I agree with you! Also, to all others who agree with me about dirty toilets, broken locks on trains, stations in ghettos, calling ahead for Taxis, etc.
Also, when a car attendant writes down on his pad to remember to wake you up at your destination station and DOES NOT, of course he is to blame! Remember, the middle-class passenger is picky and sensitive because he or she worked hard in this America to afford rides on trains, etc. The middle-class deserves service, manners, etc. for their money!
On a trip from Palatka, Florida through Washington, Chicago and Denver to Vancouver, BC and back through San Francisco, Las Vegas and LA to Florida (on the Sunset Limited) of course I was excited to take our 4 week round-trip BUT these things wrong with Amtrak have got to be remedied (irrespective of Amtrak's funding troubles) if people other than us rail fans are going to ride the rails repeatedly. Don't you agree?!
Posts: 9 | From: Palatka, FL, USA | Registered: Aug 2003
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I would say regardless of one's social class, every passenger should expect a proper level of service contingent on his "class" on board the train. A first-class passenger who has paid a substantially higher price for his journey, has every right to expect an upscale level of service over the lowest-paid fare in coach. I regret to say that on Amtrak first-class service in the first class is very much a hit and miss affair. Sometimes it is very good, other times just awful--one just never knows. This coming December, I will be taking a trip somewhat similiar to StevePostal. With my North America Railpass, I will leave my home in Toronto to Vancouver on the Canadian. Then the Cascade to Seattle, the Coast Starlight to Los Angeles, the Sunset to Winter Park Florida, then on to New York on the Silver Meteor, connecting with the Lakeshore to Buffalo, and from there back to Toronto via limo and Via's General Brock. I will be in bedrooms (both deluxe and standard depending on the length of the trip) on every train that carries a sleeping car. Very much looking forward to it, and I only hope that the toilet facilities work and the rabble are not too much in evidence.
Posts: 524 | From: Toronto Ont. Canada | Registered: Mar 2001
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Royaltrain, Hope you have a great trip! The Canadian is awesome. Regarding the post, I agree fully that some thngs will have to change or new "middle class" American riders will never materialize, and without that materialization, Amtrak's days are numbered. That is if conservative, anti-Amtrak politicians stay in power.
Posts: 171 | Registered: May 2002
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Royal Train - my 1999 routing was identical to your proposed trip, only I began in Winter Park (Orlando actually), took the Meteor N to New York and eventually got to Toronto the "back way" (via the Capitol Ltd & International), then followed your route back home.
With the North America Rail Pass, you can only upgarde to sleeper 10 days ahead of time, though, I believe. I hope you are able to get the sleeper space you want, but it may be hard if you are traveling over the holidays. How are the sleepers on the Canadian in the winter? I know the train is much shorter in the winter -- do the sleeping cars on that train tend to sell out fast that time of year?
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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In answer to RRRich, I booked my sleeping car accomodations at the same time as the Railpass back in April of this year. I have since picked up the tickets with all my reserved bedrooms, having no problems so early in the year with obtaining the desired space. There is no rule that I am aware of that says you can only book sleepers 10 days in advance. I have used the North America railpass every year since its inception, and I have always booked my sleepers many months in advance of the journey.
As for The Canadian I have double bedroon "F" in car 120 of the Manor series sleepers. This is the bedroom that is larger than the others but for no extra charge. When I made the reservation, I was the only one booked in that car. I would think by now it would be filling up, and by Christmas (I'm leaving Toronto on the 18th of Dec) it most likely will be sold out. During the winter season The Canadian may have only two full sleepers plus the half sleeper Park car. On occasion, depending on demand, Via may add extra sleepers in the winter.
I've done the around North America tour before, but usually westbound out of Toronto to Chicago and California, then north to Seattle and Vancouver and back to Toronto. This year I decided to do the reverse, and take the southern route to Florida and then north. I've never been east of San Antonio before, so I'm looking forward to some new rail mileage.
Posts: 524 | From: Toronto Ont. Canada | Registered: Mar 2001
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StevePostal, I have been reading your posts and find that I have much the same opinions as you do. We train fans will ride the trains and accept the problems, but for Amtrak to become anymore popular than they are, they must be able to provide quality service to the "normal" non-train-loving people.
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StevePostal & Konstantin, I also agree with your opinions. On 9/8, my wife & I returned from SEA to OKJ on the CS. On the trip we met a family of six taking Amtrak for the first time. They shared that they enjoyed the quality time they were able to experience together. However, they were disappointed with the behavior and service they received from some members of the crew. They do not plan on taking Amtrak again, and that's six lost passengers simply because some crew members lack the ability &/or desire to perform their duties in a professional manner. Sadly, Amtrak likes to say that their Coast Starlight is known for not only it's views along the route but also for it's service. On this journey, we connected to Amtrak from a cruise ship and I can certainly say that there is no comparsion between the levels of service we received. It's interesting to note that most cruise lines employ a foreign work force at minimum wage. Amtrak employs US citizens at a much higher pay & benefit scale yet the service you receive is so considerably different. The regular riders have come to except Amtrak's many flaws, however, the long distance system will always have trouble growing ridership as long as Amtrak fails to address it's glaring personnel problems.
Posts: 218 | Registered: Mar 2001
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quote:Originally posted by CK: ...they were disappointed with the behavior and service they received from some members of the crew. They do not plan on taking Amtrak again, and that's six lost passengers simply because some crew members lack the ability &/or desire to perform their duties in a professional manner.
CK, did they tell you which crew members they had trouble with? Was it just one or two, or several? I don't want to dismiss their complaint out of hand, because there some bad employees that need to be relieved of their jobs, but they are the exception, not the rule. My experience with Amtrak customer service in recent years has been vastly superior to what I experienced on last year's flight to Hawaii, not to mention my experiences with Amtrak in the 1970s. Amtrak service has improved a LOT since then. However, there is still plenty of room for improvement.
But I think at least some disappointments are the result of inflated expectations. And some people have greater tolerance for minor service errors than others. I work in a luxury hotel where the service is top notch all the way around. Yet even here people find things to complain about. I've worked in customer service all my life, and desite my best efforts some people are impossible to please.
Now before anyone jumps on me for dismissing customer complaints, there is no excuse for genuinely bad attitudes among crew members. But the attitude of the customer is a factor that cannot be ignored.
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
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Mr. Toy, They mentioned their car attendant and the dining car hostess. I also witnessed the hostess being very rude to a single elderly lady who made the "grave mistake" of sitting down at a table for dinner without a reservation. I agree that many employees do a very fine job, however, there are a number of "bad apples" that really discredit Amtrak.
Posts: 218 | Registered: Mar 2001
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IMO, the dining car "stewards" are the worst offenders and are generally rude and abrupt. A few cannot even pronounce correctly the menu items when they read them over the PA.
Posts: 181 | From: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A. | Registered: Jan 2001
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Dining car stewards *can* be poor but they can also be very good - kind of extremes of service. Most trains I've travelled on have 1 at most who is rude. However, my ride on the Silver Meteor in 1997 was abysmal, from car stewards to dining car stewards to COBS to snack car attendant.
It seems the more popular the service, the less the crew feel inclined to make it a worthwhile trip because they know the punters will keep on coming back. Go on threatened services like the Cardinal, Sunset, Eagle etc, and the crew are generally very good because they know that their jobs are on the line first if/when Amtrak makes its next cutbacks.
Geoff M.
Posts: 2426 | From: Apple Valley, CA | Registered: Sep 2000
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