Devil's Advocate
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I do make it a point to be polite. I do not make demands. I simply request what I need as a question that they are free to accept or decline. However, I do not kiss-up to the staff. If they are having a bad day I will not coddle them or wipe their tears away or tell them it's going to be alright. I am not their father and they are not my children. They are adults who are being paid to do an adult's job. If they can't handle that then maybe they should look for another career that doesn't involve any front line duties. Sounds simple enough to me. Personally I think Amtrak could be twice as popular as it is now if only more of their staff treated customers like they are truly welcome and appreciated. Some Amtrak staff obviously care about the experience they're providing, but a surprising number really don't seem to give a damn one way or another and a few seem to go out of their way to cause as much trouble as possible.Tipping really is only a piece of this. Want good repeat service? Be nice to the help. That applies everywhere. Does it ensure good service? No. But it sure increases the odds.So I can't expect good service in the future because I didn't tip well enough for bad service in the past? That's good to know.
Over the years I've learned what I can and what I cannot expect of the staff. For the most part I tend to keep to myself and do not give the staff much of a reason to get grouchy or angry with me. However, if the staff treats my friends or family rudely then yeah that really bothers me. At this point most of my friends and family won't even consider Amtrak anymore, mostly due to the lousy schedule and the bad attitudes of the staff. Maybe I didn't do enough to warn them what to expect or fully impress upon them how careful they should be to avoid being bossed around and argued with by the people we're supposedly paying to take care of us. But it seems odd that we really need to go through that much trouble just to avoid any friction with the staff. I must admit that I'm always amazed how people on AU never seem to notice any of the patronizing talk-downs some of the newer riders receive for nothing worse than asking a question or making a request without knowing the official protocol. I see it far too often and really bothers me.That is not what you seem to imply when you talk about repeat service.Ironically, much of the bad behavior I witness by the staff is not actually directed toward me personally. More often than not it's directed toward passengers who are new to the Amtrak experience and don't know how to avoid the irritation and admonition of the less tolerant staff.
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