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The last half dozen times I have ridden in business class, the audio/video systems in the seat backs do not work. This infuriates me! Yesterday, I asked the cafe attendant what the deal is. He said all the A/V equipment has been stolen out of the cars! It seems to me such a shame that Amtrak just accepts this. This attitude will cost Amtrak future business. If something is broke, they should fix it immediately upon notice. It is also such a shame that business class passengers are not given the service for which they paid for. Any comments are appreciated.
P.S. I also finished a trip on Silver Service from NYC to Richmond last October. The Video Movie system in the Lounge did not work. After departing NYC I asked the Chief why not. He said no movies were left in NYC for him to take. This is another example of the I-don't-give-a darn attitude I see often at Amtrak. Seems to me a customer oriented chief whould have just radioed to Washington DC (of any city along the route), asked them to pick up some $20 movies at the store, and have them ready at the platform. Too simple, I guess. Insted, he chose to deprive 200 passengers of the entertainment they had paid for.
ChrisJ Member # 320
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May we assume that you have written to Amtrak with these complaints, giving specifics, such as train number, dates, attendant/conductor names, etc.? Voicing opinions only here won't get anything fixed. (Don't misunderstand - your comments are welcome here, but they need to be conveyed to Amtrak also.) Chris
Mr. Toy Member # 311
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quote:Originally posted by rsher1: ...a customer oriented chief whould have just radioed to Washington DC (of any city along the route), asked them to pick up some $20 movies at the store,
Only if he wanted to get Amtrak into trouble. On-board exhibition of movies constitutes a public showing, and are subject to royalties paid to the film studios. I assume that Amtrak, like airlines, schools, and hospitals, gets their video movies through licensed distributors who collect those royalties for the studios.
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
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The movies shown on any Amtrak train are copywrited copies & they cost $300 each, so the LSAs don't want to pay for them WHEN they are stolen by those very "honest" Amtrak riders. The equipment gets stolen usually when the cars are in the yards. Yes there needs 2/b better security for the A/V equipment.
rsher1 Member # 984
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To ChrisJ - I have written to Amtrak dozens of times both before and after the service guarantee and I have received hundreds in vouchers. They probably know me by name. The problem? Little ever changes. The Amtrak structure is either too large or too political to get things done. Just like Deb2K posted here, my experiences are typical. As for the movies and A/V equipment, even if they cost $300 or $3000 to replace, buy them, find them somehow immediately, but don't deprive the passengers. There are no excuses to think otherwise.
cajon Member # 40
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The LSA has pays for the movie if stolen ,not Amtrak.
Konstantin Member # 18
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What is an LSA?
------------------ Elias Valley Railroad (N-scale) www.geocities.com/evrr
cajon Member # 40
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Lead Service Attendant. They work the in cafe cars & such.
MPALMER Member # 125
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I wondered why the A/V stuff didn't work on the Surfliner last time, but did not ask. I didn't really care...I'd rather look out the window anyway.
The problems cited with stolen equipment are not unique to Amtrak; they reflect the general lack of respect for property that exists. It is probably too expensive/difficult to set up a security system to track all this stuff (video players, tapes, etc.).
It was naive of Amtrak mgmt to think they could offer airline-style service without the airline-style safeguards.
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