Best Attendant/Employee You've ever encountered

[Viewliner]

I would like to know who the best Attendant/Employee you've ever encountered on Amtrak is.

Mine: Twice while on the Silver Meteor (Train 97 specifically) I had the fortune of having Paul as an attendant on my Train (Departing Thursday from NYP). The first time was in 2002 on a trip to Orlando with my family. The Auto Train derailment occured the day of our departure, which meant the train would run via Tampa (and thus miss Orlando). Paul kept us informed of the status of what would happen to the train throughout the trip. Rather than having to take a shuttle, we got a rental car in Jacksonville. (the reason being my little brother was only 4 and we wanted to be able to get to our hotel and a bathroom asap). Paul and I went to get our bags from the Baggage Car to make sure they didn't get put on one of the busses to Orlando.

The second was on my March trip this year. He was great throughout the trip, and one highlight was in Winter Park. There had been a festival in WPK, so we had opened the vestibule windows to get a good look outside, and then talked a little at Orlando (we were running very late). He was there to help us off in Delray Beach at Midnight (over 3 hours late).

Now he is either retired or about to retire. He told me he'd been with Amtrak for 30 years, going back to the days of the Heritage Fleet and when Attendants wore hats similar to what conductors use.

For more on my March 2003 trip, Click Here.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

My vote goes to a guy named Jay. He is a red-headed guy who is shown in some of my Empire Builder shots on Viewliner's web page (i.e. Superliners). He was my attendant from Portland to Chicago. I first noticed him out in the yards being sure the car was being properly cleaned. He was careful to every detail. We had a couple of handicapped people on board that he was very good with.

He had time for everybody. he had time for me to babble incessantly about trains. When he wasn't doing something tangible, he would come in and talk to me and to others.

He voluntered to serve meals in my room a time or two. As sleeper car passengers we were , of course, entitled to "free" meals, but there was no real diner from Portland to Spokane. We were to get sandwiches from the lounge car. He got the sandwiches for us, saved us the trouble.

Right on top of everything. I have had many good ones, some about as good, but he stands out. He, of course, got a good tip and a letter of commendation from me.

I took my mother,(ill with parkinson's disease) from ATL to NY and they were very good with her, but Jay somehow stands out.

 

[battalion51]

So many great guys and gals that it's hard to pick out just one. Actually, for me, it's easier to name the jerks of Amtrak, rather than the nice guys. :lol:

 

[AlanB]

My best attendant will remain nameless for fear of getting him in trouble with management.

I will tell you that he works on the Auto Train however. On my recent trip back in May, I encountered this wonderful employee on my return to Lorton from Sanford.

I was traveling with my mother, my brother, his wife, and their two sons 2 & 4. I had booked a deluxe suite, where they open the connecting door between two deluxe bedrooms. My plan was to put my sister-in-law on one of the lower beds with my 2-year-old nephew, with my mother on the top bunk in the "C" room. I would take the top bunk in the "B" room with my brother and the 4-year-old in the bottom bunk.

Our attendant came into make the beds and started with the "C" room first. Once he finished on that side my older nephew immediately scrambled up the ladder and declared that he wanted to sleep in the top bunk.

The attendant then looked at me and asked what the sleeping arrangements were going to be. So I told him my plan from above. He then told us that the "A" room was running empty and offered to put my Mom in that room. This allowed the 4-year-old to have his own top bunk, which of course made him incredibly happy. It also allowed my brother more room to stretch out, since he didn't have to share a bed with his son.

So this attendant in my book wins hands down as the best I've ever encountered. He went way out of his way to ensure the comfort of his passengers, even though he had to do a lot more work in setting up the “A” room for my mom and of course changing the bedding in the morning. There were many other little things that he did for us too, and I got to have a couple of nice conversations about Amtrak with him.

Needless to say, he got a very generous tip from me when we got to Lorton.

 

[Viewliner]

Alan, you just reminded me of something about my attendant. I said this in my trip report and will repeat how on the second day of the trip, the Movie Screen working properly in our room, so he let us watch in Room 11. Later, I of course used it to sit in when I wanted a little space from my mom and brother.

 

[battalion51]

Alan, actually many managers wouldn't look at what the attendant did as wrong. When there is empty space there it empty space, end of story. If someone wanted to upgrade to that deluxe room, and was prevented from doing so because of what the attendant that would be wrong. But I personally don't think what he did was wrong, what he did was good customer service. Of course this is Amtrak we're talking about so you never know. In my opinion though what he did is deserving of an "attaboy."

By the way Alan, was that the trip where you and I were within 100 feet of each other and we didn't even know it?

 

[AMTRAK-P42]

My vote goes to a very nice lady named Tory. She worked the sleeper on the Empire Builder when I took my trip from CHI-Seattle in June 2002. She was very helpful, so helpful in fact, I voluntarily helped her collect the linens in the cars and clean up the trash. She was wonderful.

 

[EmpireBuilderFan]

The best attendant I had was on one of my trips on the Empire Builder. While he wasn't there to greet me when I boarded due to the late hour in Spokane, he did greet me the next morning when I woke up late. I was on the bottom level of the car, and I saw him more down there then I have some other attendants on the top level. He was extremely friendly and had a smile on his face the whole trip. Since I was getting off of the train during the second seating for dinner in the dining car, he was able to get a reservation for the first seating before anyone else got one. When the dining car attendant came around to get reservations, she just handed it over to me instead of asking which reservation I wanted.

Hmm...I'm seeing a pattern. Three of the stories are from the Empire Builder. I guess that train has a good crew. Of course, I could be biased.

 

[amtrakmichigan]

In the fall of 96, my wife, 1 year old baby, and myself rode R/T from Toledo to Cumberland, MD. On the trip home the train was about 2 hours late which made it arrive at about 8:45 PM into Cumberland. We were very tired, especially Danielle and haven't had anything to eat since noon that day. We had a family room that night. Our car attendent was a nice young black guy by the name of Enoch. I found out latter that he was worling for Amtrak for only 6 months. We explained as soon as we boarded that we were very hungrey and needed something to eat. Danielle was very crankey and we didn't want to try to go to the dining car with a tired 1 year old. He said the diner was closing or could be closed by now. He rattled of the menu choices to us in 5 seconds off the top of his head and asked what we would like including what dressing we wanted on our salad. We quickly gave him our choices and he proceeded to RUN up the stairs to the dining car to put our order in. 5 minutes latter he returned with our salads and drinks, and 10 minutes after that our steaks. Danielle ate some of her "choo choo chewies" and went to sleep while my wife and I enjoyed our steak in peace and quiet. It didn't stop there though...Enoch came back after to pick our dishes up and asked if there was anything at all he could get for us. Sure how about a round of drinks ! "No problem" Enoch ended up bringing us mixed drinks until about midnight (yes we were getting a little drunk :blink: . As he brought our drinks I was tipping him about a $1 or $2 each round. When we were getting off at Toledo Enoch received a $50.00 tip from us, his eyes seemed to light up when he saw the $50 bill. He truly made our trip very enjoyable and deserved it !

 

[Amfleet]

Like B-51, it is easier to name the one or two bad employees in all my years of Amtrak travel than the good ones. I guess I will have to say that there is a conductor on the Downeaster, her name was Maralin, and she always had a smile and kept everyone updated on the trains location and why we would have to stop to let other trains by. She noticed that I was a railfan and ask me if I wanted to ever work for the railroads and I said I have always thought about it. Darrel, Brenda, and Jim are all Sleeping Car attendants on the Capitol Limited that I have had and all do a great job in keeping everyone happy.

 

[battalion51]

I personally feel it's best to keep employees anonymous when it comes to their activities, as some managers (believe it or not) read these forums, and may not approve of some of the activities employees do, rituals, serivce standards, etc. So I will never reveal an employees name here, but that's my humble opinion.

 

[pismobum]

OK - time to put a WHOLE BUNCH of "whining" Amtrak employees to shame. On #40, our sleeper attendant was a young lady by the name of Angela Delesio.

WOW!

I have ridden on SEVEN "all-aboard" passes and (now) a NARP pass, PLUS quite a few single segment trips (including the CZ and Starlight numerous times). I have been on nearly EVERY train Amtrak runs, several of them multiple times, and I have NEVER run into a more AWESOME employee than this woman.

She got everybody into the sleeper as required (about 25 on this trip), and managed to open the "en suite" wall as I had 2 adjacent bedrooms (she had never opened this on a 10/6 before), and as I later wandered the train, I found her in the coaches "bedding down" the 50-60 coach passengers that we had boarded also. A little later she was in the coach restrooms tidying up (there were no other attendants on the train), and then I found her working in the cafe car ("the attendant gets breaks, so I fill in"). (Did I mention the #40 cafe car was open 24 hours? - I have absolutely no clue how she ever got any rest). During the next day, she was the "PA" announcer unless a "blue crew" said something, made up the sleeper rooms, was in and out of the coaches, and was again found working the cafe car during an attendant "break" (anybody else ever hear the "standard" announcement on a full-crewed train "I am taking a break - the lounge car will be closed for the next hour")?

Anyhow, the attendant had a small plastic "tip cup" on the counter which was not all that "endowed". Angela replaced it with a box, "salted" it with the tips, and cheerfully informed everyone "it's all on the house" as had been previously announced (train was several hours late). Most people then began puting what they had in their hands into the tip box since they had no other cost, and the tips rolled in. When the attendant returned, Angela gave her a little "instruction" in the art of running the cafe section and doing well - she had accumulated over $20 in tips during the break AND LEFT ALL THE TIPS FOR THE ATTENDANT rather than claiming them as her own.

Later discussion revealed her schedule. Pittsburg - Chicago (5 hours late - arrived 5:30AM, our train back out at 9:25PM (now running 4 hours late), into New York very late and a turnaround back out at 12:45PM back to Pittsburg. As we approached New York, she informed sleeper passengers that since we would be quite late, they could occupy the beds and she would come back in early the next day to prepare any she couldn't get to that evening. She then proceeded to the cafe car and spent quite some time helping the attendant balance out and do inventory.

Not only was she cheerful and upbeat the ENTIRE trip (I kinda kept waiting for her to lead cheers or run an excercise class), but she also went chasing after non-existent redcaps when we finally hit NYC. All in all, I would say she outperformed almost every employee (Amtrak or otherwise) that I have come across, and her "overall" job exceeded all but one "Chief of on-board Services" I have come across.

 

[AlanB]

I personally feel it's best to keep employees anonymous when it comes to their activities, as some managers (believe it or not) read these forums, and may not approve of some of the activities employees do, rituals, serivce standards, etc. So I will never reveal an employees name here, but that's my humble opinion.

Huh? :unsure: I quote from your trip report, first posted here on the forums and now on OTOL.

I walked back to the lounge while my Mom got dressed, and man were the Conductors (Tracie and Reggie Grogan) surprised to see me. I told them what was going on, but left shortly thereafter, as Reggie is not one of my favorites in the Conductor department.

I sure hope that Reggie never reads this forum or OTOL.

 

[battalion51]

That was the exception to the rule. Trip reports are a whole nother deal from the forums. And by the way, I do not care if Reggie knows that I hate him because you know what, I do, there's no two ways about it. While I've never said it in those words to his face, I've definitely implied it more than once. Everything'll be fine just as long as he stays on Southern Pines side.

 

[radsmom]

I have 2 employees that come to mind -

One was "Larry" a dining car server on the Southwest Chief

and the other was Eva our sleeping car attendant on the Silver Meteor. She was fabulous.

Also kudos to the crew on the Three Rivers we thought they were great for the short time we were on board.

 

[amtrakmichigan]

Wait....I can think of another one. On New years Eve of 94 my wife (then girlfriend) and I rode from Dearborn, Mi to Boston Back Bay. At that time there was direct rail service to Toledo on the Lake Cities for a connection in Toledo to the Lake Shore. We were directed to go to the front coach by the conductor when we asked if there was a place to smoke. Well the front coach was a empty cab control coach. After discovering the engineer named Bill Haggie (he since past away)we started talking to him about railroads in general. Bill was one of the nicest people I ever met. I told him that my dad retired with 38 years from CSX and how he used to get me locomotive rides on some of the locals around our area when I was a kid and told him my favorite thing to do on the trains was blow the horn at the crossings. To make a long story short, he let us ride shotgun with him for almost 60 miles from Detroit to Toledo letting me blow the horn at every crossing. That brought back a ton of memories ! I was like a little kid again. I took a picture of Bill and my wife after we got off in Toledo and still have it.

 

[battalion51]

Now I assume that the Engineer was controlling the train from the cab car, right? But one of the nice things for us railfans about cab cars is that we can ride up front, without getting the guys in trouble by going up in the engine.

 

[amtrakmichigan]

Now I assume that the Engineer was controlling the train from the cab car, right? But one of the nice things for us railfans about cab cars is that we can ride up front, without getting the guys in trouble by going up in the engine.

yes, this train would be pulled to Detroit from Chicago, then be pushed to Toledo with a cab car on the front. The Toledo run had been replaced by "Ambus" for Lake Shore and Capitol connections. Today Detroit (actually Pontiac) to Chicago on the Wolverine, Lake Cities, and Twilight Limited still use push - pull service. Instead of cab cars, one of the locomotives are gutted, sometimes an old F-40 will be the "cab car" while the other is powered. I do miss the the cab car for the reason you stated.