Recent Positive LSL Experience

[jis]

Yes, it is cold, but unless you are a dyed in the wool "got to have my eggs and bacon" person this breakfast was way more than sufficient to get the day going and to fill almost anyone up.

For me it's not about insisting on eggs or bacon so much as the poor value of looking down at a single option cardboard box of cold food courtesy of a one way ticket that costs more than flying first class.

I didnt mind the food and certainly the dining car itself didnt know if I was eating a cold boxed meal or bacon and eggs. Lots of people sat together like on any other LD train. I didnt miss having a smiling server or a grumpy one.

I agree with your post its a poor value looking down at a single option.

I agree and your experience matches mine. I would prefer the ambiance to be better than a Balsa Box, and also would prefer more choices. But in general what is offered is not terrible by any means. I wish they had a better way of handling items that are left unopened in their original package sealed state by the consumers, rather than throwing them away too.

With the Breakfast, since I normally have a fruit heavy breakfast anyway, I just did not consume the excessive Carbohydrate stuff, and simply packed them away for later use or to give away to someone who wanted it.

This should not be viewed as an endorsement of the current state by any means and specific change requests have been sent in through multiple channels. Also working on getting language into the Amtrak Re authorization to get some force of law behind something more reasonable, with like-minded folks. But as usual we will never know what will happen until the proverbial fat lady sings. I get the impression that Amtrak is run by a cabal of finance and operations people, neither of whom are much concerned about the customer experience, and they have come to feel rather secure in their belief that they are the only ones who statutorily have access privileges on freight lines, therefore no one else can do anything without going through them, and therefore they do not need to care too much about their customers of any sort. And Congress has given them bits and pieces of tools to enhance that sense of security, including piles of money with absolutely zero performance clause attached. And so here we are, and we have stumbled onto a subject area of a different thread.

 

[SanDiegan]

Yes, it is cold, but unless you are a dyed in the wool "got to have my eggs and bacon" person this breakfast was way more than sufficient to get the day going and to fill almost anyone up.

For me it's not about insisting on eggs or bacon so much as the poor value of looking down at a single option cardboard box of cold food courtesy of a one way ticket that costs more than flying first class.

It's a balsa wood box, not a cardboard box. That's how it was made "premium." Never mind the lack of any variety for breakfast, or a single hot option, or even a decent amount of protein in the box compared to the amount of carbs. You're supposed to be impressed that they sprung for the balsa wood instead of cardboard.

You're also supposed to be impressed that it has the words "fresh" and "contemporary" in the name. We all know that anything claimed to be "contemporary" must automatically be a massive upgrade and a wonderful experience.

It’s 1984 !