Paint jobs?
I'm more interested in the 3 million dollars worth of stock Amtrak employees have told me never made it from the Chicago warehouse to the trains. That's one heck of a dent in a srtressed budget!!! Where did it go? I dunno!
I'm more interested in lazy conductors who don't bother to check if rooms are available when a request is made onboard. This was the Coast Starlight between Sacramento and Seattle on the evening of December 4th-5th. We asked the conductor once in the station (Sacramento), and twice on the train, to check if a room was available. He just said "probably not". At Klamath Falls, when the crew changed, we asked the new shift Counductor Jim Kelly, if rooms were available. Mr. Kelly, a true credit to Amtrak, PROMPTLY called the sleeping cars and ASKED. Pretty simple, eh? As it turned out, rooms WERE available, and had been ALL NIGHT!
Not only did Mr. Kelly get us a room, he also had our breakfast money REFUNDED, as WE SHOULD HAVE HAD A ROOM PREVIOUSLY!
This is the kind of QUALITY SERVICE that America used to be famous for and proud of, and, sadly, is not the norm anymore.
Thank you, Mr. Kelly, I hope your service is recognized and rewarded. If Amtrak had more employees like you, it would be a much better railroad.
I'm more interested in those station attendants in Reno closing the station for an hour to go to lunch together when the hours are listed otherwise.
Why paint hours on the door if you're not going to be there? Did you both have to go to lunch at the same time? Not very good policy in the eyes of this taxpaying American.
I hope Mr. Gunn is addressing these problems, and listening to all the very hardworking and concientious Amtrak employees trying to get by amidst all the corruption and graft to deliver service to a public that's kept in the dark about the true reasons why they can't deliver.
I gave my address to a few of these hardworking employees, and they said they would write and address some of these issues for me to pass along to my elected representitives, as well as Mr. Gunn.
I do think Mr. Gunn will listen. I do think he has the best interests of Amtrak and the American taxpaying public, that deserves quality rail service, in his heart.
Why is it, in a busy Sacramento station, the attendant gladly ties my backpack, my girlfriend's backpack, and our shopping bag together and charges $1.50 to check them for a 5 hour layover, and Mr. J. Willigham, the Reno, Nevada, employee, in a deserted station, insists on charging $1.50 EACH for my bag and my pack for about the same 5 hour layover??? (before he boots me out of the station to go have lunch with his buddy)
And, the Sacramento station attendants did this for EVERYONE I saw check any bags, on both my directions of my layovers!!!
Very GOOD service, and very good for Amtrak, unlike the snooty Mr. Willigham in Reno.
A little common service would make Amtrak a much better experience.
And you're worried about the paint jobs???
