where to send complaint letter

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:angry:

can anyone here give me contact name or person to send letter about what happen on our trip south on Coast starlight #11 out of seattle Dec 28th.

there are lot of unhappy folks for them to cancel and terminate the service at sacramanto. This was my first and my two kids trip on amtrak.

thanks

latteman
 
You should first call Amtrak at 800-USA-RAIL and ask to speak to a person in the customer relations department. They will attentively listen, document your specific complaints and most likely offer to issue you a voucher that can be applied toward a future Amtrak trip. Then put your complaints in writing and send them to:

Amtrak Customer Relations

60 Massachusetts Ave NE

Washington, DC 20002

I hope you found the Starbucks at the Sacramento Station and ordered a latte after all the comotion, latteman!
 
latteman said:
there are lot of unhappy folks for them to cancel and terminate the service at sacramanto. This was my first and my two kids trip on amtrak.
If you would and you know why (or at least what they told you), please provide us a little more detail as to why they terminated the service at that point. They may have had good reason to do so such as an unforseen circumstance, etc.

In any sense, however, "collins" has provided you with the correct info as to what you should do. Good luck. OBS...
 
A termination at SAC sounds like it had to be really extreme with maintenance being down at Oakland. Anyone know of a derailment or big grade crossing incident up that way recently?
 
Sacramento may have had to do with the connection to the San Joaquin to get folks down to Los Angeles.
 
battalion51 said:
Anyone know of a derailment or big grade crossing incident up that way recently?
There haven't been any derailments or grade crossing incidents but we have been experiencing severe weather conditions in Northern California and Northern Nevada over the past week. Perhaps mudslides, washouts, or other weather conditions played a factor in delaying the train enough to be terminated at the Sacramento station.

Sacramento's station is a larger facility with more Amtrak staff and station assistance available to reacommodate passengers than Oakland. While passengers can make a rail-rail connection between the Coast Starlight and San Joaquin trains at Martinez, Emeryville, or Oakland-Jack London Square (none of which are staffed near the levels of Sacramento) it would take additional time to travel down to those stations on the Starlight and then back over (east, then south) on the San Joaquins to go down the valley. This usually results in passengers having to take the next scheduled San Joaquin down the valley instead of an earlier one they could have caught via an Amtrak bus connection from Sacramento to Stockton. Considering these conditions, Sacramento is usually the most logical point to transfer passengers in these circumstances. Most likely the train deadheaded to the Oakland yard after the passengers exited at Sacramento.
 
I guess that move would make sense then. I'm not gonna lie, I wouldn't say I'm exactly qualified on the physical characteristics or facilites out there. I'd definitely fail that logistics test. :lol:
 
jccollins thanks for the info... greatly appreciated..

well we are back from LA.

overall, i would still take trip on Amrtak with boys.

even with early termination, its the experience that is worth every money... just wished we could have finished our complete trip to LA...

we have met some real nice folks on the trip down to LA.

we gain new friends. I still recommend the train trips to all my friends. But not during winter months..

well wish me luck with amtrak in getting some voucher for future trip...

oh, reason was that train was so behind in schedule they needed to turn the train around get it back on schedule.

happy new years to all..

latteman

ps.. i wish i knew there was starbucks next to station, but we didnt even have time( behind schedule with connection) :(
 
I know there were mudslides on the 25th that had just happened that day when we left Portland on the Empire Builder. Perhaps service hadn't be restored yet on the 28th? Apparently, my train was the ONLY train that would operating that day at least (25th).

It sucked having to work on Christmas. XD Christmas at a hotel in Portland, how fun can it get? LOL
 
I will be sending my complaints tomorrow. On a trip to visit, my 88 year old mother and 86 year old aunt boarded a train and were told there were no seats even though they had a reservation. They stood for 4 stops before they reached a station where another car was added. It is unacceptable to expect people to stand for extended periods of time on Amtrak.

On the return today, when the train arrived they were told that there were limited seats and only upstairs. There were dozens of folks including many college students with multiple bags and suitcases boarding the train so I helped my Mom carry her bag upstairs as she was overrun by teens grabbing chairs. Crowded stair cases and I got back down to get off just as the doors were closing. Rather than lose a hand in the door while it closed, I ask the Amtrak employee to open the doors. He said no and walked away, stranding me on the train. I followed and asked, "Sir, I need to get off the train can you open the door". He said no and again walked away providing me with no information. We sat at the station with doors closed for several minutes before the train left. So I rode the train to the next stop, got off and bought a ticket back to the station. The return 15 minute trip also included a porter who was rude and sarcastic -- south end of a northern facing horse. WTH is up with these people?

There was NO WAY IN HELL, my Mom could have carried her bag upstairs in that crowd and then found a seat. My aunt was in a similar situation. It's spring break in california and the trains are packed. Not enough cars, short stops, RUDE employees. Never again.
 
I will be sending my complaints tomorrow. On a trip to visit, my 88 year old mother and 86 year old aunt boarded a train and were told there were no seats even though they had a reservation. They stood for 4 stops before they reached a station where another car was added. It is unacceptable to expect people to stand for extended periods of time on Amtrak.
Most trains in California are unreserved trains, meaning that you are not guaranteed a seat and can end up standing if too many people by tickets for said train. Having a reservation doesn't guarantee a seat on an unreserved train.

Note: Most Amtrak trains are reserved and you are guaranteed a seat. In California, the State helps to subsidize the trains and it is their decision to run these trains as unreserved trains; not Amtrak's decision.
 
IMHO the best way to contact Amtrak's customer service department is through their headquarters in Washington, D.C. @ (202) 906-3000.

Rick
 
:angry:
can anyone here give me contact name or person to send letter about what happen on our trip south on Coast starlight #11 out of seattle Dec 28th.

DECEMBER 28 ????????????

I think your window of opportunity has vanished, angry or not.

SO, to summarize: your train was so late AMTRAK canceled the ongoing journey, but got you where you needed to go.

Sorry, you might be angry about not getting the train ride all the way, but you did get there.

And exactly what "compensation" were you looking for. I would expect AMTRAK to give none. Honestly.
 
I will be sending my complaints tomorrow. On a trip to visit, my 88 year old mother and 86 year old aunt boarded a train and were told there were no seats ... ...
I think we've been had on this one, because if I got stuck on train for 15 minutes with my 88 year old mother and 86 year old aunt, I sure would have spent my time finding them a seat rather than letting them stand there --- not complaining about getting stuck onboard or some "porter".

Sorry.
 
:angry:
can anyone here give me contact name or person to send letter about what happen on our trip south on Coast starlight #11 out of seattle Dec 28th.
DECEMBER 28 ????????????

I think your window of opportunity has vanished, angry or not.

SO, to summarize: your train was so late AMTRAK canceled the ongoing journey, but got you where you needed to go.

Sorry, you might be angry about not getting the train ride all the way, but you did get there.

And exactly what "compensation" were you looking for. I would expect AMTRAK to give none. Honestly.
I think you are mixing up two different complaints in the same thread. Concerning the December 28 incident, the OP said he filed his complaint with Amtrak on January 2. The complaint about seating, crowding, and missing the stop was posted yesterday by a different person.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I think you are mixing up two different complaints in the same thread. Concerning the December 28 incident, the OP said he filed his complaint with Amtrak on January 2. The complaint about seating, crowding, and missing the stop was posted yesterday by a different person.
January 2, 2006
 
I will be sending my complaints tomorrow. On a trip to visit, my 88 year old mother and 86 year old aunt boarded a train and were told there were no seats ... ...
I think we've been had on this one, because if I got stuck on train for 15 minutes with my 88 year old mother and 86 year old aunt, I sure would have spent my time finding them a seat rather than letting them stand there --- not complaining about getting stuck onboard or some "porter".Sorry.
daveyb99,

This isn't your day (first the mixup with the 4-year-old post and the recent posts) :blink: . Second, not reading carefully the post from "Guest". "Guest" didn't say that his/her mother and aunt couldn't get a seat on their return trip, just on the originating trip. "Guest" put their luggage in an upstairs area, while they (presumably) found seats upstairs. "Guest" said that s/he didn't think the mother and aunt could get seats and stow luggage.

A couple of other comments:

(1) If the post is true, I would think a good attendant and/or conductor would have made some college kids stand for two octogenarians. I'm sorry that (evidently) didn't happen.

(2) I wonder if we should require all posters to register. It seems to me that a good number of "Guest" posters are here to complain, with good reason or not. (I recognize that many "Guests" post a question asking about some aspect of train travel, and not to complain. However, if they registered, it would make it easier for somebody to email a response if desired, as well as to track postings).
 
I think you are mixing up two different complaints in the same thread. Concerning the December 28 incident, the OP said he filed his complaint with Amtrak on January 2. The complaint about seating, crowding, and missing the stop was posted yesterday by a different person.
January 2, 2006
Yikes! I did not even think of the year.
 
:angry:
can anyone here give me contact name or person to send letter about what happen on our trip south on Coast starlight #11 out of seattle Dec 28th.

there are lot of unhappy folks for them to cancel and terminate the service at sacramanto. This was my first and my two kids trip on amtrak.

thanks

latteman
I have found that if I am looking for quid pro quo (e.g. a voucher or compensatory AGR points) I get a lot better response from talking to Customer Relations live than with e-mail or letters.
 
:angry:
can anyone here give me contact name or person to send letter about what happen on our trip south on Coast starlight #11 out of seattle Dec 28th.

there are lot of unhappy folks for them to cancel and terminate the service at sacramanto. This was my first and my two kids trip on amtrak.

thanks

latteman
I have found that if I am looking for quid pro quo (e.g. a voucher or compensatory AGR points) I get a lot better response from talking to Customer Relations live than with e-mail or letters.

I have found that if I am looking for quid pro quo (e.g. a voucher or compensatory AGR points) I get a lot better response by informing them of the problem within the same year or so. ;)
 
:angry:
can anyone here give me contact name or person to send letter about what happen on our trip south on Coast starlight #11 out of seattle Dec 28th.

there are lot of unhappy folks for them to cancel and terminate the service at sacramanto. This was my first and my two kids trip on amtrak.

thanks

latteman
I have found that if I am looking for quid pro quo (e.g. a voucher or compensatory AGR points) I get a lot better response from talking to Customer Relations live than with e-mail or letters.

I have found that if I am looking for quid pro quo (e.g. a voucher or compensatory AGR points) I get a lot better response by informing them of the problem within the same year or so. ;)
No doubt. Often they need to verify your story and it is made more dificult with the passage of time.
 
I've noticed that this pops up occasionally. I'm trying to do better about checking the dates, reading & rereading posts to avoid confusion. :)

Moderators, is there a way to close the old threads without too much trouble?

Just wondering.
 
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