Amtrak bad at information!

[williamn]

I'm a relative newcomer to the US and have been using Acela and the NER quite a lot. Generally I've been pleasantly surprised by the service but one thing has struck me - that Amtrak is *very* bad at information and even worse at apologising. Last night 123 was about 30 mins late - not massive but annoying when you are arriving into DC pretty late anyway - but we only heard one brief announcement about mechanical issues at Philly and as we arrived into DC no apology at all. Kind of surprising going the service orientated culture here, but its pretty standard back home to get updates of our ETA at each station when delayed and apologies to customers getting off at each stop. Is this lack of information usual?

 

[AlanB]

It really depends on the crew. Some crews are very good at keeping people informed and apologizing for the delays; some do the bare minimum; and some are never heard from at all.

I've had conductors who made no announcements. But I've also had many apologize for delays and make at least some announcements. I once had a conductor who was very good at making announcements, so much so that in one case her announcement simply consisted of nothing more than "I promised you an update in 10 minutes and it's been 10 minutes. Sadly I have no new information on when we'll start moving; but I'll be back in 10 minutes again and hopefully with better news."

This was the day that power went out to the NEC on the southern end. One of her announcements later that morning was to say "I just want you to know that Amtrak doesn't discriminate when we delay people. The President of Amtrak was also stuck on a train on his way to dedicate the new station in Wilmington."

 

[Amtrak Cajun]

Welcome William,

Its just a crew thing. Heres a tip, dont expect the service here to be like what you have back home, that will always lead to disappointment.

 

[SeeBuyFly]

I don't know where 'back home' is, but many countries have high standards for railroad punctuality. Amtrak doesn't have quite the same standards, and nether do most city subway systems and suburban rail. It's just a fact of life. A 30 min delay is not something to apologize for. It happens only on days of the week that have 'y' in them.

 

[williamn]

Yeah I guess its just down to the crew - though this is the 3rd time ive noticed it - but I often get the same train so maybe I get the same crew.

Home is the UK - a 30 minute delay on a long distance train would qualify for compensation there!

 

[VentureForth]

Keep in mind that in private enterprise, excellent customer service is essential to obtaining and retaining clientelle. Amtrak is a quasi-government operation where they really don't put out a huge effort to attract and retain customers. As such, most of the attitude for many of the front line crews is "Let's try to get by enough so we get funding for another year" rather than "How can we give the best service possible to attract and keep our highest revenue clients?"

If the NHS or any government ran Disneyworld, it wouldn't be the happiest place on Earth anymore.

OBVIOUSLY (before the flame throwers come out) there are EXCEPTIONAL Amtrak employees who really do care about the service they provide. Likewise, at Disneyworld, there are many employees that could care less.

 

[Bob Dylan]

You mean Mickey Mouse isn't Real? Say it isn't so!!! :giggle:

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Home is the UK - a 30 minute delay on a long distance train would qualify for compensation there!

Really? It's pretty sad if the fastest routes on Amtrak can't even be held to the same standards as the slowest of UK trains. It's not like you're comparing Amtrak to France or Germany or Japan here. You're only comparing them to the UK, which is hardly at the cutting edge of passenger rail. If you watch the business channels supposedly the US is a service oriented economy, even though our service standards generally range from bad to terrible. If you think the Amtrak apologists don't subconsciously agree with that sentiment try asking them what they think of US airlines.

 

[VentureForth]

I believe lately customer service in general in the US has been rendered as policy rather than a work ethic or state of mind. You get a voucher because policy says so - not because the agent is empathetic and really wants to bandage a wound.

I don't shop at Best Buy at all because of their return policy. They charge a %15 restocking fee for returns. Since the average profit margin for something like a PC is less than 5%, they are actually making more money if you return something than if you keep it! That's not customer service.

 

[benjibear]

Customer service in general is bad. I was on the Crescent and ended up being about 30 minutes late into Washington. I thought they would switch power and we would be on our way but we kept sitting. I found a conductor and all he did was complain that everyone keeps asking him. I told him that people would stop asking if he made a regular announcement.

I also agree with Best Buy. After screwing me twice on AGR points and not allowing me to return something I purchased as a gift for my wife because it was one day over their two week window, I swore I would never walk into that store again.

 

[RichardK]

I believe lately customer service in general in the US has been rendered as policy rather than a work ethic or state of mind. You get a voucher because policy says so - not because the agent is empathetic and really wants to bandage a wound.
I don't shop at Best Buy at all because of their return policy. They charge a %15 restocking fee for returns. Since the average profit margin for something like a PC is less than 5%, they are actually making more money if you return something than if you keep it! That's not customer service.

In my past, I have worked for Best Buy and other retail companies. Remember, Best Buy has to do something with that product you returned. It has to be resold at a discount, most of the time greater, than 15%. In some instances, it might even be scrapped. Now, they have lost the entire cost.

 

[VentureForth]

Walmart seems to be able to handle it. So do countless other retailers. Fact remains, they make more on a return than a purchase.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Walmart seems to be able to handle it. So do countless other retailers. Fact remains, they make more on a return than a purchase.

Most facts are backed by actual evidence, which we're still waiting on. That includes at least two folks that have worked for the retailer in question.

 

[Ispolkom]

Walmart seems to be able to handle it. So do countless other retailers. Fact remains, they make more on a return than a purchase.

Really? Here's an actual case.

Someone bought a Kindle Touch case from Best Buy for $39.95, then returned it. I guess that the first customer only got $34 ($39.95 - 15%) back. Best Buy then marked down the open box 50%, and I bought it with a 20% off coupon for $16.

If the first customer had kept his purchase, Best Buy would have grossed $39.95. Since that customer returned it and I then I purchased it at a discount, Best Buy only grossed $22 ($6 restocking fee + my purchase price of $16).

I'm no math whiz, but I think that $39.95 > $22, that is, Best Buy would have made more from a purchase than they did from a return that they had to sell at a much lower price.

 

[Ryan]

Don't go confusing the issue with all your fancy numbers and facts and stuff.

 

[VentureForth]

Don't go confusing the issue with all your fancy numbers and facts and stuff.

Like using gross numbers in an example where I specifically mentioned profits... And, yes, accessories have a MUCH larger profit margin than things like PCs, laptops, etc.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Don't go confusing the issue with all your fancy numbers and facts and stuff.

Like using gross numbers in an example where I specifically mentioned profits... And, yes, accessories have a MUCH larger profit margin than things like PCs, laptops, etc.

The last thing Best Buy wanted back when I worked for them were returns. They took a huge hit on them, regardless of what happened to them, even with the restocking fee. The fee is avoidable so long as something is actually wrong with the product. If you can't show anything wrong then yeah you get charged a fee to help cover the loss. I'm no fan of Best Buy, from the perspective of customer or employee, but you seem to be claiming conspiracies where none are likely to exist. Your lack of evidence is only surpassed in absurdity by your faith in assumptions.

 

[Ryan]

You're still failing to see the point.

You can't simply claim 15% > 5% so they make more money on returns.

It doesn't work that way.

Let's assume that they were selling the case at a 20% profit. That would put their cost for the case at $32.

Instead of making $8 on the sale, they lost $16. Ignoring the coupon, they still lost $12. Sounds like a real money making scheme to me!

I guess there's truth to that saying that you can't reason someone out of a position that they didn't reason themselves into. By all means, proceed on your tirade against Best Buy and government employees.

 

[Eris]

This is all fascinating, except that Best Buy doesn't charge a restocking fee any more, and in fact seems to have a no-questions-asked sort of policy. I recently returned a TV that I'd hoped to use as a computer monitor but it looked terrible for that, though fine as a TV. They didn't blink. Click click and my money was refunded into my bank account (debit card purchase) within an hour.

I don't really understand Amtrak's generally poor on-board information- people able to access the internet can know a whole lot more than the typical passenger actually on the train (unless you're a scanner listener, or a devoted eavesdropper, which I am... I loves me some hovering about while staff chat).

 

[VentureForth]

Fantastic. Perhaps in a fundamental need to provide customer service because they were losing so many customers. Which was really the whole point anyway - not dumb math nitpicking.

 

[Ryan]

It's not "dumb math nitpicking", it's "the foundation of your argument was completely incorrect".

 

[williamn]

Home is the UK - a 30 minute delay on a long distance train would qualify for compensation there!

Really? It's pretty sad if the fastest routes on Amtrak can't even be held to the same standards as the slowest of UK trains. It's not like you're comparing Amtrak to France or Germany or Japan here. You're only comparing them to the UK, which is hardly at the cutting edge of passenger rail. If you watch the business channels supposedly the US is a service oriented economy, even though our service standards generally range from bad to terrible. If you think the Amtrak apologists don't subconsciously agree with that sentiment try asking them what they think of US airlines.

Am I wrong to be a mite offended by this?! We might not do speed like the French or Germans but I think the UK train network is by and large pretty good, though not without its problems. And ridership is at all all time high.

Its interesting that information is still one of the things that gets complained about the most - I think its something that private and public sector companies alike find hard to get right. You can over do it though - on the tube in London if you're stopped in a tunnel for more than a few seconds they have to make an announcement apologising and explaining, and most of them time you're on your way again after another 10 seconds. But I guess too much info is better than not enough.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Fantastic. Perhaps in a fundamental need to provide customer service because they were losing so many customers.

During the time I worked for Best Buy the return policy was largely dictated by contracts with the wholesaler or manufacturer.