"Golden Spike" award for excellent on board staff?

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T

TaseMeBro

Service Attendant
AU Supporting Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2021
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Sunday (8/21) I took a day trip on the CZ, riding in a sleeper from SLC to DEN.

Early on in the trip, they made an announcement along the lines of "We hope to see you all in our dining car for lunch today. We've got a great crew on board reading to serve you, including /name/, who won the "Golden Spike Award" for exceptional service in 2015, and then did it again, back to back, in 2016"

And, indeed, the service, both in the sleeper car and the dining car was excellent - the best I've had on Amtrak so far.

But is the "Golden Spike Award" a real thing, or was the announcer just having some fun?
 
I have observed crews that work together try to ensure that passengers receive decent service in spite of poor service by one employee. This occurred on the Coast Starlight. My father and I were riding at one end of the PPC and the car was not that full. The attendant insisted we leave the car for the wine tasting. My father who was in his late 80s at the time got the bright idea to ignore him. I made matters worse by running my mouth. IMHO, in retrospect, I was way out of line in telling the attendant that I would be contacting Amtrak and that he would lose his job as a result. We did leave. I heard the attendant call the conductor.

An hour or so after the wine tasting, we returned to the car and sat down as far away from the attendant as possible. I had warned my father that any further debates could result in us being put off the train. I explained that the conductors on the Starlight had too many experiences with passengers to want to deal with hassles. The attendant called the conductor and he came and spoke with us. He asked us to leave the car and returned the next morning.

During this process, the SCA in our car observed all of the interactions and when we returned to our rooms he checked in with us. He explained the attendant in the PPC was not part of the regular crew and was a bad apple. He offered to advocate with the conductor and the crew member so we could return to the PPC. I explained that in the first confrontation I had run my mouth and really felt it best not to risk annoying the conductor or the attendant. The SCA was really annoyed with the PPC attendant. He made sure he did his best with us. The next day we returned and the PPC attendant left us alone during the wine tasting when we remained in the car to view Cuesta pass. IIRC he may have indicated we could stay.

I was in the wrong in the situation, and yet the SCA was intent on ensuring we had an enjoyable trip. I think he spoke with the dining car crew too because we were treated well in the diner.
 
Steve4031 said:
I have observed crews that work together try to ensure that passengers receive decent service in spite of poor service by one employee. This occurred on the Coast Starlight. My father and I were riding at one end of the PPC and the car was not that full. The attendant insisted we leave the car for the wine tasting. My father who was in his late 80s at the time got the bright idea to ignore him. I made matters worse by running my mouth. IMHO, in retrospect, I was way out of line in telling the attendant that I would be contacting Amtrak and that he would lose his job as a result. We did leave. I heard the attendant call the conductor.

An hour or so after the wine tasting, we returned to the car and sat down as far away from the attendant as possible. I had warned my father that any further debates could result in us being put off the train. I explained that the conductors on the Starlight had too many experiences with passengers to want to deal with hassles. The attendant called the conductor and he came and spoke with us. He asked us to leave the car and returned the next morning.

During this process, the SCA in our car observed all of the interactions and when we returned to our rooms he checked in with us. He explained the attendant in the PPC was not part of the regular crew and was a bad apple. He offered to advocate with the conductor and the crew member so we could return to the PPC. I explained that in the first confrontation I had run my mouth and really felt it best not to risk annoying the conductor or the attendant. The SCA was really annoyed with the PPC attendant. He made sure he did his best with us. The next day we returned and the PPC attendant left us alone during the wine tasting when we remained in the car to view Cuesta pass. IIRC he may have indicated we could stay.

I was in the wrong in the situation, and yet the SCA was intent on ensuring we had an enjoyable trip. I think he spoke with the dining car crew too because we were treated well in the diner.
Click to expand...
I've had the same expieience many times on Amtrak LD Trains,but only once in the PPC on the way to the Emeryville Gathering!
 

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