Buying a Sleeper Upgrade On-Board?

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Devil's Advocate

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Is it really possible for a coach customer to ever buy a sleeper room while on board? Two of us each tried to buy a bedroom from two different conductors after checking the website while en route to make sure some that were still available. Both conductors independently assured each of us that every single room was taken. Over the course of the trip the Amtrak website showed different room types being taken and becoming available but in every instance the conductors were positive that nothing had changed and no rooms had been made available. Seems like either the website or the conductors are extremely confused, so which is it? It's a day trip for me and not something I care deeply about, but it seems odd that the conductors would intentionally and repeatedly refuse a chance to bring in more revenue. I've read about this sort thing in the past but I honestly didn't believe it until now. So what's the story? Are they trying to punish us for not buying at full-fare or are they just lazy or is the website really that consistently wrong about room availability?
 
I was able to upgrade onboard the Cardinal a couple of years ago.

Recently, I was on the Lake Shore Limited sleeper and noticed a sign

on the door of the sleeper that said a non-sleeper passenger could

contact the Conductor to purchase an accommodation, if available.
 
My last trip on #5 California Zephyr,(Nov 12th, 2010) they announced after the Galesburg, Il station stop (wheels rolling) anyone interested in a sleeper upgrade to see the conductor who was set up in the sightseer. :)
 
Others on the forum have, from time to time, mentioned the problem you mention. I believe someone here on the forum, while on board and after being told NO, called 1-800-Amtrak, got a customer service rep and handed the phone to the conductor. I think they then got the sleeper room. We're told many conductors simply don't want the hassle involved in the process.
 
Others on the forum have, from time to time, mentioned the problem you mention. I believe someone here on the forum, while on board and after being told NO, called 1-800-Amtrak, got a customer service rep and handed the phone to the conductor. I think they then got the sleeper room. We're told many conductors simply don't want the hassle involved in the process.
You'd have to be careful with that one although the FRA is working on the official policy on cell phone use the way the rulebook reads right now

...Having or using electronic devices not related to their duties, unless authorized by the railroad...
While the conductor would be authorized to call Amtrak during the process of the on board upgrade I don't think they would be allowed to have a conversation with customer service on your cell phone while they are on duty.

It would seem to me that the conductor should refuse your request to get on the phone with customer service.
 
Others on the forum have, from time to time, mentioned the problem you mention. I believe someone here on the forum, while on board and after being told NO, called 1-800-Amtrak, got a customer service rep and handed the phone to the conductor. I think they then got the sleeper room. We're told many conductors simply don't want the hassle involved in the process.
Job performance like this cannot and should not be tolerated. If any conductor is too dam lazy to accomodate the passenger, then they should be fired. The onboard staff is getting paid to serve the passenger and they should not have to be reminded of this. If they don't like the job then let them work elsewhere for half the wages.
 
Others on the forum have, from time to time, mentioned the problem you mention. I believe someone here on the forum, while on board and after being told NO, called 1-800-Amtrak, got a customer service rep and handed the phone to the conductor. I think they then got the sleeper room. We're told many conductors simply don't want the hassle involved in the process.
Job performance like this cannot and should not be tolerated. If any conductor is too dam lazy to accomodate the passenger, then they should be fired. The onboard staff is getting paid to serve the passenger and they should not have to be reminded of this. If they don't like the job then let them work elsewhere for half the wages.
So find all of them and report them to Amtrak.
 
:hi: While on the Sunset/Eagle this week, both of which were SOLD OUT!( a common occurence this past few months!)I talked with some of the conductors I know on these routes and they tell me that more and more folks are asking for upgrades aboard the train! In my case there were ten people in the station that asked for upgrades ahead of me, we all rode Coach to San Antonio! :(

Ive been offered, or was able to get upgrades aboard, maybe 10 times in my many years and hundreds of trips aboard the Amtrak route, none in the past year or so!!! :eek: Of course this causes the coaches to be crowded also and ups the Buckets for Coach tickets also!

BTW-The prices on the Diner on the Sunset and Eagle went up a Dollar on m ost items on the new menu, the Government denied we retirees a Coist of Living Raise cause there "is no inflation". guess prices going up regularly everywhere doesnt cause Inflation eh! :wacko:
 
:hi: BTW-The prices on the Diner on the Sunset and Eagle went up a Dollar on m ost items on the new menu, the Government denied we retirees a Coist of Living Raise cause there "is no inflation". guess prices going up regularly everywhere doesnt cause Inflation eh! :wacko:
Jim, you are correct, however the members of Congress got their raises in 2009, 2010 and will get another in 2011.
 
:hi: BTW-The prices on the Diner on the Sunset and Eagle went up a Dollar on m ost items on the new menu, the Government denied we retirees a Coist of Living Raise cause there "is no inflation". guess prices going up regularly everywhere doesnt cause Inflation eh! :wacko:
Jim, you are correct, however the members of Congress got their raises in 2009, 2010 and will get another in 2011.
And they deserve every penny of it. Just look at all they have accomplished:

[OK - so the list is empty. You expect them to do anything for their money?]
 
Is it really possible for a coach customer to ever buy a sleeper room while on board? Two of us each tried to buy a bedroom from two different conductors after checking the website while en route to make sure some that were still available. Both conductors independently assured each of us that every single room was taken. Over the course of the trip the Amtrak website showed different room types being taken and becoming available but in every instance the conductors were positive that nothing had changed and no rooms had been made available. Seems like either the website or the conductors are extremely confused, so which is it? It's a day trip for me and not something I care deeply about, but it seems odd that the conductors would intentionally and repeatedly refuse a chance to bring in more revenue. I've read about this sort thing in the past but I honestly didn't believe it until now. So what's the story? Are they trying to punish us for not buying at full-fare or are they just lazy or is the website really that consistently wrong about room availability?

I upgraded last Friday into the 4910 car onboard 449/49 west bound. The crew was happy to help (although they may have regretted it later).

The whole process actually turned comical when the conductor had to use the POS credit card device which he had never used before. After calling customer service/reservations he pulled out the POS device which had lost its charge from not being used, then the Asst.Conductor pulled his out which also had never been used a dropped it!. What happened next was straight comedy, watching the AC trying to unsuccessfully re assemble the POS device with help from unknowing and the unable was a mess “Where does this fit, which way does the paper go?” Finally, a decision was made to pull the battery out of the dropped POS device and put it into the Conductors device. We then all learned as the step by step process of how to reboot and link the POS device to the system and program it he read aloud the instruction with color commentary and ongoing apologies, 20 mns down. Next it was time to swipe my credit card for payment, this worked but what followed became so frustrating to the conductor that he suggested that I go on to dinner figuring that he would have it all straighten out by the time I came back from dinner. On my return from dinner all was well as he apologized on final time and explained that , he before getting these things he could have completed this transaction in under 5 mns.

Long story short, upgrades are available but patience and endurance is required by all.

Tim
 
And they deserve every penny of it. Just look at all they have accomplished:

[OK - so the list is empty. You expect them to do anything for their money?]
Umm, how about the bank bailout, TARP, student loan reform, saving GM and Chrysler, health care reform, the stimulus package, and a $116 billion tax cut for middle-income Americans? The last congress was one of the most productive in the last 50 years, even given the best attempts by the Republicans to slow and stop any and all legislation. You might not like what they did, or how they did it, but you can't say the last Congress didn't get a lot of things done.

ObTrain content: I'm impressed about the willingness of conductors to do on-board up-grades. That's not been my personal experience, and I'm glad to know that perhaps I've been unlucky.
 
We then all learned as the step by step process of how to reboot and link the POS device to the system ...
Is this POS a pre-cursor to the promised E-ticketing? I was under the impression that the lack of a link to the host system was responsible for the long delayed E-ticketing.
 
We then all learned as the step by step process of how to reboot and link the POS device to the system ...
Is this POS a pre-cursor to the promised E-ticketing? I was under the impression that the lack of a link to the host system was responsible for the long delayed E-ticketing.
Not really. It's a credit-card reader, similar to what was installed in cafe cars recently. It replaces the old-fashioned carbon-paper imprint forms that were used in the past. The new system is much safer for your credit card data, and protects Amtrak from accepting invalid credit cards. It uses cell phone connections to process the charges instantly, rather than requiring them to be manually submitted after the trip.
 
If any conductor is too dam lazy to accomodate the passenger, then they should be fired. The onboard staff is getting paid to serve the passenger and they should not have to be reminded of this. If they don't like the job then let them work elsewhere for half the wages.
I guess I am not as 100% certain as you seem to be that there is indeed an unreserved bedroom available for the entire journey.

Could you please help me understand how you became so very sure? Sure enough to demand someone be fired?

I can think of so many scenarios where there might be a problem. That there is an existing reservation for a bedroom that would overlap, even by just one station, with the coach passenger's journey. That could even consist of an overlap toward the end. By that I mean, I don't think any conductor would want to deal with having to "throw" a sleeper passenger out of a bedroom, and back into coach, for even just one more station stop, even though the coach passenger is thinking they would have no problem returning to coach after a good sleep/nap and a meal.

I can also envision something simple like that possibly they don't have a change in linens and towels on-board, for an unplanned change in occupancy of a bedroom.

BTW, does the Amtrak website actually allow one to purchase tickets for a train that is already enroute? Is there no cut-off?
 
If any conductor is too dam lazy to accomodate the passenger, then they should be fired. The onboard staff is getting paid to serve the passenger and they should not have to be reminded of this. If they don't like the job then let them work elsewhere for half the wages.
I guess I am not as 100% certain as you seem to be that there is indeed an unreserved bedroom available for the entire journey.

Could you please help me understand how you became so very sure? Sure enough to demand someone be fired?

I can think of so many scenarios where there might be a problem. That there is an existing reservation for a bedroom that would overlap, even by just one station, with the coach passenger's journey. That could even consist of an overlap toward the end. By that I mean, I don't think any conductor would want to deal with having to "throw" a sleeper passenger out of a bedroom, and back into coach, for even just one more station stop, even though the coach passenger is thinking they would have no problem returning to coach after a good sleep/nap and a meal.

I can also envision something simple like that possibly they don't have a change in linens and towels on-board, for an unplanned change in occupancy of a bedroom.

BTW, does the Amtrak website actually allow one to purchase tickets for a train that is already enroute? Is there no cut-off?
Two things come to mind that I have personally witnessed; the train crew is using a room in the revenue sleeper for their own use or there is a relative of one of the crew occupying the space on the lamb. Also, I've seen tickets issued at Hammond, LA when the headlight was coming into sight of the depot so I'm guessing you can buy a ticket up until the train arrives.Personally, I think you're run into the majority of conductors who don't want to hand in cash/CC fares~it takes time to fill out the paper work.
 
Also, I've seen tickets issued at Hammond, LA when the headlight was coming into sight of the depot so I'm guessing you can buy a ticket up until the train arrives.
Wouldn't that require that the website be "aware" of a trains true position? I mean, that the website knows that the train is merely approaching the Hammond station but hasn't actually arrived just yet, and therefore it is still OK to sell sleeper accommodations originating there?
 
Also, I've seen tickets issued at Hammond, LA when the headlight was coming into sight of the depot so I'm guessing you can buy a ticket up until the train arrives.
Wouldn't that require that the website be "aware" of a trains true position? I mean, that the website knows that the train is merely approaching the Hammond station but hasn't actually arrived just yet, and therefore it is still OK to sell sleeper accommodations originating there?
If I had to guess, either the sale was via the station or the train may have been running ahead.
 
The Amtrak website will sell you a ticket right up until about 15 minutes before the scheduled departure.

AFIAK however, a ticket agent at that station can sell you a ticket right up until the train gets there, even if its running late.
 
I have been a regular Amtrak rider for about 8 years now. When I first began riding Amtrak, I travelled in coach, on the Crescent, Capitol Ltd., Lakeshore Ltd., Sunset Ltd.,Palmetto, Silver Meteor, and Texag Eagle. I tried several times to upgrade to a sleeper onboard each of these trains, and was not once able to do so. The conductors never came back to me with an answer. This happened about 7 or 8 times. So, I got tired of trying, so I then started booking a sleeper right from the start. I much prefer travelling in a sleeper for overnight trips. But I simply won't try to upgrade onboard anymore.

I have never encountered a conductor who wanted to bother. It seems to me that many Amtrak employees want to do only the bare minimum duties required to do their jobs, and don't want to expend any extra time and energy to fully service their passengers.

And yes, I did call customer service to complain about the conductors not getting back to me about getting an upgrade. All I got was apologies.

So, I now just book a sleeper. If one is not available on the date I want, I choose another date.

Bill

:cool:
 
Not really. It's a credit-card reader, similar to what was installed in cafe cars recently. It replaces the old-fashioned carbon-paper imprint forms that were used in the past. The new system is much safer for your credit card data, and protects Amtrak from accepting invalid credit cards. It uses cell phone connections to process the charges instantly, rather than requiring them to be manually submitted after the trip.
Possibly, the better solution (if Amtrak is really interested is solving this), would be that on-board up-grades be handled by the cafe staff instead of a conductor. I suggest based on the cafe staff already having the infrastructure, like internet access to ascertain/verify that a sleeper accommodation is truly available and if so to subsequently process any payment.
 
Possibly, the better solution (if Amtrak is really interested is solving this), would be that on-board up-grades be handled by the cafe staff instead of a conductor. I suggest based on the cafe staff already having the infrastructure, like internet access to ascertain/verify that a sleeper accommodation is truly available and if so to subsequently process any payment.
The cafe staff do not have internet access. They have a credit card machine.
 
I've only upgraded 4 times. But it has never been a problem. I've tried to be patient as the conductor has dealt with my request along with several other issues.

Some of my friends have had less-than-enjoyable experiences. My advice to them: if you wanted a roomette or bedroom you should have booked it in the first place. :rolleyes:

That being said, first time travellers in coach who want to upgrade should have a good experience in the process. Any way for Amtrak to make that easier would be a feather in their cap.
 
The cafe staff do not have internet access. They have a credit card machine.
Their new credit card machines run thru a very long cord?

I thought they now had a network connection, and if they have that for credit card machine data, they could have it for any data.
 
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