New Feedback System:

[Railbender]

From the Amtrak website:

February 12, 2007

Amtrak Launches "How Was Your Trip?" Sweepstakes

Trip Rating Program Offers Chance for Free Travel

WASHINGTON - Amtrak has instituted a passenger survey program to gather near real-time passenger feedback from its customers in order to provide better service. Completed surveys automatically enter the participant in a sweepstakes to win $500 in free travel.

Effective Feb. 12, 2007, the Trip Ratings Program is being offered on Acela Express trains; all Regional trains; Keystone trains between New York City and Philadelphia; the Vermonter; and all long-distance trains [listed below]. Each survey entry must be completed within three days of arrival at the passenger's destination on each train traveled. Passengers traveling multiple-leg trips may complete a survey for each leg of the journey.

The surveys, which take about five minutes to complete, may be accessed online at www.amtraksurvey.com or by telephone, toll-free, at 1-866-950-TRIP. To take the survey, customers will need to have their ticket stub, reservation number and/or the train number and their date of departure.

Passengers completing the Amtrak Trip Ratings Program will automatically be entered in the survey sweepstakes that will award 10 winners $500 worth of Amtrak travel. According to sweepstakes regulations, no travel is required, nor is there any obligation to complete a survey to enter the sweepstakes.

Long-Distance Trains

Auto Train

California Zephyr

Capitol Limited

Cardinal

City of New Orleans

Coast Starlight

Crescent

Empire Builder

Lake Shore Limited

Palmetto

Silver Meteor

Silver Star

Southwest Chief

Sunset Limited

Texas Eagle

I will be very curious to see how this information is used and what improvements it yields! Sounds like a great idea to me! Be sure to save your ticket stub and respond!

 

[AmtrakWPK]

And, please, whoever takes one of those surveys, leave a followup here with the content of the survey (i.e., what questions were asked in the survey).

 

[DaveKCMO]

this is awesome. just in time for my cross-country trip! it will be interesting to see if the questions are the same. thank god amtrak is taking a cue from other industries (best buy and target do this direct surveying all the time).

 

[Sam Damon]

This sounds noticeably like surveys fast food restaurant chains use (think KFC, LJS, McD's, BK).

As I learned in the military though, "obstacles are useless unless covered by fire." If Amtrak management will not use the survey data to make positive changes, there's little point in taking surveys to begin with.

I'd like to think positive changes will come out of this, though.

 

[frj1983]

Well it does say: "In order to provide better service."

It would be very interesting to know what kind of questions are being asked???

 

[transit54]

I'll take it after my ride on the Cardinal on Sun/Mon and post the questions on here, unless someone beats me to it.

 

[The Metropolitan]

Well, today I completed the survey for my weekend trips on 29 and 50. The survey starts by asking which train number you were aboard, date and state of departure, reservation number, and state in which you travelled to, as well as the class of service to which you were booked.

From there, it asks all quantitative questions, first regarding OTP and crew notification on delays, friendliness and helpfulness of crew, quality and selection of your dining services, and cleanliness of the train (seat, windows, restrooms).

As I mentioned, the questions were all quantitative (very pleased, pleased, neither, unpleased, very unpleased) and did not allow your own comments to be entered regarding the ride and what could be done to improve it. Likewise, no questions were asked on the actual quality of the ride (rough track, etc.) or the stations, only the onboard accomodations). It does however allow you to volunteer for future focus groups.

I tried to be impartial knowing what Amtrak is sometimes against in ranking my rides on the Capitol Limited and Cardinal, but given my experience, and the rather uninformative way one of our Cardinal crews handled one of our breakdowns, the Capitol won hands down on nearly all questions.

 

[Railbender]

Well, today I completed the survey for my weekend trips on 29 and 50. The survey starts by asking which train number you were aboard, date and state of departure, reservation number, and state in which you travelled to, as well as the class of service to which you were booked.
From there, it asks all quantitative questions, first regarding OTP and crew notification on delays, friendliness and helpfulness of crew, quality and selection of your dining services, and cleanliness of the train (seat, windows, restrooms).

As I mentioned, the questions were all quantitative (very pleased, pleased, neither, unpleased, very unpleased) and did not allow your own comments to be entered regarding the ride and what could be done to improve it. Likewise, no questions were asked on the actual quality of the ride (rough track, etc.) or the stations, only the onboard accomodations). It does however allow you to volunteer for future focus groups.

I tried to be impartial knowing what Amtrak is sometimes against in ranking my rides on the Capitol Limited and Cardinal, but given my experience, and the rather uninformative way one of our Cardinal crews handled one of our breakdowns, the Capitol won hands down on nearly all questions.

Thanks, Metropolitan! About what I suspected. Too bad there is not an opportunity for "other" comments! Your response here reminded me to ask my father if he was given this opportunity after his trip on the Auto Train, arriving this morning...

 

[MrFSS]

Well, today I completed the survey for my weekend trips on 29 and 50. The survey starts by asking which train number you were aboard, date and state of departure, reservation number, and state in which you traveled to, as well as the class of service to which you were booked.
From there, it asks all quantitative questions, first regarding OTP and crew notification on delays, friendliness and helpfulness of crew, quality and selection of your dining services, and cleanliness of the train (seat, windows, restrooms).

As I mentioned, the questions were all quantitative (very pleased, pleased, neither, unpleased, very unpleased) and did not allow your own comments to be entered regarding the ride and what could be done to improve it. Likewise, no questions were asked on the actual quality of the ride (rough track, etc.) or the stations, only the on-board accommodations). It does however allow you to volunteer for future focus groups.

I tried to be impartial knowing what Amtrak is sometimes against in ranking my rides on the Capitol Limited and Cardinal, but given my experience, and the rather uninformative way one of our Cardinal crews handled one of our breakdowns, the Capitol won hands down on nearly all questions.

When do you take the survey? While still on board, after you leave the train, or at home to mail back in.
If you take it on-board, is it sealed so none of the crew can see your answers? See where I'm going with this?

 

[AlanB]

When do you take the survey? While still on board, after you leave the train, or at home to mail back in.
If you take it on-board, is it sealed so none of the crew can see your answers? See where I'm going with this?

You take the survey once you get home, either by calling a toll free number or by going online to Amtrak Survey.

 

[Alex Collins]

I thought it was quite positive to see the train crew generally all endeavoring to engage the needs of the passengers.

In point form I'd like to make the comments aimed for positive improvement - after my trip from Boston to Oakland:

1) the price for travel across country is quite good, considering it compares favorably to motels/hotels and provides a relatively relaxed environment for watching scenery.

2) Ride quality really is unacceptable with all the bouncing and shaking. The train's average speed is altogether too slow. Fix the tracks!

3) Only one service per day on the California Zephyr. That's laughably bad, if one is a Japanese/Korean/French/German. It's embarassing as I am a US citizen.

4) The announcements in one way did more to annoy than inform. Saying "Once again" at most announcements, and even several times in the one sentence does nothing to inform. I think a more evenly professional announcement style would give passengers the sense of respect instead of being looked down on. Can Amtrak train the staff to think through more of what they'll say before speaking? Perhaps Amtrak aims to entertain.. Don't try too hard. At least Amtrak has turned down the volume for the history and tourguide explanations in the seating carriages. Especially, you need to thank your riders for using Amtrak on ANY announcement which has negative tones related to smoking or other security related issue. I have to say "Well done" for giving plenty of notice regarding smoking opportunities.. Has Amtrak considered mentioning the direction of the wind and to suggest smoking downwind?

5) I got the sense once in the attitude of staff which reinforces the idea of "this Amtrak system is the staff's turf, so do what we say and don't get in our way." That happened when I had trouble flushing the toilet because the lazy twit before me left paper towels in the toilet. When I reported that to the in-carriage staff, and after I picked up several dirty (excrement) pieces of paper (yes, in the interest of hygiene and so that I wouldn't look bad too), that person treated me as though I was responsible for the mess in the toilet. STAFF ON THOSE TRAINS, NEED TO ASSUME HOW THE CUSTOMER IS RIGHT and apply some discriminatory judgement. I look educated, sensible etc. But bums and un-toilet-trained forty year old children deserve to take a little discipline from train crew. I am sure Amtrak can train the staff to handle people who are more obviously slackers. Otherwise, you don't take the job which requires that level of effort and sometimes to clean the toilet without complaint.

6) The train was quite full. That's encouraging to me when five or six cars of 40 or so persons makes 200 person-journeys from Chicago to Oakland. Doesn't increased ridership suggest the potential worthiness of risking to try another departure? I am not an expert but the "build it and they will come" approach really ought to be tried to include...

7) Build it and they will come.... the seats are occupied for 50 % of the time at night, and people frequently want to snooze during the day.. why can't anybody get a decent sleeping position in coach? Perhaps it may seem as too radical a concept but the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on rail infrastructure generally supports the idea of a seat which offers a seating position more conducive to sleep. This question does tie in to the whole question of marketing and differentiation - even the question of the nature of the business... Again, I am not expert - but long distance rail travel as an industry needs to consider the competitive advantages over the alternatives of bus and planes. Trains are not that much slower than buses - but what a good opportunity to demonstrate the value of a comfortable ride?? Coach class may never compete with the privacy of a Sleeper, but when you ask people to be captive on a train for so long.. help them decide in your favor!! Get people talking about how great their train experience was.. pretty simple. If you put better seats on - you can promote that in the same way as airlines always do...

Overall thanks..

 

[amtrakwolverine]

you just have to take the survey within 3 DAYS after your trip. you can't wait a week and then take it.

 

[RRrich]

you just have to take the survey within 3 DAYS after your trip. you can't wait a week and then take it.

Its MY time - what if I don't get around to it in three days? Does that mean that my opinion isn't valid?

 

[MrFSS]

you just have to take the survey within 3 DAYS after your trip. you can't wait a week and then take it.

Its MY time - what if I don't get around to it in three days? Does that mean that my opinion isn't valid?

They probably think you'll forget all about the trip if you wait longer!

 

[the_traveler]

you just have to take the survey within 3 DAYS after your trip. you can't wait a week and then take it.

Its MY time - what if I don't get around to it in three days? Does that mean that my opinion isn't valid?

They probably think you'll forget all about the trip if you wait longer!

What if you board a train on the east coast and don't get off the train on the west coast until 4 or 5 days later? :huh: I guess your opinions of the 1st and 2nd day's train don't count!

 

[RTOlson]

The survey says it can be submitted within three days of travel. One would assume that travel time ends at the same time as your trip.

Anyway, surveys are supposed to filled out within three days of travel. What does it say for this thread that comments are still being filed after a 21-month gap?

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

2) Ride quality really is unacceptable with all the bouncing and shaking. The train's average speed is altogether too slow. Fix the tracks!
3) Only one service per day on the California Zephyr. That's laughably bad, if one is a Japanese/Korean/French/German. It's embarassing as I am a US citizen.

6) The train was quite full. That's encouraging to me when five or six cars of 40 or so persons makes 200 person-journeys from Chicago to Oakland. Doesn't increased ridership suggest the potential worthiness of risking to try another departure? I am not an expert but the "build it and they will come" approach really ought to be tried to include...

7) Build it and they will come.... the seats are occupied for 50 % of the time at night, and people frequently want to snooze during the day.. why can't anybody get a decent sleeping position in coach? Perhaps it may seem as too radical a concept but the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on rail infrastructure generally supports the idea of a seat which offers a seating position more conducive to sleep. This question does tie in to the whole question of marketing and differentiation - even the question of the nature of the business... Again, I am not expert - but long distance rail travel as an industry needs to consider the competitive advantages over the alternatives of bus and planes. Trains are not that much slower than buses - but what a good opportunity to demonstrate the value of a comfortable ride?? Coach class may never compete with the privacy of a Sleeper, but when you ask people to be captive on a train for so long.. help them decide in your favor!! Get people talking about how great their train experience was.. pretty simple. If you put better seats on - you can promote that in the same way as airlines always do...

The way to make something happen on these points is to write to those involved in passing federal legislation: your Congressional Representative, your Senators, and the Presidential administration. With respect to writing to the presidential administration, I think it's unlikely that the Bush administration is going to be considering vetoing any new rail legislation in its remaining time in power, so you may want to be writing to the Obama administration, and it may make sense to wait until there is a Transportation Secretary and a clear way of writing to the Transportation Secretary; a day or two ago, the change.gov contact form's drop down box didn't have a specific option for transportation.

Dedicated passenger track would potentially help a lot with service frequency and ride quality, and buying more rolling stock is necessary for Amtrak to be able to serve more passengers (more or less; there are a perhaps several dozen cars that are behind in maintenance as well, but that's a drop in the bucket compared to what we really need if the promise Obama made in the debate about eliminating mid-east oil dependence is going to be carried out).

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

4) The announcements in one way did more to annoy than inform. Saying "Once again" at most announcements, and even several times in the one sentence does nothing to inform. I think a more evenly professional announcement style would give passengers the sense of respect instead of being looked down on. Can Amtrak train the staff to think through more of what they'll say before speaking? Perhaps Amtrak aims to entertain.. Don't try too hard. At least Amtrak has turned down the volume for the history and tourguide explanations in the seating carriages. Especially, you need to thank your riders for using Amtrak on ANY announcement which has negative tones related to smoking or other security related issue. I have to say "Well done" for giving plenty of notice regarding smoking opportunities.. Has Amtrak considered mentioning the direction of the wind and to suggest smoking downwind?
5) I got the sense once in the attitude of staff which reinforces the idea of "this Amtrak system is the staff's turf, so do what we say and don't get in our way." That happened when I had trouble flushing the toilet because the lazy twit before me left paper towels in the toilet. When I reported that to the in-carriage staff, and after I picked up several dirty (excrement) pieces of paper (yes, in the interest of hygiene and so that I wouldn't look bad too), that person treated me as though I was responsible for the mess in the toilet. STAFF ON THOSE TRAINS, NEED TO ASSUME HOW THE CUSTOMER IS RIGHT and apply some discriminatory judgement. I look educated, sensible etc. But bums and un-toilet-trained forty year old children deserve to take a little discipline from train crew. I am sure Amtrak can train the staff to handle people who are more obviously slackers. Otherwise, you don't take the job which requires that level of effort and sometimes to clean the toilet without complaint.

You may want to contact Amtrak customer service about these points.