Senator urges Amtrak management, board, to get out and ride

I saw this article about US Senator Roger Wicker's comments at the dedication of Marks, MS new station stop on the CONO route.

Here is a quote: Wicker walked the coaches with members of the Southern Rail Commission, stopping to chat with travelers in their seats and the crew in the café car.

“I don’t think the general public understands how well this works and how well it can work,” Wicker says, adding, “I think Amtrak corporate leadership ought to get on a few routes like this and ride them every now and then. I’d like to see our new (Amtrak) board members do that. I think it will be an eye-opener. This is a vital service; if Amtrak were an airline, it would be the third largest.”

Asked if the interconnection between all the cities and towns involves more than just corridors, he said, “Absolutely.”

Wicker has been an active member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; although not on the appropriations committee, he and his staff have paid particular attention to Amtrak funding in general and efforts to bridge the relationships necessary to get funding for a station at Marks and restart service along the U.S. Gulf Coast, in particular.

“I think the (increased) level of funding speaks for itself,” he says. I think there is a view in Congress and on the committees that this is an efficient use of taxpayer dollars.”

When asked whether Amtrak management was committed to operating a national passenger rail network, Wicker replied, “I can’t speak to that. I will say they were willing — eventually — to listen to us. It took awhile, but here we are — and we’re smiling!”

Amtrak management and board should get out and ride Amtrak yes, but so should members of Congress (both Senate and Representative)! And not in private cars, but with the regular Riders!

After all, Congress made the rules and provides funding for Amtrak.

the_traveler said:

Amtrak management and board should get out and ride Amtrak yes, but so should members of Congress (both Senate and Representative)! And not in private cars, but with the regular Riders!

After all, Congress made the rules and provides funding for Amtrak.

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No, but the problem with having the people in power ride Amtrak is that they wouldn't get the wonderful sense of superiority, entitlement, and immunity they deserve.

In two of the companies I worked at, we had the management AIC program, in fact so did several of my customers. You were required to spend 7-10 days riding with the field team, this included the CEO and COO. they really learned a lot and would follow up for more details on certain problems. My long haul trucking customers would make everyone in the office CEO down ride one week solid with a truck driver, no special amenities.

I have seen what happens when CEO's rode Amtrak in the past....it was always known in advance, and middle management did whatever was necessary to insure the CEO would only see what the best result that special prepping would result in, including advising all of the crew....

Nothing truly incognito....the crew always knew....

railiner said:

I have seen what happens when CEO's rode Amtrak in the past....it was always known in advance, and middle management did whatever was necessary to insure the CEO would only see what the best result that special prepping would result in, including advising all of the crew....

Nothing truly incognito....the crew always knew....

Click to expand...

Exactly right. I met Paul Reistrup once in the late '70s on the Broadway Limited's club car. Everyone working that train knew he'd be on it, and treated him like royalty. We all got better service than usual, too, but only so the boss would be impressed.

To be effective, this would need to work like TV's "Undercover Boss." Do we have any theater types with us who could make Anderson up to go incognito?

Skyline said:

railiner said:

I have seen what happens when CEO's rode Amtrak in the past....it was always known in advance, and middle management did whatever was necessary to insure the CEO would only see what the best result that special prepping would result in, including advising all of the crew....

Nothing truly incognito....the crew always knew....

Click to expand...

Exactly right. I met Paul Reistrup once in the late '70s on the Broadway Limited's club car. Everyone working that train knew he'd be on it, and treated him like royalty. We all got better service than usual, too, but only so the boss would be impressed.

To be effective, this would need to work like TV's "Undercover Boss." Do we have any theater types with us who could make Anderson up to go incognito?

Click to expand...

I was going to mention Undercover Boss, but that show is really about showing the executives what working conditions are like. Not what the product is like.

I was waiting for a train at a station in India. All the platforms were swept, toilets cleaned and not to be used, security checks in place... After a quick visit by the area manager, normal service was resumed...

I do remember one undercover boss type programme. A supermarket chain's "conventional wisdom" thought that restricting the number of hand baskets would make shoppers use a trolley, and so buy more items. The boss was surprised to see that if baskets were not available, many shoppers instead did without either and just bought what they could carry in their hand, so resulting in a smaller sale.

Tinkering around with meals and such strikes me as a similar thing... Unless the decision makers talk to the passengers at grass roots level, they can make decisions with unintended consequences...

Ed.

Anderson and Moorman did, I believe, manage some of this early on in their tenure. In Anderson's case, from what I can tell this was/is part of the "problem" at the moment: He rode from end to end on the PPC and no small part of the decision to axe the PPC came from the bar in there generating all of about $200 in revenue and the car being thinly patronized (which stands in contrast to what I remember seeing in years past) despite a quite well-patronized train. He also experienced the current state of the sleepers and was sorely annoyed.

I suggested several weeks ago to my congress man when objecting to the polices that led to the diners being downgraded, that he should take at least a two day trip on Amtrak every year to see what the customer sees. Most of you are probably right in that the crew will be tipped off if they know someone from congress will be on board. We had the same problem at our jobs, the big shots always let people know when they were coming and we spent weeks getting everything just perfect for their visit. Although I would doubt the sleepers could be much improved?

Maybe, on the contrary, the knowledge that a senator or board member could turn uo announced at any moment, or might indeed actually be the person they are serving right now (how many people would recognize some random senator or board member - I don't think i would, espacially seeing people often look different in real life than they do on TV). That possibility would keep staff more on their toes.

I want to see Marco Rubio wearing a Wilford Brimley-like mustache on the Silver Meteor. No one would know it is him

With our company, no one knew in advance, more than a couple hours. They would arrive on site to shadow you all week. If I was on a Project Eval week, he had to make all the same meetings in all the different cities and states. All he knew in advance was my background. The highest that ever joined me for a week, was President for our Division and Sr. VP for the Corporation (multi-billion dollar corp based in Illinois). It was awkward at first asking a suit to climb all over a rig as you did project inspections with your customer, but he said not to treat him different just because he was along. I will say that the few times someone rode with me, seemed to be my most hectic weeks.

cpotisch said:

Skyline said:

railiner said:

I have seen what happens when CEO's rode Amtrak in the past....it was always known in advance, and middle management did whatever was necessary to insure the CEO would only see what the best result that special prepping would result in, including advising all of the crew....

Nothing truly incognito....the crew always knew....

Click to expand...

Exactly right. I met Paul Reistrup once in the late '70s on the Broadway Limited's club car. Everyone working that train knew he'd be on it, and treated him like royalty. We all got better service than usual, too, but only so the boss would be impressed.

To be effective, this would need to work like TV's "Undercover Boss." Do we have any theater types with us who could make Anderson up to go incognito?

Click to expand...

I was going to mention Undercover Boss, but that show is really about showing the executives what working conditions are like. Not what the product is like.

Click to expand...

I used to watch that show, but soon realized that each show was following a tight 'script', and they all were more or less the same story, with different characters.

That said, I particularly enjoyed the one on Norwegian Cruise Lines, when (former) chief, Kevin Sheehan, was "busted"....recognized by one of the crew members...

I think Senator Wicker is correct. Their Chief of staff should also ride. If their spouse makes the reservation, it might not be as obvious an elected official is on the train. They should ride the Capitol Limited after the new dining experience is in operation and then ride the Cardinal back to DC.

I think they could use a cover name so no one would know until they arrive. Also, don't arrive with the typical entourage of staff and dress down to business causal. If security is an issue, have a second security person travel as a friend in another room/seat. It can be done if they want to do it. That is the big IF!!!

While in the Navy, we never had a "surprise" inspection that wasn't known about ahead of time!

I think the goal was not to spy on Amtrak employees, but rather see and talk to the typical Customer on an Amtrak long distance train.

Find out, real fast, that the typical customer is not out for a joy ride. It's a young couple living in chicago visiting family in Mississippi, it's a business woman heading for a meeting the next day in memphis, it's a family on vacation heading to New Orleans to board a cruise ship. Those are some of the examples that I've met while riding that train.

Even one time when I rode the iowa pacific Pullman cars on the back of the city, there was a business man on his way to nyc that likes to take the train. He was connecting to the lake shore the next day. so even the first class Pullman cars were used for regular travel.... Just like first class air is also used for regular travel.

The news that a congressman, senator or high Amtrak official is on the train will spread quickly. An administrative aide, however, could probably slip by and could have a true experience.

I'm glad that the senator from Mississippi seems to have a positive view on Amtrak, perhaps he could influence some of his fellow Republican senators, although I think the main problem is with the hard-right Republican congressmen.

railiner said:

cpotisch said:

Skyline said:

railiner said:

I have seen what happens when CEO's rode Amtrak in the past....it was always known in advance, and middle management did whatever was necessary to insure the CEO would only see what the best result that special prepping would result in, including advising all of the crew....

Nothing truly incognito....the crew always knew....

Click to expand...

Exactly right. I met Paul Reistrup once in the late '70s on the Broadway Limited's club car. Everyone working that train knew he'd be on it, and treated him like royalty. We all got better service than usual, too, but only so the boss would be impressed.

To be effective, this would need to work like TV's "Undercover Boss." Do we have any theater types with us who could make Anderson up to go incognito?

Click to expand...

I was going to mention Undercover Boss, but that show is really about showing the executives what working conditions are like. Not what the product is like.

Click to expand...

I used to watch that show, but soon realized that each show was following a tight 'script', and they all were more or less the same story, with different characters.

That said, I particularly enjoyed the one on Norwegian Cruise Lines, when (former) chief, Kevin Sheehan, was "busted"....recognized by one of the crew members...

Click to expand...

I've never watched Undercover Boss - just know the premise. I feel like most shows like that tend to be or boring and scripted. Just not my thing.

Former Amtrak presidents did occasionally travel on trains, but they traveled in Beech Grove - BEHIND the train! Rarely did they “mix” with the paying passengers! That is what they need to do.

I think that Senator Wicker's idea is to have people who control Amtrak's future ride the trains to see that they are full and contain a variety of passengers. So I think they should be just the opposite of incognito--they should be going through the cars and talking to as many passengers as possible about their views of the train and why they ride it and (most important) why it is crucial to keep it.

Apparently, Wick Moorman routinely rode the trains and talked with everybody, but of course he was not there long enough to make a difference.

If Anderson's idea of riding the train was to stay in the PPC and never go through the other cars or talk to the passengers, that just confirms that he is completely out of touch with what a train is for and why passengers ride it.

I agree that the congress people should be encouraged to ride and talk to the passengers. However, as for the rest of Amtrak management, I get the feeling (although of course I could be wrong) that they are just a lot of "yes" people who would never make waves or contradict their boss, even if he does not understand the purpose of passenger rail.

I don't think so. I think he's saying that they should experience Amtrak's services, so as to get a sense of what's actually happening at the lowest levels, and maybe make more informed decisions about what's good for Amtrak and its passengers...

Well, he could mean both--having them see that there are a lot of passengers and also looking at what is good for its passengers. It would be a winning situation either way.

The thing about Wick though was that he was such a nice and kind man. The man could talk to just about anyone and you would feel like you've known him your entire life. I've met him multiple times and have always been impressed.

Even on charters I get a notification of the big wigs usually a few days in advance so I'm ready.