Bad experience on Amtrak with sleeper rooms

[Allison]

We were woken up at 10:27pm last night on our trip from Penn Station to Rochester, NY. The lady said we would be at the station soon and needed to get out of our rooms so she could make the beds. We had two kids under three sleeping and had to wake then up so we could go sit in someone else's room. We were glad the train was running early - except an hour later we were still squished in someone else's room waiting for Rochester. Both kids were upset and we were pissed. We paid a lot of money for those two rooms - so why we're we kicked out?? We felt like we were being forced off the train. It sat at the station for almost 45 minutes. Could we not have slept another hour and then gotten off? We have risen Amtrak (always sleeper cars) before but this put a bad taste in our mouth. May be time to go back to flying.

 

[me_little_me]

We were woken up at 10:27pm last night on our trip from Penn Station to Rochester, NY. The lady said we would be at the station soon and needed to get out of our rooms so she could make the beds. We had two kids under three sleeping and had to wake then up so we could go sit in someone else's room. We were glad the train was running early - except an hour later we were still squished in someone else's room waiting for Rochester. Both kids were upset and we were pissed. We paid a lot of money for those two rooms - so why we're we kicked out?? We felt like we were being forced off the train. It sat at the station for almost 45 minutes. Could we not have slept another hour and then gotten off? We have risen Amtrak (always sleeper cars) before but this put a bad taste in our mouth. May be time to go back to flying.

Call Amtrak. Ask for Customer Service. Explain in a CALM voice the specific issues you had and how it inconvenienced you and how apparently, the SCA took advantage of you by making you leave your room unnecessarily early so they could get off duty quicker. Be sure and write down ahead of time the specific points of your complaint so you are not fumbling for words or forgetting something. Tell them you want to be compensated for your and your children's inconvenience and the partial loss of the room. You might also consider email or a letter to Amtrak management in lieu of calling if you feel more comfortable doing that. Keep your ticket stub and provide Amtrak with car and room numbers.

 

[yarrow]

i have had similar experiences though not so late at night. as the above post advises, call 1-800-usa-rail and when you get an agent ask to speak to customer relations. have your reservation number and explain exactly what happened.

 

[Railroad Bill]

The previous post regarding calling Amtrak Customer Service is a good one. Emails rarely get much immediate attention.

We have had that happen on a few occasions, but our SCA has always been polite and gave us the option to move to another room if it was available.

We have also been given an adjoining room when boarding at CLE or TOL because the SCA preferred not to inconvenience a person sleeping and disembarking at CLE. That was fine with us also.

Sometimes the SCA's could use some common sense and ingenuity when preparing for another boarding sleeping car passenger instead or rousting people from their bunks unnecessarily.

Hope your less than favorable experience doesn't sour you on Amtrak. I think if you present a calm argument to the Customer Relations agent you may get a nice monetary reward for your inconvenience.

 

[daveyb99]

We were woken up at 10:27pm last night on our trip from Penn Station to Rochester, NY. The lady said we would be at the station soon ...

- except an hour later we were still squished in someone else's room waiting for Rochester.

Could we not have slept another hour and then gotten off?

What train was this, first. I would guess LSL ?

So let me get this (not to defend the crew, but ...):

You were sound asleep in your rooms at 0:33 before scheduled arrival, and were awakened in preparation for an early arrival. OK ... I see no problem there.

The fact that early arrival took a turn for the worse (for whatever reason) and it was another 0:45 before arrival - which actually sounds like you were only 0:10 late - exactly what would you like AMTRAK to do about that. Sounds as if they were acting reasonably.

I believe you are expected to depart the train on arrival, even if that arrival is early. Not arrive, then wake up, then detrain. There is no station time in Rochester. It is get off get on let's go. So actually, "more sleep" would have been maybe another 0:20 (guessing everyone can awake and ready to depart in 0:15).

And I would guess they had that sleeper booked down line and were getting ready for the next passengers. You should have gone back to the other room and had a seat. Beds no, but have a seat, yes.

Sorry the logistics did not work out on this one, but is just does not sound that egregious to me.

 

[daveyb99]

... instead or rousting people from their bunks unnecessarily.

Sounds as if they were "rousted" because of an early arrival. There is not a late-check-out feature on AMTRAK.

 

[Anderson]

First of all, just to note, this site isn't affiliated with Amtrak. We're just a bunch of railfans who enjoy riding Amtrak. With that said...

Looking at a timetable, the Lake Shore is due into Rochester at 11:00 PM. The staff would be anticipating perhaps a 10:55 arrival, so you'd be looking at 20 minutes pre-arrival, or 10:35, under most circumstances. On the one hand, an extra 10-15 minutes of sleep would have been nice; on the other hand, if there were multiple sleeper boardings in Rochester, this doesn't seem too egregious...especially as there are occasionally passengers who will try to do 35 different things in the 10 minutes before detraining and then realize that they're not packed for detraining.

As to the train sitting in the station, Rochester isn't a scheduled stop the way that Buffalo Depew is for the LSL, Pittsburgh is for the Cap, or Albuquerque is for the Chief. So it sounds to me like something went wrong and they had an unexpected delay coming into the station and then had to spend half an hour working it out...or something went wrong with a CSX train (remember, CSX runs those tracks) and that held the LSL up.

I'm also guessing that your room was booked for someone boarding at Rochester. When a train is solidly booked like that, it's not fun (this being peak season and all), and your situation might be worth a complaint, but it doesn't sound too egregious. Mind you, it's possible that the crew was told "we'll be early" only for the train to wind up being late because of a freight delay or something else.

 

[Big Iron]

We were woken up at 10:27pm last night on our trip from Penn Station to Rochester, NY. The lady said we would be at the station soon and needed to get out of our rooms so she could make the beds. We had two kids under three sleeping and had to wake then up so we could go sit in someone else's room. We were glad the train was running early - except an hour later we were still squished in someone else's room waiting for Rochester. Both kids were upset and we were pissed. We paid a lot of money for those two rooms - so why we're we kicked out?? We felt like we were being forced off the train. It sat at the station for almost 45 minutes. Could we not have slept another hour and then gotten off? We have risen Amtrak (always sleeper cars) before but this put a bad taste in our mouth. May be time to go back to flying.

Did the lady (Sleeping Car Attendant) take the time at the start of the trip to let you know that you would be awakened 30 or so minutes prior to your stop so you could get dressed and the room could be turned for another boarding passenger? If not, then the SCA did a poor job of setting expectations.

What you encountered is a customary practice if the room was needed at Rochester. The fact that the train arrived late after what was assumed an early arrival was very likley totally beyond the control of Amtrak.

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

Both kids were upset and we were pissed. We paid a lot of money for those two rooms - so why we're we kicked out?? We felt like we were being forced off the train.

We have been asked to move to another room on a couple of our trips, so that the Attendant could clean/ready our room for its next occupant. To me, it always seemed like a rather minor inconvenience, and we were glad to help the Attendant out.

It sat at the station for almost 45 minutes. Could we not have slept another hour and then gotten off?

I believe you are expected to depart soon after arrival at your destination station, not wait until the train is just about to depart.

May be time to go back to flying.

And you actually expect to find that experience better???? :giggle:

Try demanding to sit on the plane right up until the aircraft is scheduled to take off again. Let us know how that turns out.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Sounds like the SCA could have done a better job of communicating what was actually the policy for arrival/deboarding, but as has been discussed many times here, lots of the OBS have the Social Skills of Border Guards or Bean Counters! As has been said by the previous post, Lots of luck on getting better treatment on the Airlines, I think at the least youd be subjected to the third degree if you tried to stay on the plane, if not put on the ground in plastic cuffs! Please do call Customer Relations, sounds like you are due a Voucher and an apology for a rude/uncaring SCA!!!

 

[daveyb99]

... sounds like you are due a Voucher and an apology for a rude/uncaring SCA!!!

I don't know where you got that from. Sounds to me like all went fairly typically ... except for the fact the passenger did not 'get to sleep longer'.

No, NO voucher. No reason.

 

[EB_OBS]

... sounds like you are due a Voucher and an apology for a rude/uncaring SCA!!!

I don't know where you got that from. Sounds to me like all went fairly typically ... except for the fact the passenger did not 'get to sleep longer'.

No, NO voucher. No reason.

I have to agree. It's pretty standard procedure to wake sleeping car passengers approximately 30 minutes prior to arrival. Also there really is no indication from the OP that the SCA was rude in any way. At least not from what I read anyway.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

What appears to have happened is they were awaken at least 30 minutes before arrival and the train was arriving early so the sleep was cut short. Then something happened and instead of being early the train arrived on-time or a few minutes late and then it sat in the station for 45 minutes due to some issue. The SCA did everything by the book as the room was needed for the next passenger getting on and it needed to be turned and cleaned. I see nothing wrong other then something happened and it took longer to get to the station then originally planed.

 

[Dan O]

Never taken a sleeper so don't know the protocol. What would happen if the person in the sleeper said "bug off, I want to keep my sleeper until I get to my destination."

Dan

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

What would happen if the person in the sleeper said "bug off, I want to keep my sleeper until I get to my destination."

I guess we would then be reading a thread from someone else, complaining that their sleeper room wasn't ready when they boarded.

As I mentioned, we've been ask to move a few times. The Attendant was always very pleasant, and clearly was only asking us for a favor. I am sure our Attendants would not have pushed it if we resisted, but boy, I would felt like a jerk for refusing.

 

[daveyb99]

Never taken a sleeper so don't know the protocol. What would happen if the person in the sleeper said "bug off, I want to keep my sleeper until I get to my destination."

Probably not much. The crew would have been ticked off a little because now that room was not ready, so in addition to boarding passengers and all that work, now they have to contend with holding the new passengers somewhere [like the diner or SSL) so that one room can be made up.

I have been in both situations. It is just a fact that turning over a room at a station is tough on all parties.

 

[Dan O]

Never taken a sleeper so don't know the protocol. What would happen if the person in the sleeper said "bug off, I want to keep my sleeper until I get to my destination."

Probably not much. The crew would have been ticked off a little because now that room was not ready, so in addition to boarding passengers and all that work, now they have to contend with holding the new passengers somewhere [like the diner or SSL) so that one room can be made up.

I have been in both situations. It is just a fact that turning over a room at a station is tough on all parties.

Not sure what the difference is between asking someone to leave their room early and having them sit somewhere else and not having the room ready while the new passenger has to wait a bit.

I have kids of various ages and when they were little would have preferred getting up and getting everything ready except waking the kids up until pretty much the last possible moment.

If a person is asked to leave his or her room early that is a given inconvenience. Not having the room ready may be a highly probable inconveniece but even if the room is sold, there is no guarantee that the passenger will board the train.

Dan

 

[me_little_me]

Never taken a sleeper so don't know the protocol. What would happen if the person in the sleeper said "bug off, I want to keep my sleeper until I get to my destination."

Dan

They would be kicked off at the next stop?

:giggle: :giggle: :giggle:

 

[Dan O]

Never taken a sleeper so don't know the protocol. What would happen if the person in the sleeper said "bug off, I want to keep my sleeper until I get to my destination."

Dan

They would be kicked off at the next stop?

:giggle: :giggle: :giggle:

They would leave when they arrive at their destination. They just wouldn't have to leave a half hour or so earlier

 

[A.J.]

I keep thinking i'm reading this wrong. i can understand being annoyed at being asked to leave the room, but otherwise i don't see what the person is all hot and bothered about. they were sleeping, they needed to get off the train. in my experience, traveling with children is not the speediest. personally, i'd rather be awake a little bit earlier and actually ready to get off the train rather than rushing around at the last minute. i'd also rather not be the person getting on the train in Rochester and finding that my room still has people in it, which i suppose could happen.

 

[VentureForth]

My gut reaction was to side with Allison. I even had a post similar to Dan's saying that I'd probably prefer to wait 10 minutes or so after boarding to get in my room than to be interrupted 20 minutes before my arrival. But after thinking it through, I'd be obligated to prevent the train from running late by being ready to detrain ontime. In this case, SCA followed protocol, but should have allowed family back into room when cleaned and it was evident the train would arrive late.

Where would they have gone if the sleepers were totally booked?

 

[Dan O]

My gut reaction was to side with Allison. I even had a post similar to Dan's saying that I'd probably prefer to wait 10 minutes or so after boarding to get in my room than to be interrupted 20 minutes before my arrival. But after thinking it through, I'd be obligated to prevent the train from running late by being ready to detrain ontime. In this case, SCA followed protocol, but should have allowed family back into room when cleaned and it was evident the train would arrive late.

Where would they have gone if the sleepers were totally booked?

Just to be clear, I am not advocating that the family not be ready to get off the train when they get to their destination. I can undestand why someone would want to have use of the room they purchased up until they need to detrain. I don't think that is unreasonable at all. It seems odd to me that one would be asked to leave their room early but as I have said I have never been in a sleeper. It seems to me that the public gets the most use of the room if the person is not asked to leave the room early and the chnageover is done when the person detrains. However many minutes it takes to fix up a room would be taken from the new traveler, if there is a new person getting on at the same place the other gets off. By guessing like the SCA did in this case, there is more time taken from the public because his guess was not accurate for whatever reason.

Dan

 

[river]

When we were in a sleeper car last year, the SCA came to our roomette about 30 minutes before arrival, asked us to keep the seats upright, and to be ready to disembark soon. He also asked for all our trash, to check the floors for any wrappers or trash, and then took all our used/dirty linens.We just stayed in our roomette then, ready to go. I am assuming he did the same thing for all the sleeping passengers. That seems to be the fairest way for the current occupants to maintain their room--but yet a good way to expedite room turnover for the next occupants.

Isn't this how the rooms are typically done?

 

[SarahZ]

When we were in a sleeper car last year, the SCA came to our roomette about 30 minutes before arrival, asked us to keep the seats upright, and to be ready to disembark soon. He also asked for all our trash, to check the floors for any wrappers or trash, and then took all our used/dirty linens.We just stayed in our roomette then, ready to go. I am assuming he did the same thing for all the sleeping passengers. That seems to be the fairest way for the current occupants to maintain their room--but yet a good way to expedite room turnover for the next occupants.

Isn't this how the rooms are typically done?

I would imagine it depends on the time. During the day, this makes sense, but any passengers getting on around 11:00 PM would want the beds ready for use. I imagine that's why the SCA changed the bed linens and had the family sit in an empty room, so they wouldn't mess up the new bed linens.

 

[river]

You're right. We got off during the day. I can see why the SCA would wants the beds ready for the new arrivals. That makes sense! However it would have been helpful if the SCA had told everyone as soon as they came onboard that she would ask passengers to move into empty rooms 30 min prior to arrival and why. And this passenger actually reserved 2 rooms, so cramming 2 adults and 2 little children into one roomette ( I'm assuming this is what happened) even for 30 min is not really fair. For me, the not knowing this was going to happen would be annoying. If I anticipated this would happen and knew the rationale I would have been more accepting. I would have expected to have 2 empty rooms to sit in, however, if I had reserved 2 rooms.

PS Sorcha--just noticed you're from West MI too! I'm from GRR. How are you liking the snow we're finally getting?