July 1st Service Change Recap

[Phil S]

On 58 this morning. Only thing offered for breakfast is the "continental" breakfast. Choice of cereal and drink. That's it.

Oh good ***ing grief. This is disgusting. Is Amtrak trying to make the dining cars lose money? I basically go to the dining car for the omelettes at this point. Without that, what are they offering?

Scrambled eggs. At least they don't taste like plastic cheese, inside some sort of rubber egg wrapping.. Yes, tastes vary. Glad you found something you like! , Cheers, Phil

 

[iPat09]

Now that my trip is just about finished (a little ways outside Longview) I'll post my opinion on the dining service from two different trains.

On the City of New Orleans, I had the jambalaya for dinner, and it couldn't have been anything more than food out of a can. Very little rice included. If I was in coach, I wouldn't be happy paying for that. With breakfast, you choose from 3 cereals, and you get yogurt and bread included. That is it. No eggs, no bacon or sausage, no French toast.

Fast forward to today, and I'm on the Texas Eagle. Dining service was a completely different experience. Steak for dinner, which I thought was very well done. French toast for breakfast, which was also very good.

One thing I noticed. On the CONO, there was one server, but attendants from other cars would come and help with cleanup. On TE, there is one server, but also an assistant who would clean, bring out drinks and sometimes food, while the server took care of seating, ordering, and just about everything else.

Between the two trains, I would say it was a night and day difference.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

In all fairness to the Chicken Bone Express (City of New Orleans) since this cut over to simplified dining is new, we may want to give them a few turns to see if things smooth out and improve. If they do not from what iPat09 has reported, we could be looking at a Terror Train indeed :angry:

 

[Thirdrail7]

Perhaps they will use these experiments as a basis for future contract negotiations?

 

[yarrow]

Perhaps they will use these experiments as a basis for future contract negotiations?

nothing like being a guinea pig

 

[SteveSFL]

The staff on the CONO mentioned that this dining experiment had been done once in the past but was reversed after an avalanche of customer complaints. Does anyone know if this current experiment on the CONO has a designated end date that we may have to suffer through?

Just for fun, I put a photo of Chunky Vegetable Beef soup side-by-side with Amtrak's $25 Beef Short-Ribs in Red Wine Sauce entree from the CONO dinner menu.

 

[rrdude]

The staff on the CONO mentioned that this dining experiment had been done once in the past but was reversed after an avalanche of customer complaints. Does anyone know if this current experiment on the CONO has a designated end date that we may have to suffer through?

I was an OBS during, what I think was the first, "Modified Meal Service" experiment, guessing maybe 1979 or 1980? and it was an UTTER failure. Amtrak was inundated with complaints. We did not go "all the way back", but kept some changes, (fewer waiter/waitresses in the diner, and reduced meal options) It was very, very, hard to serve passengers, that's why I got LSA-Trained, so I didn't have to work the diners anymore.

 

[fillyjonk]

I have a trip on the TE next week, here's hoping the dining car expereince is still as good as iPat09 reported. (The meals I've had on the TE ranged from excellent to extremely meh, including one I would have sent back were it not the "grumpy" crew on the car).

If I can get the steak for dinner and French Toast for breakfast, I'm happy.

One thing I will say about dining car experiences I've had: it seems to depend greatly on the crew. On some trips I've taken, the crew has been efficient and cheerful, and everything was happy and ran smoothly. On others, now, maybe the crew was tired and was coming up on their "days off" but there were times someone from my table had to get up and find a crew member to take our order after we'd been sitting there 15 minutes. Or the crew member would bring stuff out one thing at a time. Or they were kind of cranky with the passengers. I try to be friendly myself and polite but there were a few times I kind of wanted to snap back at a crew member. Not that that would have helped things....

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

The staff on the CONO mentioned that this dining experiment had been done once in the past but was reversed after an avalanche of customer complaints. Does anyone know if this current experiment on the CONO has a designated end date that we may have to suffer through?

Just for fun, I put a photo of Chunky Vegetable Beef soup side-by-side with Amtrak's $25 Beef Short-Ribs in Red Wine Sauce entree from the CONO dinner menu.

Amtrak CONO Food Compare.JPG

It looks like all you need to add is 1 hungry Hound!

 

[SteveSFL]

"It looks like all you need to add is 1 hungry Hound!"

========

Hahaha! I was actually thinking of telling the customer relations guy that it reminded me of canned dog food, but I figured they wouldn't take my complaint seriously.

 

[rrdude]

Seems to me, especially with a new web site update, Amtrak would at least put an asterisk on this description, taken directly off their web site today, regarding the STAR experiment. Sure, when you book the STAR, you get the "warning", but how hard would it be..........

Are meals included with my sleeping accommodations?Yes. Sleeping accommodations are considered "Sleeper Service" accommodations aboard Amtrak. As Sleeper Service passengers, you and your sleeping car companions (up to the maximum passenger capacity for your accommodation) are entitled to receive all regular meals as part of your accommodations

 

[neroden]

On 58 this morning. Only thing offered for breakfast is the "continental" breakfast. Choice of cereal and drink. That's it.

Oh good ***ing grief. This is disgusting. Is Amtrak trying to make the dining cars lose money? I basically go to the dining car for the omelettes at this point. Without that, what are they offering?

Scrambled eggs. At least they don't taste like plastic cheese, inside some sort of rubber egg wrapping.. Yes, tastes vary. Glad you found something you like! , Cheers, Phil

Notice that the scrambled eggs were *also* missing from iPat09's trip.

If I can get the steak for dinner and French Toast for breakfast, I'm happy.

And the French Toast was also missing. So, really, no acceptable breakfast options for any of us.

I suppose the grill could have been broken. Which is pretty unacceptable too.

I think we need to put out a warning that the CONO no longer has actual dining car service. The situation sounds worse than the Cardinal.

 

[jis]

What they are doing on CONO is less honest than what they are doing on the Star IMHO. On the Star they clearly say that there is no dining car service. Of course one could correctly point out that it is much harder to say that there is modified dining car service when there is no dining car I suppose.

 

[SteveSFL]

I don't think it was a matter of the grill being broken on the CONO. I think it is a matter of there being no employee to run the grill. I understand that the chef position has been eliminated, so the other employees just pop the prefab meals in the microwave. The "French toast sticks" or egg entree are just reheat entrees had they even been offered as an alternative to the mandatory continental breakfast.

The free breakfast I had at the Hampton Inn in New Orleans the day before my departure was vastly better than the meal on the CONO the next morning.

 

[peconicstation]

Late as it is, the Amtrak website now has the correct menu posted for the City of New Orleans (and no longer shows a dining car menu for the Silver Star).

Questions have come up about what meals are served on the CONO, and the menu states that Lunch is only served Southbound, and Breakfast is the menu option one-way and just

continental the other.

http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/148/959/City-of-New-Orleans-Dining-Car-Menu-0715.pdf

Ken

 

[yarrow]

Late as it is, the Amtrak website now has the correct menu posted for the City of New Orleans (and no longer shows a dining car menu for the Silver Star).

Questions have come up about what meals are served on the CONO, and the menu states that Lunch is only served Southbound, and Breakfast is the menu option one-way and just

continental the other.

http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/148/959/City-of-New-Orleans-Dining-Car-Menu-0715.pdf

Ken

the menu descriptions sound better than the pics in an above post and word of mouth make the food sound. i'll go with the pictures and word of mouth reports. find out for myself in early october

 

[ohle]

From the Amtrak blog:

A gentleman going from West Palm Beach to Orlando said he came south in coach, but it was so filthy he upgraded to a sleeper on the return trip. The Raleigh to D.C. woman did not know there wasn’t any diner or food service provided—she had not been notified. Most said they would be willing to pay more to have a diner on the train.

Funny how Amtrak didn't consider that option.

Instead of dumping the dining car, Amtrak could've made sleeping car passengers pay for their own meals.

Before herding passengers ( note I said "passengers," not ONLY sleeper patrons ) into the lounge car to wait in annoying long lines for the crummy "food," served by an impatient & overworked attendant, it should've beefed-up that service by adding another attendant ( at a minimum ) & redesigned the food offerings, offering more selections instead of the lousy junk food it sells that isn't even competitive with most fast-food joints.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

From the Amtrak blog:

A gentleman going from West Palm Beach to Orlando said he came south in coach, but it was so filthy he upgraded to a sleeper on the return trip. The Raleigh to D.C. woman did not know there wasn’t any diner or food service provided—she had not been notified. Most said they would be willing to pay more to have a diner on the train.

Funny how Amtrak didn't consider that option.

Instead of dumping the dining car, Amtrak could've made sleeping car passengers pay for their own meals.

Before herding passengers ( note I said "passengers," not ONLY sleeper patrons ) into the lounge car to wait in annoying long lines for the crummy "food," it should've beefed-up that service by adding another attendant ( at a minimum ) & redesigned the food offerings, offering more selections instead of the lousy junk food it sells that isn't even competitive with most fast-food joints.

Some here believe the diner was removed from the Silver Star due to the fact that they are due for maintenance and rather spend the money on maintenance for cars that are going to be retired <soon> when the new diners come on board, they decided to remove the oldest/worse in shape diners now and did so using the Silvers since the two trains run almost the same route.

 

[ohle]

If it was a temporary move, this seems like an ill-conceived plan.

It's causing more harm than good.

Though Tampa is my closest station, am glad I booked my upcoming mid-Sept. trip on 98... Routing dictated as 91 doesn't go to Charleston.

Am traveling to Savannah in January.

I always take Amtrak instead of flying as airfares are uncompetitive.

Will again take 98, though it will be less convenient departing & returning from Winter Haven instead of Tampa, my closest station.
No way am i going to ride coach all day from Savannah @ 4 a.m. to Tampa, arriving after noon, or later, without access to a real meal..

 

[Ryan]

It's causing more harm than good.

I'm fairly certain that we don't have the data available to make that sort of judgement.

 

[ohle]

It's causing more harm than good.

I'm fairly certain that we don't have the data available to make that sort of judgement

This is GOOD?

No "available data?"

You serious?

What about the steep deterioration in the City of New Orleans dining service?

Firing the chef was another boneheaded Amtrak "idea."

The Cafe Lounge car attendant said he has not yet run out of supplies on a run, but the lines can be long, as I saw around 8:00 a.m. The choice for dinner was very limited: two sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, chicken tenders and pizza. There were no salads or soups

On Tuesday for lunch, he was out of a number of items on the menu. People were confused as to where to line up for food orders. There was almost a fight among passengers on who would be served next, until the cafe lounge car attendant told them where to line up.

Just who is Amtrak tryint to serve? The stupid bean-counters or the customers?

You, sir, try riding on a train for nearly 2 days.

Am sure you'll be happy with JUNK FOOD for your meals.

Even the crews hate this garbage.

Some things are common sense.

 

[ohle]

It's clear Amtrak's bozos didn't do their homework & gave the "experiment" little if any serious thought.

They made NO PLANS for alternate food or to improve the lounge car's pathetic offerings.

"Oh, we'll just shove it down their throats. We don't know what riding trains is about.

No one rides trains outside of the NEC, so why care? They will just have to accept it while our 75 VICE PRESIDENTS sit on their thumbs & let the system continue to deteriorate....."

The conductors said they have heard lots of complaints about the lack of a diner from passengers. An attendant said some coach passengers also complained about the lack of a diner. Loss of revenue from coach passengers must be considered during the evaluation.

This test trial on the Silver Star is upsetting many passengers, who will share their story with others and may not ride Amtrak again.

I suggest that in light of the strong negative response, Amtrak cuts back the study period from seven months to three months, which will give the company fewer unhappy customers. I also think a letter or email needs to go out to all passengers who rode sleepers on the Star during the trial period explaining to them why it was done, thanking them for their patience, and telling them when full dining service has been restored.

Agree wholeheartedly with the NARP blog.

Just WHAT were the passengers supposed to eat?

JUNK FOOD?

Did they expect COMPLIMENTS?

A train ain't no airline.

And look how Amtrak treats its workers. The dining car wasn't only for the passengers.

The mass exodus to 98 speaks volumes.

What a piece of dung, Amtrak's "experiment."

It's nothing like that and in no way seeks to "improve" service or boost the train's performance.

 

[jebr]

You, sir, try riding on a train for nearly 2 days.

Am sure you'll be happy with JUNK FOOD for your meals.

26 hours (the longest trip without the Meteor as an alternative...Lakeland, FL to New York, NY) is hardly "nearly two days." If we want to exclude those who have a relatively easy bus connection to the Meteor, the longest trip drops to 21 hours (Miami, FL to Raleigh, NC,) which isn't even a full day.

The crew does have it worse off, though I expect they do get lounge car food in lieu of the normal dining car menu. Convenience store food to be sure, but not the end of the world either.

 

[MikefromCrete]

You have to understand that this experiment is designed to fail. If ridership on the Star declines sharply and complaints pile up from passengers, then Amtrak can go back to Mica and the other congressmen and say, "see, we need good food service or we will lose most of all passengers, that silly directive to make food service profitable just won't work." Of course, if Star ridership remains steady, then we are all in trouble.

The best solution is to find out your congressman's voting record on Amtrak. If he/she is a constant opponent of passenger rail, such as Mica in Florida or Jeff Denham in California, then do everything possible to defeat them at the polls. That kind of action will catch everybody's attention.

 

[ohle]

Crummy food.

It's telling how Amtrak's brain trust didn't even consider upgrading the lounge car's JUNK FOOD offerings.

A successful business doesn't kick its customers in the shin.