Last week on the Southwest Chief I received the best service I've ever had in the dining car. I would like to make sure that they get properly recognized by Amtrak for this. What's the most effective way to let Amtrak know?
Great Service: how to get Amtrak's attention
- Thread starter snvboy
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Devil's Advocate
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Call them on the phone or @ them on twitter. If you don't mind long delays you could snail mail HQ.
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If it was great I’d send a certified letter to Amtrak Customer relations in DC it’s worth the $3.80 and dining is a “hot topic” issue. They take certified letters very seriously. I usually receive a response in 7-10 days and if it’s a legit complaint you can usually expect a voucher in return. It does feel good to write a positive letter and I’m sure it’s a breath of fresh air for those who read them too.
Twitter is an option as well but expect more of a form email in return which makes me think they take it more as garbage in, garbage out. I used the website template a couple weeks ago to ask why the “WiFi” was taken off the SWC and if a return is planned. No response other then the immediate auto reply email saying message was received.
Agreed the SWC crews are A plus in general. In fact the entire SWC experience is, you can’t even drive Chi-Lax in the time the train takes. It’s truly a viable transportation option.
They really choose the wrong train to pick on.
Amtrak Customer relations
1 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001, United States
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Thanks for the feedback!
For those following along at home, Veronica whipped up this makeshift wine cooler - complete with the kerchief to catch the condensation - when we ordered a bottle of white wine with dinner and they didn't have one in the cooler already. After dinner, she was totally able to upsell us on the last remaining bottle, and topped off the ice and let us take the rig back to our sleeper. AND, this is the kicker, was kind enough to drop by our sleeper later to retrieve it. Every announcement she made was 100% positive and welcoming, and no special request was impossible for us in the diner. And because of her leadership, her whole crew reflected her lead and we had the best service we have ever had in the diner in 20 years of riding Amtrak.
You can quibble about the menu all you want, but great service comes down to people and that's what gets remembered. A+ all around for this crew, making the most of what they have to work with. Every Amtrak crew should take a ride with Veronica and see how it's done. People like her, and Mama J on the Cardinal, are why I'll keep taking Amtrak.
For those following along at home, Veronica whipped up this makeshift wine cooler - complete with the kerchief to catch the condensation - when we ordered a bottle of white wine with dinner and they didn't have one in the cooler already. After dinner, she was totally able to upsell us on the last remaining bottle, and topped off the ice and let us take the rig back to our sleeper. AND, this is the kicker, was kind enough to drop by our sleeper later to retrieve it. Every announcement she made was 100% positive and welcoming, and no special request was impossible for us in the diner. And because of her leadership, her whole crew reflected her lead and we had the best service we have ever had in the diner in 20 years of riding Amtrak.
You can quibble about the menu all you want, but great service comes down to people and that's what gets remembered. A+ all around for this crew, making the most of what they have to work with. Every Amtrak crew should take a ride with Veronica and see how it's done. People like her, and Mama J on the Cardinal, are why I'll keep taking Amtrak.
tim49424
Engineer
That's the best and quickest way to do it. I've done it for exceptional service employees.
My first time on the Coast Starlight, Veronica was the PPC attendant, or, rather, in that case, the CCC-substituting-for-a-PPC attendant. Hands down the best attendant I ever had on the PPC, and I rode the CS when the PPC was in operation several times since that first time. And a few years later, she was the LSA in the diner on the Texas Eagle I rode. My experience with her in the diner was the same: positve, welcoming announcements and her dining car crew took their cues from her and provided top notch service all the way around. Employees like Veronica make traveling Amtrak all that much more enjoyable for me.
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I use the link SarahZ posted also.
When did they get rid of WiFi on the SWC? Or when did you notice its absence?
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The LA based LDT’s (CSL/SWC) lost it sometime in April according to attendant on my last trip.
nti1094
Service Attendant
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Yeah that crew is one of the best diner crews in all of Amtrak. There is one other crew that works the Sunset that is equally amazing, the LSA there is Jose. Him and everyone that works with him just go the extra mile every time. If it’s December, they decorate the whole car with Christmas lights and holiday decor. They even usually wake us and serve a quick warm abbreviated breakfast before the super early LAUPT arrival!
I have had Veronica on the Chief as well, and you can tell she really loves her job and wants to serve up a good experience. l
I have had Veronica on the Chief as well, and you can tell she really loves her job and wants to serve up a good experience. l
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Got off train 98 earlier today. 5/29. Had a friendly diner crew and a great sleeping car attendant but had only breakfast as I got on in Florence. The crew I had on 97 a few days earlier on the southbound leg of my trip tended to rush people along a bit at dinner but they weren’t unfriendly, though overall I’ll give them a good review too as my land and sea steak was cooked to perfection exactly as ordered and was quite tasty this time - I do like the steak sauce Amtrak uses in the diner. I am wondering if they have changed any ingredients since they standardized the diner menu - this beef tasted quite a bit better than the last time I had it in a diner a year or so ago. (Not that it was bad the but I found this to be quite a good piece of steak,)
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The steak seems to be of higher quality and a more generous portion size with the new menu on my 3 trips this year. I still doubt many people from coach are actually choosing to pay the $39 for the surf and turf.
FreeskierInVT
Lead Service Attendant
I too had Veronica on my trip on the SWC in December and service in the diner was fantastic, one of the best I've had on Amtrak.
