Bad experience

[racer1735]

I took my family on a quick up and back trip to Chicago yesterday and, unfortunately, had a very unpleasant experience. We were in the dinette waiting for dinner when a 'patron' sitting across from us (who had already consumed too many beers) urinated on himself and the floor. Needless to say it took the enjoyment out of what had been a wonderful day in Chicago, as well as the fun out of rail travel for my wife.

I now know that I should have notified the car attendant or conductor as the incident took place, but we were so shocked that we didnt' know what to do at the time. Now, I feel the need to contact Amtrak regarding this episode. How do I go about filing such a 'complaint'? I'm not looking for freebies, just expressing disgust at what took place in their dining car.

 

[Guest_Gingee_*]

I don't think you can prove anything at this point. That is gross though.

 

[battalion51]

You can complain, but unfortunately there is little that can be done at this point. You are more than welcome to, but the results will yield, little, if anything.

 

[had8ley]

I took my family on a quick up and back trip to Chicago yesterday and, unfortunately, had a very unpleasant experience. We were in the dinette waiting for dinner when a 'patron' sitting across from us (who had already consumed too many beers) urinated on himself and the floor. Needless to say it took the enjoyment out of what had been a wonderful day in Chicago, as well as the fun out of rail travel for my wife.
I now know that I should have notified the car attendant or conductor as the incident took place, but we were so shocked that we didnt' know what to do at the time. Now, I feel the need to contact Amtrak regarding this episode. How do I go about filing such a 'complaint'? I'm not looking for freebies, just expressing disgust at what took place in their dining car.

You and your family were the unfortunate witnesses to the downside of public transportation. Unless you feel that someone in on board service acted inappropriately there is little, if anything, you can do other than document the event to Amtrak in a letter.

 

[racer1735]

I've traveled by Amtrak many times and enjoyed every trip. Unfortunately, as I said earlier, this time I had my family with me. I know there isn't 'anything that can be done', and I'm not looking for recompensation. Just feel that someone needs to know what happened on their train. The dining car staff was just as appalled about what happened as I was.

 

[RailFanLNK]

If that would ever happen near LNK, the guy/gal needs to be "put off" the train, to an awaiting police car and driven 3 blocks from the station to Cornhusker Place Detox. I've known many of persons whose lives has changed when they wake up in a locked cell in de-tox. On the other hand, there's alot of people who have passed through there that never make it: meaning, they die from alcoholism. If you are urinating in your own pants, there's a good chance that you are not able to handle alcohol real well and that alcohol is handling you. Bummer for you and your family, try as hard as you can to remember all the good things on your Amtrak trips and not focus on this one really negative thing.

 

[yarrow]

smoking is not allowed on amtrak. why should amtrak sell and encourage the sale of alcohol on trains? it sure wouldn't bother me if alcohol went away on trains.

 

[had8ley]

If that would ever happen near LNK, the guy/gal needs to be "put off" the train, to an awaiting police car and driven 3 blocks from the station to Cornhusker Place Detox. I've known many of persons whose lives has changed when they wake up in a locked cell in de-tox. On the other hand, there's alot of people who have passed through there that never make it: meaning, they die from alcoholism. If you are urinating in your own pants, there's a good chance that you are not able to handle alcohol real well and that alcohol is handling you. Bummer for you and your family, try as hard as you can to remember all the good things on your Amtrak trips and not focus on this one really negative thing.

I have to agree with you about the re-hab BUT as luck would have it this drunk would find a lawyer that would find 50 "experts" to say he had a medical problem. There would go some more of Amtrak's precious dollars.

 

[Chatter163]

I've traveled by Amtrak many times and enjoyed every trip. Unfortunately, as I said earlier, this time I had my family with me. I know there isn't 'anything that can be done', and I'm not looking for recompensation. Just feel that someone needs to know what happened on their train.

For what purpose, then?

 

[Guest]

I've traveled by Amtrak many times and enjoyed every trip. Unfortunately, as I said earlier, this time I had my family with me. I know there isn't 'anything that can be done', and I'm not looking for recompensation. Just feel that someone needs to know what happened on their train.

For what purpose, then?

You definitely should have notified the conductor or asked the lead attendant in the dining car to notify the conductor. He/she would have dealt with the passenger - probably by removing him from the train. Don't be silent in situations like this. Amtrak cannot deal with problems they are not aware of - although I am very surprised the dining car staff did not do anything - especially since they have to clean up the mess eventually.

 

[battalion51]

smoking is not allowed on amtrak. why should amtrak sell and encourage the sale of alcohol on trains? it sure wouldn't bother me if alcohol went away on trains.

There are several reasons for the sale of alcohol. Alcohol is a large revenue source for Amtrak. They can buy it relatively cheap, and put on a huge mark up and many people will not question it. Also for many a glass of wine or a cocktail is a relaxing part of their trip. Many people will enjoy a glass of wine with a meal, or an after dinner cocktail, and Amtrak is more than happy to provide them with it. The consumption of alcohol does not effect others, whereas smoking does (second hand smoke). This is a large part of the reason Amtrak banned it from nearly all trains. Now in my opinion Amtrak should do a better job of cutting off patrons or establishing a firm drink limit on board. I don't know what training the LSA's receive (OBS would know better than I), but I do think more should be done.

 

[yarrow]

smoking is not allowed on amtrak. why should amtrak sell and encourage the sale of alcohol on trains? it sure wouldn't bother me if alcohol went away on trains.

There are several reasons for the sale of alcohol. Alcohol is a large revenue source for Amtrak. They can buy it relatively cheap, and put on a huge mark up and many people will not question it. Also for many a glass of wine or a cocktail is a relaxing part of their trip. Many people will enjoy a glass of wine with a meal, or an after dinner cocktail, and Amtrak is more than happy to provide them with it. The consumption of alcohol does not effect others, whereas smoking does (second hand smoke). This is a large part of the reason Amtrak banned it from nearly all trains. Now in my opinion Amtrak should do a better job of cutting off patrons or establishing a firm drink limit on board. I don't know what training the LSA's receive (OBS would know better than I), but I do think more should be done.

it seems to me, from the fair number of alcohol related posts, that the consumption of alcohol does effect others than the one who drinks. i would favor no booze sold on the train(at least in the lounge car)and let amtrak find some other drug to sell to enhance revenue.

 

[Everydaymatters]

smoking is not allowed on amtrak. why should amtrak sell and encourage the sale of alcohol on trains? it sure wouldn't bother me if alcohol went away on trains.

That's exactly how I feel. On one trip, I was the lone woman in lower level with men passing a bottle around to eachother. When the bottles ran out, they got more alcohol from the lounge car. Needless to say, I was very, very nervous.

 

[had8ley]

smoking is not allowed on amtrak. why should amtrak sell and encourage the sale of alcohol on trains? it sure wouldn't bother me if alcohol went away on trains.

That's exactly how I feel. On one trip, I was the lone woman in lower level with men passing a bottle around to eachother. When the bottles ran out, they got more alcohol from the lounge car. Needless to say, I was very, very nervous.

Betty;

This might explain Jodie's hesitation on another topic...

Jay

 

[WhoozOn1st]

In my experience bad Amtrak episodes are usually not caused by inebriates (though I've seen those too), but by passengers who are under the misapprehension that the world revolves around them and get noisy and argumentative about it. Not drunks, just jerks, and they can ruin a whole ride with their rude and inconsiderate behavior.

For example, riding a Pacific Surfliner between, say, L.A. and San Diego, it's far more likely that some geek (of either gender) will start yelling and screaming about some imagined Amtrak injustice, or that some lame-oh will talk at the top of their lungs the whole way on a cell phone, or that someone will refuse to lower the volume on their DVD player/laptop when asked.

The occasional sot, or Amtrak selling booze, is not the real problem. The real problem is that people don't know how to behave in public.

 

[Everydaymatters]

The occasional sot, or Amtrak selling booze, is not the real problem. The real problem is that people don't know how to behave in public.

That might not be the "real problem" to you, but to families riding with children, or as in what happened to me, Amtrak selling booze is the problem.

People who are inebriated tend to act more stupid than they normally do. Do you agree, Patrick?

Betty

 

[racer1735]

The occasional sot, or Amtrak selling booze, is not the real problem. The real problem is that people don't know how to behave in public.

That might not be the "real problem" to you, but to families riding with children, or as in what happened to me, Amtrak selling booze is the problem.

People who are inebriated tend to act more stupid than they normally do. Do you agree, Patrick?

Betty

In this case, the person had to have been inebriated prior to boarding the train, as we went to the dinette car within one hour of departure from CUS. An alert attendant probably could have noticed his state of being when he boarded. I know the dining car staff was very upset when we pointed out what had happened!

 

[WhoozOn1st]

The occasional sot, or Amtrak selling booze, is not the real problem. The real problem is that people don't know how to behave in public.

That might not be the "real problem" to you, but to families riding with children, or as in what happened to me, Amtrak selling booze is the problem.

People who are inebriated tend to act more stupid than they normally do. Do you agree, Patrick?

Betty

Yes, Betty, I agree. To an extent. But I maintain that the sot issue is just a manifestation of the real, and overall, problem of people behaving poorly in public. And I'm sure we've all seen it on trains. I would think that families traveling with children would hardly be less displeased with a sober passenger howling obscenities in front of their kids (I've seen this from older folks who should know better) than a drunk peeing his pants in the diner. The former is far more likely than the latter, and just as disgusting, in my view.

Remember that I live in Southern California - a massive loony bin - so I may see more of such stuff than folks see in other parts of the country.

I don't think people should be deprived of having a brewski, a glass of wine, or a cocktail, due to isolated instances of revolting behavior by a small number of miscreants. That would amount to a tyranny of the minority. A friend suggested that perhaps Amtrak could have designated family cars, which reminded me of the Angels baseball team: The Angels established a family seating section at the stadium. No alcohol, no swearing, no smoking (this was a while ago - the stadium is all nonsmoking now). They quickly dropped the experiment because almost nobody bought tickets for the family section. I'm not suggesting that the Amtrak and Angels situations are the same, but there may be similarities to be considered.

 

[gswager]

LSA (Leading Service [?] Attendant) is in charge of dining car and is available on that car during meal times. If you see him/her, report it to LSA. If you see a conductor, that's a best bet but he/she may be all over the train, taking care of tickets, listening to engineer's radio, safety, etc.

Conductor is the only person on that train has an authority to kick the passenger(s) out if the passenger is not cooperative or endangering others' safety.

I agree with other forum users that it should be limited the alcohol to the passengers. It may be by limiting the sales of alcohol (cans) per payer or checking the payer's behavior such as strong alcohol breath, ability to walk or talk, etc. If he's in red flag, deny him/her the alcohol. It may be difficult, but it's probably better in the long run.

 

[Guest]

While these incidents do happen, they are hardly the norm. Many more people consume responsibly than abuse it. And, if someone sees a major problem, they should report it rather than let it escalate and get out of hand.

Banning alcohol sales is hardly the answer. If that is done, should Amtrak also take away the children's discount because some children (parents) don't know how to behave for the comfort of others?

 

[Guest]

what did the car attendant say in the dinette???? I find it funny you did not report it then. the smell would have tipped off any railroad person. How often have you ridden amtrak?

 

[Amtrak OBS Employee gone freight]

I've traveled by Amtrak many times and enjoyed every trip. Unfortunately, as I said earlier, this time I had my family with me. I know there isn't 'anything that can be done', and I'm not looking for recompensation. Just feel that someone needs to know what happened on their train. The dining car staff was just as appalled about what happened as I was.

Aight, here's my three cents on this entire thread as I have read it so far!

1) These situations happen on occasion, sometimes back to back, but they are usually in the minority. Most folks are responsible travelers and conduct themselves accordingly.

2) Alcohol beverages are "legally" allowed to be sold, and LSAs are trained accordingly as bartenders as to handle those issues has they arise. Unfortunately, it is not possible to police every person on the train at every minute with the many folks we handle with many everyday situations that arise as well.

3) As a former employee, I will say to you that "no trip is ever the same as the trip before!" Just when you think you have seen it all, someone comes along and proves otherwise at a point in some other future trip!

My personal opinion of alot of what is being discussed in this thread now is virtually pointless! It appears to me you want "someone" to know what happened on their train! Well all of us on the boards know, now. If you want to persue this matter, then my advice to you is to write Mr Kummant as well as Amtrak Customer Service in regard to your issue, and leave it there. Then Amtrak has at least been notified of your displeasure. I appologize if I sound a bit rough here, but let's just get to the point! Notify Amtrak through the proper channels! Good luck and hope you continue your travels with Amtrak.

OBS gone freight....