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I noticed numerous letters that describe negative behavior of Amtrak employees throughout the system. My wife and I enjoy riding Amtrak but we too have had similar experiences. In fairness, the positive employees have far outnumbered the negative ones. However, I was interested in learning your thoughts on why Amtrak suffers from this problem. There are many things I can think of, but I don't pretend to really know. Do any of these things apply; poor recruitment, retention, low wages, lack of supervision, lack of advancement, a civil service type of system , lack of quality training, lack of employee recognition for quality service, etc., etc. It seems to me that Amtrak can rightfully blame the Federal Government & Freight railroads for many of it's problems, but the poor employees rests with Amtrak to solve.
Judy Member # 942
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I wonder if some of the rude behavior results from the employees just being tired. For example, on the California Zephyr the car attendants & dining staff work 6 days in a row and really long hours. On the return eastbound maybe they're just pooped. On my last 3 long distance rides, I started with the crew (except the Starlight which had started in the morning of the day I boarded at night) and everyone seemed pretty cheerful. When the Zephyr was 5 1/2 hours late into Emeryville & the crew had to start back the next morning, their time off between trips really took a hit. I'm trying to give 'em the benefit of the doubt.
Charlie McCandless Member # 939
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It always amazed me the working conditions of the chair car attendants on the long-distance western runs. It is not like the airlines where the intercontinental runs are no where near the length of time the chaircar attendants have to spend. They should be taken off the train halfway and a no crew put on.
Mr. Toy Member # 311
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I'd also guess fatigue has a lot to do with it. There are also, I hear, a few bad apples left over from the days when such attitudes were more common. (I could tell some horror stories from the '70s.)
But in my experience, the snack bar attendants on long distance trains seem to have the roughest personalities. They also are the only ones who are confined to one place in the train for days on end. Most other employees get to move about.
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
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I've found both good and bad service right across the board, all types of employees. It's down to the person in question, although a boring job probably influences them.
I'd have to disagree with Mr Toy though - snack car attendants are probably the most friendly staff I've had. Car attendants and the senior conductors (can't quite remember the exact title) seem to be the worst on the whole.
Actual trains seem to be frequently good or frequently bad. For example, the Silver Service is commonly bad, whereas all the Cardinals I've been on have been good. I can't really comment on all the other trains as I've only been on them once, but the one trip I had was: - Empire Builder - good - Cal Zephyr - poor - Southwest Chief - mediocre - Sunset Limited (2 trips) - good - Capitol Ltd - mediocre - City of NO - good - Coast Starlight - good - Crescent - good
It also depends on your interaction with them. Treat them with disrespect (or don't tip them for reasonable service), then don't expect them to be nice.
Geoff Mayo.
[This message has been edited by geoffm (edited 08-21-2001).]
Konstantin Member # 18
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The employees seem to have an "I Don't Care" attitude. I don't know where this comes from. I agree with Mr Toy. Some of the worst employees that I have seen are in the lounge and dining cars.
The employees do work long hours at a time, but so did railroad employees forty years ago when the service was excellent.
These problems occur throughout the company and are not isolated incidents. That is typical of a company with poor management. I put the blame on management.
------------------ Elias Valley Railroad (N-scale) www.geocities.com/evrr
skinsfan31 Member # 910
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I would say that Mr. Toy had it right. The lounge and snack car attendants tend to be rude, hasty, and sharp. I have even had this problem on the NEC, where service is supposedly wonderful.
The best service I've ever had, though, was on a mid-winter run of the Twilight Shoreliner. I was in the sleeper (a rare treat for a cash-strapped college student), and the dining car steward was the most friendly Amtrak employee I've ever met. He spent hours talking to me about all sorts of things, until about twelve or one, a good five or six hours after I came to the dining car for dinner. As I recall, the sleeping car attendant was also very friendly, even when my sink, well, sort of exploded somewhere around New Haven at about 3 am.
The Capitol Limited has also had good service. Once, we were six hours late due to a frieght derailment in front of us. They offered us a bus to Washington at Pittsburgh to make our connections, but I declined, deciding that a six-hour-late train was better than an on-time bus. I was in coach on that occasion (being the aforementioned penurious college student), and was one of four people left in the coach. I was treated to one of the greatest trips of my life, as the crew relaxed and enjoyed themselves, chatting with the few remaining passengers, hosting games in the lounge, giving away the snack car food, and just having fun, and letting us have fun, too.
One person from our car brought a guitar into the lounge and played for us for a while, there were constant movies running, and it was, all in all, an enjoyable experience. I missed my connection, but I had more fun than I would have making the connection via bus.
It seems to me that the quality of the service depends on the number of passengers on the train. On relatively empty trains, such as the mid-winter, mid-week Shoreliner, or the six-hour-late Capitol Limited, the crew is under less pressure and seems to be better at dealing with the customers.
Perhaps the solution to this is to hire more employees (trim the management?), and allow more breaks and shift changes, especially in sleeping car attendants, waiters/stewards, and snack bar.
Also, Geoff said that the Cardinal had good service every time he rode it. The last time I was on this train, there were mechanical problems (a broken wheel on the dining car, which was left off the train), and the crew seemed to take this out on the passengers. This might have been a response to the circumstances, but still. . .
I have been trained in customer service in two years plus with a grocery store that specializes in service. I learned these two things. Rule number one: whatever goes wrong in your life, at work or away from it, never take it out on the customer. This would apply to situations like the Cardinal with no dining car (meals were served in the snack bar on the bottom of the lounge). The fact that the crew was having a difficult time had nothing to do with the passengers, and they had no business taking it out on the passengers. Rule number two: it accomplishes nothing to argue with a customer. I once spent twenty minutes in a heated discussion with a woman over the price of a green pepper. The manager ended up giving her the green pepper at her price. I didn't accomplish anything by arguing with her, and she won out in the end anyway. I have often seen train crew get into heated arguments over things ranging from drink prices to seating assignments. It doesn't help. If you can accomodate the passenger without severely damaging the atmosphere for the rest of the passengers, do so.
Charles
[This message has been edited by skinsfan31 (edited 08-21-2001).]
Mr. Toy Member # 311
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My amtrak experience in recent years is relatively limited, but generally service has been good. It is way better than it was when I rode regularly in the '70s, but there is still room for improvement. I work in the audio/visual department of a luxury hotel. I think Amtrak might look to the hospitality industry for guidance in training employees. Hotel service and on-board services have a lot in common.
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
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I have seen quality of service "all over the map". On Sunday I rode the Capitol Ltd round trip MartinsburgWV-WashingtonDC. The eastbound crew were ok, but they did not "fix" a safety hazard: someone had spilled water all over the stairs in the coach. I did not see it until we were leaving to get out at DC (the water was not there earlier when I boarded).
Westbound the crew seemed friendlier...maybe it was because they were "fresh" at the beginning of a run? The snack bar attendant raffled off the last 'Amtrak blanket' for free to the passenger who guessed his birthday. Someone had guessed it around the time we passed Brunswick, MD (a few miles before Harpers FerryWV). The on-board announcer confidently predicated an early arrival in Chicago. The train sure does bob and weave over the 79 mph segment of track in and around the GaithersburgMD area...
Eastbound had more passengers than westbound, but the train did seem well patronized.
Washington DC terminal is somewhat chaotic, with conflicting PA announcments and a rather crowded waiting area. I could see it being somewhat nerve-wracking for a first time train rider.
MLC Member # 58
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I've taken the Capitol Limited many times. On balance, I've found the crews to be friendly, competent, and professional.
I've also taken the Three Rivers. With one exception, I've found the crew of this train to be very friendly and helpful.
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