Just an idea

[had8ley]

Over the years I've come to know quite a few Amtrak employees. I've been fortunate enough to be able to communicate with them both on board and after riding. Why couldn't we make a list of the On Board Service Managers phone numbers or e-mails?; I'm sure some of the complaints that are detoured to customer service never reach the proper person nor in an appropriate time frame. There are some managers that really care to know just what is going on while the wheels are rolling on their trains.

 

[rrdude]

Over the years I've come to know quite a few Amtrak employees. I've been fortunate enough to be able to communicate with them both on board and after riding. Why couldn't we make a list of the On Board Service Managers phone numbers or e-mails?; I'm sure some of the complaints that are detoured to customer service never reach the proper person nor in an appropriate time frame. There are some managers that really care to know just what is going on while the wheels are rolling on their trains.

I'm sure, (OK, I "guess") some would object to the phone part, but I can't think of someone who would get ticked off at email, of course the best situation would be to have that individual's consent, which I'm guessing you already would get B4 posting.

I think it's a great idea, some may argue it ties this "unofficial" board to the "official" Amtrak. Hogwash. I think that would be a good place to launch AU's (or whomever steps up to the plate to do it) "Amtrak Travelers Amtrak Employee of the Year" award too...........

 

[Guest]

I would fear that so very a public publishing of their names, numbers, and email addresses would be more of a punishment.

 

[Guest]

There are some managers that really care to know just what is going on while the wheels are rolling on their trains.

Would they not be welcomed here, to discretely read thru these threads, and always have the option to use private messaging if they wanted/needed to contact a member/customer?

 

[Ryan]

I think that they certainly would be, but I'm not sure if they'd take the time out of their day to see if there is anything of interest.

 

[had8ley]

I think that they certainly would be, but I'm not sure if they'd take the time out of their day to see if there is anything of interest.

Excellent point Ryan...I can only add that Amtrak is in the customer service business~ they create or manufacture nothing. That said, I would hope that any qualified person worth his/her salt would be open to at least e-mails about their service they provide to the tax paying public that is subsidizing their pay check.I've never, ever, seen; or should I say not seen, so few managers who are in charge but are rarely seen riding the trains they are responsible for.

 

[Guest]

Don't we already have one here?

Amtrak Lead American Notification Boardmember or A.L.A.N.B. :giggle:

 

[haolerider]

I think that they certainly would be, but I'm not sure if they'd take the time out of their day to see if there is anything of interest.

Excellent point Ryan...I can only add that Amtrak is in the customer service business~ they create or manufacture nothing. That said, I would hope that any qualified person worth his/her salt would be open to at least e-mails about their service they provide to the tax paying public that is subsidizing their pay check.I've never, ever, seen; or should I say not seen, so few managers who are in charge but are rarely seen riding the trains they are responsible for.

I am not sure any of the OBS Managers I know would like to have their e-mail addresses of phone numbers listed on a public forum. Even with a "safe" listing who is to say that someone would not make this list public. While some people complain that Customer Service does not respond quickly or adaquately, the OBS managers are generally not empowered to act to provide a travel voucher or any other compensation and they would just refer the email to the Customer Service department. If concerned OBS Managers or other Amtrak employees are interested in joining this board, they can be encouraged to monitor the various postings. If any board members are in contact with Amtrak employees, I would encourage you to give them the URL and let them make up their own minds about joining/monitoring.

 

[Ryan]

On a somewhat related note (and apologies to Jay for the misdirect), how does one become an OBS manager? Are they generally promoted from within, or hired in? I've got to think that it's got to be one of the better jobs out there.

 

[had8ley]

I think that they certainly would be, but I'm not sure if they'd take the time out of their day to see if there is anything of interest.

Excellent point Ryan...I can only add that Amtrak is in the customer service business~ they create or manufacture nothing. That said, I would hope that any qualified person worth his/her salt would be open to at least e-mails about their service they provide to the tax paying public that is subsidizing their pay check.I've never, ever, seen; or should I say not seen, so few managers who are in charge but are rarely seen riding the trains they are responsible for.

I am not sure any of the OBS Managers I know would like to have their e-mail addresses of phone numbers listed on a public forum. Even with a "safe" listing who is to say that someone would not make this list public. While some people complain that Customer Service does not respond quickly or adaquately, the OBS managers are generally not empowered to act to provide a travel voucher or any other compensation and they would just refer the email to the Customer Service department. If concerned OBS Managers or other Amtrak employees are interested in joining this board, they can be encouraged to monitor the various postings. If any board members are in contact with Amtrak employees, I would encourage you to give them the URL and let them make up their own minds about joining/monitoring.

I'm just not sure we are on the same page here. My intention was not directed towards vouchers but customer service and satisfaction. And "just referring" the letter to another department is a complete dereliction of duty if the customer is trying to communicate to an OBS manager whose train s/he is responsible for. Just where does Customer Service send the complaints to? I'm certain the OBS manager is in the mix and implying otherwise is just passing the buck which happens way too often at Amtrak.

 

[Guest]

I thought CS reported complaints onto senior management, who (hopefully) are looking for overall trends, and will (hopefully) address those. In other words, isolated incidents while a problem for a specific passenger might not warrant any general changes in procedures.

 

[rrdude]

P.C., P.C., P.C., everyone is so "concerned"about what the OBS or what Amtrak will say / do.

Have we all lost our balls? (for females, "nerve" is a good substitute) JUST DO IT. Shoot first and ask questions later.

What's the "worst" that could happen?

We are trying to help make Amtrak better, in our small, insignificant way. I think listing CS / OBS email addresses, (for those who want them posted) and rewarding those Amtrak employees who go above-and-beyond their duties day in and day out, should be a no-brainer.

I do suspect that some on this forum have to "protect" the relationships that they have with Amtrak, that's understandable, and to be respected.

But if it simply requires a LINK on this forum, to go to another hosted site that shows the email addresses, (that would not be the preferred method tho, it should be ON this forum) how hard could that be? Virtually anyone with a broadband connection has hosting included with their broadband package.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I'm not sure I follow. Publishing a list online without any safeguards seems a little risky. Giving out information selectively might work but most of the time when people come to AU describing a big problem with Amtrak nobody believes it ever happened. So basically we'd just be creating a list that would rarely if ever be used and everything just gets cancelled out. The thing that always surprises me is that I don't think we have a FAQ yet. That might do more good than a list of contacts we never hand out.

 

[Grandpa D]

I'm not sure I follow. Publishing a list online without any safeguards seems a little risky.

Very risky. Spam bots constantly prowl the web, scraping email addresses from web pages and adding them to spam lists. You run the risk of alienating those whose email addresses you post on line. Doesn't sound like the thing to do with OBS Managers.

 

[MrFSS]

The thing that always surprises me is that I don't think we have a FAQ yet. That might do more good than a list of contacts we never hand out.

We do have a FAQ section.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

We do have a FAQ section.

Ah, my bad. I was thinking of a single document though. A full spectrum first-timer's document that can be downloaded instead of requiring network access. Maybe it's time to start building one.

 

[haolerider]

I'm not sure I follow. Publishing a list online without any safeguards seems a little risky. Giving out information selectively might work but most of the time when people come to AU describing a big problem with Amtrak nobody believes it ever happened. So basically we'd just be creating a list that would rarely if ever be used and everything just gets cancelled out. The thing that always surprises me is that I don't think we have a FAQ yet. That might do more good than a list of contacts we never hand out.

I cannot imagine any OBS manager I know that would want their email address posted on this site. As I have said before, if they are interested, they can monitor this board and respond appropriately to whatever concern there is. Amtrak has a Customer Service department and when a passenger complains about a specific train, crew, route, etc. that complaint does not just go to the senior management for trend analysis, it eventually finds its way to the OBS manager responsible for that particular train. They then investigate and respond. I doubt very seriously if Amtrak would find any value in this board posting the emails of any OBS manager. If a passenger with a problem complained directly to an OBS manager and if that manager decided he/she did not want to do anything, then there is a completely unhappy passenger with no way to resolve their problem.

As far as this board helping Amtrak, in my humble opinion, we can all help Amtrak by being "brand evangelists" and getting the word out to those potential passengers who don't have a clue about Amtrak. That is a full time job in and of itself. This board provides a great service to new passengers, existing passengers and potential passengers and does not need to get involved in becoming a Customer Service filter for Amtrak.

 

[had8ley]

I'm not sure I follow. Publishing a list online without any safeguards seems a little risky. Giving out information selectively might work but most of the time when people come to AU describing a big problem with Amtrak nobody believes it ever happened. So basically we'd just be creating a list that would rarely if ever be used and everything just gets cancelled out. The thing that always surprises me is that I don't think we have a FAQ yet. That might do more good than a list of contacts we never hand out.

I cannot imagine any OBS manager I know that would want their email address posted on this site.

Any legitimate reason why we can't e-mail Amtrak managers? I can e-mail all 100 Senators and all 435 representatives that oversee Amtrak but can't communicate with those that are supposed to make the wheels turn ??? :unsure:

Just for the record I feel that Anthony and Alan have done an excellent job in promoting Amtrak just by creating this site. There are few, if any, questions that go unanswered by someone in the know on this site for anyone who asks.

 

[jimhudson]

Think Jay is right, what's to hide? These guys are responsible for the trains on the routes that we all ride, they are getting a check from us, persoanl e-mail is not Work e-mail, if I had a Customer service position I'd sure want to know what is really going on from the Customers, not the flunkies and yes men on my staff, offices kill! They need to be out there on the trains and getting feedback from passengers, not a system! Jim

 

[Guest]

Members of Congress have offices and staff dedicated to communicating with constituents and never actually read your emails personally.

Amtrak already had a system in place to deal with passenger service issues and communications called Customer Relations.

 

[haolerider]

Think Jay is right, what's to hide? These guys are responsible for the trains on the routes that we all ride, they are getting a check from us, persoanl e-mail is not Work e-mail, if I had a Customer service position I'd sure want to know what is really going on from the Customers, not the flunkies and yes men on my staff, offices kill! They need to be out there on the trains and getting feedback from passengers, not a system! Jim

You can certainly email OBS managers, if you have their email addresses. Who is going to get those for you? The OBS managers who are willing to give you their personal email addresses are probably not the ones who need to be motivated to respond to passenger service issues. I seriously doubt if Amtrak is going to provide the email addresses any more than Delta or American Airlines would provide individual email addresses for their staff. The fact that someone thinks that because you are a taxpayer and Amtrak gets money from the government means that you can control what happens in the company is naive. I also agree that OBS managers need to be out on the trains, but neither you nor I have the ability to control their scope of work.

 

[rrdude]

Members of Congress have offices and staff dedicated to communicating with constituents and never actually read your emails personally.

Amtrak already had a system in place to deal with passenger service issues and communications called Customer Relations.

Yea, "How's that working for ya?"

 

[rrdude]

I'm not sure I follow. Publishing a list online without any safeguards seems a little risky. Giving out information selectively might work but most of the time when people come to AU describing a big problem with Amtrak nobody believes it ever happened. So basically we'd just be creating a list that would rarely if ever be used and everything just gets cancelled out. The thing that always surprises me is that I don't think we have a FAQ yet. That might do more good than a list of contacts we never hand out.

I cannot imagine any OBS manager I know ..................................

...........As far as this board helping Amtrak, in my humble opinion, we can all help Amtrak by being "brand evangelists" and getting the word out to those potential passengers who don't have a clue about Amtrak. That is a full time job in and of itself. This board provides a great service to new passengers, existing passengers and potential passengers and does not need to get involved in becoming a Customer Service filter for Amtrak..............

Baloney, I disagree. That is EXACTLY what this board, or SOME board, needs to do. Outside, independent evaluations, and interface with CS reps is EXACTLY what Amtrak needs, but DOES NOT WANT.
No company does. EVERY company would like to "police themselves". But if they all did a great job of that, why do we have Mystery Shopping companies, (albeit, hired BY the companies themselves) Independent rating and award companies (Think J.D. Power) Epinions, A.M. Best Company, Angie's List, ("Traveler's List"?) SkyTrax, Moodys, etc.

I just think that a 3rd party entity, (could be AU, could be NARP, but both have "something to lose" If Amtrak wants to "shut them out" because they don't like what they are doing) could, in the long run, play a significant role in improving OBS at Amtrak.......

 

[haolerider]

I'm not sure I follow. Publishing a list online without any safeguards seems a little risky. Giving out information selectively might work but most of the time when people come to AU describing a big problem with Amtrak nobody believes it ever happened. So basically we'd just be creating a list that would rarely if ever be used and everything just gets cancelled out. The thing that always surprises me is that I don't think we have a FAQ yet. That might do more good than a list of contacts we never hand out.

I cannot imagine any OBS manager I know ..................................

...........As far as this board helping Amtrak, in my humble opinion, we can all help Amtrak by being "brand evangelists" and getting the word out to those potential passengers who don't have a clue about Amtrak. That is a full time job in and of itself. This board provides a great service to new passengers, existing passengers and potential passengers and does not need to get involved in becoming a Customer Service filter for Amtrak..............

Baloney, I disagree. That is EXACTLY what this board, or SOME board, needs to do. Outside, independent evaluations, and interface with CS reps is EXACTLY what Amtrak needs, but DOES NOT WANT.
No company does. EVERY company would like to "police themselves". But if they all did a great job of that, why do we have Mystery Shopping companies, (albeit, hired BY the companies themselves) Independent rating and award companies (Think J.D. Power) Epinions, A.M. Best Company, Angie's List, ("Traveler's List"?) SkyTrax, Moodys, etc.

I just think that a 3rd party entity, (could be AU, could be NARP, but both have "something to lose" If Amtrak wants to "shut them out" because they don't like what they are doing) could, in the long run, play a significant role in improving OBS at Amtrak.......

I will defer to Anthony, Alan and the other moderators on this board, but I see the board as being informational in nature and not the ultimate problem-solver or evaluator of Amtrak. If you want to establish an entity that evaluates Amtrak, more power to you, but companies like J.D. Power and the others you mentioned have been around a long time and I don't see them getting heavily involved in rating Amtrak or attempting to "fix" their problems.

As I have mentioned many times in the past, Amtrak has an independent Adivsory Board, made up of volunteers who ride trains at their own expense and meet on a regular basis to provide feedback to Amtrak. They solicit members on a regular basis and perhaps you need to become one of their Advisory Board members and provide your input and feedback on Customer Service and other issues. It's a lot easier to make statements on this board about changing a company than it is to actually take an active role in working on the problems. Amtrak pays a lot of attention to the Advisory Board. They also select outstanding Amtrak employees for recognition and that recognition is priced by the Amtrak on-board staff. One Sleeping Car attendant on the Crescent and City of New Orleans has won once and is always working toward a second recognition.

Also, just in case you are not aware, there are, in fact, Amtrak employees who monitor this board on their own time and take note of issues and pass them on to the appropriate departments and individuals - OBS Managers included!

 

[Pastor Dave]

I guess if I were an OBS manager I would see e-mail as a double-edged sword. Sending an e-mail certainly requires less effort than typing and printing out a letter, addressing an envelope, applying a stamp and putting it in the mail. That scenario would seem to lessen the amount of concerns sent in. On the other hand, an e-mail can be quickly responded to with a reply e-mail. In theory (and I stress "theory") this could result in quicker replies and better customer service. Granted, the OBS managers might have to deal with more minor gripes than major issues, but that is the name of the game in the customer service sector.