Amtrak dining and cafe service

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And traditional dining on the Eastern trains and Texas Eagle
I travel the Sunset Limited between Houston and LAX about once a month and go sleeping car. I don't know if you know how these long distance trains operate or not, but it takes 5 full time "on board" crews that live int the LAX area and make the entire round trip in 6 days. They would have to hire 5 employees (dishwashers) to accomplish going back to china. That would add an annual expense of $300-$400K cost. Can't see it happening in the near future.
 
Advice needed please.
We got in very late to Chicago eventually and didn't want to waste time seeking out a customer service agent to politely complain about our food experience.
Now it's Monday morning should we visit the office at Union Station in person or email the national Amtrak office.
Thanks in advance.
Email or call Customer Relations at Amtrak--I don't think the folks at Union Station will be helpful. If you don't have time to do that right now, make some notes about your experience so you remember details.
 
Advice needed please.
We got in very late to Chicago eventually and didn't want to waste time seeking out a customer service agent to politely complain about our food experience.
Now it's Monday morning should we visit the office at Union Station in person or email the national Amtrak office.
Thanks in advance.
Call and ask to speak to customer service... they are probably well aware of the food problems on your train... and probably got complaints from others. It can't hurt to politely request a full refund as per operational problems. At least you will get a travel credit voucher of a few hundred. These can be valuable for future travels.
 
IIRC, it does say on the page: "Menus are subject to change or substitution," or words to the same effect.
It does not say “”Menus are subject to change or substitution," or words to the same effect.”

... and even if it does show those words - the new menu has been in effect for SIX WEEKS ... when a food menu changes the new menu should be easily accessible on the website in a timely manner. That includes the section “food facts” which shows nutritional value for each menu item.

The menu changed six weeks ago but the website didn't and is misrepresenting the dining experience on the LD/western trains.

Clearly a case of management not caring about the dining experience on Amtrak!
 
It does not say “”Menus are subject to change or substitution," or words to the same effect.”

... and even if it does show those words - the new menu has been in effect for SIX WEEKS ... when a food menu changes the new menu should be easily accessible on the website in a timely manner. That includes the section “food facts” which shows nutritional value for each menu item.

The MENU CHANGED six weeks ago but the website DIDN’T and is misrepresenting the dining experience on the LD/western trains.

Clearly a case of MANAGEMENT NOT CARING ANOUT THE DINING EXPERIENCE ON AMTRAK!
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Advice needed please.
We got in very late to Chicago eventually and didn't want to waste time seeking out a customer service agent to politely complain about our food experience.
Now it's Monday morning should we visit the office at Union Station in person or email the national Amtrak office.
Thanks in advance.
You should call Customer Relations. Chicago staff is not renowned for being customer oriented, and is not empowered in any case. Amtrak is very slow is responding to emails, assuming they do. They don't always.

Customer Relations (not "Customer Service") is empowered and responsive once you get through to them. Call Amtrak, ask for an agent, once you get an agent, ask to be connected to Customer Relations. You may have to insist. They are only there during normal business hours Monday-Friday, Eastern time.
 
Thanks for you post. I agree with your mark-up in red. To me I read all that as minor changes and not revision. It would help if the menus themselves are not labeled “SAMPLE MENU” and more important the menus were updated over six weeks ago and still not shown on the website.

Also the “food facts” need to reflect the changes. Why be concerned about the nutritional value of the menu if it’s out of date ... nearly two months.

I’m hoping it’s not a matter of not caring when a major menu change occurs but a simple oversight about posting it as the new sample.
 
f potato chips are offered, let people choose between regular and the terra chips. If I’m served terra chips, they stay on the plate (an alternative choice, yes, but dreadful).

I have tried the terra chips. but, I usually thought the potato chips served were lame. Either a cheap brand or they were stale. Once in awhile, they were satisfactory, but, not as good as some major national brands or my local made brand.
 
Why does Amtrak post separate links to trains that offer "traditional dining" when the menus are all the same? Also, saying "Amtrak" and "dining" in the same sentence makes me laugh.
 
I have tried the terra chips. but, I usually thought the potato chips served were lame. Either a cheap brand or they were stale. Once in awhile, they were satisfactory, but, not as good as some major national brands or my local made brand.
Depends on which commissary the train received it’s food from.
 
I used to take to take trips on Amtrak for fun. Great scenery. pleasant surroundings and good food. Until my friends stop making reasonable complaints about the food. I won't ride Amtrak "for fun" as I enjoy good food and would not be pleased with the dining experiences I am hearing about. I hope my friends here will continue to post their honest opinions about eating on Amtrak
 
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I used to take to take trips on Amtrak for fun. Great scenery. pleasant surrondings and GOOD FOOD. Until my friends stop making reasonable complaints about the food. I won't ride Amtrak "for fun" as I enjoy GOOD FOOD and would not be pleased with the dining experiences I am hearing about. I hope my friends here will continue to post their honest opinions about eating on Amtrak
When I rode cross country in April and May of this year, I found the food on the Western Trains to be quite good - food I would happily pay real money for.
 
When I rode cross country in April and May of this year, I found the food on the Western Trains to be quite good - food I would happily pay real money for.
And from what I've seen, that's generally true for trains that have returned to Traditional Dining. Sure there's an occasional foul-up, or kvetching about liking an old dessert better, but most people seem quite satisfied. And it's a good thing that they're changing the menu from time to time, especially if they can't have different menus on different routes.
 
And from what I've seen, that's generally true for trains that have returned to Traditional Dining. Sure there's an occasional foul-up, or kvetching about liking an old dessert better, but most people seem quite satisfied. And it's a good thing that they're changing the menu from time to time, especially if they can't have different menus on different routes.
Since it's return traditional dining has been great. I have always said good cooked to order food has always been an integral part of the Amtrak experience. Hard to believe it's been over four years since Richard Anderson introduced flex food,saying it was a new revolutionary adventure in dining.
Never have I heard such a positive spin on one of Amtrak's biggest blunders.
 
I have tried the terra chips. but, I usually thought the potato chips served were lame. Either a cheap brand or they were stale. Once in awhile, they were satisfactory, but, not as good as some major national brands or my local made brand.
When I was riding the Empire Builder to & from college in the '70s, plain potato chips were the default side for lunch in the dining car, and were pretty lame. (I don't think Terra Chips were around yet at that point.) I'd eat the Terra Chips, but then I'll usually eat almost any kind of chips in preference to plain potato chips.
 
Advice needed please.
We got in very late to Chicago eventually and didn't want to waste time seeking out a customer service agent to politely complain about our food experience.
Now it's Monday morning should we visit the office at Union Station in person or email the national Amtrak office.
Thanks in advance.
You can complain here for all the good its going to do.☺
 
I am NOT a fan of flex meals. That being said, I think if they didn’t over cook or burn the meals, they’re not that bad.
On our northbound Silver 92 in June, I ate Cheerios for breakfast and for lunch. For dinner I ordered the salmon and shrimp. I liked that they gave me lime wedges instead of tiny lemon pieces. Dry but not that bad. Needed a little dipping sauce.
My husband on the other hand got an omelette that was burnt on the bottom and around the edges, and overcooked, burnt stinky broccoli on his overly dried out chicken a la Rosa. Thank goodness I packed a chicken cutlet sandwich for his lunch.
On our upcoming 91 I plan on packing some of the goodies from the lounge.

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A friend told me that she had been on the Empire Builder a few weeks ago as a sleeping car passenger from Chicago to Whitefish. Apparently sometime on the day leaving Chicago, the crew reported that the dining car had been damaged by a fire in the kitchen. She said dinner on the first day came from Subway and on the second day, came from Pizza Hut. I don't know how breakfast and lunch were handled.
 
I am NOT a fan of flex meals. That being said, I think if they didn’t over cook or burn the meals, they’re not that bad.
On our northbound Silver 92 in June, I ate Cheerios for breakfast and for lunch. For dinner I ordered the salmon and shrimp. I liked that they gave me lime wedges instead of tiny lemon pieces. Dry but not that bad. Needed a little dipping sauce.
My husband on the other hand got an omelette that was burnt on the bottom and around the edges, and overcooked, burnt stinky broccoli on his overly dried out chicken a la Rosa. Thank goodness I packed a chicken cutlet sandwich for his lunch.
On our upcoming 91 I plan on packing some of the goodies from the lounge.

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They did make a notable improvement on the flex meals about a year ago... more taste for sure. The agent who I spoke with recently indicated the return of full service dining and the placement of those beautiful dining cars back on the Eastern trains... and that the pandemic has hit Amtrak just as it did the airlines... with work and supply shortages.

So stay tuned and let's see what happens!
 
That's true, but OTOH the pandemic's aftereffects on labor are making it difficult to expand services to pre-pandemic levels. So Flex is not a product of the pandemic, but the inability to return to Traditional partially is.
Possibly. I’m not entirely convinced Amtrak wants traditional dining back on all trains. But I’m hopeful it will come back.
 
of course the flex meals began on the eastern trains well before the pandemic.
Actually there was something even less attractive than the Flex Meals called Contemporary Dining which the Millenials were allegedly supposed to love - that was introduced in the LSL when they ran out of serviceable Diners while the Viewliner II Diners were delayed for almost a decade. It did not have any hot dish for dinner or breakfast! And then even that pretense went away when they discontinued Dining altogether on the Silver Star. So we have come a long way baby! :)
 
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