No Cards in the Dining Car?

[George K]

It's funny - we were certainly planning to write a letter to Customer Service re: the length of time it took to get served, but not as a complaint about the server. A single person has no chance at success in that situation. None. If anything, our letter will offer her, or any other dining car attendant, support in that regard.

I wrote such a letter after our experience on CONO last November. I received a courteous and very "corp-speak" reply which basically said....nothing.

In this thread: http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/66070-is-having-no-chef-on-the-cono-permanent/page-5

Post #93 is my letter.

Post #100 is their "reply."

 

[dlagrua]

Most of the time in the dining car we chat with other sleeping car passengers. If playing cards is against Amtrak policy then so be it but this sounds like the case of an over stressed food server who wants to turn over the tables as soon as possible.

In the last few years the Cardinal has been our train of choice to CHI and all trips West. When there is one sleeper, the single food service person can handle the workload but when there are two dining cars the poor soul in the cafe car is certainly overwhelmed. Two years back Tom, (now retired) one of the finest SCA 's that we have met, came into the cafe car to help out. At that time Craig was the food service guy but last I heard he was gravely ill. There was only one sleeper at that time so everything went well.

Last year John Pallotta was the food service guy on going and coming trips and he did a great job. There were two sleepers on that train at that time and at the end of both trips the man looked completely exhausted.

What person in his right mind would assign only one person to take care of the entire food service for two cars of sleeping car passengers and those that drift in from coach? It is an injustice to see this kind of policy in place and an insult to the riding public.

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

I judge the emotional health of a train by whether and how much my SCA helps in the dining car if that help is needed. On the Silvers, the SCA has always helped out, and this is with more than one person serving in the dining car. (Of course it didn't stop Amtrak from taking the diner from one of the best teams ever--on the Star.) On the Crescent, my SCA was taking a dinner order from someone in the H room--he had stopped by early to see what they would like.

If a train has one server, and no SCA is helping that person, it would suggest to me either that the OBS crew is disorganized or that they do not work well together.

 

[PaulM]

If you want to draw a crowd, break out "Pass the pig" while waiting for your food to arrive.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

You would think an employee could see the difference but this is kind of how 'zero tolerance' works.

So far as I can tell "zero tolerance" is really just another term for "zero thought."

In olden days I bet that card playing was equated with gambling. Perhaps there is a holdover rule in the employee manual on this?

Sounds like you're doubling down on a bet that there's a gambling related excuse for this busted nonsense.

So I suppose starting a betting pool on whether dinner will come in less than half hour is out then?

In my experience the dining car staff are almost always the weakest link in Amtrak's rusty customer service chain. Even mediocre SCA's can seem to get a meal ordered, packaged, and delivered faster than the dining car staff can plop it on a table in their own car. As much as I enjoy passenger rail in general I can understand why Amtrak dining cars are singled out for much of the criticism. They service is slow, the food is poor quality, the presentation is disappointing, and they generate shocking levels of largely unrecycled trash.

 

[greatcats]

Unfortunately, a topic like this makes me speak ill of Amtrak and to speak highly of United Airlines. This is sad, ridiculous, and unnecessary. While there is no pod reason to treat passengers rudely, Ivfeel sorry for that line food server. A disgrace.

 

[greatcats]

No GOOD reason.

 

[tonys96]

Like most rules, IMHO, there should always be a "gray" area. Not all situations are black and white. This seems to be a situation that falls smack dab in the middle of that "gray" area that could have been handled differently/ better.

Just one guy's opinion.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Most of the time in the dining car we chat with other sleeping car passengers. If playing cards is against Amtrak policy then so be it but this sounds like the case of an over stressed food server who wants to turn over the tables as soon as possible.

In the last few years the Cardinal has been our train of choice to CHI and all trips West. When there is one sleeper, the single food service person can handle the workload but when there are two dining cars the poor soul in the cafe car is certainly overwhelmed. Two years back Tom, (now retired) one of the finest SCA 's that we have met, came into the cafe car to help out. At that time Craig was the food service guy but last I heard he was gravely ill. There was only one sleeper at that time so everything went well.

Last year John Pallotta was the food service guy on going and coming trips and he did a great job. There were two sleepers on that train at that time and at the end of both trips the man looked completely exhausted.

What person in his right mind would assign only one person to take care of the entire food service for two cars of sleeping car passengers and those that drift in from coach? It is an injustice to see this kind of policy in place and an insult to the riding public.

It has been reported elsewhere on AU that Craig passed away 3-4 months ago.

 

[HenryK]

I just looked up the Illinois law. (I live in a Chicago suburb.) *ALL* parties to a conversation have to consent to voice recording, whether or not that recording is done in public or private, if that recording is to be legal. So we'd better do our dining-car evidence-gathering AFTER the westbound Zephyr crosses the Mississippi.

 

[Hal]

On another thread courtesy was discussed. I don't think playing cards in the dining car is courteous to other diners. Decorum does need to be maintained. Card games in general tend to be loud and boisterous. The players get involved in the game and don't relize it. They could easily be disruptive to other diners having dinner. I would guess that is why they were asked to stop.

 

[blueman271]

A shrieking child is going to be much more disruptive to other diners than one that is engaged and entertained playing cards.

 

[Sproutis]

So are the kids playing shoot-em-ups on their iPads with the volume cranked while their oblivious parents shout over them.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

On another thread courtesy was discussed. I don't think playing cards in the dining car is courteous to other diners. Decorum does need to be maintained. Card games in general tend to be loud and boisterous. The players get involved in the game and don't relize it. They could easily be disruptive to other diners having dinner. I would guess that is why they were asked to stop.

This statement makes me want to smack my head on the table, which im sure is also not courteous.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

On another thread courtesy was discussed. I don't think playing cards in the dining car is courteous to other diners. Decorum does need to be maintained. Card games in general tend to be loud and boisterous. The players get involved in the game and don't relize it. They could easily be disruptive to other diners having dinner. I would guess that is why they were asked to stop.

You're in a rolling McDonald's serving precooked reheated frozen meals on fiberglass tables with vinyl bench seats and you're talking about decorum? Now that the dining car environment has been diluted to the point that it's nearly indistinguishable from the lounge car it's hard to take such high expectations seriously. These complaints sound like they belong on a private varnish charter.

 

[Hal]

So are the kids playing shoot-em-ups on their iPads with the volume cranked while their oblivious parents shout over them.

I would tell them to turn the sound off. And I would advise parents to quiet shrieking children. Or leave the dining car.

 

[Hal]

On another thread courtesy was discussed. I don't think playing cards in the dining car is courteous to other diners. Decorum does need to be maintained. Card games in general tend to be loud and boisterous. The players get involved in the game and don't relize it. They could easily be disruptive to other diners having dinner. I would guess that is why they were asked to stop.

You're in a rolling McDonald's serving precooked reheated frozen meals on fiberglass tables with vinyl bench seats and you're talking about decorum? Now that the dining car environment has been diluted to the point that it's nearly indistinguishable from the lounge car it's hard to take such high expectations seriously. These complaints sound like they belong on a private varnish charter.

Can't take you seriously at all.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

So are the kids playing shoot-em-ups on their iPads with the volume cranked while their oblivious parents shout over them.

I would tell them to turn the sound off. And I would advise parents to quiet shrieking children. Or leave the dining car.

I'm sure you would find a reason to scold me too. You sound like someone just downright jolly to have dinner with. I'll be sure to wear my hat and bring my iPhone!

 

[George K]

I just looked up the Illinois law. (I live in a Chicago suburb.) *ALL* parties to a conversation have to consent to voice recording, whether or not that recording is done in public or private, if that recording is to be legal. So we'd better do our dining-car evidence-gathering AFTER the westbound Zephyr crosses the Mississippi.

I understand that in public places, one has no reasonable expectation of privacy. That's why cameras are permitted at gas stations, street corners, etc. I may be wrong, Henry, but I think that law only applies to private conversations (such as phone) and private places (like your home). Anything outdoors is fair game.

But, I digress....

 

[KmH]

Would there be a problem recording a conversation, openly or surreptitiously, that takes place in public?

There can be no reasonable expectation of privacy, for passengers or Amtrak employees, when in public spaces on the train.

Plus, the recordings mentioned were sent to Amtrak Customer Service, not posted online or sent to some media outlet.

Defamation - Any intentional false communication.

Defamation of Character - The act of making untrue statements about another person.

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Defamation

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

On at least 1 occasion I have been on a train where a group of folks were playing cards at one of the Diner tables after the car "closed" for the night, and the Conductors were right in there. Everyone was happy, chatty and having a good time and no one was making a shambles of the place. So I guess it all comes down to how much common sense the particular Crew has.

 

[George K]

So I guess it all comes down to how much common sense the particular Crew has.

This

On the CZ last year (EMY to CHI), on day 2, already 3 hours behind schedule, the SSL was full, and I sat down in the diner to watch the Rocky Mountains roll by. The car was empty. It was about 2:30 in the afternoon. I was informed, in no uncertain terms, that if I wanted to "watch the mountains go by, I should do it elsewhere."

 

[Philly Amtrak Fan]

Unfortunately, a topic like this makes me speak ill of Amtrak and to speak highly of United Airlines. This is sad, ridiculous, and unnecessary. While there is no pod reason to treat passengers rudely, Ivfeel sorry for that line food server. A disgrace.

United Airlines has to compete with American, Delta, and Southwest. They actually have to care how they treat customers. Unlike Amtrak.

 

[FormerOBS]

I'm not about to pore through several hundred pages of the rule book in order to find some obscure rule about this. Chances are, the search would be fruitless because I'm willing to bet the rule doesn't exist. Amtrak employees are always empowered to address customers in order to make reasonable requests to ensure order, decorum, and good service. However, this sounds like a flustered employee who simply lost perspective and made an unreasonable demand without thinking. If the rule does exist, it would have been more sensible to ignore it and concentrate on more important issues, like getting the passengers served.

'tain't rocket science.

Tom

 

[jis]

I am with you Tom!