The Chief
Lead Service Attendant
Rick, your Topic Title is the first time in a few years we've seen "Amtrak," "sleeper," and "perks," in the same headline.
Disillusionment with Amtrak sleeper perks
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rrdude
Engineer
Sodexo, Aramark, Delaware North, ANY food service provider will/can provide EXACTLY what is contracted for, be it "prison food", or top notch catering. It has NOTHING to do with the particular caterer, just the CONTRACT... Oversight is important, as virtually ALL will try to cut corners, but many campuses, corporations, and institutions hold them to the letter of the contract. One CANNOT blame the f/s supplier, for crappy food, IMHO, they are only providing WHAT is contracted for.
I have never been charged with a crime or convicted to prison, jail or in any other incarcerated position, but I HAVE had Prison Food thanks to the Sysco-supplied stainless-steel polished kitchens of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation!
Long story short, through the course of my job as a firefighter for the wonderful, wide world of California, yes I have had the privilege (and curse) of being detailed to a prison camp eating ACTUAL Prison Food and thus qualify as a Subject Matter Expert on this particular subject. Suffice to say, no. Amtrak is not quite to the level of Prison Food at his current time. And the supplier has NOTHING to do with the quality or the type of food (as referenced earlier in this post.) Sorry to say to the non-believers, but Sysco and Aramark pretty much mirror each others program and there is absolutely no difference on the food type or quality side that you, me or the critic for the New York Times can pick out between them. It is all about which chapter in the catalog that the contracted buyer chooses. If you're shopping in the high-end "Top of the Mark" section of the book then that is what you're gonna get. Alternatively, if Amtrak is nosing about in the "Chowchilla" chapter, you get the drift. ^_^
No, Aramark or Sysco... No difference at all. This is all Amtrak (and the leash-holders in Congress.)
OlympianHiawatha
Engineer
Maybe Amtrak needs to look outside the box when it comes to stocking Diner-Lites or whatever we're going to call them and Lounges.
I can go to Walmart and for $2.50 get a variety of prepared frozen meals from either Boston Market or Marie Calendars (or however the hell that is spelled) that are pretty good, even before any doctoring. Likewise in their Deli I can get a variety of Titanic-size Salads for about $4 that are not only very good but are very large-will feed 2 average adults. Let's look at prepared sandwiches. Again a wide variety that are not only good but again are very reasonably priced. Now let's go over to the actual Deli Counter which is LOADED with various items that can easily be portioned and provisioned along the way-find me ANY route that does not pass by at least several Walmarts/Sams.
Get the politics and corporate onion layers out of they way, get a system like this running and guess what-HAPPY PASSENGERS. Happy passengers who will gladly travel Amtrak over and over.
I can go to Walmart and for $2.50 get a variety of prepared frozen meals from either Boston Market or Marie Calendars (or however the hell that is spelled) that are pretty good, even before any doctoring. Likewise in their Deli I can get a variety of Titanic-size Salads for about $4 that are not only very good but are very large-will feed 2 average adults. Let's look at prepared sandwiches. Again a wide variety that are not only good but again are very reasonably priced. Now let's go over to the actual Deli Counter which is LOADED with various items that can easily be portioned and provisioned along the way-find me ANY route that does not pass by at least several Walmarts/Sams.
Get the politics and corporate onion layers out of they way, get a system like this running and guess what-HAPPY PASSENGERS. Happy passengers who will gladly travel Amtrak over and over.
Reno89502
Service Attendant
I have a idea. Let's let Iowa Pacific take over some of the long distance routes. They know how to run a dining car!!! (I.E., Hoosier State)
Well, after reading all the posts pro and con on the down grading of the food on the LD Trains, I've decided to cast my vote with the contract out ALL of the food and drink served in the Diners and Cafes on LD Routes crowd.
The hard working Food Service OBS employees can work as SCAs or Coach
Attendants although the Chefs might not like that prospect at all, but since they've dropped the Diner on the Starvation and Lake Shore and the Chef was cut on the CONO, I'd venture that a job with Seniority at Amtrak beats a lay off or termination!! YMMV
The hard working Food Service OBS employees can work as SCAs or Coach
Attendants although the Chefs might not like that prospect at all, but since they've dropped the Diner on the Starvation and Lake Shore and the Chef was cut on the CONO, I'd venture that a job with Seniority at Amtrak beats a lay off or termination!! YMMV
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rrdude
Engineer
Jim you could retain Amtrak's kitchen staff, and STILL contract out to Sysco, USFoods, Aramark, Sodexho, et. all, just need to CHOOSE better quality entrees, menu items, I have no doubt Amtrak staff CAN DO THE JOB, just right now, they are given next-to-nothing to work with
Ziv
Conductor
I work with a group called Meals on Wheels to deliver hot and cold meals to people who otherwise might not have enough healthy meals. I found out that our deliveries were actually coming from the county jail's kitchen and it was indeed "prison food". Oddly enough, it looks pretty poor.
Both of the universities I attended here on the east coast used Aramark and they had fair food quality, not every selection was good, but some were fairly good most of the time. I think Aramark did a better job than my county's jail kitchen, no surprise.
I was on the Cap Limited and the EB this year and I have to say, their dining car food is better than Aramark. It isn't worth what Amtrak charges, but you can't eat elsewhere of course...
Both the steak and the crab cake were ok to fairly good, though not great. Breakfast was a bit better. So I don't think sleeper customers have it bad, just not as good as they used to have it. And hopefully we will see an improvement in the next couple years.
My first memories of sleeper cars were on the Great Northern Empire Builder in 1974 and 1976. I was just a kid, but the service and the food were phenomenal back then. Won't see those levels again.
Both of the universities I attended here on the east coast used Aramark and they had fair food quality, not every selection was good, but some were fairly good most of the time. I think Aramark did a better job than my county's jail kitchen, no surprise.
I was on the Cap Limited and the EB this year and I have to say, their dining car food is better than Aramark. It isn't worth what Amtrak charges, but you can't eat elsewhere of course...
Both the steak and the crab cake were ok to fairly good, though not great. Breakfast was a bit better. So I don't think sleeper customers have it bad, just not as good as they used to have it. And hopefully we will see an improvement in the next couple years.
My first memories of sleeper cars were on the Great Northern Empire Builder in 1974 and 1976. I was just a kid, but the service and the food were phenomenal back then. Won't see those levels again.
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crescent-zephyr
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Doesn't Amtrak use Aramark?
jis
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If you happen to have read this thread, just to recap, you'd notice that in message # 33, Gulfwind2 made what would appear to be a baseless claim that Amtrak food problem was because it used Aramark. This claim was shot down multiple ways by various people with first hand experience with the food service industry.
crescent-zephyr
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I'm asking a question... Does Amtrak use Aramark? the poster above me said Amtrak food is better than Aramark... That's what prompted my question.
If Aramark provided the Lamb Shank, crab cakes, mahi mahi entree, and Beechers Pasta and Cheese from the previous "chef inspired" menus than Aramark is fully capable of delivering quality dishes that can be prepared with minimal staffing in Amtrak kitchens.
They are capable of providing whatever you are willing to pay for, and like any other supplier meed to be monitored for compliance with what has been agreed to.
Manny T
OBS Chief
How does Iowa Pacific do it on the Hoosier State? After all the Cardinal runs CHI-IND 3 days a week, Hoosier State runs the same route 4 days a week, and food on HS is FAR superior. Like light years ahead.
Here's a pic of my breakfast. For dinner, I had delicious chicken picatta and grilled veggies (3 courses actually) that I would describe as restaurant quality. VERY tasty. And beverages, including alcoholic beverages, were gratis for the whole trip in Business Class. Open bar folks. And service was terrific.
How does Iowa Pacific do it?
Here's a pic of my breakfast. For dinner, I had delicious chicken picatta and grilled veggies (3 courses actually) that I would describe as restaurant quality. VERY tasty. And beverages, including alcoholic beverages, were gratis for the whole trip in Business Class. Open bar folks. And service was terrific.
How does Iowa Pacific do it?
JohannFarley
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Iowa pacific though is a whole different story. It's like the model for what other trains should be. The thing is that the hoosier state is a fairly short line, so (I would think, at least) the running costs are far less than any amtrak LD route that would have a diner. Now of course, and I haven't checked the ticket prices for HS, but I assume it's cheaper than a sleeper, so the question arises as to how the money is managed for the HS as opposed to amtrak LD trains. And you have to think about scale. Amtrak has to balance profits and deficits from all of their LD trains that would have diners along with their regular regional service while IP only has the HS to worry about (in this respect, as they have all the other short lines under their belt.)
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If this is the case, then it should be easy to see exactly how much money Amtrak is saving by getting the almost-prison-chow selection. That can be balaced against the revenue that's lost from passengers driven away.
Of course, as I've mentioned before, I think the real issue for Cong. Mica is that he'll never be satisfied until OBS are compensated like all foods er vice workers, and they ate no longer represented by unions.
And just like movie theaters and sports arenas, the prices will still be very high, and the money taken away from hundreds of workers will go into the pockets of a select few people, and we will likely gain nothing.
tommylicious
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jis
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AFAIK No.
jis
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Look at the ebb and flow of meal service on the airlines. Quality, quantity, availability (if any) and price are all over the map depending on what they believe at that moment will offer the best competitive advantage against cost for a specific route and/or service class. They are almost always prepared (meals) or packed (in the cases of snack boxes) in a caterer's commissary. They can vary from excellent to terrible depending on what the cost target is that they are trying to hit.
Cho Cho Charlie
Engineer
The only part Amtrak would take from that picture, is offering only 1/2 a glass of OJ.
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Gulfwind2
Train Attendant
Iowa Pacific's HS staff is not unionized and some of its on board personnel are "transient" between the company's various other passenger (tourist) operations and the HS. Of course it is much easier to keep a non-union staff happy when the train doesn't run overnight. This is where it gets tricky because union intervention has historically been needed to carve out contracts ensuring that on-train staff get enough rest while working a train between terminals which may be 2000+ miles away from one another.
Unionization an excuse that many managers use to hide their own lack of abilities and creativity. Airlines that are heavily unionized and also some that are not unionized routinely appear at both the top and bottom of customer satisfaction surveys. It is all about the culture that companies create over time.
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jis
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Suffice it to say that Iowa Pacific is no universal panacea that some people think it is. I suspect that initially it will not venture into any of the western transcons, and will probably try to start with less than 24 hour runs as a starter.
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