010, 304 Lincoln Service train from St. Louis to Joliet.
I have been riding Amtrak, from Joliet to St. Louis, back and forth, for over six years now and have never been treated so shabbily on one of their trains before.
I should have known my trip back to Joliet wasn't going to be a good one when I arrived on the platform ten minutes before departure and there wasn't a conductor in sight to tell me where to board. This has never happened before. After waiting a couple of minutes on the platform between two trains, an Amtrak employee driving a service cart appeared and I had to ask her which train was my train to Joliet and where to board that train. She indicated which was the Chicago bound train and that I should board at the front of the train, which I did.
The first car was rather full so I moved on to the next car and took a seat. After the train pulled out of the station a conductor finally appeared and asked how I had ended up where I was. I told him no one was around to tell me where to go when I boarded and I gave him my ticket. After looking at my ticket he told me I would have to move two cars back and I told him that would be no problem. He tore the stub off my ticket, handed it back to me and walked away. I shoved my stub back in my purse gathered my belongings and moved back to the last car.
After relocating to the correct car and settling in the conductor returned and asked for my ticket. I told him he had taken my ticket back in the other car. He told me he would never have done that.
So I began to panic. I looked through my purse twice while he stood there reiterating that he would never take a ticket until he was ready to cancel it and he told me if I didn’t believe this, I could just ask the two young passengers who had entered the car at the same time he did that this was the case. This, of course, embarrassed me as these two young men were now drawn into this debate as unwilling spectators.
I told the conductor once again that I was sure he had taken my ticket in the other car and he insisted once more that he had not.
While still looking through my purse, yet again, I told him I did not have the ticket. And he said, "Well you'll just have to buy a ticket." I told him, "Oh, no I will not, Sir!" At which time he said, "Well, you'll be put off the train in Alton, then!"
A second conductor appeared and stood there for the rest of the argument.
I told the original conductor once more that I had already bought my ticket and that he had taken it, during which time I found my stub in my purse. I showed it to him and said, "Look, this is all you gave back to me."
He said, "Oh no, that stub isn't canceled. I would never have given that back to you un-canceled. I will look through the tickets I have here, but I know yours is not here." And so he quickly flipped through the tickets and announced that my ticket wasn't there. I said, "Then how do you explain this stub, Sir?" and he replied, that the stub didn't matter as it wasn't canceled.
I again told him that he had my ticket and he said it wasn't in his stack but I was welcome to look through his stack of tickets if I thought he was wrong. I told him, "I would very much like to do that." I took the stack of tickets from him and in a matter of seconds I had found my ticket and said, "Oh, gee look! Here I am, Sir! I think you owe me an apology!” All he said in return was, "I need your stub." Naturally, I had put the stub back in my purse and had to dig it out yet again. I handed him the stub, he took it, said a curt and insincere, "I apologize", and both conductors walked away without a further word.
I feel I was treated as if the situation had been my fault or as if I had been trying to scam them and that any other kind of apology wasn’t warranted.
My usually pleasant train ride was ruined by conductors who couldn't even admit they had made a mistake and who had no kind of concern for me as a customer or human being.
I rely on Amtrak to get me back and forth from my daughter’s home in the St. Louis area, but I'll think twice about taking the 304 again!
I was extremely embarrassed, frazzled and emotionally distressed. I don't like confrontation, but there was no way I was going to back down when I knew I was right. Intimidation does not rank as good customer service last time I checked!
There are lazy employees in every field, hope you reported this one to Amtrak CR, and for future reference the correct title is: SCA (Sleeping Car Attendant). Also unless their actual name is George do not call them George! 
