You may recall my earlier posting about a bad experience on the Starlight in February (poor quality food, no Parlour Car, Sleeper in very poor repair, broken heat control, etc.) on a trip from SBA to SJC. I wrote a letter and, while away on a cruise (GREAT, BTW!), I got a call from Customer Relations. I returned the call this morning and they gave me a full credit for the sleeper portion of the ticket and a sincere apology. The credit is good for one year. I'm a happy camper.
While in England I rode the Southern Railway service from Brighton to London Victoria. A world of difference from AMTRAK. Clean, new carriages, on time to the minute at each stop, and frequent service. We also rode the Gatwick Express from London Victoria to Gatwick and it remains a very convenient and quick (30 minutes) way to the airport.
Frank in sunny SBA
Next AMTRAK ride will be Tuesday SBA/SAN to board another cruise.
Posted by Kiernan (Member # 3828) on :
When I was working at Sequoia NP, I rode the San Joaquin a lot from Hanford up to the Bay Area and back. It was easier than driving. The station agent at Hanford seemed to know everyone and one day, when I didn't use my AAA card for a discount like I normally did, he asked me where my card was.
I told him that I couldn't find it. I was 53 years old at the time.
"So," he looked at me and said, "do you want to be 65 today?"
I agreed and got my discount.
He was a nice young man.
Posted by Amtrak207 (Member # 1307) on :
I keep telling everyone, all you have to do is respect the people you talk to and talk to them for a while. The "travel and service" industry is a *very* trying field at times when you don't know if you will have a job tomorrow and it always seems like all hell breaks loose just in time for your shift. Talk to these folks like human beings and you just might be surprised from time to time.
If you want to ride on a sleeper in poor repair, we can do a simple swap. I'll ride in a technicolor S1 sleeper (probably in October on the Chief) and you can have a state-of-the-art (for 1995 with no budget for replacement parts since then) Viewliner room. Did you want to read something in the "the reason there are two rows of windows" upper bunk? Bring a flashlight. Decent cars, but very rough and continual use has taken its toll. Plus now it's tougher to even get a room since the crew is taking up seven rooms in one car now. Despite half of the switches (push the button, Frank!) not working (previous passengers must have thought that bad switch contacts could be cured with a rubber mallet) and the curtains semi-attached on one end and the leaky window (I bet I can get it opened in an emergency!) I loved my Viewliner experience, and I can't wait to get back. The positive part about talking to Amtrak is that they can at least try to follow up on it. Car numbers and room numbers are the key here. You'd be very, very surprised how many passengers just assume that Amtrak knows that the lower window in 62023 room 8 leaks when they really don't. The trains are empty when they get washed at end terminals and shops. Most of the time, railcars are not powered up when they're in for maintenance, so how are they to know that the light buttons don't work? You get to be their eyes and ears on the road (and nose if necessary) and most of the time they'll appreciate the feedback with a voucher of some sort. As long as you're not demanding too much or expecting everything to go smoothly, all you have to do is talk to someone. You've probably also done a whole lot of people a big favor by adding another comment about the Parlour Cars to the pile. Be heard! You, the customer, have paid a premium to get in that other half of the train, and if more people make it known to them (on paper or on the phone) that the PP cars (hee hee!) are an important part of the service, their refurbishing costs are that much more justified. Having never been on the Starlight (hint: yet! I really hope to ride sometime this fall) I want to get to ride in one of those cars because they are unique. I mean, I want to ride in one again, since I had a pre-Parlourized 39971 on one of my trains in 1992. I'd like to experience the first class lounge interior firsthand. So, as a fellow Amcustomer, I believe I owe you thanks. Posted by sbalax (Member # 2801) on :
You're welcome.
My letter was not a rant but rather a statement of things as they occured. I included some positive comments about the wine tasting and the on-board Passenger Service Manager. As a old mentor of mine used to say, "You can catch a lot more flies with honey than with vinegar."
Interestingly, on a bridge visit on this last cruise among other things the Captain shared was his feeling about whiners. He said that when there were legitimate concerns he always made sure that his staff acted quickly but that forty years of dealing with the public had taught him to recognize whining. "When I hear that", he said, "I become deaf".
Frank in windy SBA
Posted by train lady (Member # 3920) on :
I have always had a very positive experience with customer relations. I start out by saying I have the good and bad and then go to the good first. It's not hard to find someone or something good to report. Then I explain the problem. Most of the time the representative reads back to me what he/she has written.They thank me for calling and are really very nice. When I told them about the miserable Amtrak employee at Penn Station who never head the word helpful the response was that it was inexcuaable behavior and as soon as we hung up she was going to notify the head person there of the situation.
Posted by CoastStarlight99 (Member # 2734) on :
I too have had excellent experiences with the Amtrak Customer Relations department. On the occasions I have called them, they have given the full credit for the sleeper portion of the trip for something such as lacking a Pacific Parlour Car. It sure would be nice though if Amtrak could look at actualy statistics from these complaints and interpret them into making service better.
Just my 2 cents. Enjoy your cruise Frank.
Posted by Liberty Limited (Member # 4300) on :
quote:Originally posted by Amtrak207: Despite half of the switches (push the button, Frank!) not working
I think I know where you got that reference from!
Interesting observations on the Viewliner fleet. I'll likely be aboard one in June and will be interested to see how they compare to the Superliners.
Posted by smitty195 (Member # 5102) on :
Good points about the mechanical department not knowing about switches that don't work, leaking windows, etc...And it does help out to let Amtrak know about these issues. However, please don't forget these two important items:
1) The sleeping car attendant SHOULD be documenting these things during the trip, so that the mechanical folks will repair it at the end of the line. However, my personal experience has shown that the vast majority of the on-board employees do not do this. When asked, you usually get an answer similar to, "Why bother? I've written these things up before and nobody looks at 'em and nobody fixes 'em".
2) It is the job of the folks who work on these cars to check ALL functions of the cars, including light bulbs and switches. Not at the end of every trip, but when the car goes in for it's routine/major service (every 90 days?).
I still agree that we, as customers, should notify Amtrak of these issues. However, there are others who have this responsibility as well....and if they did their job, we would not have to note these things so often. I have my own experiences with Amtrak where I have documented severe issues with their equipment, only to ride again in the exact same car with the exact same issues 6 months later. If anyone ever gets sleeping car #32043, GOOD LUCK! Posted by sbalax (Member # 2801) on :
I timed my trip today to the Santa Barbara station to pick up my tickets for Tuesday so I could see the NB Starlight. It was about half an hour late and came in without a Parlour Car. I heard one boarding passenger say he was angry because they wasn't one "coming down" yesterday either. I would assume it was the same trainset. I was going to suggest writing a letter but I remembered that, in spite of what the Passenger Service Manager told us in February, they no longer even mention the Parlour Car in the schedules, etc.
The last car looked like an ordinary Superliner but the lower windows were sealed with stainless steel plugs. Anybody know what that is about?
Frank in Sunny SBA
Posted by sbalax (Member # 2801) on :
Smitty--
I just found the document with my letter to Amtrak about our trip in February. Guess which car we were in? Yep, it was 32043! As I said in my letter, it is in shameful condition.
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I think I know where you got that reference from! ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
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