The training and supervision of Amtrak's OBS crew

[Dakota 400]

#97:  The Chef in the Viewliner Diner prepared consistently very good meals.  Dinner, Breakfast, Lunch from Washington to Fort Lauderdale:  no complaints from me.  Food was properly cooked and served at the proper temperature.

#98:  The Chef in this Viewliner Diner was consistent in overcooking most foods starting with breakfast after boarding in Fort Lauderdale through dinner prior to arrival at Washington.  Only Lunch was different.  I ordered Mac n' Cheese.  Most of it was properly cooked, a small amount was under-cooked, and the cheese sauce was slightly watery.

Does Amtrak do any training for these people?  

The Diner crew on #98 were not as guest friendly as the ones on #97.  I wonder if that had anything to do with my dining experience.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

I’m sure they are trained and have guidelines to follow but Amtrak has never been great with consistency. 

I usually order mashed potatoes with my dinners on Amtrak, I know it’s the same instant potatoes that get delivered to each train but some taste every bit like instant potatoes (not great) and some taste really good. If you care about your job, it will show. 

My favorite dish on Amtrak years ago was the grilled mahi mahi. I was riding Amtrak a lot back then and I ordered it a lot on several different trains. It was always served in a different way. Sauce on top,  no sauce, sauce in a plastic cup on the side, sauce on the plate but next to the fish.  No consistency at all. (But that particular dish always tasted great!) 

 

[cpotisch]

They most definitely go through training, but the quality and manner of in which they are trained and in which the training is applied in practice can obviously REALLY vary. In a perfect world, it would all be pretty much the same.

 

[cirdan]

Friendliness of crews can also vary from train to train and even between individuals on the same train.

I think it eeds more monitoring by management and measures to re-train or otherwise weed out the bad eggs.

But does anybody care?

 

[PRR 60]

Many, many year ago, all Amtrak chefs went through training provided by the CIA. No, not that CIA: the Culinary Institute of America, a well known school for fine cooking with campuses in Hyde Park, NY and St. Helena, CA (Napa Valley).  I'm not sure how long that lasted.

 

[jis]

Many, many year ago, all Amtrak chefs went through training provided by the CIA. No, not that CIA: the Culinary Institute of America, a well known school for fine cooking with campuses in Hyde Park, NY and St. Helena, CA (Napa Valley).  I'm not sure how long that lasted.

AFAIR that was gotten rid of, before the flowers. :unsure: And no one said boo.

 

[JRR]

When we were on 97 returning from Baltimore last December, we saw AC, who had been our SCA on a previous trip, in the kitchen, cooking. When we had a chance we talked to him and he advised that they were short of Chefs and asked him to perform he task on this trip. He advised that he was qualified as a chef and agreed to do fill in.

I will say that all our meals were excellent so he is a good chef and SCA!

 

[Dakota 400]

I usually order mashed potatoes with my dinners on Amtrak, I know it’s the same instant potatoes that get delivered to each train but some taste every bit like instant potatoes (not great) and some taste really good. If you care about your job, it will show. 

"If you care about your job, it will show."  

As I wrote in my review of my trip, the dining care staff of #98 on my trip were poorly guest oriented.  That must have included the Chef.  The SA didn't seem to care about her job; she did the minimum and had "an attitude".  The LSA did his job, but his service was not in the same league as the LSA's on #97 in December.

Thanks to all who replied to my post!

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

Would it be something, if it was the same chef (does Amtrak even give them that title?) on the 97 and 98?   "D

 

[Dakota 400]

Would it be something, if it was the same chef (does Amtrak even give them that title?) on the 97 and 98?   "D

It was not.  I remember the gentleman from #97 and Chef #98 was not the same man.

 

[OBS]

AFAIR that was gotten rid of, before the flowers. :unsure: And no one said boo.

The CIA training only lasted about 3 years. Gone LONG before the flowers.....

 

[Sauve850]

They most definitely go through training, but the quality and manner of in which they are trained and in which the training is applied in practice can obviously REALLY vary. In a perfect world, it would all be pretty much the same.

In a normal world there would be proper training and a qualified supervisor onboard at all times like in every company I worked for and that I employed in my own company.

 

[Charles785]

Hi, Dakota 400, did you report your review of your #98 dining car experience to Amtrak?   I hope so; and of course I would hope that customer feedback would be taken seriously by Amtrak. If I've ever run into Amtrak employees with 'attitude' it would be in the dining car.

 

[Dakota 400]

Hi, Dakota 400, did you report your review of your #98 dining car experience to Amtrak?   I hope so; and of course I would hope that customer feedback would be taken seriously by Amtrak. If I've ever run into Amtrak employees with 'attitude' it would be in the dining car.

No, I have not, but am willing to do so.  To where should my snail mail letter be directed?  Or should I send an e-mail?   If so, the address to where it should be sent?

 

[cpotisch]

They most definitely go through training, but the quality and manner of in which they are trained and in which the training is applied in practice can obviously REALLY vary. In a perfect world, it would all be pretty much the same.

In a normal world there would be proper training and a qualified supervisor onboard at all times like in every company I worked for and that I employed in my own company.

There actually used to be an "OBS Chief" onboard all trains, whose job it was to make sure everything from a customer experience standpoint, went without a hitch. That position is long gone, but of course it hasn't stopped all members with 250-499 posts on AU from holding that title.

 

[Amtrakfflyer]

No, I have not, but am willing to do so.  To where should my snail mail letter be directed?  Or should I send an e-mail?   If so, the address to where it should be sent?

Amtrak Customer Relations 

50 Massachusetts Ave NE

Washington, DC 20002

My issue and photos I mailed them last month was responded and addressed within 10 days (I did send it certified though).

You can also send the Amtrak Board and chairman Anthony Coscia feedback to the same address. Just put his name instead of Amtrak Relations.

 

[districtRich]

Amtrak Customer Relations 

50 Massachusetts Ave NE

Washington, DC 20002

My issue and photos I mailed them last month was responded and addressed within 10 days (I did send it certified though).

You can also send the Amtrak Board and chairman Anthony Coscia feedback to the same address. Just put his name instead of Amtrak Relations.

They moved the headquarters a while ago

1 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC 20001

 

[Charles785]

Regarding email, it seems to me  there is an email address I've used in the past to reach Amtrak; it might have been [email protected].  But I think I'm also remembering an email address that had just three letters before the @ sign but I'm not remembering what it was.

Of course there's also (or there used to be) the rather clunky 'contact us' email function on the Amtrak website.  I have in the past used that.  I think it calls for the reservation number of your particular Amtrak trip. 

I have often wondered if there are some direct email addresses available for decision-making Amtrak executives.  In any case, if there are, I don't have any, nor do I have the names of key Amtrak executives.

 

[Amtrakfflyer]

[email protected]

He or someone else posing as him has wrote me back as well. I think a lot of us got the form letter concerning the parlor cars way back when. Yes maybe we should keep bombarding him with emails but I think it’s a moot point. Congress and the board are the ones who need to hear from us.

 

[Charles785]

I just looked in my old 'sent' emails.  When I had a generic comment and not a comment about a specific problem with a specific Amtrak trip, I used the email address, [email protected].

I think the 'ocr' stands for Office of Customer Relations.

But when I've complained - or complemented - Amtrak about a specific situation on a specific trip, I've used the 'contact us' feature on the Amtrak website and included reservation numbers  and train numbers, and as many other details that I could remember to give Amtrak as much information as I could to help them address the issue.

So, Dakota 400, I really encourage you to contact Amtrak.  It very well might help improve things.  Of course there's nothing wrong with written correspondence either.

 

[Dakota 400]

So, which address is correct?  Amtrakfflyer's or districtRich's?  

Good recommendation to send my letter as certified.

 

[cpotisch]

So, which address is correct?  Amtrakfflyer's or districtRich's?  

Good recommendation to send my letter as certified.

districtRich is correct.

1 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC 20001

 

[Amtrakfflyer]

I’d go with Rich’s although I think mail is still being forwarded from other. They did reply to me quick and I was very happy with outcome

. Got $325 refunded back to cc off a $1300 ticket. I was expecting a voucher if anything. The return trip from Lax to Chi with my wife and 11 month old I posted about over Christmas. We were in the H room on the SS/TE apparently they didn’t dump the restrooms in SA and the third day our room stank horribly. I mean bad it came and went in 30 min increments. Being the longest route in the Amtrak system if the restrooms aren’t dumped in SA they should be! Being in the H room next to the restrooms didn’t help either. Also on way out our checked bag wasn’t offloaded in Fullerton on the SWC . It went on to LAX  they found it and it was in Fullerton ready for pick up 5 hours later. (Off topic but I’m sure someone would ask)

 

[TheCrescent]

If I’m understanding correctly, Amtrak doesn’t have a supervisor of customer-facing staff on its trains. There isn’t a boss onboard to watch over those employees.

It seems basic that if an employee isn’t supervised, s/he will not do the best job possible. In your office, when the boss is gone, does everyone work as hard as when the boss is there?

Why does Amtrak not have a supervisor of all customer-facing employees onboard its trains?

In addition, why does Amtrak let its onboard staff take all tables and seats in its cafe cars, and let them prohibit paying customers from using them? I understand that pre-Amtrak railroads banned employees from sitting in the cafe car.

Thanks.

 

[zephyr17]

Yes, it is true at least in practice. Technically the conductor is responsible but T&E are in entirely different reporting structures than OBS and conductors are generally loathe to get involved in issues with OBS unless there is no choice. Plus the conductor is going to get off in a few hours, while OBS will still be there. OBS are effectively "free range".

No, nobody knows why, except that consistent customer service has not been a priority of Amtrak executive management for decades.

The reason why Amtrak allows crew to homestead tables refers back to points 1 & 2. No onboard supervision and lack of attention by senior management. To put it succinctly, management does not give a fat rat's behind.

Yes, the railroads almost certainly did not allow crew use of tables intended for passenger use. The last one, Rio Grande, was out of the passenger business in April 1983, so it is a point academic interest at this point, not much more.