Customer Experience at Amtrak

[Cina]

Nonsense, I always adulterate my truth.

 

[PaulM]

Ah! I get it. Touche! Sorry, I get a little touchy when someone puts down Illinois trains.

FWIW my position on mutts is that they should be like cigarettes, legal but not politically correct. That being said, it doesn't really bother me since I haven't seen any on my frequent Illinois train trips.

I definitely don't hate Nebraskans, and in fact I always defend the state when a coaster claims that traveling across it is boring. But when you mentioned Illinois trains, I assumed you were talking about state supported passenger corridor trains. Now if, you had a few between Omaha and Lincoln, then that would be a different matter.

 

[zepherdude]

Thank you everyone for suggestions on our survey! Based on the suggestion we edited the survey and here is the final version of it:

http://goo.gl/forms/7cv3FRplfB

Millions of Thanks!

Do I have to take it again??!!!

 

[Cina]

Ah! I get it. Touche! Sorry, I get a little touchy when someone puts down Illinois trains.

FWIW my position on mutts is that they should be like cigarettes, legal but not politically correct. That being said, it doesn't really bother me since I haven't seen any on my frequent Illinois train trips.

I definitely don't hate Nebraskans, and in fact I always defend the state when a coaster claims that traveling across it is boring. But when you mentioned Illinois trains, I assumed you were talking about state supported passenger corridor trains. Now if, you had a few between Omaha and Lincoln, then that would be a different matter.

I didn't really think you hated Nebraska, I was just matching generalizations no harm, no foul.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Nebraska? I spent a whole year there one day and night while riding on the Zephyr! LOL

FYI: I lived in McCook for a year while my dad was stationed there, but in all honesty all I remember is the Wind and the Bitter Cold Winter!!

 

[Cina]

Nebraska? I spent a whole year there one day and night while riding on the Zephyr! LOL

FYI: I lived in McCook for a year while my dad was stationed there, but in all honesty all I remember is the Wind and the Bitter Cold Winter!!

McCook! McCook's huge compared to my town. I've toyed with the idea of taking the train from Lincoln to McCook to visit a friend in Culbertson, but she didn't want to pick me up in the middle of the night :lol:

 

[KmH]

Jeez!

McCook is huge. It has a regional airport FCOL.

 

[Cina]

And a Wal-Mart. It's practically NYC.

 

[NorthShore]

I suppose I have a difficulty with the "usual route" question. That makes sense for someone using the service as a commuter, or perhaps if you regularly visit family in another city. But how does it affect the person who takes Amtrak primarily for occasional long distance trips, or perhaps a day trip a couple times a year on a commuter route?

As such, though I've been a committed Amtrak rider for over a decade, I don't see how I can even reasonably answer the very first question.

I tend to agree with an earlier post that, perhaps, the survey ought to be more limited to California and west coast services. It might make more sense and offer better results constituted as such.

 

[KmH]

I didn't think much of the 'usual route' question either.

And with the Amtrak on-time performance question, since Amtrak owns so little of the track miles Amtrak uses.

I got the distinct impression the survey was about Amtrak commuter trains and not Amtrak as a whole.

 

[FormerOBS]

I realize these students are making a sincere effort, and I applaud that. However, the survey ignores many facets of Amtrak's nationwide operations. As mentioned, many frequent riders do not have a most frequent route, although many commuters do. It ignores sleeper service altogether, which means it ignores a significant contingent of long distance passengers. So I would have to agree that it is slanted in favor of short trips by people who primarily travel the same routes on a regular basis. It is probably most reflective of the passenger train experience for most (but by no means all) passengers in California,

I was not able to complete the survey because it asks questions that could not be accurately answered with the options offered.

Incidentally, surveys of this kind can be devised to intentionally force the respondent to answer in the way the pollster wants them to answer. I am not suggesting that these students are doing that. Such questionable surveys are conducted in order to reinforce an agenda that the pollster has already decided upon. They deprive the respondent of the opportunity to answer accurately, so the results reflect the quality of the questions, more than the accuracy of the answers.

I'd be happy to respond to a thoroughly revised version of this survey. In fact, I think it would be a fascinating exercise if the students would offer a revised version and compare the results of the two versions. This might provide very useful information about the different results obtained from poorly constructed questions, as opposed to those obtained from carefully constructed ones. After all, schools (like the rest of life) are for learning.

In any case, I wish these students well.

Tom