How to contact Customer Relations while on the train?

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The clientele on Regional trains is significantly different than that of LD coach.

Also, carry bys are significantly more of a problem when your stations can be hours apart and there is only one train a day. Missing a stop on the NEC is a minor inconvenience at worst.
 
I boarded the Crescent 19 in WAS the night before Tgiving. On the platform boarding passengers were directed to certain coaches by destination. Each coach attendant assigned seats in their coach. The train was completely full. Between stops my attendant was busy notating what seats would be vacated at the next stop and those seats were promptly filled at the same stop they were vacated. It all looked pretty efficient to me. I think there were 5 coaches and 1 cafe car for which there was a long line in early evening, however the wifi was good. :giggle:

PS: the Acela Lounge in WAS looks pretty tattered & 2nd rate now compared to the fabulous new Metropolitan Lounge in CHI! :hi:
 
City of Miami said:
I boarded the Crescent 19 in WAS the night before Tgiving. On the platform boarding passengers were directed to certain coaches by destination. Each coach attendant assigned seats in their coach. The train was completely full.
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I'm not sure how someone who rides as much as you do could possibly miss this, but 99% of the time even when an LD train is nowhere near full in coach the attendants are still barking at customers to avoid/leave seats that will never be filled at any time during their trip.

City of Miami said:
Between stops my attendant was busy notating what seats would be vacated at the next stop and those seats were promptly filled at the same stop they were vacated.
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What sort of "notation" work is required beyond quickly updating an already printed passenger manifest? If you really want to impress us maybe you should upload a picture of a coach attendant keeping busy by cleaning a coach restroom.

City of Miami said:
It all looked pretty efficient to me.
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Efficient compared to what, exactly? I've ridden trains in several industrialized democracies and every single one of them made Amtrak look like a hopelessly inefficient basket case.
 
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Ryan said:
I'm curious how you can jump to the conclusion that a single failed A/C unit means that Amtrak doesn't to pre trip inspections (they do) or do maintenance (they do).
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I never said they *never* do pre-trip inspections. I was talking about my specific case where someone clearly did not do their job of checking before sending the consist out if the HVAC was working in all cars. Or they checked but had no time to repair/swap the car and just sent it out anyway hoping "ah never mind, nobody will notice"
 
Except that's not what you said.

You said "do they not inspect the cars before starting". Not "did they not inspect this train before starting?". Or "did they notice this and send the train out with defective equipment for this trip".

You made a general statement, which you seem to understand isn't true. Just own it and say "I was annoyed and said something I shouldn't have", rather than try to weasel out of it.
 
Looks like the LA Yard Crews did what is known as a "Sunshine Special", park the car in the yard,then when it's time to make up the consist sign off as "Inspected and ready to roll".

This is common practice in Chicago!
 
On a regular basis we have comments about service received that range from exceptional to very poor. Some folks have lower standards than others, some are never satisfied. Excuses and reasons are not the same. There may a very good reason something happens, but failure to communicate it properly generally leaves a bad taste in someones mouth. That is an Amtrak specialty. The day before Thanksgiving, if it rolls and it isn't out of inspection date, it is going out. The other choice is people don't ride. That being said, there is no excuse or valid reason for surly or unpleasantness in a customer facing job. Those type of problems usually start at the top, with management that fails to create a proper corporate culture of good service. When customer service and quality are the ways of life in an organization, many who are along for the ride improve to fit in, those that still don't cut it are less likely to be protected by there co workers. Using the union as a reason is usually the bailiwick of bad management who don't know how to create a culture of quality service, and failing that would like to manage by fear and intimidation, and lash out against anything that helps prevent that. Workers will find a way to screw that type of boss in the long run anyway.. In properly run companies it shouldn't get to that. There are many examples of good and bad service in both the unionized and non unionized transportation sectors. Better management can make it happen. Continental Airlines was a great example.
 
Is it bad but when I travel on Amtrak I carry my coach keys from PVs I've worked. Which include an Amtrak coach key as well. And if there is a problem usually I tell the attendant I can fix it. And nine times out of ten they are relieved I can. HVAC problems on the cars I've worked on usually just reset the unit. It's about as easy as they come
 
Steve4031 said:
I've seen conductors and some attendants do the reset procedure. Shouldn't all employees know how to do this?
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Yes they should. And any train attendant who lets a non-employee do anything mechanical is asking for serious trouble of something goes wrong.
 
I wouldn't mess with anything because I don't know how it works. The poster you are referring too apparently has expertise acquired from working on private cars, etc. I have experienced some car attendants who didn't know or wouldn't reset the system. A conductor came by later in one situation and tried without result to restart AC. I surmised from this that attendants may have already tried to the reset with no result.
 
AC Equipment shuts down for a number of reasons. Some of them are related to the refrigeration cycle, some of them are electrical. Devices are called "safeties" or "overcurrent protection devices" for a reason. Often, problems may be transient or momentary, resetting them is not usually a problem. What is a problem is when equipment shuts down in response to a real problem, one that may be serious. Equipment can be damaged, or people can be seriously hurt (like resetting a circuit breaker that has tripped against a major fault), the issue is, short of troubleshooting the problem you usually don't know which situation it is. While unlikely, the risk of injury to an unauthorized person touching mechanical/electrical equipment makes it contrary to the operating rules of any company that ever read an OSHA handbook. While well meaning, it is a very bad idea.
 
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We are all automatically assuming that Amtrak didn't do their job because the A/C was broken right around departure time. How do we know when it broke? I'm willing to bet it broke after it was in the yard to sometime right after leaving LAX. Or perhaps they did fix it and it broke again. This happens all the time in aviation world. I get asked all the time, "well why wasn't this found and fixed earlier?!" Well it's hard to fix something that hasn't broken yet, and sometimes things break at not very convenient times. Just yesterday, I was delayed 7 hours in Minot for a wire that had become disconnected for engine fire protection. I was asked the exact question of, "don't you guys do maintenance on these things?!" Well, yes. Obviously the wire became undone between yesterday and today when the last test was done.

So I'm saying, just because the A/C was broken, doesn't mean the Amtrak maintenance team did or didn't their job. It just means that we truly don't know.
 
I should add I've never once used my switch keys to fix Amtrak equipment. I have used it to check the viewliner trash can because I accidentally threw out my contact case once but I have never messed with Amtrak HVAC. Now private car HVAC that's a different story. I've been on more electrical lockers then j can remember.
 
saxman said:
This happens all the time in aviation world.
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Major AC failure happens all the time in the passenger aviation world? I know you fly a lot more than I ever have or could, but out of hundreds of flights I've only ever flown one single aircraft with a broken AC system. In fact it was so incredibly rare that I didn't even believe it at first. Exactly one aircraft out of hundreds and it wasn't even completely broken. It was just too hot to be comfortable for the hour or two we were up in the air. During our time on the ground cool air was provided by the airport facilities. Honestly, I have no problems with odds like that. Meanwhile on Amtrak unresponsive HVAC controls, busted toilet systems, and broken electrical connections are all part of the standard operation, at least in my experience. Trying to imagine Amtrak staff maintaining premium electronic seats and modern AVOD systems makes my head hurt. Sorry but your post reads more like false equivalency to me.
 
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Devil's Advocate said:
Major AC failure happens all the time in the passenger aviation world? I know you fly a lot more than I ever have or could, but out of hundreds of flights I've only ever flown one single aircraft with a broken AC system. In fact it was so incredibly rare that I didn't even believe it at first. Exactly one aircraft out of hundreds and it wasn't even completely broken. It was just too hot to be comfortable for the hour or two we were up in the air. During our time on the ground cool air was provided by the airport facilities. Honestly, I have no problems with odds like that. Meanwhile on Amtrak unresponsive HVAC controls, busted toilet systems, and broken electrical connections are all part of the standard operation, at least in my experience. Trying to imagine Amtrak staff maintaining premium electronic seats and modern AVOD systems makes my head hurt. Sorry but your post reads more like false equivalency to me.
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I never said aircraft A/C systems. I meant any system, small or large. And I've had my fair share of major systems not working when I get to an aircraft too. Some being one of the PACK's (which is the A/C for aircraft). Luckily there are two or more.
 
Airplanes have what is known as a minimum equipment list. Certain things must work or the plane can not be dispatched, or limitations may be placed on its operation. It is eye opening to see just how much stuff can be non working and the plane can still go, because these lists are safety related, not comfort related. . There are those that the manufacturer and FAA agree on, and some airlines may have stricter policies. Unsafe and uncomfortable are 2 different things. Ever been on a full plane with a restroom shutdown?
 
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