Very Bad Amtrak Review at my3cents.com

[Everydaymatters]

Let's be clear, I have experienced PLENTY of nightmares on Amtrak: two cancelled trains/vacations, 6 hour late trains (yes, I know they get later), bustitutions, "rude" employees, overbooked trains, a broken down train . . .

Here you say you have encountered something like this.

 

[Everydaymatters]

I know a px from Montana who was bussed to a hotel in Homewood, so I have to believe her that the hotel was that far away. If she had knowledge of that hotel from 20 or 30 years ago, I don't blame her for not wanting to stay there. It could be excellent now, but she would never feel safe there, so why go?

As far as why don't these passengers with bad experiences don't complain to Amtrak, from my own experience on the SWC in October, where the attendant threatened two people (no, not me) that she was going to throw them off the train and she was abusive to several others, the reason I didn't complain is because she told me she had a young daughter. That's the only reason, because she certainly didn't deserve to keep her job. It occurred to me that she might be the sole support of her daughter. Sorry if that sounds irresponsible of me, but I just couldn't do it to a little kid.

Also, people who have had bad experiences probably often want to get on with their lives and forget it ever happened.

 

[x-press]

Let's be clear, I have experienced PLENTY of nightmares on Amtrak: two cancelled trains/vacations, 6 hour late trains (yes, I know they get later), bustitutions, "rude" employees, overbooked trains, a broken down train . . .

Here you say you have encountered something like this.

Wrong. I have never experienced concentration camp-like conditions, Amtrak employees wanting to "throw me into the streets of Chicago," verbal abuse in the middle of the night, and being locked into a filthy waiting room.

Rude? Yes (occasionally). Inhumane? No.

Got it?

 

[x-press]

When individuals like myself read "horror" stories like this lady reports , of course , we are very concerned , and honestly attempt to be as understanding as we can possibly be. At least that is the way it is with me. Sometimes we DO question certain aspects of the story, because they may not seem to make sense to us. I would not call this "trashing."-----just analysis.
My intent was not to "trash" the lady who reports the story. However, there are simply parts of the story that do not make sense to me , from my own EXPERIENCE.

Exactly, TALKrr! We're giving our impressions of the story. If people think every word of it is the unbiased truth, so be it, and there should certainly be serious firings in Chicago.

I AM somewhat dismayed by the "doesn't surprise me a bit" attitude of certain posters. As if Amtrak employees simply lock people into waiting rooms when it suits them!

An example of the "other side of the story." Years ago, on a Crescent with frozen coach toilets, Amtrak employees were letting coach passengers use unoccupied sleeper toilets. At some point, my friend and I heard an Amtrak employee and woman (coach passenger) arguing. The Amtrak employee seemed very angry, and borderline abusive, and a door was slammed. My friend immediately wrote it off as "typical Amtrak; deplorable customer service," and I was miserable. Later, in the dining car, we were told by PASSENGERS (not employees), that the crew had been wonderful during the bathroom episode, providing free meals, assistance, and overall fine service given the (otherwise unnacceptable) conditions. The woman had been loud, drunk and abusive to both passengers and crew for much of the day. It was only by the crew's tolerance that she hadn't been put off the train long before.

 

[RailFanLNK]

One thing I can think of is the PV people getting better service would be the one and only MONEY! Yes, if I had a PV I wouldn't spend a minute on the Amtrak train and spend all the time in the railcar I'm paying big money for. But some people who have the money to spend on that could have easily forked over a couple thousand to a few employees and said, "take care of us". Even though thats wrong, thats may of what happened with that part of the scenario. I was just in Aspen while taking the CZ to GSC and you wouldn't believe how wealthy and how much some money is used in such an ignorant or egotistical way.

 

[MrFSS]

When individuals like myself read "horror" stories like this lady reports , of course , we are very concerned , and honestly attempt to be as understanding as we can possibly be. At least that is the way it is with me. Sometimes we DO question certain aspects of the story, because they may not seem to make sense to us. I would not call this "trashing."-----just analysis.

My intent was not to "trash" the lady who reports the story. However, there are simply parts of the story that do not make sense to me , from my own EXPERIENCE.

Exactly, TALKrr! We're giving our impressions of the story. If people think every word of it is the unbiased truth, so be it, and there should certainly be serious firings in Chicago.

I AM somewhat dismayed by the "doesn't surprise me a bit" attitude of certain posters. As if Amtrak employees simply lock people into waiting rooms when it suits them!

An example of the "other side of the story." Years ago, on a Crescent with frozen coach toilets, Amtrak employees were letting coach passengers use unoccupied sleeper toilets. At some point, my friend and I heard an Amtrak employee and woman (coach passenger) arguing. The Amtrak employee seemed very angry, and borderline abusive, and a door was slammed. My friend immediately wrote it off as "typical Amtrak; deplorable customer service," and I was miserable. Later, in the dining car, we were told by PASSENGERS (not employees), that the crew had been wonderful during the bathroom episode, providing free meals, assistance, and overall fine service given the (otherwise unacceptable) conditions. The woman had been loud, drunk and abusive to both passengers and crew for much of the day. It was only by the crew's tolerance that she hadn't been put off the train long before.

Which goes to show - there are always at least two sides to these stories. The comments in the article provided were only one side.

 

[AmtrakWPK]

the reason I didn't complain is because she told me she had a young daughter.

While I can appreciate the sentiment, the question is, where do we draw the line? What level of abysmal misbehavior does that merit our ignoring? What level of mistreatment of passengers, of inflicted misery, should that justify? What amount of lost business, of bad word-of-mouth advertising from enraged passengers, do we justify based on "well, she has a child"? None. If she loses her job, then she, not you, is the one responsible for the effects on her child, and she is the one to blame. And she is the ONLY one.

The only way Amtrak can rid itself of staff that are actively boring holes in the hull of this ship is for folks to report them, and for management to then appropriately deal with them. If management doesn't find out about the misbehavior, they can't try to fix the problem. And the longer those bad apples exist, the more they make it well-nigh impossible for passenger rail to be successful.

If we don't report misbehaving employees, WE ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM. One thing to consider is that if Amtrak sinks because of the unreported and uncorrected misbehavior of staff like that, then all the other loyal, hardworking, courteous staff, the ones that deserve a position, AND ALL THEIR CHILDREN, will be out on the street. And we will be partly to blame.

 

[TVRM610]

One thing I can think of is the PV people getting better service would be the one and only MONEY! Yes, if I had a PV I wouldn't spend a minute on the Amtrak train and spend all the time in the railcar I'm paying big money for. But some people who have the money to spend on that could have easily forked over a couple thousand to a few employees and said, "take care of us". Even though thats wrong, thats may of what happened with that part of the scenario. I was just in Aspen while taking the CZ to GSC and you wouldn't believe how wealthy and how much some money is used in such an ignorant or egotistical way.

The problem is, it would be highly unlikely that private car passengers could even acess the amtrak train. Has anyone ever seen a transition sleeper on the back when private cars are in use? I have never seen or heard of this. And by the way, i have leased a private car before, so I am speaking from some experience here.

Also, I know that 90% of private cars are leased with a chef and attendant included, as well as all food and beverages paid for.

I just cannot believe that part of the story. UNLESS anyone can say that they have seen a transition sleeper in use when coupled to private cars, then I would say that it is possible, although still highly unlikely.

 

[MrFSS]

Well - I joined 3cents worth and that allowed me to email the lady who left the post on that site. I'll let everyone know if she answers my questions about the car(s) attached to the end of the train. If she answers that question I'll try to probe for other information about the trip.

Tom

 

[Everydaymatters]

I wonder if she was simply mistaken about the passengers from the private car. Maybe they told her they were from the private car, when they might actually have been a group traveling together who took up one whole car. I'm hoping she answers MrFss's questions.

Overall, I think her other complaints wouldn't have been mentioned if it was not for the horrendous treatment encountered in CUS. These other problems were just the icing on the cake.

Once we passengers are in a train, we are at the mercy of the attendant. With some of them, if they have a bad day, we passengers are going to have an even worse one. For some this is the first time in their lives they have power and they're too ignorant to know how they're supposed to use their power.

As far as being dismayed by the "doesn't surprise me a bit" attitude, nobody said that Amtrak employees simply lock people in waiting rooms when it suits them. The fact that it happened is another example of mis-used power.

Yes, you have valid points Amtrak WPK. I have regretted not reporting her.

 

[had8ley]

Let me add my comments.
First of all, I am a very experienced Amtrak traveler , with over a hundred-thousand miles to my credit. I do not mention this to brag, but simply to validate the fact that I am very familiar with the "system" and how it works. I have traveled over every one of Amtrak's long-distance routes (first-class), most numerous times.

First-class passengers we placed in the same hotel that Amtrak uses for its crews. It was not a four-star hotel , but quite adequate.

I do not understand WHO these "private-car passengers" were and WHERE they came from. Any private rail-cars attached to the back of an Amtrak train have NO access to the Amtrak train itself. First of all, most of these private cars are SINGLE-LEVEL. Amtrak Super-liners are double-deck and there is NO way to cross from car to car except by an UPPER level. Thus it is impossible for any private-car passenger to enter the Amtrak train. Also, tickets would be needed for the Amtrak train. Furthermore, as was mentioned, WHY would any passenger traveling in a luxurious , private rail-car WANT to enter an Amtrak train. It would not make sense.

So my question is , who were these mysterious passengers so obnoxious to the lady ??

If anyone lives in the Chicago area, IS Homewood over 40 miles from Union Station , and what "type" of an area is it today ?

Just some points to ponder; Amtrak does not always use the crew rest hotels for mis-connected passengers.

Is it possible these private varnish people wanted to see "how the other half" travels and de-trained at a station stop and walked up to the Amtrak portion of the train? The current Amtrak timetable shows Homewood to be 25 miles from Chicago Union Station. I would not like accomadations so far away but it beats the floor of any public facility.

 

[jim55]

I fear, I believe her, don't want to, but do. The security guards name would have also been in my complaint. She may have confused private car passengers with a coach tour group. It's already been proven on this board that tour groups, coach or sleeper, get priority over other "Full Fare" 1st class passengers. The parking lot trouble in Mich could have been a scam to steal the car from a more remote lot. At a Greatfull dead concert at Chicagos Soldier Stadium, a group of guys in orange safety vests ussured cars to an unauthorised lot, charged x$ to park, then took off. During the concert the city towed all the cars and these folks had to try and convince authorities while under the influence of "whatever they smoke at those concerts. Jim

 

[MrFSS]

I have an email back from the lady who posted the review that this discussion is all about. I have asked her permission to post her response she sent me. I won't do that until she says it is OK to do so. If and when I do, I think we'll find she was being very truthful about everything she said. Shae also said what you saw on her post on my3cents is what she sent to Amtrak, but she hasn't heard back from them, yet. I'll keep you posted.

Tom

 

[AmtrakCrescent20]

Just a few comments: First, not too long ago, a Metra Police officer was murdered at a Metra Electric station not too far from Homewood, so there is reason to believe that it's a bad area. Second, as others have said, it is likely that the parking lot repaving was a scam, as I have experienced a similar thing in downtown Atlanta.

Hopefully this won't turn into a 5 page argument as several other threads about this type of thing have recently.

 

[MrFSS]

The lady who posted on My3cents has given me permission to post her responses to questions I asked her. Here is the first post I received from her. I have not changed anything other than to correct some spelling.

Yes, the cars were private and pulled from behind. The people had full access to our trains. They did wear lanyards to identify them. Things were ok until we got to about Santa Fe or Albuquerque where we picked up a bunch more of these cars that they had "left" there the week before. That night, the diner car was a riot. Our service was terrible, but these people were ordering drinks. We ate our dinner before we saw them order any food, so I don't know if they ever did order food or not... I am not sure how many people were on these cars. There were about 5 people for sure on the one that we started with from Chicago, but we did add more on the 2nd day of our trip. I talked with members of the first group - two were seated with us for breakfast. They said Amtrak takes them everywhere in their refurbished train car. They were members of some sort of club, but I do not now know the name. 

Believe me, my information only scratched the surface, so if you need any more details, feel free to contact me. The letter you read was the letter I was told by an Amtrak Service Rep. (On the phone) to send to Washington DC which I did. I sent the letter one week ago. I have not heard back since. I also took Amtrak's online survey and was told I would be contacted, but I have not been contacted yet.

 

Nobody was a bigger cheerleader for Amtrak than I. This last trip, however, was pretty bad and then unbelievable at Chicago Union Station. I had looked forward to trying the Acella trains this fall, but I canceled that trip.

And her follow up when I asked if OK to post her responses.

Sure. You can share my information. If someone would have told me this story, I would have thought twice before I roped my whole family into the cross country trip. It definitely is a thinker now - to bring kids or an elderly Mom or Dad. I travel often with my mother. I have no idea what I would have done with her that night. 

Anyway...no, I really don't know how the people got on our car. Later in the trip, however, our stops may have been frequent enough that they could get off and on in our other stops. Each time I saw the people come into the dining car; they came from the observation car. They were given dinner reservation times too. Maybe they would just hang out in the observation and dining car until they could go back on a stop?

 

[Windy City LSA]

I won't give my 3 cents. but my two.

From what I know, Homewood is in fact kind of dodgy. What is more astounding to me is how utterly ridiculous it is that Amtrak would bus people to a hotel THAT far away. They must get a heck of a deal! If they wanted to go to the suburbs, there are a multitude of towns much closer than Homewood. I'm not sure of their negotiations with hotels, but as as a former employee, I recall their choices were sometimes strange...in that we'd pass up half a dozen or so hotels on the sometimes long drive from the train station to the actual hotel we'd stay at.

I've been following this thread since last night. I think it was cool of Mr. FSS to join that site and correspond with the victim.

I believe her, but think she was exaggerating. The part about Swisshotel and Hyatt and the other hotel??? I think not. Those are luxury hotels for crying out loud. In her response, it does sound like these private rail people were allowed on the train. Obviously they boarded it at a stop since it's impossible for them to be connected as previously mentioned. Guess she was just at the wrong place at the wrong time for that occurance. It's out of the ordinary.

As for the whole thing with spending the night at the station, the description sounded quite dramatic. It read like a novel. The station technically *does* close at midnight. It's not 24 hour like an airport with cots and blankets provided. I could sort of understand why security wouldn't want them wandering around the station. But if they were told things like they should have been put out on the street?? Wow. That's pretty bad. I think I would have opted for the far away hotel...even if they had "three hour nap" specials many years ago.

All I can say is that I hope she follows up with her complaint. And like another responder mentioned and I have in the past, everybody must report these bad apples...in DETAIL...to Amtrak. Otherwise nothing will happen to correct it for sure. I worked side by side with a few questionable folks lacking some people skills. I know they exist. Like I've preached before, Amtrak is at the OBS employees mercy to some extent. It's NOT an easy job...working onboard a passenger train...for many reasons. Therefore, it's impossible to do any mass firing because the retention rate of new employees is so poor. I'm proof of that!

 

[Guest]

I am the writer of the original complaint you are all discussing. As I said in the letter, I was one of the biggest Amtrak fans around. This was by no means my first cross country trip with Amtrak. Hmmm, not that I feel the need to defend myself at all :

1. After midnight in the city of Chicago at Union Station, we opted as parents to not drag our kids and luggage out into the streets and to a hotel when we were going to try to get a connection less than 8 hours later. No, at the end of a vacation, I did not want to spend an additional 200 dollars plus for less than 8 hours in the room. As it was, we were at the Greyhound station by 7:30 a.m. and in line for our bus to Michigan.

2. We took velcro cushions out of the child playroom and slept on them. We destroyed nothing and were hurting nobody.

3. There is no exaggeration in my letter. Believe me or don't believe me. It all happened and then some.... When I reread my letter, I only see all the stuff I left out.

 

[CA Amtrak]

I might be taking my first Amtrak trip on the Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle. What are the chances that the same nightmare might happen again?

 

[rtabern]

Sadly, I believe most of what the blog entry says too (except about the number of the in-coming Southwest Chief... it's 4, not 5... and also that private car people eating in the diner... usuaully private cars are single-level and you can't even travel from the private cars into the Superliner equipment because they don't connect up.. and most times private car folks have their own chef)

Anyhow, why do I believe her?

Well... because I've had some hostile encounters with staff at Chicago Union Station myself. I live in Milwaukee and my folks live in the north suburbs of Chicago... and usually when I go down to visit them (about 2-4 times a month), I usually try and take in a train trip somewhere on Amtrak and usually leave out of Chicago.

Yeah, I've had some nasty run-ins down there. First, I am a Select Plus member of the AGR program and have been for 2 years. One of the biggest perks for me is the unlimited access to the Metropolitan Lounge.

All you're supposed to do is show them your 'gold card' and you should be admitted into the lounge with no questions asked. I qualified for the program in October 2006 and the first three or four times I tried to use it the attendant in there had no idea what the card was and denied me access. It wasn't until I threw a big stink by calling an AGR manager and one of the head people of Chicago Union Station did I get this resolved. Then... this past April... while connecting between two Metra trains... I was denied access because I didn't have an Amtrak ticket. The 'gold card' brouche says you clearly have UNLIMITED access to the lounge... Amtrak ticket or not. Again, I was in the right. But it took another call to an AGR manager and one of the head people at Chicago Union Station to get this solved.

I also believe her about sleeping at the station... after a trip I took on the California Zephyr.

Ok, the story with that... well... Between December 1 and December 5 (2006), I took a 5-day train ride for fun between Milwaukee, WI and Reno, NV. It was actually a great trip and I had a great sleeping car attendant on the Zephyr (Mark)... and a wonderful ride and everything... especially through the Rockies in the winter-time.

No complaints on the actual train.

But Union Station was a different deal.

On 12/5/06, the Zephyr was 6 hours late into Chicago... we should have gotten in around 3:20pm, but instead got in around 9:30pm. The problem with that was the last train to Milwaukee for the night left Chicago just after 8:00pm.

So, I went to see the passengers services people.

They told me that my options were either to take the 12:05am Greyhound bus back to Milwaukee... OR... spend the night in the hotel down in Homewood.

Well... I told them the Greyhound really wouldn't work since my car was actually at Amtrak's Milwaukee Airport (MKA) stop and not the downtown Milwaukee (MKE) stop. The 2 representatives I talked to seem shocked and didn't even know anything about a Milwaukee Airport (MKA) stop. I mean it is a somewhat new stop, but it's also a popular stop on the route of the Hiawatha and is less than 80 miles from Union Station... where they work.

Anyhow, after flubbing around and looking up the airport stop and realizing they couldn't provide me transportation there... they were going to put me up in that hotel in Homewood.

And yes, the van comes at Noon the next afternoon like the lady said. When I told the lady at Union Station that I didn't want to wait until Noon to go back to Milwaukee (I wanted the 6:15am Hiawatha back to Milwaukee), she said, well, "I guess your only option to go into the Great Hall and sleep on a bench there".

Nice... after spending $700 on a bedroom!!

Luckily my folks live in Chicago. So I called my mom up who lives in Glenview (20 miles north of Chicago), and she said that I could go and spend the night at her place.

I told the Amtrak woman that I was just going to catch the Metra to my parents in Glenview (saving them the expense of a bus ticket and hotel room!)... but could I have like $10 for the cab from Glenview to my mom's condo? (I felt like I was entitled to atleast that!)

She said NO... and that the only way she would give me a voucher for any cash would be if I had accepted their offer of staying the Homewood Hotel.

So, I just lied and said, "fine, I'll take the hotel".

I got the hotel voucher and about $45.00 in cash that way.

I ended up just staying at my mom's condo... ripped up the hotel voucher... paid for the cab from Glenview to my mom's place and had $35 left over.

It would have been MUCH cheaper if they just gave me the measly $10 I asked for.

But hey, whatever.

I'm still an avid Amtrak lover and still ride the train almost every weekend... and yes, most Amtrak people have been great... especially on the trains. But there are definetly some bad apples at Chicago Union Station.

 

[Guest]

Again, I am the original writer of the letter you discuss....

In reading more posts I still tell you I'm not exaggerating. Also, if you read carefully, I quoted an Amtrak employee as saying that they usually put people at Swisshotel, Westin, and Hyatt. I too found the quote totally hard to believe, and I didn't believe her one bit. That is why I included her quote in the letter. On expedia, the hotel they wanted to send us to had one star, amenities from other hotels in their rooms, but a free breakfast ( which was described as horrible) - that would save amtrak some money. I'm still glad I didn't go there, and even more glad I made it home with my family safely.

For the person who wishes to take the Empire Builder, I would tell you that was a great trip for us. It was completely the opposite of the trip in my complaint letter to Amtrak. We had a lovely trip from Chicago to Seattle. The food was great, the service awesome, air conditioning was a bit broken but we managed, and we have great memories of that train. Going along the Mississippi River on the first night as sunset was breathtaking and you will never see the Cascades as you will on the train early on the last morning of the ride. The staff told us to get up early to see the ride thru the Cascades, and it was awesome. So, I don't know what to tell you about Amtrak. I'm torn myself. I bragged to everyone how it was the only way to travel...and now here I am sending this scathing message. I really do not want a thing from Amtrak. I really don't. I think what I want is for everyone's trip to be like the one we took on the Empire Builder about 4 years ago... I know Amtrak can be better. Maybe if I complain, it will get better.

 

[rtabern]

Dear "Unregistered"...

From what I've seen -- and I am down at Union Station in Chicago a lot -- it's about a 50/50 chance if you're going to get that hotel down in Homewood if they have to put you up.

My guess (and again, this is just my guess) is they will put people up at the downtown hotels during non-peak travel periods when they can get a good rate at one of those 3 hotels. When it's around any sort of holiday period or the busy summer travel season... you're more than likely going to be put up in Homewood.

 

[TALKrr]

I am totally confused related to who these "mystery" passengers were and where they came from.

First of all, if they really were traveling in a private car attached to the train, wouldn't they need tickets to enter the Amtrak train. Where was the conductor who permitted this. Surely it is against policy.

Could this group of people been members of a tour group from COACH on the train. I have encountered groups like this before and they DID wear lanyards and nametags. I know from experience (on the Zephyr) that these tour groups CAN get priority service in the dining-car before first-class passengers.

So members of the group went to the dining-car but only to DRINK ? That seems odd. Would a dining-car steward permit individuals to sit in the dining-car and order nothing but alcoholic beverages ? Also, would this steward question members of this group to ask what they were doing on the train in the first place ?

Another comment about the hotel situation. I am confused. What kind of transportation was the family (or group) offered to/from the station. The lady did not specify. Was it a cab, a van , a bus ? Just what ? Also, how many individuals were in this "group" she speaks of ?

Furthermore, I simply cannot fathom why Amtrak would opt to send this group over 25 miles to a hotel where they could over-nite. Again, it just does not make sense to me.

Lastly, I have personally stayed at a hotel chosen by Amtrak for my over-nite. It just happened to be the same hotel where they house their crews overnite. However, I am certain this does not have to be one of the "criteria." If my memory serves me right, it was a Roadway Inn. I would call it a 3-star place. Quite clean and comfortable----and certainly not a "dive."

Over the course of a year, it would be my guess hat Amtrak over-nites hundreds of first-class passengers who missed their connections. How many of these individuals would actually describe Amtrak's hotel choice as a complete "dive." ? Now its not going to be 5-star , or even 4-star , perhaps. BUT, these hotels certainly MUST be clean and safe and comfortable at least in my opinion.

Here is something else I thought of: WHY was this lady convinced that her family could not possibly get back to the station in time to make the next mornings train ? Again, this does not make sense ? What was she told ? And again, related to this issue is, what type of transportation was offered to take this family (group) to their hotel. Surely some arrangement could have been made to get everybody back to the station in time the next morning. Again, I am confused about THAT whole situation.

Finally, MUCH can change in 20-30 years. Come on !! What are the chances that this "once seedy" hotel is totally different today , with a totally different reputation ?

A lot of "mystery" seems to be involved with this story.

 

[rtabern]

I'm not the original poster here, but I did have a run-in at Chicago also after being late (see above post).

And I can confirm that Amtrak does have a deal worked out with a hotel down in Homewood to house late passengers. (That's where they were putting up people when the Zephyr arrived in late when I was on it back on 12/5/06)

The reason?

Well, during busy times of the year (holidays, summer, Thanksgiving-New Years) hotel prices in Chicago are sky-high ($250+). So it's much cheaper for Amtrak to put people up in suburban Homewood.

I am sure both management and the passengers prefer to put people up at downtown hotels... and I've seen that happen too... especially during non-peak travel periods of the year... but like I said, it's probably all about cost.

And they usually bus people to the hotel in a chartered bus. I've seen them use a van vary rarely... like in cases less than 16 passengers need to be put up in the hotel.

Generally though, the places where they put up the crew are nice hotels. I volunteer as a tour guide for Amtrak... (Trails and Rails)... it's a 2-day deal... so we stay overnight in Minnesota at the same hotel as the 2 conductors and enginner... and it's nice. I mean no pool or anything, but the continental breakfast is great... the rooms are nice... and the hotel folks are friendly.

 

[The Metropolitan]

Wow, what an interesting thread I get to come home to!

I tend to think the experiences described in the narrative (and I do believe them by and large) and more then exception than the rule. Some of you may have read of my worst Amtrak ride to date, which all started in Union Station with a 5.5 hour late departure on the Cardinal that kept getting pushed back due to freezing problems in the cars. During the time leading up to Midnight, (we finally left not too long before that) we kept getting an increasing vibe of hostility from some of the staff, and seemed to be getting a hint that we needed to be out of there by midnight, either on a train or on the street. I will say that Mary, the Customer Service Rep., did do a commendable job in holding her composure against an increasingly antagonistic crowd.

Really, my only exception to the narrative is the opinion that "this is no way for a First Class Passenger to be treated." I would append that this is no way for ANY passenger to be treated. Therein, I kind of detect that there may be an air of extra entitlement as a Sleeper Passenger. I would hope not - perhaps I'm reading too much into it, but just as I've seen some rude employees, I've seen some very arrogant passengers, including some in the sleepers who may deem themselves "better" than the unwashed masses in the coaches. The mention of the term "First Class" nearly half a dozen times in the review kind of leads me to detect some degree of "snootiness" at work here, so I don't know if that could have overshadowed just how the passenger interacted with those that she encountered, and if that could have amplified the negative way in which they were treated.

However, I don't see anything very over the top, or unbelievable in the review. The reviewer seemed to go to lengths to give praise where appropriate, be fair withouth being nitpicky about things that may be subpar without being detestable, and saves most of the complaining for the pair of Employees at CUS.

I've been on both sides, having driven city buses for 11 years, having been by and large a model employee who did recieve a good share of commendations. I've seen where complaints by passengers were totally exaggerated. I've also had my days where I was not having a good day, but certainly could not afford to take off, so I carried an attitude I might later regret out there to the public. It's not always easy to put up a phoney PR face when you have personal problems mounting on you at the same time. I know, I've been there.

Back to Amtrak, I've had my less than stellar rides, the worst being on the Cardinal in February, where following our train crapping out in the hills of West Virginia, we as Coach passengers got NO info at all on what was going on after sitting for quite some time while darkness set in on the West Virginia sky - not an experience I would care to repeat by any means.

Still, I've had some fantastic experiences on the train as well, from Service Attendants and Car Atttendants to Telephone Agents and Station Agents who went to great lengths to help "find" a friend of mine who got diverted when a detour separated us, and help put my mind at ease. It's these experiences that I try to focus on when choosing to ride Amtrak.

Unfortunately, however, I always tend to carry the mantra of expect the worst and hope for the best. I never head in expecting that I'm going to be well taken care of. I tend to start off expecting that the Employee might be surly, and could be having a bad day. Fortunately, I'm much more often that not pleased that my expectations were too low, and on regular occasion delighted to find that I was completely off base, and in awe of how good the service I recieve is. I guess there is SOME good in this - if ALL Amtrak Employees were absolutely top notch, they'd all be pretty forgettable, and so would many of the voyages!

 

[AmtrakCrescent20]

Maybe it would help if one of those who has experienced the Homewood hotel gave us the name of it so we can better understand the situation...