Best place to complain and commend

[margo]

What the best way to complain about a 5 hour and a 3 hour delay? Also, the best place to commend my exceptional SA. Thank you.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Call 1-800-USA- RAIL, when "Julie" answers and does her canned Spiel, ask for "Agent".

When connected with a real Person, ask them for Customer Relations, (not Customer Service) and then let them know about your expierences, the good, the bad and the ugly.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Call 1-800-USA- RAIL, when "Julie" answers and does her canned Spiel, ask for "Agent". When connected with a real Person, ask them for Customer Relations, (not Customer Service) and then let them know about your expierences, the good, the bad and the ugly.

Where did this secret Customer Relations myth begin and what sort of evidence is it based upon? Do I get better emergency service if I dial 912 instead of 911? Because that's about as logical as this never explained and never verified myth. Might as well say Rosebud or Abracadabra.

 

[Ryan]

Obligatory XKCD:

 

[margo]

Thank you for the info. I called and received a $250.00 voucher and hopefully some "attaboys" for our great SA, Ramon Vergara.

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

Call 1-800-USA- RAIL, when "Julie" answers and does her canned Spiel, ask for "Agent". When connected with a real Person, ask them for Customer Relations, (not Customer Service) and then let them know about your expierences, the good, the bad and the ugly.

Where did this secret Customer Relations myth begin and what sort of evidence is it based upon? Do I get better emergency service if I dial 912 instead of 911? Because that's about as logical as this never explained and never verified myth. Might as well say Rosebud or Abracadabra.

What myth? That Customer Relations even exists at Amtrak? Or that Customer Relations cares about your Amtrak experiences?

Over the years (decades?), the few times I had to contact Amtrak's Customer Relations (which, at least partially, exists within the 30th Street Station), I can attest to that they do exist, and as long as your request is reasonable, they will do whatever it takes to make you happy. A really good bunch of people.

 

[trainman74]

What myth? That Customer Relations even exists at Amtrak? Or that Customer Relations cares about your Amtrak experiences?

I assume DA is referring to the oft-repeated canard on this board that if you ask for "Customer Relations," you will be connected to the Customer Relations department, but if you ask for "Customer Service," a thousand years of terror will begin, or something like that.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Thank you for the info. I called and received a $250.00 voucher and hopefully some "attaboys" for our great SA, Ramon Vergara.

Your most welcome! I too have found these folks to bemost helpful when I call.

And it's not always to file a complaint, sometimes it's a total positive call and others, mixed!

If you don't want to spend the voucher I know this poor retired Rail fan in Texas....

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

What myth? That Customer Relations even exists at Amtrak? Or that Customer Relations cares about your Amtrak experiences?

I assume DA is referring to the oft-repeated canard on this board that if you ask for "Customer Relations," you will be connected to the Customer Relations department, but if you ask for "Customer Service," a thousand years of terror will begin, or something like that.

Oh. Its been a while, but back when didn't know better, "Customer Service" got you an agent; probably the one you initially talked with, saying "I can help you with this". "Customer Relations" allowed to skip the agent.

 

[Philly Amtrak Fan]

What the best way to complain about a 5 hour and a 3 hour delay? Also, the best place to commend my exceptional SA. Thank you.

This message board?

 

[FormerOBS]

Customer Service is what the Company does (or is supposed to do). I'm not sure what happens to your call if it goes there. Maybe they'll try to sell you another ticket.

Customer Relations is actually the name of a real department that deals with interactions --- both good and bad -- between the Company and its customers. If you ask for Customer Service, your call might be referred to Customer Relations --- or maybe not.

 

[railiner]

That sounds like what happens in any telemarketing 'boiler room'.....if you demand to speak to 'the manager'....the agent will have another one pick up the line and pretend to be 'the manager' ....what will happen as a result from there could be anything, but usually just nothing.....

I am happy to hear that the OP did get their issue resolved in this case....

 

[Ryan]

That's interesting, but not what happens at Amtrak.

 

[SarahZ]

That's interesting, but not what happens at Amtrak.

Or any call center job I've ever held, and I've had several.

This may happen at telemarketing agencies, but it does not happen at any reputable company, Amtrak included.

 

[railiner]

It's good to know that...

 

[Nomad]

On 9/3 I used the email option on Amtrak.com to complain about an inefficient SCA on the SWC. This morning (Saturday) I received a phone call from Amtrak acknowledging receipt of my email and that follow up action would be taken. So that method of making a complaint worked for me.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Customer Relations is actually the name of a real department that deals with interactions --- both good and bad -- between the Company and its customers. If you ask for Customer Service, your call might be referred to Customer Relations --- or maybe not.

When I've asked about this I was told that all complaints are handled using the same criteria and that there is no difference between asking for Customer Relations or Customer Service. Only on AU does anyone seem to claim differently. So far as I can tell nobody who repeats these claims has ever been able to provide actual examples of how asking for Customer Service substantially differed from asking for Customer Relations when reporting similar issues.

That's interesting, but not what happens at Amtrak.

Source?

That's interesting, but not what happens at Amtrak.

Or any call center job I've ever held, and I've had several. This may happen at telemarketing agencies, but it does not happen at any reputable company, Amtrak included.

How is a customer expected to determine that an opaque and possibly outsourced call center thousands of miles away from them is reputable? If we're reaching an impasse with a call center we've somehow determined to be reputable how do we go about ensuring we'll be transferred to an actual superior with more flexibility than the agent to which we're currently connected? Do we look at the uniform, name tag, body language, and other visual cues which are impossible for us to see? Do we just trust whatever they tell us to believe?

 

[Ryan]

Source?

The former Amtrak employee quoted above you that says so. I would trust that he's familiar with the inner workings of the company.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Source?

The former Amtrak employee quoted above you that says so. I would trust that he's familiar with the inner workings of the company.

All he's said so far was that the department existed and that you can ask for it. He has said nothing about success rates of reaching it from other departments, how to verify who you're actually connected with, how talking to Customer Relations differs from talking to any other customer service agent in real terms, or how much involvement he had with the current crop of call center folks. Does the Customer Relations department have the exact same hours and shifts as the primary call center? What happens if you call when Customer Relations is busy? I can give you a listing of every department in my company but it doesn't mean I know what happens when you try to transfer between one department I don't work for to another department I don't work for.

 

[SarahZ]

I would consider Amtrak to be reputable, based on their (wait for it...) reputation.

 

[railiner]

Not to worry...."all calls are recorded for........."quality assurance"....

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I would consider Amtrak to be reputable, based on their (wait for it...) reputation.

I would think most of us could agree that Amtrak's customer service has a checkered past. I also think a substantial number of members believing you need a secret code to receive good service tells us a lot more about Amtrak's actual reputation than your silly retorts ever could.

 

[DryCreek]

Well, I was able to get resolution by using two methods.

First, I sent a letter (snail mail) to their customer relations address in DC. I looked it up on the internet.

Secondly, I received an e-mailed request to fill out a survey. I detailed those experiences starting on post #12, here.

I was polite and honest in my complaint. I made sure to offer praise for the Amtrak employees who went beyond their basic job duties to make our trip pleasant, and I let them know which employees didn't even try to meet that standard. Also, when I filled in the survey, I made sure to add that I had also sent a letter by regular mail detailing the same issues.

The resolution was a $500 travel voucher. We will be using about $148 worth of it day after tomorrow when we take a little getaway trip from CBR to OKC. I heard it was gonna rain there, and we wanted to see what rain looked like. of course that would be funny if you realized that a good portion of our previous trip was bustituted due to track washouts between Temple and San Antonio.