SCA Missing in Action: How can this be possible?

There have been many posts since I joined this forum that indicate that the SCA cannot be found at times. How is this possible?

There is a Call Button in the Roomettes and Bedrooms that is supposed to be connected to an annunciator (if that is the proper name for the device) that ought to notify the Attendant that he/she is needed.

I understand that making such a call during the SCA's rest period would go unanswered. (Or, if there is more than one Sleeping Cars, would not that next car's attendant be avaialble to answer the call?)

As my first Amtrak trip since 2002 approaches next week, clarification of this potential issue would be appreciated.

If the car attendant is hanging out in another car, the call button won't do much good.

That said, it isn't a huge problem.

Usually after the attendent has made up all the beds for the night slippers, he or she tells everyone from a certain time at night they will not be available for calls from your room. They too have to get some sleep, just like you do! Also, many of them pull double duty, they take care of their car passengers and then help in the Dinning Car, for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner!

You have to remember, the Attendent is up by at least 5 am, takes care of all your needs, makes sure you get off and back on the train at the smoke stops, helps in the Dinng Car, and then makes sure you have everything you need for a restful night, then they get to go to bed!

Have a Great Trip, don't forget to take a Power Strip with you for all those things you need to plug in!

Denny

Well, for whatever reason, what I tried to post with the quote from the previous poster did not work.

Thanks for such an informative post! I did not realize that the SCA also helped in the Dining Car. That is different from my 2002 Amtrak trip on the Cardinal, CZ, CS, and EB.

I am really looking forward to this trip. I am anxious to compare my memory of my past train trips on Amtrak as well as pre-Amtrak with the reality of today.

They're 'missing' because they're shiftless no 'counts, as Granny used to say. There is no defense or apology. I've never heard of an sca pulling double shift in the diner - and certainly never saw it, except sitting on their royal fanny occupying pax space and shmoozing with their buds.

City of Miami said:

They're 'missing' because they're shiftless no 'counts, as Granny used to say. There is no defense or apology. I've never heard of an sca pulling double shift in the diner - and certainly never saw it, except sitting on their royal fanny occupying pax space and shmoozing with their buds.

Click to expand...

I don't know if this was abnormal but back in 2009 the SCA in my sleeper helped serve dinner in the diner. She told the passengers in our car she would be unavailable while diner was being served. If she slept it wasn't for long because she was manning the door in Pittsburgh, a midnight arrival, and let me off for the smoke stop around 5 AM in Toledo.

She was the best SCA I experienced.

City of Miami said:

They're 'missing' because they're shiftless no 'counts, as Granny used to say. There is no defense or apology. I've never heard of an sca pulling double shift in the diner - and certainly never saw it, except sitting on their royal fanny occupying pax space and shmoozing with their buds.

Click to expand...

WOW! This is a rather extreme comment.

I don't understand why some posters say that they do help out in the Dining Car and some say they don't. Looking forward to seeing for myself!

I've seen them do double duty. One time a dining car employee was sick and the sca helped.

Dakota 400 said:

Well, for whatever reason, what I tried to post with the quote from the previous poster did not work.

Thanks for such an informative post! I did not realize that the SCA also helped in the Dining Car. That is different from my 2002 Amtrak trip on the Cardinal, CZ, CS, and EB.

I am really looking forward to this trip. I am anxious to compare my memory of my past train trips on Amtrak as well as pre-Amtrak with the reality of today.

Click to expand...

I have had the same thing happen when quoting. However, I was able to quote your post, now.

City of Miami said:

They're 'missing' because they're shiftless no 'counts, as Granny used to say. There is no defense or apology. I've never heard of an sca pulling double shift in the diner - and certainly never saw it, except sitting on their royal fanny occupying pax space and shmoozing with their buds.

Click to expand...

I'm sorry you feel this way, my wife and I rode the Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle and back in a Roomette and our SCA, on the way out did double duty in our car and the Dining Car! I might add she did a very good job at both! Maybe someone was off that day and she helped in the Dining car for the trip, I don't know, but she did a very good job! In fact everyone in the dining car were very helpful and professional!

My SCA is helping the LSA. She's not MIA because she lets us know when she is going to be out of the car and for about how long.

I've ridden all the long distance trains out west plus the Lake Shore Limited since the 1970's. Only once did I feel my SCA was asleep on the job(and he literally was). In 2013 I rode the Coast Starlight LAX to Portland. My SCA was okay from departure until bedtime. Unfortunately, the train hit someone just outside of LA and we were delayed almost 3 hours. Apparently by the time we reached San Jose we were over 5 hours late and I was already asleep. I am guessing my SCA stayed up for passengers departing and boarding all the way through Sacramento and then went to sleep in his room. I heard he and some passengers talking while we were in station at Emeryville just outside my roomette 002. I was in roomette 002 across from his in 001. As we were still in Northern California south of Redding when I awoke, I noticed the SCA was asleep and his door closed and locked. It was past 2pm before my SCA awoke. He did not help anyone make up their room for daytime and the lady SCA's from the other two sleepers did not volunteer to help. In fact I helped an elderly couple(I'm 72) set up there room since no one else was helping. While my SCA was nice when awake, he offered no assistance when I got off in Portland so I cut my tip in half as I departed handling my luggage on my own.

I took train 97 from Washington to West Palm Beach on Monday. My attendant was not much help and hard to find. When I went to board a nice tall young man was at the door near car 9711 and asked to help with suitcase. I said thanks but Ive got it. He took it anyway and handed it up to me. I went to my roomette and waited. And waited. Boarded at 7:30 and at 8:15 hit the call button which usually doesn't work in a Viewliner. Nothing. About 8:50 a different attendant was across from my room delivering food and I asked where my attendant was. He said I am your attendant. Ive been busy getting dinners for passengers here in the car. Asked him to make my bed and he did at 9pm. Said he needed to be in bed around 9pm but looked like he had to stay up a little longer. Next time I saw him was noon next day. Had to put the bed up in the morning as he was nowhere to be found.

As we were nearing West Palm Beach he was no where in sight to offer luggage help. I walked down to his room and he was on his cell phone. Told him we were at the station could he open the door and let me out. Told me to walk back to end of car as he was opening another door as there was an elderly passenger in room b.

I have traveled a lot on Amtrak and this was the exception not the rule.

The SCA could be in the bathroom, in the dining car picking up meals to serve passengers in their rooms, serving meals to passengers in their rooms, helping other passengers who pressed the call button first, helping passengers board/detrain, resting (they usually tell you when they're sleeping period is), taking a shower, taking a meal break, etc.

If they're in another car, either helping someone who grabbed them as they walked by (it happens) or simply walking to/from your car, they won't hear/see the call button right away.

City of Miami said:

They're 'missing' because they're shiftless no 'counts, as Granny used to say. There is no defense or apology. I've never heard of an sca pulling double shift in the diner - and certainly never saw it, except sitting on their royal fanny occupying pax space and shmoozing with their buds.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, I've seen just this thing way too many times. Especially after the diner closes for Breakfast and Lunch. The SCA WILL deliver meals to your room though, if you ask him/her nicely so sometimes they're busy doing that also. Last year when I rode the Sunset Eagle, my SCA would even make runs to the lounge car for people, if he had time. The man got some nice tips when we arrived in LA.

This is one of Amtrak's big three problems (on-time performance and not going where you want when you want being the others). Inconsistency of service. It is big-time, not just small variations but no enforcement of rules and service that can be 5 star one time and 0 stars the next. You do not find anything close to this level of inconsistency anywhere else in any kind of travel company.

me_little_me said:

This is one of Amtrak's big three problems (on-time performance and not going where you want when you want being the others). Inconsistency of service. It is big-time, not just small variations but no enforcement of rules and service that can be 5 star one time and 0 stars the next. You do not find anything close to this level of inconsistency anywhere else in any kind of travel company.

Click to expand...

Try the Airlines!!!!

jimhudson said:

me_little_me said:

This is one of Amtrak's big three problems (on-time performance and not going where you want when you want being the others). Inconsistency of service. It is big-time, not just small variations but no enforcement of rules and service that can be 5 star one time and 0 stars the next. You do not find anything close to this level of inconsistency anywhere else in any kind of travel company.

Click to expand...

Try the Airlines!!!!

Click to expand...

Nah! They are consistently bad.

does you all you telling me that the little broken button is

the "call button" like the SCA is supposed to respond and report to your room when you press the button?

Whoo-ee, I've rode Amtrak and Superliner roomettes the last 20years and nobody ever told me about the "call button"

Have I missed it on the airliners -- supposedly if you press the button an airline someFLA will appear at your seat -- really?? on Amtrak the SCA actually responds to some "CALL BUTTON"

sorry i missed that whole thing, I thought there was no service like that at all -- no SCA on any Amtrak train I've ever rode ever told me that I could press a button in my roomette and have the SCA respond. Huhy??

""

Do some SCA's actually offer to respond to the "CALL BUTTON" in the roomette?? Never happened to me.

I had an excellent SCA on the SWC this week. Yes, she said to push the button & yes she responded to the call button though I never used it. I think I & others benefitted from one passenger's use of the call button when she came by asking if we wanted more water.

Most comments here are pretty good. A couple are off the wall. As an SCA, I've responded to more call buttons than you'll ever be able to count. Often the passenger intended to turn on the overhead light. Sarah has it right, as usual. Several others also.

Yes, there are some SCA's who don't have what it takes to do the job really well, but in my experience they are vastly outnumbered by those who do have that kind of drive.

Sometimes the SCA simply needs a break. Sometimes the SCA is helping other employees (yes, it does happen a lot).

Truly lazy people generally don't last in that job.

Tom

I don't have a good memory for faces. It's rare, but I've had a couple of SCAs completely disappear when I actually needed something -- for hours after hitting the call button -- not in their room sleeping, either. On early trips, I tried to find the SCA, but I don't have a good memory for faces.

Now I just walk the train until I find someone in uniform, talk to the first uniformed person I find, and *they* find my SCA for me. That's been very reliable -- though sometimes they just do what I needed rather than getting the SCA who should have been doing it, and I feel kind of bad about that.

Once, in the last 30 years, in a restaurant, after 10 minutes I walked back to the front desk and told the hostess - "sorry, you seated us a table with no server" (fertilzer, air impeller, loser server shooting up in the loo - blah blah)

I only ride sleepers once a year or so, for the last 30 years.

I'd guess one in 2 trips the SCA never did the "welcome aboard, here's the call button, ask me for help" speech.

One in 8 trips the SCA never answered the call button, never asked nor did the berth lowering thing (but I can do that myself). Basically was not there at all.

So, based on my own limited experience, 4 out of 5 SCA's will be there daylight hours and be helpful.

Except for one trip on the Empire Builder with Saheed (the spelling is probably wrong on that), who was absolutely the worst SCA I've ever run across, the only times I've had issues with missing sleeper attendants are when I'm in the TransDorm. I've never actually had a GOOD one when I've been on a Dorm roomette. Actually the last time I was in a dorm, we didnt even see him the morning we arrived into Chicago (on #29) so We left the room unmade up... nothing else we could do. He also didn't get a tip, which is something I never do either. except for Saheed on #8, 7 years ago.