Stoopid Me, I should have known the tix agent was.....

[rrdude]

Arrived at Anaheim Amtrak station about 8:45AM PTtoday, plenty of time to go to the QuickTrak machine, pull up my rezzy, and print my ticket for the 9:09AM Surfliner departure to LAX, right?

'Cept Mr. QuickTrak had no record of my rezzy! And, I had left my print out back at the Hilton. After several repeated tries with Mr. QuickTrak, searching under AGR member number, CC, and Rezzy number. I gave up and went to the staffed ticket window.

I politely said, "I think I have a problem, I have a paid for and confirmed rezzy, but Mr. QuickTrak is not cooperating." The agent smiled, and said, "Here are your tickets Mr. Pilcher, we took the liberty of printing them out for you." Maybe 'cause I was traveling BC?

Anyway, I thanked them, we both laffed, and I am now on 565 headed to LAX.

It would be nice though, if Mr. QuickTrak would have informed me that my tix were already printed.

BTW. Whooze must be washing the windows on



, as it was not a part of this AM's consist.

 

[Trogdor]

That doesn't sound right. Agents shouldn't be printing out tickets for passengers ahead of time.

 

[AlanB]

That doesn't sound right. Agents shouldn't be printing out tickets for passengers ahead of time.

We've had more than one report of agents doing just that, and it's not like all the reports are coming from stations without Quik-Trak machines where the agent could claim that he'd have to print them anyhow sooner or later.

I've no doubt that the agents doing so are trying to be helpful and provide better customer service; something that I would otherwise applaud normally. Unfortunately they are also at time causing confusion and potentially in some cases could be preventing someone from canceling online and getting a 100% refund now.

 

[darien-l]

I encountered a special case of this phenomenon in DEN a few months ago. The #5 was running more than 3 hours late, me and my companion tracked its progress, and showed up at Union Station more than an hour before it was estimated to arrive. We strolled over to QuikTrak, but it had no record of our reservation. We then went over to the ticket window. The conversation went something like this:

Agent: Are you Mr. ______ and Ms. _______?

Me: Yes, we are. Is there a problem?

Agent: You are the last two people on their train to pick up their tickets. We've been waiting for you for over an hour.

Me: But the train is not even due for another hour!

Agent: You should still pick up your tickets before the scheduled departure time, otherwise, there may be problems.

Me: What kinds of problems?

Agent: Well, they can give away your room, for example... So, we printed out your tickets for you to avoid that. Here they are.

 

[AlanB]

I'm not so sure about them reselling your room, but I do believe that the agent was correct that it can cause other issues/problems. I believe that once the departure time goes by, the Quik-Trak's will no longer issue the tickets. I'm not sure if the agent's ability to print the tickets is affected or not.

 

[alanh]

It's a little weird for the Surfliner. On long distance trains, a lot of people check luggage or just aren't used to QuikTrak. But the Surfliner is more like a commuter route.

 

[p&sr]

Unfortunately they are also at time causing confusion and potentially in some cases could be preventing someone from canceling online and getting a 100% refund now.

Not only that, it would be easy to MISS THE TRAIN while standing in line for the Agent.

I thought the whole point of the Machines was so you wouldn't have to stand in line.

 

[LA Resident]

It's a little weird for the Surfliner. On long distance trains, a lot of people check luggage or just aren't used to QuikTrak. But the Surfliner is more like a commuter route.

As someone who rides the Surfliner almost weekly, it's more than a little weird. Especially as the ticket agents are usually being are always swamped with last-minute purchasers just before the trains leave. I can't imagine where they find the time to print out tickets.

 

[PRR 60]

The agent was just being helpful: not to you, to himself. He is trying to build the volume of agent-handled tickets as compared to Quik Trak tickets. By pre-printing your ticket for "your convenience" he moves one transaction from the QT totals to the agent totals, thus making a live agent seem a little more essential when management looks at the relative agent / QT sales. This was happening a few years ago on the Surfliner route: only occasionally, and only certain agents. Looks like it's back.

If that happened to me, I would sent Amtrak as little note describing the incident - dates and times. They will know immediately what is going on. I don't begrudge a person trying to protect his or her job, but do it with good service, not with trickery.

 

[rrdude]

The agent was just being helpful: not to you, to himself. He is trying to build the volume of agent-handled tickets as compared to Quik Trak tickets. By pre-printing your ticket for "your convenience" he moves one transaction from the QT totals to the agent totals, thus making a live agent seem a little more essential when management looks at the relative agent / QT sales. This was happening a few years ago on the Surfliner route: only occasionally, and only certain agents. Looks like it's back.

If that happened to me, I would sent Amtrak as little note describing the incident - dates and times. They will know immediately what is going on. I don't begrudge a person trying to protect his or her job, but do it with good service, not with trickery.

Ehhh, I'm not "that" ticked off about it, in fact I like the idea, (and also see the "why" of it), only wish they would have said something to me before I spent five minutes at with Mr. QuickTrak, pulled out my laptop and MiFi, and started to worry that I had screwed up my whole west coast trip by one day....

So no, in this case, I don't agree on reporting them. The "transgression" (no matter the motivation) was so minor. But I'll talk to them this AM when I head back in to LAX.

Interesting scheme though. "moving from QT to Agent". I actually like the thought process behind it. Makes me think I should go to the window from now on, as long as there is no line. I certainly like the convenience of having Mr. QuickTrak everywhere, but hate to think that they are replacing carbon-based agents, when in essence, they are.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I have mixed feelings about this. I don't like the idea of being a pawn in some agent's job security game. However, there are some agents (Austin comes to mind) that are so good at what they do I would consider going out of my way to get my tickets from them if I thought it would help. Here in San Antonio we have a quirky, indifferent man and a completely anti-social woman. One doesn't know when to speak up and the other doesn't know when to shut up. I honestly would rather deal with a QuikTrak kiosk than either of those two and so that's what I do. If I ever came across them printing out my tickets on their own I would repay the favor by hanging out in the station helping every disgruntled customer make free complaint calls to Amtrak customer service on my mobile phone. Thankfully that's never happened to me in any of my Amtrak travels. Let's just hope it stays that way for all our sakes.

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

I guess I don't see it as clearly as the rest of you. If you go up to a ticket window to complain about the QT machine, why is it wrong for the attendant to assume you want your tickets and print them out for you? I mean, why else would you have been needing to find your existing reservation on the QT machine? Especially for a trip starting that very day.

 

[MrFSS]

I guess I don't see it as clearly as the rest of you. If you go up to a ticket window to complain about the QT machine, why is it wrong for the attendant to assume you want your tickets and print them out for you? I mean, why else would you have been needing to find your existing reservation on the QT machine? Especially for a trip starting that very day.

Nothing if the agent had printed them when he went to the window. What is happening is the agent is printing them long before the passenger even gets to the machine.

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

Nothing if the agent had printed them when he went to the window. What is happening is the agent is printing them long before the passenger even gets to the machine.

An agent is just going ahead and printing out all the tickets for that day? Ah, I thought the QT was broken somehow, not that the QT was working but reporting that the tickets have already been printed.

Then what good is a QT machine?

Wow, that is a bummer. I remember the long, long, long lines for a ticket window at PHL (but never lines at the QT machines).

 

[Steve4031]

IMHO, the agent in Denver was providing customer service when he printed the tickets for the late arriving passengers. On a commuter route, it makes no sense. And if this is being done to protect the agents job, I would be irritated at the inconvenience of standing in line. Especially, if I missed the train.

However, this discussion also underlines the importance of getting to the station in time to account for malfunctions and snafus. If you consistently arrive 15 minutes before departure, sooner or later something will go wrong, and you will miss your train. I plan to arrive at the station an hour before departure to allow for traffic and issues with the ticket machine, etc. One time, I cut it too close and would have missed the train standing in line if one of the ticket agents had not called for passengers leaving on my train to cut to the front of the line to get their tickets. There were multiple windows open, so this did not inconvenience the other passengers. I had really lost track of time, and had I missed the train, it would have been my own fault, nobody else's.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

IMHO, the agent in Denver was providing customer service when he printed the tickets for the late arriving passengers.

How? Are they going to hold your train now that you have your tickets printed? It's doubtful the agent was saving anyone much if any time as I've never seen any Amtrak agent that was quicker with handing out tickets than a QuikTrak kiosk. At best nothing is gained, but at worst your full refund could be gummed-up or you might miss your train in the confusion. And for what? So some random agent could pad his ticket numbers? I think they should leave the reservations as they found them. Unless they can read our minds they shouldn't be secretly providing unrequested services that come with additional restrictions and complications we didn't ask for. If they really wanted to provide customer service they could call us on our mobile phones to ask what we want them to do, if anything. That way the agent still gets to help without dumping any unexpected surprises on us.

 

[haolerider]

IMHO, the agent in Denver was providing customer service when he printed the tickets for the late arriving passengers.

How? Are they going to hold your train now that you have your tickets printed? It's doubtful the agent was saving anyone much if any time as I've never seen any Amtrak agent that was quicker with handing out tickets than a QuikTrak kiosk. At best nothing is gained, but at worst your full refund could be gummed-up or you might miss your train in the confusion. And for what? So some random agent could pad his ticket numbers? I think they should leave the reservations as they found them. Unless they can read our minds they shouldn't be secretly providing unrequested services that come with additional restrictions and complications we didn't ask for. If they really wanted to provide customer service they could call us on our mobile phones to ask what we want them to do, if anything. That way the agent still gets to help without dumping any unexpected surprises on us.

This "padding" of the ticket agent activities has been raging ever since Amtrak introduced the QuikTrak machines, in an effort to become more efficient at stations that were "over-staffed". The ticket agents are, in fact, doing a dis-service to the passengers, because of the issues of cancellation, refunds, etc. Most district managers have turned a blind eye to these activities, hoping they won't have to confront the agents.

 

[had8ley]

If, indeed, agents are pre-printing tix I wouldn't have much of a problem with a note on the Quik-Trac; "IF YOU CANNOT GET THE MACHINE TO PRINT YOUR TIX PLEASE SEE AGENT." This might relieve some of the stress added to seeing that the machine has nothing to print out for you. The again, if a manager with half a back bone shows up he might start asking the right questions...

 

[rrdude]

If, indeed, agents are pre-printing tix I wouldn't have much of a problem with a note on the Quik-Trac; "IF YOU CANNOT GET THE MACHINE TO PRINT YOUR TIX PLEASE SEE AGENT." This might relieve some of the stress added to seeing that the machine has nothing to print out for you. The again, if a manager with half a back bone shows up he might start asking the right questions...

BINGO! Thank you for that. How simple is that?

 

[Steve4031]

IMHO, the agent in Denver was providing customer service when he printed the tickets for the late arriving passengers.

How? Are they going to hold your train now that you have your tickets printed? It's doubtful the agent was saving anyone much if any time as I've never seen any Amtrak agent that was quicker with handing out tickets than a QuikTrak kiosk. At best nothing is gained, but at worst your full refund could be gummed-up or you might miss your train in the confusion. And for what? So some random agent could pad his ticket numbers? I think they should leave the reservations as they found them. Unless they can read our minds they shouldn't be secretly providing unrequested services that come with additional restrictions and complications we didn't ask for. If they really wanted to provide customer service they could call us on our mobile phones to ask what we want them to do, if anything. That way the agent still gets to help without dumping any unexpected surprises on us.

In the one case that Denver was mentioned, the train was a few hours late, and the poster arrived at the station after the scheduled departure time. If I understand correctly, the quick track might not have printed the ticket because the train would have"left". I did clearly state later in my earlier post that printing tickets at commuter stations is unacceptable IMHO.

 

[Guest]

You wave your confirmation barcode under the reader on the QT machine, and displayed....

For your added convenience, your tickets have already been
printed and are waiting for you at the ticket agent counter.

Time until your train departs:   0 hr(s)  17 min(s)
Wait time for an agent:          1 hr(s)  32 min(s)

 

[AlanB]

IMHO, the agent in Denver was providing customer service when he printed the tickets for the late arriving passengers.

How? Are they going to hold your train now that you have your tickets printed? It's doubtful the agent was saving anyone much if any time as I've never seen any Amtrak agent that was quicker with handing out tickets than a QuikTrak kiosk. At best nothing is gained, but at worst your full refund could be gummed-up or you might miss your train in the confusion. And for what? So some random agent could pad his ticket numbers? I think they should leave the reservations as they found them. Unless they can read our minds they shouldn't be secretly providing unrequested services that come with additional restrictions and complications we didn't ask for. If they really wanted to provide customer service they could call us on our mobile phones to ask what we want them to do, if anything. That way the agent still gets to help without dumping any unexpected surprises on us.

In the one case that Denver was mentioned, the train was a few hours late, and the poster arrived at the station after the scheduled departure time. If I understand correctly, the quick track might not have printed the ticket because the train would have"left". I did clearly state later in my earlier post that printing tickets at commuter stations is unacceptable IMHO.

Precisely!

In the case of the Denver situation, since the train was two hours late, the OP would not have been able to print his tickets at the Quik-Trak. Once the scheduled departure time goes by, the QT will no longer print out the tickets. ARROW won't care that the train is running late and compensate for that; ARROW simply thinks you've missed the train and kills the ability to print the tickets or do an online cancelling. At that point you have no choice but to deal with an agent, either to cancel and get a refund or to actually get your tickets.

 

[Trogdor]

If you don't pick up your tickets by departure time, your reservation doesn't automatically cancel. You just can't get your tickets from a QuikTrak machine. An agent can still print out the tickets after the train's scheduled departure. Therefore, there isn't any benefit in them preprinting the tickets before the passenger arrives.

There's no added convenience to a passenger that goes up to the QuikTrak machine and finds out that his/her tickets have already been printed by the agent. The downsides have all been mentioned numerous times (can't cancel/refund the reservation, might miss the train if it's close to departure and you don't realize the agent has them, etc.). Another potential problem is if you decide you want to board one station downline (say your plans for the day changed, and you decided you wanted to board in Santa Ana instead of Anaheim). Now the next agent can't print out the ticket for you, because it has already been printed.

If you were going to see the agent anyway, then what has been gained? By the time you finish providing your reservation info and display your ID, the agent could have had your tickets halfway printed anyway. At most, you save 5-10 seconds. In exchange, you risk the agent accidentally losing a ticket or mixing it in with someone else's reservation that they preprinted. When they print it the proper way (i.e. when you arrive), then the tickets can move directly from the ticket printer to your hand, with little chance for error in between.

Bottom line, the agents aren't supposed to preprint the tickets. That's why it's against the rules. Agents who do so can (and should) be subject to discipline. I would vote in favor of reporting this incident to Amtrak.

 

[Mike S.]

I have pretty strong feelings about this. Each time at a station that I've tried to get tickets at the quick trak machine, I've had an agent call me over to the window. I guess since I'm not really confrontational I've gone to the window. Bottom line is that they would rather print the ticket than me. One time a guy even said "I've got to protect my job". As an avid rider and someone who wants amtrak to succeeded, I'm all for anything that can make them more efficient. Next time I'll just forge ahead with the machine.

 

[PRR 60]

If you don't pick up your tickets by departure time, your reservation doesn't automatically cancel.

I can also attest that you can cancel an un-ticketed reservation on line for at least some period of time after the departure time of the train. I once thought I had cancelled a reservation only to find out later that I had missed the last step and the reservation was not cancelled. At least four hours after the train departure, I went through the on-line cancellation process again, this time including the last step. The reservation was still shown in my account, I was able to cancel it without a problem, and the100% refund went to my credit card account.