Disappointed in Empire Builder sleeper service

[tonys96]

I don't think a conductor has the authority to discipline a service employee for not doing their job. The conductor does have the authority to remove a passenger for being drunk and/or disruptive.

THAT is the crux of the question I had!

Do conductors have the authority to discipline an employee for not doing their job correctly? That is the question I would like to have answered.

If not, who does?

I believe they do.

Seems pretty cut and dried to me.

The Conductor's responsibilities are in black in white starting in section 6-27 of the, often quoted here, Amtrak Service Standards Manual

A couple of Conductor responsibilities from the manual:

d) Crew Performance – Observe and enforce all
rules and instructions resulting in the proper
performance of all crew members.


l) Passenger Comments – Follow through on each
passenger complaint until resolved, or until the
passenger has been introduced to another employee
who will take responsibility of helping to resolve
the complaint.

Thank you, JoanieB !

I am glad to see that customer service is addressed in the manual, and to hear that "But the conductor has far more on his place" (sic) is an EXCUSE not a real reason.

I still look forward to hearing what Amtrak replies with.

 

[MiRider]

I don't think a conductor has the authority to discipline a service employee for not doing their job. The conductor does have the authority to remove a passenger for being drunk and/or disruptive.

THAT is the crux of the question I had!

Do conductors have the authority to discipline an employee for not doing their job correctly? That is the question I would like to have answered.

If not, who does?

I believe they do.

Seems pretty cut and dried to me.

The Conductor's responsibilities are in black in white starting in section 6-27 of the, often quoted here, Amtrak Service Standards Manual

A couple of Conductor responsibilities from the manual:

d) Crew Performance – Observe and enforce all
rules and instructions resulting in the proper
performance of all crew members.


l) Passenger Comments – Follow through on each
passenger complaint until resolved, or until the
passenger has been introduced to another employee
who will take responsibility of helping to resolve
the complaint.

Thank you, JoanieB !

I am glad to see that customer service is addressed in the manual, and to hear that "But the conductor has far more on his place" (sic) is an EXCUSE not a real reason.

I still look forward to hearing what Amtrak replies with.

YW!

There's also an Assistant Conductor to share those duties so, really, no excuses for anyone on board not to do their job and be responsible.

 

[Eric308]

As per usual I see nothing but negative feedback. Or, better phrased, the good people get ignored for their great service.

 

[Notelvis]

About 15 years ago........ ancient history I know...... my wife and I were returning from our honeymoon on the Empire Builder and an elderly passenger in our car flagged down the conductor and asked "Are you the person to talk to if I have a problem?" The conductor, who had just come on at the last stop answered "I'll go find your car attendant. It's his job to deal with your problem." The passenger answered "But the car attendant IS my problem."

What did the conductor say to that?

He did some quick diplomatic backpedaling - this passenger had been complaining mightily about pretty much everything and the CA was, in fact, avoiding him. The passenger was diabetic and had some mobility issues and was having difficulty locating the attendant to ask him to deliver supper from the dining car.

We were riding coach (in the downstairs section as that's the only place they had two seats together when we boarded) eastbound from Essex to Minot and then moving to the sleeper for the remainder of our trip to Chicago. We excused ourselves to the lounge BUT when we returned about an hour later the passenger had had a meal delivered by a somewhat sheepish car attendant.

Admittedly, we were a little uncomfortable to have had our able-bodied selves seated there when most of the other passengers in that section legitimately were not able to navigate the stairs. Our presence may have been part of what this passenger was unhappy about.

 

[crescent2]

As per usual I see nothing but negative feedback. Or, better phrased, the good people get ignored for their great service.

I and one or two others suggested putting in a good word for Bob. Other posts have mentioned SCA's that were very good.

I think complimenting above average service is as important as notifying customer relations about unacceptable service.

The thread's original post was about problems with service, so the discussion has mostly been about that, including who on board has the authority to rectify problems with poor service.

 

[Dovecote]

Actually, it takes far more than a minor "rules" infraction to get tossed from the train.

That's a nice deflection of the question, so I will be more precise:

Are you saying that the conductor is too busy doing other things to deal with "disciplining" an attendant? If so, then you are also saying that s/he is too busy to "discipline" a paying customer, aren't you?

We all know the second half of that statement is not true, so I submit that the first half is not either. Your rebuttal, please?

I have to agree with you on this.

What about this thread where a conductor publicly scolded a cafe attendant about cardboard tray use?

Serving Protocol in The Cafe Car

I was going to bring this matter up since I was the OP discussing the thread on Serving Protocol in the Cafe Car. Thanks Joanie B for revisiting this thread as it applies to this one.

 

[Ryan]

I am glad to see that customer service is addressed in the manual, and to hear that "But the conductor has far more on his place" (sic) is an EXCUSE not a real reason.

It's all about priorities.

All I'm saying is that "I didn't get my newspaper on time" or "I feel like Miguel was rude to me" aren't going to be on the conductor's radar. Doubly so when you're dealing with 5 or more conductors over the course of a trip.

I'm humbly sorry that I made a typo that you keep pointing out. I'm sure that your online communications are 100% error free and we all aspire to be as smart as you are. Thanks for repeatedly pointing out my shortcomings across a variety of threads. I'll aim to do better next time.

 

[tonys96]

I am glad to see that customer service is addressed in the manual, and to hear that "But the conductor has far more on his place" (sic) is an EXCUSE not a real reason.

It's all about priorities.

All I'm saying is that "I didn't get my newspaper on time" or "I feel like Miguel was rude to me" aren't going to be on the conductor's radar. Doubly so when you're dealing with 5 or more conductors over the course of a trip.

I'm humbly sorry that I made a typo that you keep pointing out. I'm sure that your online communications are 100% error free and we all aspire to be as smart as you are. Thanks for repeatedly pointing out my shortcomings across a variety of threads. I'll aim to do better next time.

I absolutely agree that it will not be on his/her radar, doubly sure if they are never informed of it!

Now, if they are informed of it, they should (according to the manual) take care of the customer's concerns, if possible.

 

[Ryan]

With an emphasis on the "if possible".

 

[EB_OBS]

A conductor can pull an OBS employee "out of service" and send them to their room for the duration of their trip. It's not an action to be taken lightly. The employee and the incident(s) leading up to the removal from service will be investigated. It could even lead to drug & alcohol testing if suspicion of use is evident. The conductor must follow specific rules for taking this action he really needs to be right, as in justified and correct in removing the employee. I imagine most conductors are a little gun-shy about taking this course of action. Should it warrant it, a conductor can give an OBS employee, who isn't doing their job, a direct order to do so or to do a certain task. If the employee refuses a legitimate order then that's insubordination and that's another serious matter.

When and if an OBS employee is pulled from service, someone else or multiple other employees and the conductors themselves will have to pick-up the slack and continue to provide service and work more doors at station stops. Pulling an OBS employee from service is a last resort measure should the employee's behavior be egregious, abusive or dangerous.

The conductor may also write-up the employee by making a written statement and submitting it to the train manager or service manager of that train. Written statements are not taken lightly by management. They are investigated and serious repeat performance issues can be dealt with with retraining, discipline or termination.

 

[Ryan]

Thanks for the info - how often would you say any of this occurs?

 

[EB_OBS]

Thanks for the info - how often would you say any of this occurs?

Well, from my experience working just the Empire Builder, I can think of only two times in the last six years where a conductor pulled someone from service. There was another time where a chef sent his food specialist to his room, but that didn't turn out so good for the chef. Not so much that he was wrong but that he didn't handle it properly. He should have had the conductor do it.

I can't say for the system as a whole, I'm not that well informed. I feel I can say it's pretty rare though.

 

[Not-a-Dalek]

On EB right now and guess who our attendant is... Miguel. So far he has been friendly, just got on 2 hours ago. We didn't get an amenity bag, we don't need it so its a non-issue at the moment.

 

[tonys96]

A conductor can pull an OBS employee "out of service" and send them to their room for the duration of their trip. It's not an action to be taken lightly. The employee and the incident(s) leading up to the removal from service will be investigated. It could even lead to drug & alcohol testing if suspicion of use is evident. The conductor must follow specific rules for taking this action he really needs to be right, as in justified and correct in removing the employee. I imagine most conductors are a little gun-shy about taking this course of action. Should it warrant it, a conductor can give an OBS employee, who isn't doing their job, a direct order to do so or to do a certain task. If the employee refuses a legitimate order then that's insubordination and that's another serious matter.
When and if an OBS employee is pulled from service, someone else or multiple other employees and the conductors themselves will have to pick-up the slack and continue to provide service and work more doors at station stops. Pulling an OBS employee from service is a last resort measure should the employee's behavior be egregious, abusive or dangerous.

The conductor may also write-up the employee by making a written statement and submitting it to the train manager or service manager of that train. Written statements are not taken lightly by management. They are investigated and serious repeat performance issues can be dealt with with retraining, discipline or termination.

Thanks for the info!

That all sounds reasonable. It would seem that there would simply HAVE to be an on board person to handle customer problems, not a simple case of grin and bear it and complain later so the next customer might have a better trip. Each customer pays for their tix, even AGR rewards are earned, not free!

I simply did not know for sure, until Joanie posted, that it was the conductor who was the person to complain to, but it makes sense, that s/he could document the problem and pass it up the chain of command instead of a he said/she said after the fact.

I also simply reject the idea that the conductor would be "too busy" to at least look at a customer complaint. Without customers, they and others would have no jobs.

 

[tonys96]

Here is the reply from Amtrak Customer Service:

Dear Tony Xxxxxxxx,

Thank you for contacting us.

If you encounter an issue regarding service on board the train, you may certainly bring the issue to the attention of the conductor while en route. Should the issue persist, or the response is unsatisfactory, you will also have the option of notifying us by phone or email either during your trip after your trip is complete. We may be able to make your experience better during the trip if notified during it.

We hope this information is helpful.

Sincerely,

Adam
Amtrak Customer Service

 

[Ryan]

I also simply reject the idea that the conductor would be "too busy" to at least look at a customer complaint. Without customers, they and others would have no jobs.

It's a good thing nobody made that argument, despite your wishes that I did.

 

[roomette]

"We may be able to make your experience better during the trip if notified during it."

Is that grammatically correct?

Who ARE these people?

 

[AmtrakBlue]

"We may be able to make your experience better during the trip if notified during it."

Is that grammatically correct?

Who ARE these people?

Curious how you would word it. It does sound a little strange, but I can't come up with another way to word it.

 

[roomette]

Oh, I don't know. How about:

"We may be able to make your experience better en route if notified during your trip."

?

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Oh, I don't know. How about:
"We may be able to make your experience better en route if notified during your trip."

?

 

[VentureForth]

Should the issue persist, or the response is unsatisfactory, you will also have the option of notifying us by phone or email either during your trip after your trip is complete.

That what what I found to be grammatically challenged... But that is simply corrected with the word "or" between "trip" and "after".
At least we know these aren't form letters!

 

[Steve4031]

I should have told the conductor about Polly on the Texas eagle. That one certainly needed to be told to stay in get room.

 

[Ryan]

Who ARE these people?

They're people. People occasionally make mistakes.

I agree with VF - at least we can tell someone took the time to respond personally and not just fire off a form letter.

(or maybe the form letter has a mistake - we should ALL ask Amtrak the same question and compare results!)

((no, not really))

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

People like me, I'm a technical writer by trade even if the job market sucks... My dream job is, believe it or not, to be paid $30-40 an hour responding to written customer complaints.

Actually "Adam's" sentence is a miscalculation on several levels. The repetition of "during" and the dangling "it" makes me cringe. If I were wroking for Amtrak I would have written:

Dear X,

Thank you for bringing these issues to our attention.

We are sorry to hear about your experience. Next time you have an issue regarding service on board the train, please bring this to the attention of the conductor. If the issue persists then you have the option of calling customer service at xxx-xxx-xxxx or emailing [email protected] during your trip and we will make sure to attend to your issue. Customer service is here to make sure you are satisfied with your experience during and after your trip.

Thank you once again for contacting us.

Sincerely,

-X

Of course I didn't see your original letter so I can't do anything more than re-work "Adam's" quick missive.

EDIT-- Grr I have a misplaced comma, I never get these things perfect. Still I think I made many improvements.

 

[Not-a-Dalek]

Well maybe the letter worked or maybe Miguel was having a bad day/trip with Adam, but he's been pretty great with us. Above and beyond. Like when my husband stayed with the kids and I went wine tasting he brought a cheese plate and wine cup to him in our room.

Not trying to be all braggy, just noting that my experience has been different.