Trainmans daughter
OBS Chief
I was on the Coast Starlight last week, and spent lots of time in the Pacific Parlour Car. I love this route, and have traveled it many times. The staff has a reputation for being relaxed, friendly, and laid back. but I guess the PPC attendent on this trip didn't get the memo. For example:
* He required each person to produce their reservation slip before he would serve them at lunch and dinner. One person, a really neat 85 year old lady who had traveled many a mile on Amtrak, couldn't find hers. She is digging through her purse saying, "I have never been asked to show my reservation slip. I didn't know it was so important". He snaps back, "Is is important to me!" She finally found it and was served lunch. Now, if he was overwhelmed with diners, I could understand, but he only scheduled a maximum of 4 people at each seating!
* For the wine and cheese tasting event, he cleared the car of anyone under 21 years old. When he told me my granddaughter would have to leave, I said, "On our last ride, our PPC attendent served her a cheese plate accompanied by a nice glass of Martinelli's". He got very serious and said, "That is totally against the rules. Tell me his name so I can report him!". Needless to say, I didn't give any names. (BTW, the movie theater downstairs was out of order, so that wasn't an option for the kids).
*After the Wine and Cheese event was over and we returned to the PPC, our new friends were full or stories about what transpired. A gentleman had been denied service and had been asked to leave because he didn't drink the wine. He is a recovering alcoholic but had wanted to do the cheese tasting. His wife had heroically offered to drink the wine for him, but that was not allowed. "If you don't drink the wine, you can't taste the cheese". He was laughing about it and said, "To be fair, it was announced as "wine AND cheese. So I guess you can't have one without the other!"
So while the guy might have adhered to the letter of the law, no one really appreciated his zeal. I have been on the CS where people were tripping all over each other to buy bottles of wine and PPC souveniers from enthusiastic car attendents, but very few people purchased anything from this poor guy.
So what are the laws and rules regarding meals and tastings on the PPC? Am I being too harsh on this guy?
* He required each person to produce their reservation slip before he would serve them at lunch and dinner. One person, a really neat 85 year old lady who had traveled many a mile on Amtrak, couldn't find hers. She is digging through her purse saying, "I have never been asked to show my reservation slip. I didn't know it was so important". He snaps back, "Is is important to me!" She finally found it and was served lunch. Now, if he was overwhelmed with diners, I could understand, but he only scheduled a maximum of 4 people at each seating!
* For the wine and cheese tasting event, he cleared the car of anyone under 21 years old. When he told me my granddaughter would have to leave, I said, "On our last ride, our PPC attendent served her a cheese plate accompanied by a nice glass of Martinelli's". He got very serious and said, "That is totally against the rules. Tell me his name so I can report him!". Needless to say, I didn't give any names. (BTW, the movie theater downstairs was out of order, so that wasn't an option for the kids).
*After the Wine and Cheese event was over and we returned to the PPC, our new friends were full or stories about what transpired. A gentleman had been denied service and had been asked to leave because he didn't drink the wine. He is a recovering alcoholic but had wanted to do the cheese tasting. His wife had heroically offered to drink the wine for him, but that was not allowed. "If you don't drink the wine, you can't taste the cheese". He was laughing about it and said, "To be fair, it was announced as "wine AND cheese. So I guess you can't have one without the other!"
So while the guy might have adhered to the letter of the law, no one really appreciated his zeal. I have been on the CS where people were tripping all over each other to buy bottles of wine and PPC souveniers from enthusiastic car attendents, but very few people purchased anything from this poor guy.
So what are the laws and rules regarding meals and tastings on the PPC? Am I being too harsh on this guy?