Mr Boardman

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billthebarn

Train Attendant
Joined
Jun 11, 2013
Messages
94
When he recently traveled to Colorado, he traveled in private cars. I believe he should ride as a regular passenger does. It may be a good idea to occasionally travel incognito. For obvious reasons.
 
Why? What exactly would Mr Boardman learn, that he doesn't already know?

Would you rather Mr Boardman have a fleet of private jets at his disposal?
 
Last year, my favorite SCA, Leo, informed me that Mr. Boardman has traveled on the Silver Meteor in a "regular" sleeping car (in a bedroom).
 
pennyk said:
Last year, my favorite SCA, Leo, informed me that Mr. Boardman has traveled on the Silver Meteor in a "regular" sleeping car (in a bedroom).
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Do you mean the bald guy who works the cafe in the Lounge Cars?
 
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FriskyFL said:
Incognito? Like "Undercover Boss" on tv?
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Leo knew who he was, so I assume it was not incognito. Leo works trains 92 and 97 and is usually in the 10 sleeper car. Several AU members have had Leo as their SCA, and I think we all agree, that he is great. Leo is not bald.
 
Most employees would recognize Mr. Boardman on sight. It would be near impossible for him to travel incognito on an Amtrak train.

Heck, a few years back I was riding on the Capitol Limited and then Amtrak President Alex Kummant's wife was traveling on the train. Not the President of Amtrak, but his wife. And every employee knew that she was on that train, even though many passengers didn't know.

And just about two years ago I was riding the LSL and Brian Gallagher, Mr. Boardman's right hand man, was on that train. And again, every employee knew it and they were all on the best behavior.
 
AlanB said:
Most employees would recognize Mr. Boardman on sight. It would be near impossible for him to travel incognito on an Amtrak train.
Heck, a few years back I was riding on the Capitol Limited and then Amtrak President Alex Kummant's wife was traveling on the train. Not the President of Amtrak, but his wife. And every employee knew that she was on that train, even though many passengers didn't know.

And just about two years ago I was riding the LSL and Brian Gallagher, Mr. Boardman's right hand man, was on that train. And again, every employee knew it and they were all on the best behavior.
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Alan attracts Amtrak VIP's! :p
 
I would have liked him on some of Superliner trips I have taken. In a roomette so that he would be forced to use the pooped-up toilets to which we were subjected.

Then again, if management does ride the Superliners, they are aware of the problem. Maybe they do not care. Maybe they are unable to do anything about it. Most of Amtrak's employees are good. There are bad ones. Why are they kept? I'd like to see Amtrak get a whole lot better.

What does Viarail do differently? Maybe management should ride the trains up there. Find out how they hire. Find out how they get rid of "bad apples". Think about it...if you owned a restaurant, would you tolerate a rude waiter or waitress? Why does amtrak? Is it the union? Like the old song...the beat goes on.

When someone has a bad experience he is told to call customer service to complain and they will send a voucher. It's become routine.

I am aware there are many dedicated rail fans here. Things will not change if we do not speak up. I have seen a better run system. We can learn a lot from Viarail.
 
Jis,

From reading this forum, I know you have traveled in many parts of the world. I have only ridden trains in North America. I would like to see Amtrak come up to the standards of VIA.. As a reader of this forum, you know VIA gets better reviews. VIA is the only model I have to compare. I've never had a rude service provider nor an incompetant telephone person. When I bought North American Railpasses years ago, I ended up calling VIA's Moncton office for my accomodations. They seem to know what they were doing as opposed to Amtrak people who gave different answers to the same questions. Reminds me of the advice here when you call AGR...."just hang up and call back to speak with a different agent."

I only ride long distance. I do it for pleasure. I've never taken an Acela. From what I've read, the NEC seems to be efficient.

Why is it not OK to compare Amtrak to VIA? I use them both to get to the west coast? Have you ridden VIA? Have you ever met a rude VIA employee?
 
Because Via is running a handful of tourist trains embarking on land cruises and cutting routes left and right.

Amtrak actually provides a useful transportation service - two completely different kettles of fish.
 
There is no exact model of Amtrak. Of course, there are differences. There are also similarites. Amtrak and VIA both have service employees on the trains to take care of their customers. That is what I'm comparing.

I know that VIA cut the route on Vancouver Island....it was averaging nine passengers a day. I'm not aware of other cuts. VIA is faced with a lot of the challenges as Amtrak. They have a NEC-like corridor...Montreal to Toronto.

Have you ridden VIA, Ryan? Did you run into any rude VIA employees? I would think that if there is a better way to screen employees in the hiring process or a better way of ousting a "bad apple", you would be all for it.
 
Bill,

VIA just implemented many other cuts to service, including some corridor operations as well as reducing the frequency of the Ocean. They are losing money faster than Amtrak is, which I believe is why Jishnu said what he did. And yes, I have met bad VIA Rail employees.

I once had a BC attendant, what we call first class on Acela, who was quite rude to me and furthermore proceeded to move my computer bag without my permission from the front luggage rack where it fit nicely to the overhead compartment where he had to jam it in and in the process broke something in my bag and dislodged my water bottle. I never even noticed my water was missing until later in my hotel room and I didn't discover the broken flashlight until the next day.

He was by far the worst IMHO, I specifically tipped his co-worker and told her why I was giving her the money and that if I had my way, she wouldn't have to share it with him. And that was just based upon his attitude and his moving my stuff around without permission. Again, I didn't discover the damage and missing water bottle until much later.

But I've also had a VIA Rail Redcap essentially extort money from me. I pulled out what is considered a normal tip for moving bags in most places and he looked at me and said something like "I saw what you took out and that's not enough if you want my help." And while he wasn't downright rude, I once had a station worker who was less than polite to me as he ordered me off the platform alongside the Canadian at a stop in Jasper IIRC.

That said, I do agree that many VIA Rail employees do seem to be better and more willing to go the extra mile as compared to Amtrak.
 
Mr. Boardman travelling incognito would be somewhat difficult, I would imagine. He isn't called Big Joe for nothing- the man is a mountain, and somewhat easy to recognize.
 
NE933 said:
Green Maned Lion said:
Mr. Boardman travelling incognito would be somewhat difficult, I would imagine. He isn't called Big Joe for nothing- the man is a mountain, and somewhat easy to recognize.
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Big man with a big mustache.

Hey, Lion, how the heck are you?! Haven't seen you on here in a long time.
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Ditto, Welcome Back Lion! ;)
 
Alan,

Thanks for weighing in. Once again the voice of reason. I didn't know trips on the Ocean were reduced. I suppose that is what Ryan was referring to when he mentioned "cutting routes left and right". During the winter, the Canadian was reduced to two weekly trips. Sorry you had a bad experience on VIA. In fact, I'm sorry anyone has a bad experience on Amtrak or VIA. Why do we tolerate?

Many forum members know a whole lot more than I do. But we all know rudeness.

Jis is a very intelligent guy. So is Ryan. We could compare them. Does that make them identical? No, of course not. Jis is small; Ryan is big. I'm sure there are a lot of differences. They also have things in common...(hint)..trains.

The Toronto-Montral corridor in Canada is the most populated area of that country. Where many trains travel on a daily basis. It's also the place where VIA is most profitable. This is why I compared it to the NEC. I'll listen to any comments on why Jis thinks that the Canadian corridor is more like the once-a-day Empire Builder. He may be correct. I just don't see it

Are we supposed to be Amtrak cheerleaders here?
 
Good to see someone (else) who feels it is Amtrak "fans" who shud demand more, and hold Amtrak more accountable. If we (who care more than the "average traveling Joe") put up with and "accept" rudeness, sub-par food prep, dirty equipment, yada, yada, yada, then SHAME ON US.

However, I think the majority of posters on this forum DO write a letter, or call to complain when they experience sub-par service.

As for the "Amtrak Apologist", and u kno who u r, well wudn't mind if they didn't look next time they X the tracks.......
 
Does Amtrak engage, or hire, the equivalent of "mystery shoppers"? That is, firms that are hired to travel on board, and report back their unbiased, professional experience?
 
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