I would appreciate any thoughts you enthusiasts might have on my recent Amtrak experience. I just recently found this site and have enjoyed the amazing breadth of knowledge and experiences.
I surprised a good friend this past weekend with a three part trip – Seattle to Portland on the Cascades; Portland to Spokane on the Empire Builder; And Spokane back to Seattle on the westbound Empire Builder. The ride along the Columbia River was the main focus of our trip, as we had both always wanted to do that.
Long story short, our car attendant on the eastbound Empire Builder was very unpleasant, curt and unfriendly from the minute we boarded in Portland. I was so uncomfortable with his demeanor that I was afraid to ask for help with anything, including our beds. But we were there for the incredible scenery, not to be catered to, so I just decided to ignore it.
We enjoyed the view from the observation car until the volume of the Flintstones movie drove us out. On the way back to our room (on the lower level) I noticed several unoccupied roomettes on the upper level. We ducked in and sat there watching the Columbia roll by – no eating, no drinking, just sitting. Within minutes we were scolded for being there. Our attendant informed us that now he would have to clean that room. I was stunned and had to refrain from laughing given that the entire train was anything but clean. My initial impression when we boarded in Portland was “yuck”, and I’m anything but a clean freak.
The odd twist to this story is that the only other negative experience I’ve had with an Amtrak car attendant was over 10 years ago on the Sunset Limited. As we were boarding in Portland, I immediately recognized our attendant as the same person. I convinced myself that it couldn’t be, but as we were leaving the train in Spokane, I finally worked up the nerve to ask if he had ever worked on the Sunset Limited. Yes, he said, he had. I knew that it was the same person.
So I guess my question is what do you do when confronted with such a situation? I’d like to think that we are very low maintenance travelers who ask for very little, but when confronted with an unpleasant attendant, I’d like to keep it from tainting an otherwise wonderful trip.
Thank you for any thoughts and suggestions you might have.
Posted by train lady (Member # 3920) on :
In the '90s we had similar experience with the attendent on the CZ. He was impossible. When he stripped the beds he left the sheets on the stairs so no one could go down, informed us that all beds had to be made up by 9 and disappeaared to the diner where he was flirting with one of the servers. He wouldn't answer the bell after 9.He also wouldn't carry the bags down when we detrained. I complained to the on board chief and he came ater me screaming, After 2 years of that I called customer relations and we haven't seen him since. His name was Henry. I hope you didnt have him.
Posted by PaulB (Member # 4258) on :
The worst employee I've experienced is a cafe car attendant on a Surfliner. I took a Surfliner home in early November (right after every on-board employee receives their new assignments). This woman was EXCRUCIATINGLY slow. It took her from LA to almost Fullerton (we were within city limits) for her to serve 5 people. We were making a stop at Norwalk (a Metrolink Rail2Rail stop). She called out to the conductor (while she was still behind the counter) "What stop is this?" "Norwalk". She then said out loud "Norwalk? Remind me to NEVER bid this job again!"
I think I saw her again last week as the cafe car attendant on another Surfliner. If it was the same women she has dramatically improved! She was quick, pleasant, and made a funny opening announcement.
That's the only "bad" employee I can remember. I've interacted with hundreds of telephone reps, ticket agents, conductors, car attendants, diner/lounge staff, and all have been at least reasonable. Some do their job and appear bored, or just "go through the motions", but at least they are adequately doing their task. Others have gone way above the call of duty. But in all cases, that woman is the only "bad" employee I've experienced.
NOTE: The following DOES NOT apply to the previous posts! I think there's another side to most of these "horror stories" you hear about. If I have a problem, I try to meet staff halfway, and work with them to come up with something mutually acceptable. However, many travelers think that because they paid $$$ they can get their feet kissed. Then they blame the attendants when they understandably don't get their way.
Posted by PaulB (Member # 4258) on :
Oh yes, when my mom and I were on the Southwest Chief, we asked if we could use the roomette across from us to look out on the other side. The car attendant said sure, but he told us to be careful with the room. If we contacted the pillows or linens he would have to replace them. That was reasonable.
Posted by Vicki (Member # 3410) on :
We have had some who were just wonderful (Andrew on the EB last June was one of them) and a couple who were the pitts. The majority just do what they have to do-no more, no less. At least this has been my experience.
Posted by PullmanCo (Member # 1138) on :
I have a real simple method for dealing with surly Porters: I give them a $1 tip.
Posted by CoastStarlight99 (Member # 2734) on :
quote:Originally posted by PullmanCo: I have a real simple method for dealing with surly Porters: I give them a $1 tip.
LOL, I would love to see the look on there faces when they see that.
I have never experience a really bad crew member, only one thing comes to mind...That would be a Pacific Parlour Car Attendant. This woman was on the extra board and said she worked the dining car, lounge, and also the Parlour Car. She was not a mean person necessarely a rude person, but just lazy. When someone asked for hot water or coffee...instead of serving it in real cup, she would give it to you in a paper one. This is fine for the lounge, but a bit different then what most would do in the Parlour Car. She also took VERY long breaks and was rude when an older couple asked for some ice as she was on her break behind the bar!
I hope she remains on the extra board or gets an attitude adjustment .
Posted by Mr. Toy (Member # 311) on :
I've never encountered any bad sleeper attendants, but I've heard some do exist. I have met a few crabby coach and diner attendants, though.
However, using a room that wasn't assigned to you without asking permission was a faux pas on your part, albeit an innocent one. The attendant was right to ask you to leave, but he should have done so politely.
Posted by sojourner (Member # 3134) on :
Like Mr Toy, I have never encountered any bad sleeper attendants, but I have had crabby coach and esp diner attendants. I usually try to be super friendly and cheerful when they are rude, so chatty and friendly that I feel sure I must be annoying them. I find this vastly amusing.
Posted by DeeCT (Member # 3241) on :
I have never encountered a bad sleeper attendant -- only one that did not make anything more than minimal effort. I am pretty much low maintenence requiring only put my bed down at nite and up in morning and am quite flexible as to when they do it. I have yet to eat in room as that little table is not designed for dining and I prefer the company of the diner. Have run into less than perfect dining car servers but not recently which leads me to suspect a new "training emphasis". My trip later this month will be my first experience with a parlour car. Like you Sojourner I use the super cheerful attitude. I find it works 90% of the time. (Also it keeps my mood up).
Posted by Seattle Shue (Member # 4363) on :
Interesting comments. Thanks all for your input. I think our main beef with this particular attendant was his ugly demeanor from the minute we stepped on the train – LONG before we had the chance to piss him off with improper train etiquette! We did our best to shrug it off, but it definitely set the tone for our journey. And since sleeping car accommodations are a real splurge for us, it was especially bothersome.
We would love to do the trip through the Columbia River Gorge again (the scenery was beyond magnificent), so maybe you all can help educate me. Is it possible to make a very specific room request, such as an upper level roomette on the river side? I considered asking once we were on board, but again, I was afraid to bother this attendant.
Thanks again for your input.
Posted by Mr. Toy (Member # 311) on :
You can call Amtrak at 1-800-USA-RAIL and talk to an agent to request a specific room, assuming it hasn't already been sold. However, since cars can be oriented in either direction, there's no guarantee that a given room will be on a particular side of the train. Amtrak's general practice is to orient the full bedrooms forward, in which case the odd numbered roomettes will be on the right. But sometimes a car will be oriented the other way. It depends on circumstances in the yard when a train is assembled.
That's one reason why I like lower level roomettes. If what you want to see is on the other side, you can easily walk to the vestibule and look out either side.
Shue, you can also go down to the lounge car assuming there is one. On our trip over that route the lounge was full so I went into the diner and asked the lead attendent if he had a suggestion as I wanted to get some pictures as well as seeing the "sights". Since it was between meals he let us sit at one of the tables which was great. If there are any emppty rooms most car attendents will let you sit there for the short time if you promise to leave it in the same condition in which you found it. You can also check out the coaches. Just be sure to get permission from the conductor or attendent. Most of the personel are decent people and with the exceptiion of Henry, who had our whole car in an uproar, we have never had any problems.
Posted by dilly (Member # 1427) on :
quote:Originally posted by Seattle Shue: Long story short, our car attendant on the eastbound Empire Builder was very unpleasant, curt and unfriendly from the minute we boarded in Portland. I was so uncomfortable with his demeanor that I was afraid to ask for help with anything, including our beds.
Did the sleeper attendant happen to be named "George?"
He was the weasel I encountered on the eastbound Empire Builder, a few years ago, who suggested I was perfectly capable of making up my own bed before turning in for the night. This, after I'd overheard him say exactly the same thing to the passengers in the room next door.
When I declined to do his job for him, he pulled an attitude, literally threw the bed together. . . and then promptly disappeared until nearly noon the next day.
I guess he must have had amnesia. The following night, he tried to pull the same "you know, it's real easy to make up your own bed" routine all over again.
Then again, during the entire 2210 mile trip, the refreshment station at the top of the stairs remained, shall we say, "inactive." The clown never once made coffee, and never put out any soft drinks or bottled water. The plastic-sealed boxes remained stacked in an empty roomette with the door closed. On the rare occasions when he was around, he simply instructed passengers to "go help yourself." My Swiss Army knife definitely came in handy for cutting through the plastic shrink wrap to get at the bottles.
And whenever a paper towel or toilet paper dispenser in one of the rest rooms ran out? You guessed it. It stayed empty. And I can't even describe the state of the toilets themselves by the time the train pulled into Chicago.
No, I didn't tip him. Yes, I complained to Amtrak, by phone and letter. An apology from customer service is all I received (and this was during the era of the "satisfaction guarantee").
My guess is that "George" is still out there, working hard at trying to sweet-talk passengers into doing his job for him.
Posted by Train Attendant West (Member # 2350) on :
Hello Everyone-
Here's my 2 cents worth. There is no excuse for bad customer service or to be unfriendly. As a train attendant, my job is really to be an Ambassador of Hospitality, aside from my safety related duties. Most of my On-Board colleagues strive to provide good old-fashioned passenger service despite the shabby cars and lack of meaningfull support by management. That said.....
In my 16 years on-board I've noticed a sharp increase in the blatant hostility and lack of simple repect from pax directed to attendants. Some people come on to the train holding a knife and fork in hands, ready to eat us alive! I tread a delicate road trying to keep everyone happy. One person gets mad if I make jokes and keep things light, and another claims I have a stuck-up attitude if I'm not a comedian. Last trip a had a pax in my car who was obviously having a hard time getting comfortable in his coach seat. I said, "Did you know that there is a leg rest under your seat"? and bent down to demonstrate it's use. He replied, "Yes, I know, now stop bothering me"!, in a dusgusted tone of voice! Those types of situations happen repetedly on any giving trip.
Also the lack of rest for On-Board crews is a factor some people may not be aware of. It's not uncommon to work a 20 hour day, get four hours downtime, then work another 20 hour day. We are human beings. By day three working 11/14, I feel like a zombie and my conversational skills aren't crack sharp. Yes we do have days off at home for rest, but during the trip days we may be exhausted.
Please let me also say that those of us who care about the service we provide are profoundly embarrassed with the "bad apples" we are forced to work with. MANY of these people should never have been hired. Amtrak needed/needs are MUCH more selective recruitment process. We fault HRD for the low standards in hiring.
Yes I am on-board for the service of passengers and I enjoy friendly interaction. But please don't expect me to be your therapist or to listen to your personal problems, marriage problems, detailed history of your health woes. Please respect that I'd rather not explain my sexual preferences, why I live where I live, how come I don't have children, or my political viewpoints, and what church I go to!
Posted by RRRICH (Member # 1418) on :
In all my years of riding AMTRAK, I too have seldom had "rude" sleeping car attendants -- the worse that I have had are a few attendants who have greeted me when I first boarded the train, asked me if I was familiar with all the features of the room, then disappeasred until 5 minutes before the end of the trip, when they suddenly appear again and and offer to take my suitcases downstairs for me.
I had an attendant named "Applegate" on the CZ a few years ago, who was one of those guys who tended to "disappear" during the trip. I personally didn't have any problems with him, but I heard things from other passengers about him which I don't care to repeat here.
Train Attendant West - I agree with you 100%. There may be a couple "bad" employees, but there are also a bunch of "bad" passengers who expect WAY too much from you guys, and don't understand the conditions you work under. It has to be a "2-way street" with attendants and passengers alike -- the attendants need to do their jobs, but the passengers too have to respect the attendants and treat them like humans as well.
Posted by rtabern (Member # 4306) on :
I have seen a wide range of personalities when dealing with Amtrak employees, but I would say it's been a good experience 99% of the time.
My favorites had to be Marcy, my sleeping car attendant on a recent trip on 59 from Chicago to New Orleans. She was fun to talk to and had a lot to share about what New Orleans went through. Always kept the coffee going, even in the middle of the night! Some of the other memorable (in a good way) was the Pacific Parlor attendant I had last summer on 14 between LAX and SFW... very knowledgeable about the wines and the scenery and history of the air force base we went through (even telling us during WW2 passengers were made to pull their windows shut when passing near Lompoc). And a lounge car attendant on 6 last summer --- had a lot of fun hanging out with him and hearing stories about all the crazy passengers.
The wackiest sleeping car attendant was in 1997... on a trip I took on the Empire Builder. (I don't remember his name, but he was a Chinese gentlement) He didn't want to unload the Giardeli chocolates they used to give the sleeping car folks at night --- so he handed me this bag with like 200 of the chocolate squares in there! Wow... a tummy ache!
The only "bad" sleeping car attendant was on the roundtrip of that (see above) on 7 going to Portland. The attendant always hung out in the diner and didn't care much of the passengers. Wasn't friendly and insisted on people addressing him as "Mr. ****". I guess that's his choice, but just very odd since Amtrak trips seem to be an informal thing.
Posted by PullmanCo (Member # 1138) on :
Here is my story of Phil from a 1999 trip on the CZ:
Note we are talking 1999. $20 in 1999 wasn't bad. In 2006 I'd double it!
As I recall, Phil got $5 for the trip.
Posted by Seattle Shue (Member # 4363) on :
PullmanCo - It’s interesting that you mention in your write-up the need for traveling inspectors.
Immediately following my 1995 trip on the Sunset Limited (and my first encounter with this surly attendant), I boarded the Coast Starlight headed for Seattle. VERY early the next morning, as I was sitting in the sightseer car enjoying a cup of coffee and the incredible scenery, I noticed a gentleman who was talking to someone. But I couldn’t figure out who in the heck he was talking to cause we were the only two people in the entire car! After awhile he walked over, sat down and we started to chat. He explained that he really wasn’t having a conversation with himself, but was speaking into a small tape recorder. Turns out he was an Amtrak inspector, there to observe the performances of the on board personnel. He was using the tape recorder for his notes.
He was such a nice guy and we talked for a very long time. And how ironic to be interviewed by an inspector immediately following my bad experience on the Sunset Limited. If I’m remembering correctly, he told me that Amtrak was just starting to increase the number of inspectors (especially on popular routes like the CS) in an effort to improve customer service and weed out the bad seeds like I had just experienced.
After a lengthy conversation, he bought me breakfast and then gave me a tour of the sleeping cars – I was in coach and had never even seen a sleeping compartment. Later that day, we stopped in the middle of nowhere so he could board the southbound Coast Starlight, hopefully returning home in time for his son’s birthday party!
I guess ole whats-his-name (our recent Empire Builder attendant – he didn’t introduce himself and I don’t remember his name) didn’t get weeded out, but I still think the timing of my encounter with that inspector was pretty cool. I loved everything about that trip on the Coast Starlight.
Posted by AHALL (Member # 3515) on :
Most of my Amtrak car attendants have been great over the years. I think any staff member will reflect how they are being treated by the public, and it does seem that our society is not as nice as they were a few years ago.
My worst experience was Henry on the Empire Builder about 10 years ago. He did nothing, but I was in Room 2 and could catch him when he was "home" in Room 1. Henry wasn't energetic by any means, and I asked him for a clean towel. He handed me the key to the closet which was filled with clean towels, wash cloths, and soaps. I passed them out to the whole car and returned the key to him. Actually the trip was fine, something to talk about for years to come. The tip at the end of the trip in Chicago wasn't a problem, Henry was the first off the train and gone!
My best experience was on the Zephyr about 1996 when Mauris Emeka was my attendant, he authored the 1994 book, Amtraking and I recognized him from the book photo. He was delighted and I received the best service ever, just like the book described. I heard that he quit Amtrak before a new edition was written, too bad.
Posted by CoastStarlight99 (Member # 2734) on :
quote:Originally posted by AHALL: My best experience was on the Zephyr about 1996 when Mauris Emeka was my attendant, he authored the 1994 book, Amtraking and I recognized him from the book photo. He was delighted and I received the best service ever, just like the book described. I heard that he quit Amtrak before a new edition was written, too bad.
That must have been an excellent trip meeting him, I read Mr. Emeka's book a few years ago, it is excellent. Recently, I also learned he wrote another book about train travel, as well as about cancer due to a personal experience. Unfortunetly it appears he is now retired living in Washington.
His Life... Posted by hookedup (Member # 1691) on :
I just returned from a Portland to Chicago Empire Builder trip and our attendant was sub-par. We have traveled on lots of long distance trains and he was one of the worst attendants we have ever had. I found it ironic since the EB touts itself as being upgraded service and that the staff has specially trained to provide better service. Out attendant was not friendly, not service oriented and certainly not helpful to say the least. I hope I never encounter him again!
Posted by Capltd29 (Member # 3292) on :
Hey Guys,
If anyone gets names for these people, and a description, my Mom is on the Amtrak Customer Advisory Committee, if you e-mail them to me at greydzlbug@msn.com, i can forward them to her and get them reported.
JP
Posted by Bil (Member # 4276) on :
On my trip last month from EUG - LAX and then LAX-EUG, we had great service except for our sleeping car attendant from LAX-EUG. From the second we got on she was not a nice person. My daughter actually asked within about 10 min why the lady was mad.
She never stopped by the room to introduce herself, to offer help, etc. The bathrooms stayed dirty the entire 31 hour trip (one of the stalls had, um, fecal matter, in it for about 10 hours, and never cleaned up).
Our car was not full at all. We were in the Family bedroom, and of the other 5 rooms downstairs, only one was used. I would say only about 1/2 were full upstairs.
I should have thought about the $1 tip, that would have been good. She got nothing from us!!
BUT!!!
On the way down, we had a great attendant. She was not a regular sleeping car attendant. She says she works many different areas, whereever she is needed she works. She was great!!! She was helpful with the kids (I was alone with my 3 daughters), made sure we had what we needed. And just smiled at us a few times.
She got a great tip!!!
Bil
Posted by mr williams (Member # 1928) on :
Sorry to say that I just had the worst sleeper attendant I've ever experienced and - yet again - it was on the Portland section of the Empire Builder. He was invisible, we were left to put our own beds up and down and I had several maintenance problems with my bedroom which just received a shrug of the shoulders. Interestingly, the dining car staff (who were excellent) didn't like him either and said that he was Chicago based whilst all the others were Seattle crew. Full travelogue when I get home!
Posted by notelvis (Member # 3071) on :
What a shame that you got such a poor egg.
I had an excellent waitress last week on the California Zephyr who said she normally works the Empire Builder. If the service we received is indicative of what's going on with the Empire Builder, I'd say you were well taken care of in the dining car.
Posted by jp1822 (Member # 2596) on :
If you have a bad experience with an onboard staff person - write a letter to Amtrak - to both the (Acting) President AND Customer Service. Call them as well. Pen and paper have been my choice. Note the date and train you travelled (from where to where dates etc.). By not doing so, you may find yourself with the same attendant 10 years from now again!
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