Refused Red Cap boarding because I'm not old or disabled

[leacrane]

The Red Cap incident is bizarre. There's no requirement to be old or disabled or even have a heavy suitcase. I've used the service in NYP BOS and CHI. If anything the Redcaps are eager to pile up their carts to the max and putting on one small piece of baggage is easy and the same tip as a large one depending on who's tipping. Sounds like OP got a bad apple. I hope this gets reported if he has the name

 

[caravanman]

Probably the best way to get fair service in most situations now is to have your phone camera running while you make the request...

Ed.

 

[Lonestar648]

Very sad statement about life today, but does seem very true.

 

[PVD]

Customer service failures are certainly something that get pointed out here on an all too frequent basis, but a person in a position that derives a good bit of compensation from gratuities turning down an opportunity to receive one is really strange. Usually it is the exact opposite......What could they have possibly been thinking?

 

[Texan Eagle]

Conclusion: I called Amtrak Customer Relations and told them about this case. The lady on the phone asked for a description of the Redcap agent, gave the canned "we apologize for the experience you had, this is not what Amtrak strives for" statement, and said she will forward the complaint to the manager who will "give a talk" to the Red Cap agents. However, as a passenger, I get nothing beyond this, everything related to employees is privacy protected. End of story.

 

[neroden]

Yours was not a serious enough case to do it, but if I ever encounter an incident again like the one where assistance to my disabled girlfriend was being denied, I'd go straight to a lawsuit. There's no employee privacy in a lawsuit.

 

[BCL]

Yours was not a serious enough case to do it, but if I ever encounter an incident again like the one where assistance to my disabled girlfriend was being denied, I'd go straight to a lawsuit. There's no employee privacy in a lawsuit.

A bit heavy handed, no? Yeah it seems silly that he was given a fake reason. But a lawsuit over it? I'd think corrective action should be enough. I don't really imagine that someone declaring a disability that's not apparent is going to be denied service, and hopefully they'll work on denying routine service.

 

[Lonestar648]

Typical Customer Service canned response to make you think they care and something will be done. With most Customer Service Call Centers, even with specific details, like time, date, names, etc. it is hard to get action from the first level staff who are suppose to deflect most calls. The Supervisor level will initially try to deflect so the issue doesn't go to a manager, but if the caller sounds like they are going higher, they have some authority to try to compensate to make the caller go away. At the Manager level, they rarely have to deal with an unhappy customer, so they are more inclined to do what ever is necessary to make the customer happy, at least within certain limitations, to make sure the problem isn't escalated to Senior Management. When the staff of a Senior Manager receives a serious complaint, action is taken. Generally, the problem is handed to a lower manager with orders to fix the problem so it doesn't happen again. The same issue coming from upper management carries weight, because no one in the company likes a customer complaint that has to be handled urgently and then a resolution to the next level manager. It is a black mark on those involved. I have been on both sides of this many times.

 

[Austruck]

I had some awesome Red Cap service in both L.A. and Chicago this past week (on my first train trip ever). All were not only kind and helpful but took me right to my car and put my bags inside the car for me.

I was at the front of the train both getting off at Chicago and then getting back on to continue with my journey. Frankly, that is a LONG LONG trek down the whole length of that train, then into the station, and all the way to the lounge, with two heavy non-wheeled bags. Even the very rapid Red Cap cart ride was nearly five minutes (and they were SAILING through that station). Walking would have been miserable.

The Metropolitan Lounge had about 4 large Red Cap carts waiting for all of us and they took as many of us as they could and then some went back for the rest who wanted Red Cap service. Nobody was asked anything about being qualified for it. We were just told that if we wanted Red Cap service to stand on the red carpet in the lounge lobby. Period.

On our way off the train, by the way, our cart passed (quickly!) a young man who had apparently tripped on the train platform alongside the train. He was lying on the concrete, facedown, not moving (!!), with several people around him, with blood all around his head. We all gasped... and our Red Cap got on his two-way radio and called for help (all while still driving the cart deftly and fast) and then made sure the authorities in the lounge also knew about it. They then re-radioed for help for that young man. I wish there was a way to find out if he was all right.

All this to say that I was thoroughly impressed with the three Red Cap rides I opted for and wish I had taken advantage of them earlier in the trip.

 

[railiner]

Some airports where passengers walk on the the tarmac bring out two sets of stairs/ramps and use one of the rear doors. This is more like how many trains do it by opening every door on one side. I wonder if they could also open the middle. I'm not sure if they actually board on both ends, but I'd think that exiting would be done using both ends.

I can personally verify that, at Burbank, Southwest does indeed both board and deplane using both doors. (The "middle" is impossible, as that's an over-wing exit window.) There probably aren't too many other airports on their route system that still use stairs instead of jetways.

I have boarded some AA B757's which do have a sort of middle door (actually located between the F and Y class cabins. So at least the passengers boarding coach class did not have to squeeze thru the F class cabin...

 

[jis]

AFAIR all 757s that I have ever been on had a door just forward of the wing usually at the front row of the Coach cabin. It is another matter whether an airline chooses to use that for boarding/disembarkation or not. In my experience most airlines tend to use that door.

This is of course not true of 737s which is what Southwest flies.

 

[PVD]

757-200 were a bit odd in that they were sold with 3 different door combos depending on the cabin config/density choice of the airlines. The door ahead of the wing is a popular choice at a single jetway gate first or bc hang a left, main cabin, hang a right. Sometimes gate design precludes using a specific door.

 

[Woodcut60]

Oh also, say hello to coach attendant on power trip insisting on giving everyone seat numbers and not letting me pick a window seat despite a half empty train.

Yes, last year on the Silver Service (Miami-Savannah) there was a coach attendant who did the same thing, i.e. giving people seat numbers. I find that a bit too zealous for my taste. I mean, I've come all the way from Europe to enjoy a train ride in America and so I want to have a window seat.

 

[pennyk]

Oh also, say hello to coach attendant on power trip insisting on giving everyone seat numbers and not letting me pick a window seat despite a half empty train.

Yes, last year on the Silver Service (Miami-Savannah) there was a coach attendant who did the same thing, i.e. giving people seat numbers. I find that a bit too zealous for my taste. I mean, I've come all the way from Europe to enjoy a train ride in America and so I want to have a window seat.

Assigning seats is routine on the Silver Service. Almost every time I have traveled from Orlando on a Silver, I have been assigned a seat. If the train is not full, and it does not anticipate getting full, seating is open. In Orlando, families and other groups are often boarded first.

 

[jis]

Oh also, say hello to coach attendant on power trip insisting on giving everyone seat numbers and not letting me pick a window seat despite a half empty train.

Yes, last year on the Silver Service (Miami-Savannah) there was a coach attendant who did the same thing, i.e. giving people seat numbers. I find that a bit too zealous for my taste. I mean, I've come all the way from Europe to enjoy a train ride in America and so I want to have a window seat.

Assigning seats is routine on the Silver Service. Almost every time I have traveled from Orlando on a Silver, I have been assigned a seat. If the train is not full, and it does not anticipate getting full, seating is open. In Orlando, families and other groups are often boarded first.

It is from Orlando. Not so much from Kissimmee though, heading towards NY. I think it also depends on how heavily loaded the train is. For example heading to Tampa they did assign me a seat and as always an aisle seat. I told her I am going to the Lounge so it doesn't matter, and then rode in the lounge at a window seat. It is just a one and a half hour ride to Tampa for cryin' out loud and almost two full coaches empty out there anyway!

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I think the South West model is a total disaster. It has the worst features of Amtraks open-seating, and reserved seating used in other transport. First of all, it is not really open-seating. It starts with the business-select group, then the upgraded boarding group, then the early check-in group. These tiers all cost more money. Then "families". Then in order that everyone did the normal check in.

Not every tier costs extra money. Here is the order and cost of each group to the best of my memory.

Disabled People ($0)

A01-A15 = Business Select (Full Fare + Drink), Anytime (Full Fare), or Upgraded Boarding ($30-$40)

A16-A30 = A-List and A-List Preferred (status based)

A31-A60 = Early Bird ($15)

Families with Young Children ($0)

B01-B60 = Timely Check-In ($0)

C01-C60 = Late Check-In ($0)

If the flight is full, there's a cancellation or change in scheduling, or you're buying at the tail end of the APEX/WGA booking period, then everything beyond A15 can get pushed further back but I've never had Early Bird drop me further back than Group B. That usually allows for an aisle seat toward the back while Group C is almost always stuck with center seats.

So many people try to game the system that its far, far worse then amtrak. I've seen groups of 9-10 with ONE child, hoping to jump to the front of the line. I've seen groups with ONE person pay for priority boarding that hold seats until the rest show up. Or they do the "puffy jacket", or "fake sleeping" tricks you see on trains. Or the person who jumps the line, and pretends to be confused, or convenient lack of english.

I've flown many Southwest Airlines flights over the years, in fact I've flown almost every nonstop route they offer from my home airport, including some they no longer offer, and yet I've never had much of a problem with anyone trying to cheat me out of a seat. I'm normally in the A-Group but even if I was in the B-Group I'd simply ignore whichever Kettle Family was trying to game the system and take whatever seat was open. If they want to make a scene about their lack of planning then so be it. If I was in the C-Group I'd simply accept that my seat is going to be crap no matter what.

Southwest Airlines doesn't make the extensive intermediate stops which Amtrak does

On many routes Southwest does indeed make several intermediate stops with the same aircraft hopping from city to city in a chain from one end to the other like in the old days. That's how you can end up with several rows of able-bodied people already seated prior to boarding A01-A30. The benefit to passengers is that Southwest offers lots of nonstop flights without having to connect through some massive fortress hub and their walkup fares are a small fraction of what the legacies previously charged.

While I am very far from an expert in the area of airport operations, I would also question whether the Southwest model is actually the fastest way of loading a plane and even if it were, whether it really makes that much of a difference overall (too many other sources for delay or which just take time on the ground). If turning the plane quickly is so dependent on passenger boarding, seems like you'd have at least long-term plans for terminals to load from more than one door.

Southwest spent several years testing different boarding systems at various airports and the changes they deployed nationwide was the fastest and most efficient option available that didn't require extensive remodeling or retraining of staff and customers.