Silliest OBS Made 'Rules'

[Tumbleweed]

I have mentioned this before but since the topic out here is about listing annoying self-made "rules" by OBS, I would point out my Southwest Chief journey last November where the coach attendant was adamant about not letting me sit at a window seat at an empty row in a half-empty train because "all seat pairs are for families" and single riders should all sit next to each other in one half of the coach. He enforced this "rule" all the way up to Albuquerque in spite of the three coaches being around 50% empty at all points of time during the journey.

I wonder what the Conductor would have had to say about that?

 

[Green Maned Lion]

A business can chose to refuse whatever money they want. DiscriminatiOn and such not withstanding.

 

[NY Penn]

A business can chose to refuse whatever money they want. DiscriminatiOn and such not withstanding.

According to (of all sources) Wikipedia, a business in the US must accept US currency because it is 'legal tender for all debts, public and private'.

 

[trainman74]

According to (of all sources) Wikipedia, a business in the US must accept US currency because it is 'legal tender for all debts, public and private'.

Nope -- it's legal to tender it (offer it as payment), but they don't have to accept it. Witness all the businesses that won't accept bills over $20.

 

[user 1215]

Regardless of the law, this dude should have allowed anyone to pay with Pennies if that's what they wanted trip pay in.

 

[guest]

I have mentioned this before but since the topic out here is about listing annoying self-made "rules" by OBS, I would point out my Southwest Chief journey last November where the coach attendant was adamant about not letting me sit at a window seat at an empty row in a half-empty train because "all seat pairs are for families" and single riders should all sit next to each other in one half of the coach. He enforced this "rule" all the way up to Albuquerque in spite of the three coaches being around 50% empty at all points of time during the journey.

That IS the company guideline when assigning seats on a long haul train. That's why there is a lounge car, so you can get the your window access. Only 50 percent of the seats are "window" seats, and given a choice, about 95 percent of passengers would request one (or require one, if such a thing were allowed). The passenger manifests that are given to OBS employees do NOT generally indicate how passengers are grouped (unless it's LITERALLY a group, and indicated as such on the manifest), so it is necessary to hold block of seats for families and small groups. Do you think it would be appropriate to separate a parent traveling with three small children from them?

There IS one way you can be guaranteed a window seat, however: book a sleeper.

 

[LA guest]

Regardless of the law, this dude should have allowed anyone to pay with Pennies if that's what they wanted trip pay in.

Amtrak doesn't use pennies, but there's no logical reason to refuse nickels and dimes, as long as we're not talking about ten dollars worth of nickels.

 

[AlanB]

Regardless of the law, this dude should have allowed anyone to pay with Pennies if that's what they wanted trip pay in.

Amtrak doesn't use pennies, but there's no logical reason to refuse nickels and dimes, as long as we're not talking about ten dollars worth of nickels.

No, there is a logical reason. It requires more counting on his part to reconcile everything. It's also a violation of company policy however!

 

[Texan Eagle]

I have mentioned this before but since the topic out here is about listing annoying self-made "rules" by OBS, I would point out my Southwest Chief journey last November where the coach attendant was adamant about not letting me sit at a window seat at an empty row in a half-empty train because "all seat pairs are for families" and single riders should all sit next to each other in one half of the coach. He enforced this "rule" all the way up to Albuquerque in spite of the three coaches being around 50% empty at all points of time during the journey.

That IS the company guideline when assigning seats on a long haul train. That's why there is a lounge car, so you can get the your window access. Only 50 percent of the seats are "window" seats, and given a choice, about 95 percent of passengers would request one (or require one, if such a thing were allowed). The passenger manifests that are given to OBS employees do NOT generally indicate how passengers are grouped (unless it's LITERALLY a group, and indicated as such on the manifest), so it is necessary to hold block of seats for families and small groups. Do you think it would be appropriate to separate a parent traveling with three small children from them?

There IS one way you can be guaranteed a window seat, however: book a sleeper.

I believe a thing called common sense does not feature in the company guidelines. I completely agree families need to seat together but when the train is running almost 50% empty all the way (don't the OBS staff know the number of passengers reserved on a particular run from their manifests? Or is it a company policy too to not use brains and figure out approximate loads from the manifests?) what great sense does it make to bundle all single passengers in one half of the coach and run the other half empty all the way? Of course there is a simple solution to this issue- come out of primitive stone age system and give seat numbers while booking a ticket like the rest of the world does. How difficult is that?

 

[Palmland]

Of course there is a simple solution to this issue- come out of primitive stone age system and give seat numbers while booking a ticket like the rest of the world does. How difficult is that?

Having grown up in the stone age, you are absolutely correct. A coach trip on Atlantic Coast Line's East Coast Champion found us with assigned seats - something like A52, W52 for window and aisle seats. Of course that was done with an army of ticket clerks somewhere, since replaced by so much more efficient computers.

 

[rrdude]

Can you say "Power Trip"?

I have mentioned this before but since the topic out here is about listing annoying self-made "rules" by OBS, I would point out my Southwest Chief journey last November where the coach attendant was adamant about not letting me sit at a window seat at an empty row in a half-empty train because "all seat pairs are for families" and single riders should all sit next to each other in one half of the coach. He enforced this "rule" all the way up to Albuquerque in spite of the three coaches being around 50% empty at all points of time during the journey.

 

[rrdude]

However, they still must TAKE or ACCEPT pennies, if a cusx wants to pay with them..........

Regardless of the law, this dude should have allowed anyone to pay with Pennies if that's what they wanted trip pay in.

Amtrak doesn't use pennies, but there's no logical reason to refuse nickels and dimes, as long as we're not talking about ten dollars worth of nickels.

 

[railiner]

What is a food service worker? I might be taking 21 and 22 to and from stl in may to avoid track work bustitutions. My gf will be with me. It would be Polly's best interest to be VERY nice to us.

The Waitpersons that work the Diner under the LSAs Supervision are what I call Food Service Workers, don't know their Actual Title, perhaps one of the OBS Members has the "Official" Name! Hope yall don't get her either, there are some really Good OBS on the Eagles now, maybe the CHI Suits are finally starting to Actually do their Job!, instead of riding a Desk!!

Amtrak calls the waiters "Service Attendants", hence the person in charge is the "Lead Service Attendant" or "LSA". Down in the galley is the Chef, and the assistant "Food Specialist". The Sleeping car is run by a Train Attendant - Sleeper, and the chair cars by a Train Attendant - Coach. At least that's the way I remember it....

 

[railiner]

Of course there is a simple solution to this issue- come out of primitive stone age system and give seat numbers while booking a ticket like the rest of the world does. How difficult is that?

Having grown up in the stone age, you are absolutely correct. A coach trip on Atlantic Coast Line's East Coast Champion found us with assigned seats - something like A52, W52 for window and aisle seats. Of course that was done with an army of ticket clerks somewhere, since replaced by so much more efficient computers.

On a long distance train, that sometimes travels for multi-day journeys, assigning specific seats certainly is possible, but there are some drawbacks, as Amtrak discovered in its early years. Consists, are not always 'consistant'....Seats can be assigned that may not exist, due to variances and substitutions. Passengers on long trips may see empty seats that they deem more desirable, and just occupy them, leading to confrontations with other passengers and/or crew, as described...the crew loses the flexibility to seat parties together boarding downline, if holders of reserved seats refuse to yield what they are assigned. Not saying that is right or wrong, just makes grief for the crew trying to keep everybody happy....

 

[AlanB]

I completely agree families need to seat together but when the train is running almost 50% empty all the way (don't the OBS staff know the number of passengers reserved on a particular run from their manifests? Or is it a company policy too to not use brains and figure out approximate loads from the manifests?) what great sense does it make to bundle all single passengers in one half of the coach and run the other half empty all the way? Of course there is a simple solution to this issue- come out of primitive stone age system and give seat numbers while booking a ticket like the rest of the world does. How difficult is that?

They know how many will be on the train at the time of departure, but of course more people can still buy tickets for stations further down the line. I'm also not sure if the manifest breaks things down by destination however. Meaning that an attendant would have to go count how many people would show up for his car, based upon their going to a destination that would land them in his/her car.

 

[Nickrapak]

According to (of all sources) Wikipedia, a business in the US must accept US currency because it is 'legal tender for all debts, public and private'.

Nope -- it's legal to tender it (offer it as payment), but they don't have to accept it. Witness all the businesses that won't accept bills over $20.

The law here is actually a bit odd. US coins & currency are legal tender for all debts, meaning that if there is no debt incurred, you can refuse a transaction. For example, if I go in to a 7-11, get a can of soda, and try to pay with a $50, the cashier can ask me to put the soda back, therefore there is no debt. However, if I take a can of soda, open it, and drink it, I have incurred a debt to the store in the amount of the value of the soda. If I try to pay with a $50, the cashier has to either take it or acknowledge that the debt is canceled (I don't have to pay for the soda). However, if he accepts the $50, tells me there is not enough change, and I say "okay", I have basically accepted that the value of the soda is $50, and I settled the debt.

So, relating back to the OP, the attendant could deny the nickels and dimes and take back an item (depending on which item, food safety laws, etc.), or if the attendant did not take an item back, the OP could have walked away with everything, since legal tender was offered and refused, and the attendant did not attempt to reduce the amount owed, therefore conceding the reduced value of the items.

 

[sechs]

According to (of all sources) Wikipedia, a business in the US must accept US currency because it is 'legal tender for all debts, public and private'.

That's for notes, not coins.

 

[Marcy]

I completely agree families need to seat together but when the train is running almost 50% empty all the way (don't the OBS staff know the number of passengers reserved on a particular run from their manifests? Or is it a company policy too to not use brains and figure out approximate loads from the manifests?) what great sense does it make to bundle all single passengers in one half of the coach and run the other half empty all the way? Of course there is a simple solution to this issue- come out of primitive stone age system and give seat numbers while booking a ticket like the rest of the world does. How difficult is that?

They know how many will be on the train at the time of departure, but of course more people can still buy tickets for stations further down the line. I'm also not sure if the manifest breaks things down by destination however. Meaning that an attendant would have to go count how many people would show up for his car, based upon their going to a destination that would land them in his/her car.

Wouldn't a simple you can sit at one of the empty window seats but I may need to ask you to move back to your original seat later on????

 

[AlanB]

I completely agree families need to seat together but when the train is running almost 50% empty all the way (don't the OBS staff know the number of passengers reserved on a particular run from their manifests? Or is it a company policy too to not use brains and figure out approximate loads from the manifests?) what great sense does it make to bundle all single passengers in one half of the coach and run the other half empty all the way? Of course there is a simple solution to this issue- come out of primitive stone age system and give seat numbers while booking a ticket like the rest of the world does. How difficult is that?

They know how many will be on the train at the time of departure, but of course more people can still buy tickets for stations further down the line. I'm also not sure if the manifest breaks things down by destination however. Meaning that an attendant would have to go count how many people would show up for his car, based upon their going to a destination that would land them in his/her car.

Wouldn't a simple you can sit at one of the empty window seats but I may need to ask you to move back to your original seat later on????

Sadly, NO, that won't work in all cases. Yes, some will acknowledge that and move if need be. But others will quickly forget their promise to move. Case in point, we just had a story posted here a while ago where, IIRC, a passenger actually refused to move out of a handicapped seat when asked.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

I run a business. Outside of certain protected discrimination items, I can refuse to accept money from peoPle for good reason, bad reason, or no reason at all. Find my business. If you spend more the. About 20 seconds trying to get me to reduce my price and you ain't buying from me at twice the listed price.

 

[user 1215]

According to (of all sources) Wikipedia, a business in the US must accept US currency because it is 'legal tender for all debts, public and private'.

That's for notes, not coins.

No. They just don't have room to print it on the coin. But according to US Code 31.5103, all currency and coins are legal tender.

An interesting side note, a man in Utah was cited by police after paying a bill at a doctor's office with 2,500 pennies. Not for paying in pennies, but for causing a scene.

Back to the topic at hand, I don't know if these are particulary funny OBS' own rules, but I have found it quite frustrating that though Business Class is described to be the same level of service on every train that it's offered (except Acela), the offerings and the way they are distributed are almost at the mercy of the attendant in charge and sadly don't have any semblance of consistency across the fleet.

 

[railiner]

I completely agree families need to seat together but when the train is running almost 50% empty all the way (don't the OBS staff know the number of passengers reserved on a particular run from their manifests? Or is it a company policy too to not use brains and figure out approximate loads from the manifests?) what great sense does it make to bundle all single passengers in one half of the coach and run the other half empty all the way? Of course there is a simple solution to this issue- come out of primitive stone age system and give seat numbers while booking a ticket like the rest of the world does. How difficult is that?

They know how many will be on the train at the time of departure, but of course more people can still buy tickets for stations further down the line. I'm also not sure if the manifest breaks things down by destination however. Meaning that an attendant would have to go count how many people would show up for his car, based upon their going to a destination that would land them in his/her car.

Wouldn't a simple you can sit at one of the empty window seats but I may need to ask you to move back to your original seat later on????

Sadly, NO, that won't work in all cases. Yes, some will acknowledge that and move if need be. But others will quickly forget their promise to move. Case in point, we just had a story posted here a while ago where, IIRC, a passenger actually refused to move out of a handicapped seat when asked.

I agree. Once the passenger has occupied the new seat for a while, they think that the law of 'squatters rights' applies...that they now 'own' it.......

 

[scoostraw]

I have mentioned this before but since the topic out here is about listing annoying self-made "rules" by OBS, I would point out my Southwest Chief journey last November where the coach attendant was adamant about not letting me sit at a window seat at an empty row in a half-empty train because "all seat pairs are for families" and single riders should all sit next to each other in one half of the coach. He enforced this "rule" all the way up to Albuquerque in spite of the three coaches being around 50% empty at all points of time during the journey.

This happened to me once on 49. The attendant had posted signs on several seats "for families only". There really wasn't anyplace else to sit. I removed one of the signs and sat down. When she challenged me I told her that I get motion sickness unless I am next to a window.

She walked away.

 

[sechs]

No. They just don't have room to print it on the coin.

No. Coin has inherent value, while a note does not.
The point of the law that you cited is to say that "our" money is legal tender and other money is not.

 

[user 1215]

No. They just don't have room to print it on the coin.

No. Coin has inherent value, while a note does not.
The point of the law that you cited is to say that "our" money is legal tender and other money is not.

That was the case when gold and silver was used, but today there is little intrinsic value in coins. That being said, it's true that the ratio of cost to value of a coin is much greater than currency. But not enough to make it a commodity.

I don't get the last part of your comment. Yes, that is the law of the United States. We are talking about using US coins on a US train (arguably to pay a PUBLIC debt, as this is a Federally operated program). We're not talking about anyone elses or any other kind of money. Nickles, dimes and pennies for the Cafe car is legal tender. Period.