darien-l
OBS Chief
I often heard it stated on this forum that Amtrak tickets are just like cash, and once lost, they can't be replaced. Fortunately, it was not something I've ever experienced myself. On a recent trip, though, two members of our party lost their tickets. Long story short, they managed to get their lost tickets replaced, thanks to probably equal amounts of luck, perseverance, and an Amtrak agent who went above and beyond her call of duty. Here are the details:
A few weeks ago, I went on a backpack in Glacier National Park with a bunch of my friends and relatives. A few days into the backpack, my brother approached me with a panic-stricken look on his face, and said that he lost his and his girlfriends' return Amtrak tickets, which he, for some reason, brought with him instead of leaving them at the hotel. On Friday afternoon, when we returned to civilization, we commandeered two pay phones by Lake McDonald Lodge, with me calling Lost and Found, on the off chance someone found the tickets and turned them in, and my brother calling AGR. After being on the phone for more than an hour, he hung up and told me that he spoke with both AGR and Amtrak Customer Service, and they couldn't do anything for him. Upon further questioning, it turned out that AGR did offer to cancel his reservation and issue new tickets, but he declined that (very generous!) offer because (i) West Glacier was an unstaffed station and he thought he wouldn't be able to get his tickets anyhow, and (ii) the AGR agent warned him that someone might grab his rooms during the cancel-and-reissue process. By then, AGR offices have closed for the weekend, so calling them back was no longer an option.
So, we all get on the Empire Builder in West Glacier, headed to Portland. My brother's girlfriend has absolutely no tickets, but my brother has a ticket for the WGL-PDX leg because I accidentally double-booked him in one of the other bedrooms. The conductor walks into their room, and they tell him that they lost their tickets on a backpack in Glacier. He is very sympathetic, but informs them that he nonetheless needs their tickets, and advises them to get off at the next station (Whitefish, MT), where the train has a long stop, and get them. In the meantime, he adds, they are welcome to go have dinner in the dining car.
The train rolls into Whitefish in the middle of dinner, and my brother and his girlfriend go off into the station. When they return, about 15 minutes later, both are visibly upset. The ticket agent, according to them, was "a total b*tch." She gave them the standard line that tickets are like cash, chastised them for losing them, and implied that they might "find" them and turn them in for a refund. When they countered that the tickets were AGR, and thus 100% non-refundable once travel began, she said she never heard of such a thing. She then informed both of them that they have to buy new tickets, on the spot, all the way to LA (their final destination), and that the total would be over $900. Otherwise, she added, she would not let them back on the train. This was apparently after my brother told her that he already had a ticket for the WGL-PDX leg. Eventually, after much arguing, the ticket agent relented somewhat but still would not let them leave until my brother's girlfriend purchased a coach ticket to PDX ($150, must have been the highest bucket).
We then observed, from the windows of the dining car, the conductor having a lengthy conversation with the ticket agent lady. A few minutes later, the conductor walked into the dining car. I froze, fully expecting him to inform my companions that they have to vacate their room, for which they have no tickets. Instead, he just smiled, nodded in their direction, and kept walking. For the rest of the trip to Portland, my brother and his girlfriend were expecting him, at the very least, to come over and lift their tickets. To their great surprise and relief, he never did, apparently taking pity on them.
After arriving in Portland, we went to the Metropolitan Lounge, figuring that the agent there would probably have more time and inclination to help my two unfortunate companions than the regular ticket staff. However, he said that his capabilities were pretty basic, and referred them to one of the regular ticket agents. According to my brother, she was "absolutely amazing": knowledgeable, professional, compassionate, and dedicated. She took one look at their reservation printout and said "Ah, Amtrak Guest Rewards! These tickets have no value after departure anyway. Oh, but Guest Rewards is closed on weekends, isn't it? Well, that's going to make this interesting!" She seemed to welcome the challenge, and started making lots and lots of phone calls. According to my brother, it appeared that she was going higher and higher in the Amtrak chain of command, trying to get someone with the power to override the system. This went on for over an hour (!), until she finally succeeded in her task, and handed them two tickets to LAX, in their original roomette! She then proceeded to refund the unused WGL-PDX coach ticket. Much happiness ensued, and we all went out to buy her a nice present.
So, I guess the point of the story is that if you lose your ticket, don't automatically assume that all is lost. The outcome may have been different with a paid ticket, as opposed to AGR, but I got the sense that there are ways to override the system and get tickets re-issued.
A few weeks ago, I went on a backpack in Glacier National Park with a bunch of my friends and relatives. A few days into the backpack, my brother approached me with a panic-stricken look on his face, and said that he lost his and his girlfriends' return Amtrak tickets, which he, for some reason, brought with him instead of leaving them at the hotel. On Friday afternoon, when we returned to civilization, we commandeered two pay phones by Lake McDonald Lodge, with me calling Lost and Found, on the off chance someone found the tickets and turned them in, and my brother calling AGR. After being on the phone for more than an hour, he hung up and told me that he spoke with both AGR and Amtrak Customer Service, and they couldn't do anything for him. Upon further questioning, it turned out that AGR did offer to cancel his reservation and issue new tickets, but he declined that (very generous!) offer because (i) West Glacier was an unstaffed station and he thought he wouldn't be able to get his tickets anyhow, and (ii) the AGR agent warned him that someone might grab his rooms during the cancel-and-reissue process. By then, AGR offices have closed for the weekend, so calling them back was no longer an option.
So, we all get on the Empire Builder in West Glacier, headed to Portland. My brother's girlfriend has absolutely no tickets, but my brother has a ticket for the WGL-PDX leg because I accidentally double-booked him in one of the other bedrooms. The conductor walks into their room, and they tell him that they lost their tickets on a backpack in Glacier. He is very sympathetic, but informs them that he nonetheless needs their tickets, and advises them to get off at the next station (Whitefish, MT), where the train has a long stop, and get them. In the meantime, he adds, they are welcome to go have dinner in the dining car.
The train rolls into Whitefish in the middle of dinner, and my brother and his girlfriend go off into the station. When they return, about 15 minutes later, both are visibly upset. The ticket agent, according to them, was "a total b*tch." She gave them the standard line that tickets are like cash, chastised them for losing them, and implied that they might "find" them and turn them in for a refund. When they countered that the tickets were AGR, and thus 100% non-refundable once travel began, she said she never heard of such a thing. She then informed both of them that they have to buy new tickets, on the spot, all the way to LA (their final destination), and that the total would be over $900. Otherwise, she added, she would not let them back on the train. This was apparently after my brother told her that he already had a ticket for the WGL-PDX leg. Eventually, after much arguing, the ticket agent relented somewhat but still would not let them leave until my brother's girlfriend purchased a coach ticket to PDX ($150, must have been the highest bucket).
We then observed, from the windows of the dining car, the conductor having a lengthy conversation with the ticket agent lady. A few minutes later, the conductor walked into the dining car. I froze, fully expecting him to inform my companions that they have to vacate their room, for which they have no tickets. Instead, he just smiled, nodded in their direction, and kept walking. For the rest of the trip to Portland, my brother and his girlfriend were expecting him, at the very least, to come over and lift their tickets. To their great surprise and relief, he never did, apparently taking pity on them.
After arriving in Portland, we went to the Metropolitan Lounge, figuring that the agent there would probably have more time and inclination to help my two unfortunate companions than the regular ticket staff. However, he said that his capabilities were pretty basic, and referred them to one of the regular ticket agents. According to my brother, she was "absolutely amazing": knowledgeable, professional, compassionate, and dedicated. She took one look at their reservation printout and said "Ah, Amtrak Guest Rewards! These tickets have no value after departure anyway. Oh, but Guest Rewards is closed on weekends, isn't it? Well, that's going to make this interesting!" She seemed to welcome the challenge, and started making lots and lots of phone calls. According to my brother, it appeared that she was going higher and higher in the Amtrak chain of command, trying to get someone with the power to override the system. This went on for over an hour (!), until she finally succeeded in her task, and handed them two tickets to LAX, in their original roomette! She then proceeded to refund the unused WGL-PDX coach ticket. Much happiness ensued, and we all went out to buy her a nice present.
So, I guess the point of the story is that if you lose your ticket, don't automatically assume that all is lost. The outcome may have been different with a paid ticket, as opposed to AGR, but I got the sense that there are ways to override the system and get tickets re-issued.
