#6 6/20 Trip Report

[michigancruisers]

Booked by ticket 5/25 from Emeryville to Chicago To Ann Arbor. (mistake #1)

Then a week or so later got an email from Amtrak saying the arriveal time in Chigan was pushed back 1 hour. My three hour window to make the last train to ann arbor was thus a two hour window ( like it mattered)

Morning of the 20 got an another email saying the DEPARTURE time in Emeryville was being pushed back 4 1/2 hours to 1:30. Called amgtrak about my connection and was told the "the train may verwell make up the time". sure..................

long story short.... Train didn't arrive at 2:30 pm but 12:30AM ... the next day.

I did get to hear the joke about makeing time up several times during the trip as I watched us fall further and further behind.

Some will say it was not Amtraks fault. I disagree

The reason for the delay in departure was the delay in #5's arrival. It was 5 hours last and the crew needed time to sleep. (Answer.......get a different crew. Amtrak knew 24 hours prior that they were going to be 5 hours late)

The loss of the additional 5 hours were varied. Generally though people might be willing to say that the reasons were beyond Amtraks control. These things happen all the time though. Answer: plan for them. but.... I'll let that 5 hours slide.

What I will not let slide is the customer service. That Amtrak controls totally. Its their CS.

When it was apparent that we were going to be late (at that time 5.5ish hours) there was no way I was going to make my connection so at that point deal with my issue. But thats not what they did.

I called them. (why didnt they contact me?) about 10:30 of the day of my arrival in chicago or 4 hours from my original arrival time. Was told that they could not speak to me because afterall the train may make up the time... (we would not arrive for about another 14 hours)

Called again at 3:30ish. they agreed that the likelyhood of my arrival in time was mute. But said that I may just be there in time for a nice overnight bus ride!! I refused a bus ride. (come on guys, I paied almost $2000 for this trip. You think I want to take a damn BUS!) Then got bumped up to someone else at CS and was told that I would be put up in a hotel. Ok

A few hours later the conductor make a long anouncement (NO ONE was makeing their connections) and guess what?? I am back on the bus.

Called CS again. Long battle. First bus and then ok, hotel. I offered a deal to make it easier on all concerned. Just credit my credit card with whatever would pay and let me take it from there and I would make my own reservation and also take care of my own transportation. NOOOO thats to easy

So I and all the other schmoozes had to get in line at CS in Union station at 12:30 at night.

At this point I was able to spend about 45 minutes (I was very close to the FRONT of the line) watching this twit filling out the same form by HAND over and over again. About 5 to 7 minutes per passenger. Do the math. Want to be the last guy in that line?? hundreds of people.

But, it is possible that Amtrak just didn't expect us to be so late. afterall, the train CAN make up time....

When It was my turn to talk to the twit I was told that the decisioin of putting me up was changed again and it was the bus but then the train lost even more time. (there were thunderstorms and we all know how dangerous they are....would YOU drive your car in a thunderstorm? of course not. just think of the damage that could happen if you did that in a train)

So arrived at hotel at 2AM.

Checked out at 6AM

Back on Wolverine at 7AM

............................

Mistake made my me.

Never NEVER have a connection towards the end of a trip like I did. If there is a connection, add a DAY at the connection site to be safe.

And by the way........ The train was old, run down, dirty, smelly and the food was almost as good as grade school cafeteria (post Michelle Obama).

The scenery was Great. but. Amtrak had nothing to do with that...

Thank god I didnt HAVE to make it home on time or even that day.

MC

 

[SarahZ]

I had pity for you until you called the extremely busy CS agent a "twit". It's not their fault they have to issue vouchers by hand.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I totally agree with Sarah, its Amtrak Management that is to blame for the mess in Chicago, not the poor overworked clerks @ Union Station!

I've had similar layovers a dozen times in Chicago ( and on other LD Routes also) and was mistly satisfied with the assistance I received from the CS staff, no matter how slow or frustrating due to staffing shortages, and later on from AGR or Amtrak in the form of vouchers!

Lest you think I'm an apologist for Amtrak, I consider Amtrak's current mid-level management incompetent, especially in Chicago, and also think that the suits @_60 Mass need to get our from behind their desks and kick ass and take names so fiascos like yours aren't such a common thing!

If this wasn't so long I'd tell you how I really feel about this subject!

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

I would think by now in this age of high speed computers all this manual paperwork could be done away with and problems like this get resolved quickly.

 

[michigancruisers]

to the apologists for amtrak.

Perhaps you should have asked me why I called her a twit....

SarahZ and jimhudson: Where did I say she was a twit for issuing a voucher? If you want to blindly jump to her defense the first thing you should do is to admit you ARE an Amtrak apologist.

So let me answer the unasked question..

She was a twit because:

1. She was clearly poorly prepared. If I worked in
CS and knew I had 100's of people coming to me I would be ready for them.

But, said the apologist, "maybe she didn't have time to get ready" You have 100's of iterations of the exact same issue on the way, make time. What are you there for? It's your job to take care of this problem.

2. If you know you are going to be filling out the exact damn form 100's of times try this..fill out one minus the passenger name and photocopy it. She is a twit for not thinking of that.

3. She was a twit because when she had 100's of people standing in line at 0 dark thirty, she let herself be constantly interrupted by other employees so that she could take care OF THEIR problems rather than telling those amtrak employees that she was BUSY! Fully 40% of my delay (and I have no reason to assume that things changed after I left) was caused by her helping other employees.

4. She was a twit because even when she was working on us passengers she just could never get her paperwork organized. I watched here time and time again for each passenger have to walk to every part of that station to find the proper slip of paper. ( I guess that goes back to point 1)

5. She was a twit for not organizing those other employees (the ones in #3) to streamline for her. Its Really simple

6. She was a twit because I had a way to objectively measure her twitness. The OTHER CS rep was able to process passengers and three times the speed (I timed it) but I assigned to her line.

Any other questions??

 

[Bob Dylan]

MC: I read your posts closely and I'll ask again who is responsible for the 1940s style system of paperwork that the clerks in Union Station are forced to use? I'll grant you that that particular clerk might not be suited for her current position, but whose fault is that?

The answer is Management, not hourly line employees that have no power to change unworkable systems or policies!

I hope you called Custom Relations and expressed your opinions about this. If not, I assure you they will take it seriously and do something about it including possibly reimbursing you for your less than satisfactory service that you paid dearly for!

As for those of us you consider Amtrak apologists,actually we are some of the toughest critics of Amtrak, but we also offer ways to improve things and not just complain about low level employees!

Heads should roll @ Union Station, but they should be Managers, not clerks and also, as I said, the desk jockies in Washington @ 60 Mass should also get off their duffs and do their damn job which is to manage Amtrak, a public transportation operation that also is supposed to know how to provide good customer service!

Guess that's all I have on this, good luck to you and hopefully future travel will be better for you, whether on Amtrak or Airlines, both which have been known to provide really sorry service as well as outstanding service!!

 

[Sauve850]

I have been a long distance train traveler for over 25 years. I believe all levels of management have competency issues and always have. This of course is reflected in many of Amtrak's employees. I have the time to enjoy the cross country trips but am tired of the excuses. I no longer write to my congressional representatives but write directly to Amtrak. Management needs to step up to the plate and be held responsible for many problem areas.

 

[niemi24s]

I believe all levels of management have competency issues and always have.

Reminds me of "The Peter Principle is a concept in management theory formulated by Laurence J. Peter in which the selection of a candidate for a position is based on the candidate's performance in their current role, rather than on abilities relevant to the intended role. Thus, employees only stop being promoted once they can no longer perform effectively, and "managers rise to the level of their incompetence." [Wikipedia]

 

[Cina]

As I tell my kindergarteners: no matter how you are treated, it is never the right decision to call them a bad name or act badly towards them. You act with grace and you tell a teacher (or, in this case, go higher up the chain of command.)

It works for five year olds, it applies here too.

 

[jebr]

As I tell my kindergarteners: no matter how you are treated, it is never the right decision to call them a bad name or act badly towards them. You act with grace and you tell a teacher (or, in this case, go higher up the chain of command.)

It works for five year olds, it applies here too.

Amen.

----------------------------------------

In this case, it doesn't even really seem like the CSR was really to blame...the person to blame (if it's not "the system") is probably a few levels up. Yes, a form taking 5-7 minutes to fill out by hand is a terrible way to process a hotel room and cash voucher, but that's a system problem, not a problem with the agent.

I'm going to gander that the OP probably hasn't worked in a front-line customer-facing position (at least at a large-ish company) in quite some time, if at all. I chuckled at the thought of just saying "yeah, get a room wherever and whatever transportation you want, we'll pay for it." That sounds wildly expensive...what's to stop someone from abusing it, buying a posh hotel room and a first class seat on the next morning's flight, and then demanding Amtrak pay for it? It'd be much more reasonable to just have the situation figured out beforehand (as best as possible) and have hotel rooms and meal vouchers ready to go when people arrive, without requiring 5-7 minutes of paperwork at the time that the customer arrives. However, that's a systems problem: it's likely that the manager with the ability to call people in wasn't notified until later, and then they may not have had enough on-call people, so on and so on until you wind up with the person in front of the customer not having the resources needed to properly and efficiently serve the customer and not having enough time to prepare, and yet that frontline employee is the one the customer yells at for being a "twit."

(Also, most of that $2000 paid for the trip from Emeryville to Chicago, not Chicago to Ann Arbor or an overnight in Chicago. Not to mention that Amtrak's contract states that their only obligation is to get you from point A to point B. Now going from a coach to business class seat to a bus seat from Chicago to Ann Arbor would be worthy of a small refund or travel voucher on its own, but I'd almost rather be on a 4-hour bus ride and try to nap a bit, but ultimately be home that much sooner. That extra time I can do with however I want, even if it is just sleeping in my own bed.)

 

[michigancruisers]

Wow.

It’s been a long time since I saw such a group display of self-righteous indignation.

"twit" that’s what sets you off on your pious rants?

Wow.

The most pathetic spin off all is that you all want to pontificate about the bad management and never even consider the glaring obvious result of bad management. They also make bad hiring decision. Not every one of the people in CS at Amtrak has a halo. Some are duds. Oh my, I DID IT AGAIN! Now I said some are duds. What is this world coming to?

I bid you all a not so fond farewell.

Please feel free to continue to drink deeply from the Kool-Aid trough. Amtrak and you deserve each other.

 

[Bob Dylan]

" I quit! I'm taking my ball and going home because ya'll are too nice and won't listen to me complain even though I haven't listened to what any of you are saying! I'll show me!"

 

[Ryan]

I could go into some detail explaining why some of the things happened, but it seems that "michigancruisers" isn't really interested in rational discussion.

Oh well, his loss. Somehow we'll soldier on without his valuable contributions.

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

As I tell my kindergarteners: no matter how you are treated, it is never the right decision to call them a bad name or act badly towards them. You act with grace and you tell a teacher (or, in this case, go higher up the chain of command.)

It works for five year olds, it applies here too.

Thank you, Cina--you are absolutely right. "Please," "Thank you," and even sometimes a (truly sincere) "Goodness, you must being having a rough day" to the person I'm asking to help me works wonders.

" I quit! I'm taking my ball and going home because ya'll are too nice and won't listen to me complain even though I haven't listened to what any of you are saying! I'll show me!"

And thank you, Jim, for injecting your great sense of humor here--we needed it about now!

 

[Cina]

As I tell my kindergarteners: no matter how you are treated, it is never the right decision to call them a bad name or act badly towards them. You act with grace and you tell a teacher (or, in this case, go higher up the chain of command.)

It works for five year olds, it applies here too.

Thank you, Cina--you are absolutely right. "Please," "Thank you," and even sometimes a (truly sincere) "Goodness, you must being having a rough day" to the person I'm asking to help me works wonders.

For sure! When we left for our recent trip we flew out, and were standing in line at the ticket counter (our plane got delayed, causing much angst) and my mother happened to know the lady at the delta counter. She had been a teacher, then a nurse (with my mom), and now works the desk at an airline. Talk about a woman who has dealt with her fair share of grumpy people. I wouldn't work customer service for all the tea in China.

 

[C855B]

... works the desk at an airline. Talk about a woman who has dealt with her fair share of grumpy people. I wouldn't work customer service for all the tea in China.

Grumpy? Oh, you betcha. When the business model of the industry you work for is seeing just how much you can get away with before the customers go elsewhere... oh, wait... there's no elsewhere to go. So it follows that grumpy is going to be the order of the day.

Speaking of grumpy...it reminds me I need to call Amtrak CS to finish a complaint I started last week while we were on #27. SCA did not prep the room and then had a habit of making himself invisible, and there were dining car issues. Return trip was the total opposite - what a pleasant ride with wonderful folks who genuinely enjoyed their jobs.

 

[Cina]

I didn't say they weren't grumpy for good reason.

 

[KmH]

The OP and his subsequent posts in this thred got me thinking about the idiom - on his high horse.

 

[Rail Freak]

Last time I visit this thread!!!

 

[JayPea]

If my recent experience with Delta is any indication, I would bet Cina's mother's acquaintance has seen her fair share of grumpy people. Bar none, the worst customer service of any transportation system anywhere by far I have ever encountered. That said, I agree: calling people names is not the right decision nor is it particularly effective. No matter the situation.

 

[SarahZ]

6. She was a twit because I had a way to objectively measure her twitness. The OTHER CS rep was able to process passengers and three times the speed (I timed it) but I assigned to her line

1) Did it ever occur to you that she may have been a new employee? (You TIMED her? Seriously? I bet you're a joy to serve.)

2) Did it ever occur to you that she wasn't allowed to photocopy the voucher? Hotels could very easily think they are a forgery if they are photocopied and then have a name added. If the vouchers are numbered (for accounting purposes), this becomes moot, as the numbers would be wrong.

3) You created a thread a little while ago asking about the process if you missed the connecting train to Michigan. Several of us gave you several possible outcomes and several good options, which you summarily dismissed and/or ignored. Had you listened to us, you would not have ended up in this situation.

4) Bye.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

If my recent experience with Delta is any indication, I would bet Cina's mother's acquaintance has seen her fair share of grumpy people. Bar none, the worst customer service of any transportation system anywhere by far I have ever encountered. That said, I agree: calling people names is not the right decision nor is it particularly effective. No matter the situation.

And I have flown Delta almost exclusively and don't remember having any issues. YMMV.

 

[MrFSS]

If my recent experience with Delta is any indication, I would bet Cina's mother's acquaintance has seen her fair share of grumpy people. Bar none, the worst customer service of any transportation system anywhere by far I have ever encountered. That said, I agree: calling people names is not the right decision nor is it particularly effective. No matter the situation.

And I have flown Delta almost exclusively and don't remember having any issues. YMMV.

Betty, I agree. I flew four different Delta flights in January and it was some of the best service I have ever had with an airline.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

If my recent experience with Delta is any indication, I would bet Cina's mother's acquaintance has seen her fair share of grumpy people. Bar none, the worst customer service of any transportation system anywhere by far I have ever encountered. That said, I agree: calling people names is not the right decision nor is it particularly effective. No matter the situation.

And I have flown Delta almost exclusively and don't remember having any issues. YMMV.

Betty, I agree. I flew four different Delta flights in January and it was some of the best service I have ever had with an airline.

Maybe it's location. JayPea is over there in the dreary NW, whereas we're over here in the sunny mid-atlantic/south.

My last trip I flew Delta PHL - MSP - SLC - SJC. Ok, SLC-SJC was SkyWest, but all were fine by me.

 

[JayPea]

I flew Spokane-Minneapolis-Bloomington one way and the reverse the next week. Awful service all the way along. Not just one flight and just one airport but all of it, both trips. Just wasn't my day either time I guess.