AMTRAK Customer Service Survey

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EMDF9A

Lead Service Attendant
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Oct 24, 2011
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I just received in the mail a customer satisfaction survey for my 02/01 trip on #14. I'm sure they send this to everyone these days, but how many of you have completed it & returned it?
 
I get em about 50% of the time. Return em usually, but not always. I'm not a fan of surveys, but complete them from time to time in the hopes someone reads them, and more importantly, can actually make effective change.
 
Really? I must have a mail bag full at my house I haven't been to since December. I was given one on California Amtrak, I think a trip LAX-SBA-LAX. That I filled out and turned in at the end of my ride.
 
Amtrak can't fix problems they don't know about, and can't keep doing what they're doing right unless we let them know.

I don't get 'em that often, but when I do I certainly fill them out.
 
I always fill out Amtrak's surveys. I've also sent one or two emails as follow-ups where I answered a question...but where the answer might have an unintended result.
 
I get them for about half of my trips. I always fill them out. I wish they had a comments section, though. Sometimes there's something I want to mention, usually to clarify a response, but it isn't important enough to warrant an email to customer service.

I think I know why they don't have them, though. I used to input surveys like that, and they all go into an Access (or similar) database that simply tallies the 1-10 responses so they get a percentage at the end.
 
I try to fill them out. I get one every so often but I don't ride that much. I figure things can't be fixed if they don't know it is wrong. I am sure they get carying responses but look at them in a statistical approach. Also, you won't please all the people all the time.
 
Sorcha said:
I get them for about half of my trips. I always fill them out. I wish they had a comments section, though. Sometimes there's something I want to mention, usually to clarify a response, but it isn't important enough to warrant an email to customer service.
I think I know why they don't have them, though. I used to input surveys like that, and they all go into an Access (or similar) database that simply tallies the 1-10 responses so they get a percentage at the end.
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Useless. I wish Amtrak wasn't wasting its time and money doing surveys badly. The biggest problem with Amtrak is *service inconsistency*, but I bet they don't even ask questions which get at that. ("Were the mealtimes on this train the same as on other trains?" Ahem.)

In order to get good information, you have to do an open-ended, free-form questionssurvey first. That's the only way to know what questions to *ask* on the quantitative survey.
 
Sorcha said:
I get them for about half of my trips. I always fill them out. I wish they had a comments section, though. Sometimes there's something I want to mention, usually to clarify a response, but it isn't important enough to warrant an email to customer service.
I think I know why they don't have them, though. I used to input surveys like that, and they all go into an Access (or similar) database that simply tallies the 1-10 responses so they get a percentage at the end.
Click to expand...
Having processed data as well, I know you sometimes also get "percentage of X" responses (i.e. if a low score is a result of lots of 1s vs. lots of 10s rather than a bunch of middling-to-low results). Likewise, if anybody actually knows what they're doing, they'll check for correlation to see what's driving overall scores.
 
I've never ever received one. I wonder why? The only travel company that ever seems to send me them is when I fly JetBlue. Might have had one from Delta once.
 
I think they may bias slightly towards sleeper travelers, since there Amtrak tends to get more "bang for buck".
 
Anderson said:
I think they may bias slightly towards sleeper travelers, since there Amtrak tends to get more "bang for buck".
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Possibly. I get them just as often for my trips between KAL and CHI, though, so I think it's truly random.
 
Nathanael said:
Sorcha said:
I get them for about half of my trips. I always fill them out. I wish they had a comments section, though. Sometimes there's something I want to mention, usually to clarify a response, but it isn't important enough to warrant an email to customer service.
I think I know why they don't have them, though. I used to input surveys like that, and they all go into an Access (or similar) database that simply tallies the 1-10 responses so they get a percentage at the end.
Click to expand...
Useless. I wish Amtrak wasn't wasting its time and money doing surveys badly. The biggest problem with Amtrak is *service inconsistency*, but I bet they don't even ask questions which get at that. ("Were the mealtimes on this train the same as on other trains?" Ahem.)

In order to get good information, you have to do an open-ended, free-form questionssurvey first. That's the only way to know what questions to *ask* on the quantitative survey.
Click to expand...
I don't remember all of the questions, but it's pretty thorough. I think there are around 100 questions, and they deal with all kinds of things, including the boarding and departing stations, service levels on the train, comfort, food in the snack car and dining car, value, etc.

I don't really care about meal times since I'm sure they adjust them accordingly. If lunch is normally served from 11:00 - 1:00 but I know I have a large stop on that route with many passengers boarding during that time, I'd probably extend that train's lunch period an hour to give those passengers a chance to eat and then move dinner from 4:00 to 5:00 to account for the extension. But this is purely speculation.
 
Nathanael said:
Useless. I wish Amtrak wasn't wasting its time and money doing surveys badly. The biggest problem with Amtrak is *service inconsistency*, but I bet they don't even ask questions which get at that. ("Were the mealtimes on this train the same as on other trains?" Ahem.)
In order to get good information, you have to do an open-ended, free-form questionssurvey first. That's the only way to know what questions to *ask* on the quantitative survey.
Click to expand...
The bolded bit seems to indicate that you haven't seen one of their surveys. Why pass judgement on something that you haven't seen? And who is to say that they haven't done your "open-ended, free-form questionssurvey" in the past, and the current survey is an output of that?
 
Free form surveys are harder because you can't input the data. It's just a bunch of subjective comments, so they probably figure they'll use the customer service emails as their "free form" and the surveys as their way to input and review data. I stated I wished there were a way to put a little comment to clarify my answer to something, but I also realize it wouldn't be possible, given the way the surveys are most likely processed.

The surveys are most likely processed by data entry operators, and then reports are generated every week/month. I would imagine those results are then passed onto the people in charge of those stations/routes/jobs. If the SWC's "cleanliness" rating goes from 90% to 75%, the crew supervisors can address that issue. If "customer service" at CUS goes from 75% to 95%, they can commend their employees for improving. We often get customer service survey results at work, and if our numbers go down, we have a meeting to address where we need to improve, whether it's tone, greeting, sounding knowledgeable, etc. I imagine it's the same way with Amtrak.
 
I've responded to two of the surveys. While wishing I could comment on specific facts about my trip, I still feel that it it useful to participate.

If i feel strongly about something specific, I never hesitate to call or write to customer service. They do listen and respond.

It's kind of like voting in an election. You say, #1 or #2 (or #3). If you need more input, you have to write to your congressman (or whoever). But don't hold your breath waiting for them to call you up and ask for your specific opinions. Same goes for Amtrak.
 
Maine Rider said it so much better than I did. I like the voting analogy.
 
I get them about every third round trip.

Strangely, they also have all been for the CL and referencing DC to Pittsburgh. I haven't even had one that was for Pittsburgh to DC! Nor any of the other trains I've taken. A couple years ago, I took a trip to South Carolina and the girl I went with got one for the Palmetto.
 
I get surveys for less than 25% of my trips. I have received many over the years, including surveys pertaining to several 5 mile points runs. I always fill out the surveys regardless whether the trip was 5 miles or over 1,000 miles. I have been receiving surveys for at least several years.
 
Web site just erased my message - I'm a terrible typist and it seems the web page picked up on some unintentional key combination and just deleted what I had written. A bit frustrating. Foolishly, I try again .

I just received one of these but my trip was a bit unusual and the first ten or so questions didn't apply. So I put it aside. Usually though I fill these out.

It's actually not a bad questionnaire, IMHO.
 
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Like WellTrained, I recently received a survey for which the first bunch of questions, about my experience at the boarding station, didn't apply--the survey was for only one leg (ELP to CHI) of a multi-leg trip, so I didn't actually board at that first station, just moved from coach to a roomette.

The survey does specify that you should skip any questions that don't apply to you.

One gripe not yet mentioned: I received this survey more than a month after I took the trip. They'd get more accurate results if they sent surveys more promptly--some of the details they're asking about are hard to remember after several weeks, even if your memory isn't as aging-impaired as mine.

And even if the folks compiling survey results can't deal with anything more than checks in boxes, I'd think that Amtrak's customer relations dept would be interested to see written comments. They might ought to leave a space for these, and forward whatever they get to customer relations.
 
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