Assaulted by Amtrak Conductor

[mwineland]

I was assaulted by an Amtrak conductor after taking a trip to Chicago. The Conductor was extremely rude to both passengers and fellow employees the entire trip, threatening to throw people off or leave them where ever we were. The train was 2 hours late, with absolutely no information passed to the passengers until an Amtrak employee went and talked to them. They told him that the intercom was not working well, he told them then you need to be out there letting people know because the entire train was worried about what was going on, the conductor in question then yelled at him for telling him how to do his job.

After we finally got to Chicago we got off the train and saw the same rude conductor, we said "there goes the ******" he then ran up to us and threatined to call the police, we laughed at him and told him to go ahead and call the police. At that point he swore at us and then pushed me.

I called the police on HIM right away, filed a Amtrak complaint and a police report, the Amtrak super intendant refunded my money for the return trip we had not taken yet but we were informed we would need to contact Customer Relations to get a refund for the trip that we were assaulted on.

Customer Relations told me that "refunds are not allowed for employee conduct". Amtrak clearly does not care about it's passengers safety or well being or repeat business if they allow their employees to assault paying customers without so much as a refund.

 

[AlanB]

First, let me make it clear that this site is not operated by Amtrak. So there is nothing that we can do at all to help you.

That said, Amtrak's failure to provide you with a refund is not an indication of their lack of concern about how an employee acted. Yes, a refund may make you feel better.

But giving you money back does nothing to help correct the employee's behavior. Reporting that employee's behaving and filing reports is the only thing that can help to correct the employee's behavior, or eventually get him/her fired. Giving refunds doesn't correct employee behavior!

 

[jmbgeg]

I was assaulted by an Amtrak conductor after taking a trip to Chicago. The Conductor was extremely rude to both passengers and fellow employees the entire trip, threatening to throw people off or leave them where ever we were. The train was 2 hours late, with absolutely no information passed to the passengers until an Amtrak employee went and talked to them. They told him that the intercom was not working well, he told them then you need to be out there letting people know because the entire train was worried about what was going on, the conductor in question then yelled at him for telling him how to do his job.

After we finally got to Chicago we got off the train and saw the same rude conductor, we said "there goes the ******" he then ran up to us and threatined to call the police, we laughed at him and told him to go ahead and call the police. At that point he swore at us and then pushed me.

I called the police on HIM right away, filed a Amtrak complaint and a police report, the Amtrak super intendant refunded my money for the return trip we had not taken yet but we were informed we would need to contact Customer Relations to get a refund for the trip that we were assaulted on.

Customer Relations told me that "refunds are not allowed for employee conduct". Amtrak clearly does not care about it's passengers safety or well being or repeat business if they allow their employees to assault paying customers without so much as a refund.

As Alan stated, wrong forum.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

It's hard to know what to say with just one side of the story, but if you feel you have been seriously wronged you can always take it up with your credit card company or take Amtrak to small claims court.

 

[Tumbleweed]

If you have witnesses to an assault on you, press charges......

 

[mwineland]

This may not be a site operated by Amtrak, however it is about Amtrak. I honestly am not expecting anything from this forum other than to share my story about how Amtrak treated me on my first and only trip with them.

 

[mwineland]

If you have witnesses to an assault on you, press charges......

There are witnesses and they do have it on camera. Unfortunately to press criminal charges I would need to be able to return to Chicago regularly to appear in court and can not afford to do so, we only went there for my fiance's 21st birthday. I may still file a lawsuit regarding this but I have not decided yet.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

deleted...........

 

[AlanB]

This may not be a site operated by Amtrak, however it is about Amtrak. I honestly am not expecting anything from this forum other than to share my story about how Amtrak treated me on my first and only trip with them.

You are most welcome to share your story here. I wasn't trying to imply otherwise, but we do get many people posting complaints who do think that we are Amtrak and can therefore do something for them. So I just wanted to make the fact that we're not Amtrak clear to you.

That said; if they've got it on camera, I'd say that so long as you've filed an official complaint with Amtrak, that employee will at a minimum be headed for retraining and if he has other complaints in his employee folder may well be headed for the unemployment line. Especially if the other witnesses are also on the official complaint filed with Amtrak.

But again, just to be clear, lack of refund to you doesn't indicate that Amtrak isn't dealing with the situation.

 

[mwineland]

You are most welcome to share your story here. I wasn't trying to imply otherwise, but we do get many people posting complaints who do think that we are Amtrak and can therefore do something for them. So I just wanted to make the fact that we're not Amtrak clear to you.

I appreciate that, I honestly had assumed it was as well given the name. I understand that they may still be looking into it and not giving me my money back does not mean they are not. However I still feel offended by their response. If a waiter in a restaurant pushed me after I had finished my meal, there is no way I would have given them my money. Nobody should pay hundreds of dollars to be physically assaulted by the company they paid. Again however that is just my personal opinion on the matter.

 

[HotlantaAl]

Can I ask what train you were on going into Chicago?

 

[Devil's Advocate]

If nobody is going to be pressing charges then why not post the video on youtube? If all you want is to do is disseminate your story that should get a lot more attention than anything you post on here. If you're never going to ride Amtrak again then Amtrak Unlimited isn't going to be able to do much to help you.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

Post the video on youtube people do that all the time with police brutality videos and sometimes they do make it to the news on tv.

 

[dlagrua]

If in fact a conductor assaulted you as claim, he should be immediately terminated. Post the video to You Tube and send the link to Amtrak. If it was all the conductors fault, it is almost certain that he will be fired. The question that I have is what transpired beforehand to make the conductor so angry? There can be no justifcation in anyone pushing you but something tells me that we are not hearing the whole story.

 

[mwineland]

Post the video on youtube people do that all the time with police brutality videos and sometimes they do make it to the news on tv.

We were on train 365, it is actually Amtrak that has the video. I have a form to request the police report, I will see if I can get the video but that may require a court order, I will try though.

 

[daveyb99]

After we finally got to Chicago we got off the train and saw the same rude conductor, we said "there goes the ******" he then ran up to us and threatined to call the police, we laughed at him and told him to go ahead and call the police. At that point he swore at us and then pushed me.

Sorry, I am going the other way on this one:

I am going to guess by your inclusion of the ****** instead of words that YOU first use foul language. I sure hope you told AMTRAK Police of your use of foul language, and THAT is what instigated this event. Had you said nothing, the event would not have occurred. And while that does not give justification to physical contact, it sure was not a wise decision on your part. but I guess it made you feel good to mouth-off....

You should re-title you post: I Swore At The Conductor

 

[mwineland]

Sorry, I am going the other way on this one:

I am going to guess by your inclusion of the ****** instead of words that YOU first use foul language. I sure hope you told AMTRAK Police of your use of foul language, and THAT is what instigated this event. Had you said nothing, the event would not have occurred. And while that does not give justification to physical contact, it sure was not a wise decision on your part. but I guess it made you feel good to mouth-off....

You should re-title you post: I Swore At The Conductor

He swore at us as well, if he had treated us with respect we would have treated him with respect, there were other Amtrak employees were quite nice and they were complaining to us about him as well. Regardless of what happened before or after, the bottom line was that he put his hands on me. If somebody swears at me and I put my hands on them, I go to jail not them.

Edited to include this:

Yes I did inform the police and amtrak of exactly what we said to them, because as I stated regardless of what happened before the incident, as soon as he put his hands on me he had committed assault. The police and Super Intendant of Amtrak agreed.

 

[George B]

I was assaulted by an Amtrak conductor after taking a trip to Chicago. The Conductor was extremely rude to both passengers and fellow employees the entire trip, threatening to throw people off or leave them where ever we were. The train was 2 hours late, with absolutely no information passed to the passengers until an Amtrak employee went and talked to them. They told him that the intercom was not working well, he told them then you need to be out there letting people know because the entire train was worried about what was going on, the conductor in question then yelled at him for telling him how to do his job.

After we finally got to Chicago we got off the train and saw the same rude conductor, we said "there goes the ******" he then ran up to us and threatined to call the police, we laughed at him and told him to go ahead and call the police. At that point he swore at us and then pushed me.

I called the police on HIM right away, filed a Amtrak complaint and a police report, the Amtrak super intendant refunded my money for the return trip we had not taken yet but we were informed we would need to contact Customer Relations to get a refund for the trip that we were assaulted on.

Customer Relations told me that "refunds are not allowed for employee conduct". Amtrak clearly does not care about it's passengers safety or well being or repeat business if they allow their employees to assault paying customers without so much as a refund.

Sure sounds like you were being antagonistic towards the conductor. Without a police report and a proper police investigation, it is not worth exploring this any further on this forum as it is just hearsay on your part.

Can I suggest to the administrator that this topic be closed as it will just go down hill fast?

 

[roomette]

Giving refunds doesn't correct employee behavior!

Giving travel vouchers doesn't correct faulty plumbing either, but Amtrak does it all the time. It may a legal matter. A refund might be interpreted as a bribe for silence in court.

 

[ColdRain&Snow]

After we finally got to Chicago we got off the train and saw the same rude conductor, we said "there goes the ******" he then ran up to us and threatined to call the police, we laughed at him and told him to go ahead and call the police. At that point he swore at us and then pushed me.

Sorry, I am going the other way on this one:

I am going to guess by your inclusion of the ****** instead of words that YOU first use foul language. I sure hope you told AMTRAK Police of your use of foul language, and THAT is what instigated this event. Had you said nothing, the event would not have occurred. And while that does not give justification to physical contact, it sure was not a wise decision on your part. but I guess it made you feel good to mouth-off....

You should re-title you post: I Swore At The Conductor

Inherent in the responsibilities of every Amtrak conductor is to maintain professionalism at all times while on the job, profanity and insolent comments notwithstanding. If this conductor abandoned his responsibility of being a consummate railroad professional, he has failed himself, his employer, and his fellow colleagues in the industry.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

After we finally got to Chicago we got off the train and saw the same rude conductor, we said "there goes the ******" he then ran up to us and threatined to call the police, we laughed at him and told him to go ahead and call the police. At that point he swore at us and then pushed me.

Sorry, I am going the other way on this one:

I am going to guess by your inclusion of the ****** instead of words that YOU first use foul language. I sure hope you told AMTRAK Police of your use of foul language, and THAT is what instigated this event. Had you said nothing, the event would not have occurred. And while that does not give justification to physical contact, it sure was not a wise decision on your part. but I guess it made you feel good to mouth-off....

You should re-title you post: I Swore At The Conductor

The OP said the conductor swore at passengers and fellow co workers and harrassing other passengers for no reason. Quit standing up for bad employees or are you one of them?

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Folks, before we start turning on each other let's keep in mind that there are some things we simply cannot know (objectively) without having been there. Even if a video is eventually posted folks like Andrew Breitbart and James O'Keefe have done their best to prove videos are by no means inherently objective. All we can do is weigh the evidence and make up our own minds. Taking either side is a leap of faith. No need to start a yet another fight over any of this.

 

[mwineland]

Folks, before we start turning on each other let's keep in mind that there are some things we simply cannot know (objectively) without having been there. Even if a video is eventually posted folks like Andrew Breitbart and James O'Keefe have done their best to prove videos are by no means inherently objective. All we can do is weigh the evidence and make up our own minds. Taking either side is a leap of faith. No need to start a yet another fight over any of this.

I agree, there is no need for any of that I just wanted to share my story with everyone, I just filed a complaint with the BBB as well.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Let me urge you to do TWO things:

1) CALL Amtrak @ 1800-USA-RAIL, ask "Julie" to Connect you with Customer Relations, when the Agent gets on Explain the Circumstances and ASK for Compensation (It will be a Voucher for Future Travel, NOT CASH), IF you get a Run-Around Ask to Speak to a supervisor and Repeat the Above!

2) Write A Letter, Return Receipt, to the President of Amtraks Office, his Name is Joe Boardman , 60 Mass Ave,, Washington, DC 20009. Explain the Details, I promise You you WILL Hear from his Office!

There is NEVER a Reason for Conductors to Assualt Passengers or Use Foul or Profane Language, Self Defense would be the only Reason to put their Hands on a Passenger!

You may want to talk with an Attorney to get Advice, but IMO you should Receive Satisfaction from CR! Don't let this Cretin Off the Hook, Sounds like "IT" needs to Join the Unemployment Rolls IF the Details are as you say! I agree there are always two sides to every Story but with Witnesses You have a Leg Up! Good Luck!

 

[mwineland]

Let me urge you to do TWO things:

1) CALL Amtrak @ 1800-USA-RAIL, ask "Julie" to Connect you with Customer Relations, when the Agent gets on Explain the Circumstances and ASK for Compensation (It will be a Voucher for Future Travel, NOT CASH), IF you get a Run-Around Ask to Speak to a supervisor and Repeat the Above!

I did that the same day multiple times, they repeatedly told me they do not have supervisors that I could speak with and refused to transfer me to anyone else. I will be writing the corporate office soon, thank you for the advice.