Discontinued Ammenities

[CoachSlumber]

Just one note about the newspapers. I loved it when you would get an actual local newspaper in the morning. But that was an expense to Amtrak, to the newspaper, or both. Most often, it was USA Today, which was probably a neglible expense to Amtrak, as USA Today for years had a strategy of basicallly giving out the paper to travelers to boost its national circulation. Used to be you'd get USA Today at your door "free" at most major hotels. That's largely gone, as USA Today has slashed expenses--and because legally hotels were mandated to give you an opt-out of the paper (usually printed in small type on your key envelope) that reduced your room rate by 25 or 50 cents if you declined the paper. The expense of providing a paper and the ubiquity of smart phones have done away with the papers on the train.

 

[tricia]

Just one note about the newspapers. I loved it when you would get an actual local newspaper in the morning.

Me too. Reading a local paper while riding through the landscape that paper covers is an enriching pleasure unique to train travel. I wish more local papers would put pay boxes of their papers in train stations. I'd gladly pay for a local paper or two each day when traveling long distance by train.

 

[jis]

Sadly though, these days one can get more information (current news and generic background) about the local area that one is riding through on one's Smartphone/pad or even laptops given the availability of WiFi at least on all eastern trains, than could be reasonably fit in any local newspaper. This makes the newspaper somewhat redundant for those that have such devices, which is a significant plurality of people these days, if not a majority.

 

[JayPea]

Two days ago my uncle and I boarded the EB in Portland, and rode to Minot, arriving late last night. This morning we are on the EB again, this time headed westbound. Eastbound, our SCA only allowed two bottles of water for the whole trip. One bottle per customer. No more. He even refused to give an ill passenger an extra bottle. One bottle per person, illness and resulting dehydration be damned. This morning, westbound, we were greeted with mints on our pillows--okay, they were Life Savers mints, but they were still mints. And extra bottles of water set out. And, Delagrua, ICE, in a bucket, available for passengers to put their grubby hands into.

The Lord taketh away and the Lord giveth, in this case.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

Wow... That SCA would get no tip from me and a report to customer service.

This is why there needs to be an on board service manager... There is an amenity that was eliminated years ago that could make a big difference.

 

[JayPea]

Wow... That SCA would get no tip from me and a report to customer service.

This is why there needs to be an on board service manager... There is an amenity that was eliminated years ago that could make a big difference.

He certainly did get no tip and will certainly get a report to customer service. What is so ironic about the water deal is that at dinner we all were given a cup of water whether we wanted it or not. And yet we got none from the SCA other than one bottle. Oh, and in addition to ice available, we have all-day coffee and cranberry juice. I'm not much of a coffee drinker and can't stand cranberry juice but those amenities are I am sure greatly appreciated by those who partake of them.

 

[StriderGDM]

Pillows (at least to coach passengers). Do I remember them being given out in coach correctly?

Free pillows are provided in business coach. Comfort kits, which include an onflatable pillow, are sold in the SSL. It's been more than a decade, IIRC, since pillows were handed out free to LD passengers.

Many LD trains pre-Amtrak would rent pillows for 25 cents.

I don't recall getting a pillow in business class this past February.

And I know it's been less than a decade for them in coach. It was just a couple of years ago (I take the Crescent to Atlanta on a yearly or more basis).

 

[ehbowen]

Two days ago my uncle and I boarded the EB in Portland, and rode to Minot, arriving late last night. This morning we are on the EB again, this time headed westbound. Eastbound, our SCA only allowed two bottles of water for the whole trip. One bottle per customer. No more. He even refused to give an ill passenger an extra bottle. One bottle per person, illness and resulting dehydration be damned. This morning, westbound, we were greeted with mints on our pillows--okay, they were Life Savers mints, but they were still mints. And extra bottles of water set out. And, Delagrua, ICE, in a bucket, available for passengers to put their grubby hands into.

The Lord taketh away and the Lord giveth, in this case.

I suppose I could live without bottled water as long as there was ice and a working potable water cooler... but I've been in sleepers on Amtrak trains in the past few years where the water cooler not only was not working, it had been completely removed! If the SCA restricted water availability under those conditions I would not just be writing a complaint letter, I would be looking to file charges against him... IIRC, there's a law from the 19th century mandating that drinking water be available in all railroad passenger cars!

 

[Palmetto]

Wow... That SCA would get no tip from me and a report to customer service.

This is why there needs to be an on board service manager... There is an amenity that was eliminated years ago that could make a big difference.

The inconsistency that passengers face these days on Amtrak is no less than ridiculous. It's the single most important facet of poor customer service, IMO.

 

[JayPea]

Wow... That SCA would get no tip from me and a report to customer service.

This is why there needs to be an on board service manager... There is an amenity that was eliminated years ago that could make a big difference.

The inconsistency that passengers face these days on Amtrak is no less than ridiculous. It's the single most important facet of poor customer service, IMO.

I agree 100%. It is so frustrating to have one SCA, for example, who goes well above and beyond, providing excellent service, while another wouldn't pee in your ear if your brains were on fire.

 

[jis]

I don't mind the "above and beyond" people as a point of variation. But it would be exceedingly good if the bottom bar was more consistent. Unfortunately it is not, and some of that is by Amtrak's penny wise pound foolish decisions I am afraid.

 

[Lonestar648]

I blame the OBS management! They can read the complaints, but there are no consequences. What about surprise ride alongs? "Mystery Shopper" rides? What about reinforcing regularly the minimum standards Amtrak Passengers should expect. Management is managing from behind their desks a staff, that knows they will not be checked on. In my business and many of my customers we had the "AIC" program required of all managers (every manager from CEO down was required to spend a minimum of 10 weekdays with the field employees in their cars). The same should go for Amtrak. This would make a major difference. One there would be more continuity of the minimum standards and two, management would hear from their customers, Amtrak Passengers.

 

[niemi24s]

I suppose I could live without bottled water as long as there was ice and a working potable water cooler... but I've been in sleepers on Amtrak trains in the past few years where the water cooler not only was not working, it had been completely removed! If the SCA restricted water availability under those conditions I would not just be writing a complaint letter, I would be looking to file charges against him... IIRC, there's a law from the 19th century mandating that drinking water be available in all railroad passenger cars!

You mean you would perish without ice and cooled water?

And are you saying water was not even available from the sink tap in the restroom?

 

[Palmetto]

I suppose I could live without bottled water as long as there was ice and a working potable water cooler... but I've been in sleepers on Amtrak trains in the past few years where the water cooler not only was not working, it had been completely removed! If the SCA restricted water availability under those conditions I would not just be writing a complaint letter, I would be looking to file charges against him... IIRC, there's a law from the 19th century mandating that drinking water be available in all railroad passenger cars!

Please Delete!

P.S.: Is there a way to delete your own post?

I don't think so. It would be a nice feature, though.

 

[jis]

What you do is edit your post and replace the entire post by the single word "Redacted". The mods take care of the rest and you save yourself the embarrassment of everyone getting to read whatever silliness you had posted. I actually use this technique quite often On an average only about half the posts that I start typing make it through the vetting process to a real post. The rest are ejected at various stages of development.

 

[trainman74]

And they gave USA Today newspapers, except on Sunday, when there was no edition, they would give out a local newspaper from the trains route...

Saturday and Sunday, actually. And there were at least a couple of "newspaper" stops where USA Today was not locally available, so there would be a local paper 7 days a week. Someone already mentioned Klamath Falls on the northbound Coast Starlight, and if I recall correctly, La Junta on the westbound Southwest Chief was another (pretty sure I got the Pueblo Chieftain newspaper there on a weekday).

 

[niemi24s]

What you do is edit your post and replace the entire post by the single word "Redacted".

Thanks for that. My biggest problem is posting something that's OK, getting distracted, clicking the back button, forgetting I'd already posted something and then clicking Post again. My CRS syndrome is getting worser and worser! :blink:

 

[JayPea]

And they gave USA Today newspapers, except on Sunday, when there was no edition, they would give out a local newspaper from the trains route...

Saturday and Sunday, actually. And there were at least a couple of "newspaper" stops where USA Today was not locally available, so there would be a local paper 7 days a week. Someone already mentioned Klamath Falls on the northbound Coast Starlight, and if I recall correctly, La Junta on the westbound Southwest Chief was another (pretty sure I got the Pueblo Chieftain newspaper there on a weekday).

I know the Spokane Spokesman-Review was another paper available on weekdays. I found this out while on the Empire Builder Chicago-Portland leg of the Slidell Loophole trip. I'd never had occasion to ride in a sleeper in or out of Spokane before.

 

[Manny T]

Would anyone really call USA Today a newspaper?? Lol.

I used to take the LSL often and run up to the station in Albany to get a New York Times. Now that's a newspaper!

 

[niemi24s]

Would anyone really call USA Today a newspaper??

Not me! Darn thing has no funnies!!

 

[chakk]

Not only is the water in the Amtrak restroom sinks potable, but there should be a supply of paper drinking cups available on the shelf above the toilet.

 

[Thirdrail7]

Not only is the water in the Amtrak restroom sinks potable, but there should be a supply of paper drinking cups available on the shelf above the toilet.

I don't believe that is true on the Amfleets. I believe it is a separate tank. At one point, there was a sign that stated water is for hand washing only. There is a separate water valve outside of the restroom that has cups.

I noticed that at seat cart service on the Acela has disappeared. The Acela service really took a hit. No more newsreels, no more rotating selection of premium beers on tap, hand sliced bagels, no assigned seats and no New Carrollton!

 

[PVD]

There are drinking water dispensers with paper cups located outside of the r/rooms on many cars I've been in.

 

[PRR 60]

About 20 years ago, the Coast Starlight was test marketed as a premium service: an idea advanced by the then head of the product line who felt that better on-board service could help sell the train. Part of that upgraded service was providing passengers with goodies like an amenity kit. Besides the kit with the usual stuff, as they greeted you in your room they had a special gift as a thank you for riding. My wife and I rode it in 1996, and our gift was a Coast Starlight pen. It was nice pen, and had the "Coast Starlight - Superior Service" logo. We still have that pen. A little detective work found it was made by Parker, so refills keep it working like new.

Sure, you can get lots of pens as freebees from local banks other retailers (and in our area, the local radiology center - don't want too many of those!), but a genuine, official Coast Starlight pen is not something you see everyday.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

I don't have the pen but I have a Capitol Limited and Texas Eagle mug that were given to sleeper passengers in those days.