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On May 12 a friend and I and our two young grandsons boarded the Texas Eagle in Chicago headed for Austin. Our sleeping car attendant was very friendly. I soon discovered, however, that the friendliess masked the extreme of incompetance. When I asked during the dinner hour if she could bring some dinner (macaronni and cheese and ice cream) to my grandson in our room, she told me to ask the waitress. This surprized me since I had read on the website that the atendant provided this service. The waitress told me to do back to the atendant who then said she could due it but not for half an hour becasue we were stopping in Springfield in 20 minutes. I replied that it should take only a few minutes to get such on order, and she finally reluctently got it. It was the next morning though which was the worst when she dumped half a pot of coffee in my seat (in full view of my friend) and did NOTHING to dry the seat - she just walked off. When I asked her later for help with the dampness, she provided 2 towels. Our train was delayed for 6 hours becasue of flooding. When we inquired about any cell phones on board to call home, she told us we could use the payphone in the Lounge. It sounded highly implausable that there would be such a thing, but, out of curiousity, we went to the Lounge to look. Obviously there were none there. We we arrived in Austin around 2:30 AM, the conductor asked if we knew where the attendant was as he could not locate her. She finally appearded after we stopped. This kind of service is partly responsibile for AMTRAK's demise.
Posts: 2 | From: Austin, TX | Registered: May 2002
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I'm sorry that the attendant was so rude to you and other guests. That low level of service usually doesn't bring back first-timers, or even some seasoned rail travelers. These employees should be tossed out with the managers.
"When we inquired about any cell phones on board to call home, she told us we could use the payphone in the Lounge. It sounded highly implausable that there would be such a thing, but, out of curiousity, we went to the Lounge to look. Obviously there were none there."
Actually, there are pay phones (or A pay phone) on the lower level of the Lounge car on the opposite end from the snack bar. I believe that they take a credit card, but I'm not sure about reception or anything like that. (However, your train may have had a Lounge car that hasn't had a pay phone installed yet).
[This message has been edited by Eric (edited 05-16-2002).]
Posts: 553 | From: Flagstaff, AZ USA | Registered: Apr 2001
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Very unusual I would say. I was on 8 Amtrak segments (each at least 1 night in a sleeper) the past few weeks and ALL the attendants were more than competent and friendly. A couple were true icons of the old Pullman porter we've read about.
Posts: 363 | From: Southwest North Central Florida | Registered: Apr 2002
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Are there pay phones in all the lounge cars? Do they take change? (I will be taking the southwest chief)
Posts: 45 | Registered: Apr 2002
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Are there pay phones in all the lounge cars, specifically the southwest chief? Do they take cash/ cahnge not just credit cards?
Posts: 45 | Registered: Apr 2002
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I'm willing to bet that most Lounge cars have pay phones. From what I could tell, they only took credit cards (I believe that's what the snack bar attendant said). I tried using a calling card, but he said that it wouldn't work. You might want to contact Amtrak (website or 1-800) and ask if they have any info regarding your question.
Good luck, and have a great trip!
Eric
Posts: 553 | From: Flagstaff, AZ USA | Registered: Apr 2001
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I enjoyed reading your story Ilablyth. It sounds like the same Amtrak junk service that we can usually expect. As I have said before, most Amtrak employees would have already been fired if they had worked for a reputable company.
------------------ Elias Valley Railroad (N-scale) www.geocities.com/evrr
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It has been said, and accurately, I think, that one shouldn't judge Amtrak based on one bad experence and neither should one judge Amtrak based on one good experience. The fact is, Amtrak service is inconsistent. Sometimes excellent, other times not so good. One experience is never enough to pass judgement over the whole system.
From what you describe, the attendant didn't know her way around a sleeping car, suggesting she was not a regular sleeper attendant, but may have been called to fill in at the last minute. It sounds like she was probably used to working on a different type of train. That would explain her lack of knowledge of procedures, and available services, but that is no excuse for not cleaning up a spill.
Certainly there is room for improvement, but I can tell you that despite its warts, Amtrak's on-board service overall is vastly superior to what it was in the 1970s. Back then most crew members were indifferent at best. Seeing one smile at all was a rarity. Traveling with a group of fellow students, we had one cranky conductor yell at us while we were sleeping because our seats were facing the wrong way (the way we found them when we boarded). Another time one employee accused me of trying to steal from the lounge bar because I just happened to be standing outside the bar's door when he returned from his break.
As for phones, there was none on the CZ in 2000. There was one in the lower level of the lounge on the Starlight a year ago. It took credit cards only, and was expensive, but worked quite well.
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
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Your experience sounds just about right. My wife and I took a trip on the Empire Builder in February between Whitefish, MT and Portland and experienced a coach attendant who chastized us for boarding when she was nowhere to be found, and a group used the entire lower level of the coach as their personal baggage compartment. She later was singing through the coach at 1:00 AM during our stop in Spokane, waking up half the car.
My recommendation is to bring a cell phone with you, as railfones are generally only on the short-distance trains - not on Superliner trains. Yeah - the roaming charges will be high, but the cost is still cheaper than the railfone (unless you have a really crappy provider).
Posts: 15 | From: Kalispell, MT - USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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I recall seeing Railfones in most Lounge cars. Being a sister product of the Airfone they accept plastic only. Rates are significantly higher than street corner pay phones.
Posts: 363 | From: Southwest North Central Florida | Registered: Apr 2002
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My experience has been that most of the western transcontinentals do not have phones. But they do exist. I have seen them from time to time on the S.W. Chief, but the last time I rode the CZ there were none. Last December on the Coast Starlight the train had three(!)phones. One in the Pacific Parlour car, one in the lounge (upstairs in its own little phone booth) and a third in the lower level of one of the coaches. I have never before seen a phone in a coach, I guess the Starlight rates as a special train. Of course all the phones only take credit cards or a telephone calling card.
Posts: 524 | From: Toronto Ont. Canada | Registered: Mar 2001
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Wow! Pay phone in the lounge? Of all my trips on the Chief I never recal seeing a phone in the lounge. Is this a feature of Superliner II lounges? The Chief usually has an all Superliner I consist (except for the transition). Anybody ever use it? How's the reception? I've used a cell phone from the Chief and if you're out a ways from a city good luck trying to get a cell phone to work. I do know that there was a pay phone in the old Amfleet lounge/cafe used on the San Diegan/Pacific Surfliner. It took coins. Don't know about the new Surfliner Cars, I've never checked. Next time I take the San Diegan ,whoops Pacific Surfliner, I'll check. I'm a Santa Fe fan and don't really like the new name. The San Diegan was the last former Santa Fe train to keep its name in it's entirety. Now they're all gone.
Posts: 579 | From: San Bernardino Subdivison | Registered: Dec 2001
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Railfone service is available on the San Joaquins, Capitols, Surfliners and Cascade service trains. This service is also available on the Carolinian & Pennsylvanian trains. I have on occasion seen the lounge car on other low level service on several other trains. Most of the NEC trains have Railfone service also. I have never seen a Railfone on a Superliner service train, but maybe several cars were fitted with this service on a test basis. I have found the service to be very inconsistent & have often seen the phones out of service altogether. The phones require a credit or calling card, none of them accept coins. Reggie
Posts: 462 | From: Bakersfield Ca., 93312 | Registered: Jul 2000
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