Like they go on a train and no body knows that that guy could be Mr. Gunn's right hand man, then That guy could tell who is good and bad, then they could rid of the bad eggs.

So if one passenger (or even a few passengers) are rude to a conductor or onboard staff member, it is ok for that Amtrak employee to take it out on other passengers who are respectful? Give me a break. I have always treated Amtrak employees with utmost respect. I can't say that I have always got the same in return.

A passenger, who obviously was in a bad mood, was taking his anxieties out on the conductor. The conductor was overwhelmed with a rush of people that had just gotten onboard the train and was doing his best to create order out of chaos.

The disgruntled passenger, who had already caused problems by not having his ticket ready, began to lecture the conductor by saying something to the effect, "well if you don't like your job, you ought to find a new one."

I became furious with that passenger, leaned over my seat and said to him in a loud voice, "Give the guy a break, will ya? He's just trying to do his job!"

My 90-year-old Mother, who was sitting next to me, nudged me as if to say, "leave it alone, don't get involved." But I was so furious with the blatant, childish inconsideration of this fellow that I just had to put him in his proper place.

Yes, us passengers can definitely be rude and inconsiderate at times and we need to be held accountable for our lack of humanity. Conductors and attendants are doing their best to keep the train a safe and organized environment. Furthermore they seem to be dealing with an archaic ticketing system that is totally in appropriate for this day and age.

If anything, train crews should be empowered to throw adults off the train when they start acting like little children.

My take on the initial post was that the traveler was minding his own business and was still treated rudely by the on-board staff. I have seen this on occasion while "just passing through".

Just the same, I have seen some passengers who are very rude (and messy) also.

The worst I've had recently was when the attendant waved me away from the business class door (even though I had a business class ticket) so I got on in coach and walked down a couple of car lengths. I guess if you aren't toting a briefcase and wearing a suit you "don't belong there"?

- Conductors are responsible for every person on that train, passengers, crews, engineers, dead heads... everyone. They have the right to remove any person from their train that causes problems, that includes crews or passengers.

- In response to UncleBuck44's question the answer is yes, Amtrak -does-, in fact, have people who ride the trains frequently in order to observe crew behaviour, possible theft and other problems or praises. On the rails these people are called Spotters, they exist, they are compensated for their job and they are very good at causing chaos on an otherwise quiet train. Who knows? Maybe that rude, loud passenger with his belly hanging out was a spotter who clearly got the best out of his challenged crew member.

- Unless you are naked or in some way offending those around you, I can not tell you to pull down your shirt over your beer belly, frankly, I find that incredibly rude to do, myself. I can, however, ask you to take your feet off the seat, stay out of the galley/kitchen/lounge area, prevent you from entering a first class section/sleeper (or business class) if you are not ticketed to be in that section. I can ask you to please keep your child under control when it's wailing at 3am in a car full of sleeping people, I can ask you to put your shoes on should an unpleasant odor be wafting throughout the coach, I can ask you to not smoke in the restrooms, I can ask you to free the seat up next to you and many other things... It's my job, our job, to make it as pleasant as possible for everyone, not just you.

Here are just some of the things I have had to deal with since working for this company:

- People acting as if I am the president of Amtrak and personally responsible for delays, accidents, failures in heating/cooling, overbookings, incorrect bookings, shortages of food, beverage, alcohol, smoking policy, snow storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, non-working video equipment, non-working PA systems, FDA regulations, Red Cap failure, someone else's rudeness, schedule screw ups... all those things and more I have been approached about and treated not only unfairly but downright disrespectfully.

- People who have no idea what train ettiquette is, who have no respect for tradition, protocol or authority. Lately there has been an influx of plane travellers, particularly in first class and they never tip, I explain it away by thinking they merely don't know.

- People who believe that because they paid their fare, it means they have the right to be confrontational and abusive and we have to take it.

On my trains it's simple, I am there to do a job, if you are hindering that, we're going to have a problem. I am not the type of person to be rude without cause and on good days I can smile and tell you "Have a nice day" even after you've been rude to me but there are some days where it gets really hard to not say: "Look, buddy, -I'm- in charge. Now sit, give me your ticket, TRY and relax and stop trying to cause mutiny on the Amtrak OR the next stop WILL be yours, understand?!"
Very hard indeed.
I think it is important to remember this...
Amtrak workers, heck, we are all people. All people have bad days. Everyone. Judging one person for how they acted on one bad day is not entirely fair though I am aware that it happens all the time and that by being human we risk such a bad impression that that passenger may not want to return... it's a risk we take every time we go out on the job. You can't please everyone, you just can't. I had one passenger say to his travelling companion that I was rude, get this, because I picked up his can of soda and refilled his glass on my way past and took the empty can with me to the trash! *chuckle* I'll never get over that one.

I am not condoning rude behaviour in the least, please don't take it that way, what I am asking you, as a passenger, to remember is this, in a train of 400 passengers there are three, count them, three, people directly responsible for the well being of all four hundred: The Conductor, Assistant Conductor and the Coach Attendant. Sometimes it takes ONE passenger to sour the mood of an entire train and when situations arise, it is very hard to keep that customer service standard in mind. When you have someone yelling at you, telling you that this or that is unacceptible, why can't you fix this, this is your fault, how dare you etc etc etc, it's very, -very- hard to not take those things personally.

I myself have come face to face with people who have gotten the best of me on a different day and have always apologized for whatever the situation was, that's -me-. I can't say every worker does the same thing.

Day in and day out we, the workers, must paste a smile, a genuine smile, on our lips, and take care of you, the passenger, in a manner which will make you want to return, please forgive our humanity when you encounter us on a bad day, your next trip may not be so bad. We do that for you... at least I do.

That being said, after reading ShaLeah's comments, and seeing many first hand examples myself, I can understand where his feelings come from. There are truely some rude (and beyond) people you all have to deal with and there is a percentage of riders who come from a less, shall we say civilized, world.

I feel for you guys and don't know how you do it sometimes. Personally I try to thank the train staff for their efforts and know that the schedule, delays, and equipment are beyond your control.

Personally I have only run across professionals in my travels and, other than issues caused by lack of funding, have not been let down by Amtrak yet.

Cajon, there are some of us who appreciate what you do. I wish I had the answers.

quote:

---

Originally posted by JonA:
Cajon's level of anger is not an optimal situation for an employee who interfaces with the public.

---

Agreed. It's sad, I find, that so many people in the service industry don't remember what they are there for. Personally, I feel much better at the end of the day when I hear "You made my trip".

Showers, Sugar, Superliners. A sure-fire recipe for rail-related rancor.

When will they listen?

quote:

---

Originally posted by dnsommer:
A lot of this behavior may be the result of grand mal episodes of ultra morning supercharging, or U.M.S.

Showers, Sugar, Superliners. A sure-fire recipe for rail-related rancor.

When will they listen?

Dave

---

I would risk, in a New York minute, the rail-related, sugar-induced, shower-freshened rancor if only those affected were the Amish... please God, let the amish learn to use the rail showers, heck, I'd hand them a bucket of Shout and five bars of Zest if they did -and- I would smile while they tried to skin me because the train is five hours late. Gladly!

------------------
F40PH #757099-8
March 29, 1976-August 17, 2001
Requisecat in pacis

quote:

---

Originally posted by Railbug:
Granted there are some passengers who are boorish, umkempt, just plain vulgar slobs but when a service is paid-for, the customer "is always right!"

---

I have to disagree with this.
Try and think of it this way.
You are in my car, I agree to give you a ride to where you need to go for a tank full of gas. Do you mean to tell me that by paying for that gas it entails you to do whatever you want? Say whatever you want?
I can't agree to that.
We pay Amtrak to get us from point A to point B. It does not guarantee you that you'll have a double seat to yourself, it does not guarantee you that there will be no complications enroute, it does not guarantee you that there will not be some shmuck you have to deal with, be it passenger or crew.

I -do- agree that people should only be in a service industry if they have the personality for it and how to deal with the ones that are not, I will address on another post, since it deserves a topic of its own.

I can not agree with the fact that the customer is always right because that would say that I think it is permissable for some to be abusive to staff, lie, cheat, steal, deface the property and many other things I have witnessed out here on the rails that sometimes make me want to quit my job to go raise Alpacas.

No one has supreme power over you, even if they pay. That's just my opinion. You should treat people as you'd like your mother to be treated and sometimes, both passengers and crew forget that and chaos ensues.

quote:

---

Originally posted by UncleBuck44:
Hey has Amtrak ever put High officials on trains while undercover.

Like they go on a train and no body knows that that guy could be Mr. Gunn's right hand man, then That guy could tell who is good and bad, then they could rid of the bad eggs.

Its an honest way

---