RUDE SCA on SWC #4

[CrewMember]

I am familiar with the situations described by the OP. I was trying to sleep in the same transdorm on the same trip. The OP (if it is who I believe it to be, based upon the fact that only one person traveled virtually the entire distance in that car) was not traveling alone, but had another person in the room. The room had its lower mattress replaced THREE times, with no explanation as to where the previous mattresses went (I'm sure the cleaning crew is in for a rude surprise; I get it, people pee the bed or worse, but own up to it!). The call button was rung (apparently by someone who didn't understand that the signal doesn't go through to the 31 car, and that you have to LEAVE THE BUTTON ON or no one will know which room is calling!) roughly EVERY 20 MINUTES ALL NIGHT LONG on the first night out of Chicago, waking most of the crew and other passengers in the car! (The conductors were in the diner all night, as they tend to be on this train overnight). The only other people in the car for more than one night (wanna see the manifest? I still have a copy!) were the yakking woman who complimented the entire staff yet left not one thin dime for anyone (and she was in coach on the first night out, anyway), and BT travelers. For those who don't know, BT's are employees or other "passriders", who pay little or nothing for the room, don't get meals, and are responsible entirely for making up their own rooms.

There's something SERIOUSLY wrong with this post, either in leaving out little details like the second person in the room, or perhaps just making up a story based on second-hand information...

That was not me. I travelled solo and know that repeatedly pushing the button does nothing but turn the light on and off. I also don't ring past 9 PM or earlier than 7 AM for that very reason that EVERYONE, except obviously the SCA can hear it even with a door closed.

So, you know all of that...but have no idea where the TA's room is in the next car???!!!??? I smell shenanigans...

 

[busboy]

This is easy. When you get treated badly, don't tip.

I've always had great service on every Amtrak trip I've taken. I wonder if the level of service you receive is a function of how nice you are. I have friends who are sour and demanding and always complain of being treated poorly, while others who smile and say thank you, consistently are treated well.

Anyway, if your service is truly bad, just don't tip. If everyone followed this rule, bad behavior by service providers would be self correcting. The worst thing you can do is leave a tip if you feel you've been treated badly.

 

[chandj]

This is easy. When you get treated badly, don't tip.

I've always had great service on every Amtrak trip I've taken. I wonder if the level of service you receive is a function of how nice you are. I have friends who are sour and demanding and always complain of being treated poorly, while others who smile and say thank you, consistently are treated well.

Anyway, if your service is truly bad, just don't tip. If everyone followed this rule, bad behavior by service providers would be self correcting. The worst thing you can do is leave a tip if you feel you've been treated badly.

Absolutely agree about the tipping--but even very nice people can get bad service on Amtrak and anywhere else they choose to go. I have never had a service person on Amtrak be mean to me, but I have certainly had them go MIA. It is hard to impress my SCA with my overall friendliness and happy nature when I can't find him/her. Of all my train rides, this has only happened a couple of times but when it did happen, my usually generous tip money stayed in my pocket.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I've always had great service on every Amtrak trip I've taken.

I don't doubt that some folks have great service on some trains at some times. I've seen it myself so I know it's perfectly possible. But only receiving great service every single time on every single train with every single interaction? No, I don't think that's very believable. I wouldn't buy into that level of excessive praise in the air or on the water either. I wouldn't expect anyone to believe me if I said that every single interaction on every single train was always terrible either.

Also, contrary to the assumptions of some folks, not everyone who is disappointed with Amtrak's service levels goes around baiting the staff into unnecessary conflicts. I'm generally a calm and quiet customer while on board. People have different ideas of what constitutes "friendly" but while I may be a little distant sometimes I'm definitely not mean or disagreeable.

Most of the problems I have with Amtrak are related to the poorly tuned bureaucracy that allows their service levels to continue to suffer without sufficient recourse. Yes, I can demand and receive a voucher every time Amtrak screws something up, but that's not what I really want. I would much rather that they take ownership of their mistakes and retrain their staff to expect more of each other and of themselves. I also want them to weed out the folks who simply aren't wired for the service sector.

In any case I find your overly simplistic solution rather perplexing. Do you really think people who are seriously disappointed with their service levels are leaving large tips anyway? I've had some great attendants who went out of their way did their best to make my trip the best it could be within the realm of realistic expectations. Naturally I tipped them very well indeed. I've also had employees that seemed to go out of their way to make my trip as unpleasant as possible. In those cases I didn't tip at all, just as you would expect.

I think after forty years of declining service levels we can see that merely withholding tips is not enough to fix the problem. So these days I grudgingly suggest that people demand a voucher as compensation and hope that if enough folks make similar demands then maybe somebody at Amtrak will get the message.

 

[A.J.]

The literature gives a very accurate description of services available onboard, including freshly prepared meals, room make-up service, etc. Anything left out of brochures (seat/bed dimensions, menu options, etc.) can generally be accessed online or by calling Amtrak. Bring it down a notch!

Unfortunately, not every train trip in a sleeper involves even these services. I've had great experiences and some so-so experiences. Out of nine separate trips in a sleeper, only once have I been given the cute little bag with the toiletries in it. I was so accustomed to not receiving it that it was quite a neat surprise when I did! I once asked to eat in my compartment and was given the exasperated response of, "you don't want every meal in here, do you?" I try not to do that too often, unless I have a migraine, because i'm afraid of a similar cranky response. On the other hand, a SCA once offered that without me asking. Same goes for making the bed up and taking it down. I often do it myself just to make things easier. My long and rambling point is that I think that the service we get varies from person to person and train to train.

 

[amamba]

The literature gives a very accurate description of services available onboard, including freshly prepared meals, room make-up service, etc. Anything left out of brochures (seat/bed dimensions, menu options, etc.) can generally be accessed online or by calling Amtrak. Bring it down a notch!

So what do we suggest the pax do when the SCA goes into hiding around bedtime? I shouldn't have to beg to get a bed put down or my room put back into daytime configuration while I am at breakfast.

 

[ScottC4746]

I am familiar with the situations described by the OP. I was trying to sleep in the same transdorm on the same trip. The OP (if it is who I believe it to be, based upon the fact that only one person traveled virtually the entire distance in that car) was not traveling alone, but had another person in the room. The room had its lower mattress replaced THREE times, with no explanation as to where the previous mattresses went (I'm sure the cleaning crew is in for a rude surprise; I get it, people pee the bed or worse, but own up to it!). The call button was rung (apparently by someone who didn't understand that the signal doesn't go through to the 31 car, and that you have to LEAVE THE BUTTON ON or no one will know which room is calling!) roughly EVERY 20 MINUTES ALL NIGHT LONG on the first night out of Chicago, waking most of the crew and other passengers in the car! (The conductors were in the diner all night, as they tend to be on this train overnight). The only other people in the car for more than one night (wanna see the manifest? I still have a copy!) were the yakking woman who complimented the entire staff yet left not one thin dime for anyone (and she was in coach on the first night out, anyway), and BT travelers. For those who don't know, BT's are employees or other "passriders", who pay little or nothing for the room, don't get meals, and are responsible entirely for making up their own rooms.

There's something SERIOUSLY wrong with this post, either in leaving out little details like the second person in the room, or perhaps just making up a story based on second-hand information...

That was not me. I travelled solo and know that repeatedly pushing the button does nothing but turn the light on and off. I also don't ring past 9 PM or earlier than 7 AM for that very reason that EVERYONE, except obviously the SCA can hear it even with a door closed.

So, you know all of that...but have no idea where the TA's room is in the next car???!!!??? I smell shenanigans...

Not at all...I know all that because I can hear everyone else's bell go off.

 

[busboy]

I've always had great service on every Amtrak trip I've taken.

But only receiving great service every single time on every single train with every single interaction? No, I don't think that's very believable. I wouldn't buy into that level of excessive praise in the air or on the water either. I wouldn't expect anyone to believe me if I said that every single interaction on every single train was always terrible either.

I have no expectations on whether or not you believe me, nor do I really care. I'm just stating my experience on the 7 long distance trains I've been on. Maybe I've been lucky, or my expectations of service are different than yours. I just want my bed to be made in the evening and put up in the morning. I also want the waiters to take my order and deliver my food. If they do those things, and are reasonably pleasant, I consider it great service. So yes, every time I've ridden, I've received great service.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

When we pay allot of money for a sleeper we expect the service we are entitled to. that includes the free coffee our beds being made clean rooms and sheets. i don't want to sleep on the same sheets that someone else has yet we have SCAs who say its not my job to change the sheets. Then whos job is it? I didn't know amtrak had maid service to do the jobs the SCAs are supposed to do.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

If you pay for a sleeper, we will do our best to make you comfortable, but it is NOT a cruise in the Presidential Suite on the Queen Mary II. We are not nurses, babysitters, therapists, mechanics, or magicians. The literature gives a very accurate description of services available onboard, including freshly prepared meals, room make-up service, etc. Anything left out of brochures (seat/bed dimensions, menu options, etc.) can generally be accessed online or by calling Amtrak. Bring it down a notch!

I'd feel more comfortable if you brought your own hyperbole down a notch. I didn't see anyone asking for service that equates to a room on a ship that costs as much as buying out the whole train. Nor did I see anyone requesting the services of nurses, babysitters, therapists, mechanics, or magicians. Although you might want to see a therapist of your own if this is how you think a service job is supposed to work.

I just want my bed to be made in the evening and put up in the morning. I also want the waiters to take my order and deliver my food. If they do those things, and are reasonably pleasant, I consider it great service.

Ah, I see. You use the word "great" where many people would probably use a word more like "adequate."

When we pay allot of money for a sleeper we expect the service we are entitled to. that includes the free coffee our beds being made clean rooms and sheets. i don't want to sleep on the same sheets that someone else has yet we have SCAs who say its not my job to change the sheets. Then whos job is it? I didn't know amtrak had maid service to do the jobs the SCAs are supposed to do.

Is this true? Specifically the part about SCA's reusing the same sheets the last passenger used? If so that's rather disappointing to me, even in the context of Amtrak's already sub-par service levels.

 

[ScottC4746]

If you pay for a sleeper, we will do our best to make you comfortable, but it is NOT a cruise in the Presidential Suite on the Queen Mary II. We are not nurses, babysitters, therapists, mechanics, or magicians. The literature gives a very accurate description of services available onboard, including freshly prepared meals, room make-up service, etc. Anything left out of brochures (seat/bed dimensions, menu options, etc.) can generally be accessed online or by calling Amtrak. Bring it down a notch!

I'd feel more comfortable if you brought your own hyperbole down a notch. I didn't see anyone asking for service that equates to a room on a ship that costs as much as buying out the whole train. Nor did I see anyone requesting the services of nurses, babysitters, therapists, mechanics, or magicians. Although you might want to see a therapist of your own if this is how you think a service job is supposed to work.

I just want my bed to be made in the evening and put up in the morning. I also want the waiters to take my order and deliver my food. If they do those things, and are reasonably pleasant, I consider it great service.

Ah, I see. You use the word "great" where many people would probably use a word more like "adequate."

When we pay allot of money for a sleeper we expect the service we are entitled to. that includes the free coffee our beds being made clean rooms and sheets. i don't want to sleep on the same sheets that someone else has yet we have SCAs who say its not my job to change the sheets. Then whos job is it? I didn't know amtrak had maid service to do the jobs the SCAs are supposed to do.

Is this true? Specifically the part about SCA's reusing the same sheets the last passenger used? If so that's rather disappointing to me, even in the context of Amtrak's already sub-par service levels.

That almost gives the EWWW factor. I assume if you go end to end that is not an issue. hboy:

 

[Cristobal]

If you pay for a sleeper, we will do our best to make you comfortable, but it is NOT a cruise in the Presidential Suite on the Queen Mary II. We are not nurses, babysitters, therapists, mechanics, or magicians. The literature gives a very accurate description of services available onboard, including freshly prepared meals, room make-up service, etc. Anything left out of brochures (seat/bed dimensions, menu options, etc.) can generally be accessed online or by calling Amtrak. Bring it down a notch!

I'd feel more comfortable if you brought your own hyperbole down a notch. I didn't see anyone asking for service that equates to a room on a ship that costs as much as buying out the whole train. Nor did I see anyone requesting the services of nurses, babysitters, therapists, mechanics, or magicians. Although you might want to see a therapist of your own if this is how you think a service job is supposed to work.

I just want my bed to be made in the evening and put up in the morning. I also want the waiters to take my order and deliver my food. If they do those things, and are reasonably pleasant, I consider it great service.

Ah, I see. You use the word "great" where many people would probably use a word more like "adequate."

When we pay allot of money for a sleeper we expect the service we are entitled to. that includes the free coffee our beds being made clean rooms and sheets. i don't want to sleep on the same sheets that someone else has yet we have SCAs who say its not my job to change the sheets. Then whos job is it? I didn't know amtrak had maid service to do the jobs the SCAs are supposed to do.

Is this true? Specifically the part about SCA's reusing the same sheets the last passenger used? If so that's rather disappointing to me, even in the context of Amtrak's already sub-par service levels.

That almost gives the EWWW factor. I assume if you go end to end that is not an issue. hboy:

I don't believe that there is much truth to that at all. When I returned home last Saturday on the CS the SCA, as we were rolling into SJC, pulled the pillowcases off of the pillows that were in my roomette even though it had been a day trip between LAX and SJC. I had actually only been in that room for maybe 1 hour total (the PPC is a wonderful place to sit and socialize ). She did say that someone was going to be occupying the room again starting at OKJ. My guess is that amtrakwolverine is just repeating a rumor instead of something that he actually witnessed to be true.

 

[ScottC4746]

Thats good.

 

[Cristian]

I've never had issues with the sheets - always have been clean. That being said, however, in all my recent travels in the sleepers, with the exception of one ride in the CS, all the blue blankets that sit on top of the sheets have had hair other than mine on it....i.e. long blonde hairs, etc. I'm not sure if only the sheets get changes but the blue blankets get reused or what exactly.... :excl:

 

[Cristian]

And on the topic of bedroom usage by SCAs - I've had one trip on the EB where the SCA kept trying to make me move downstairs to H after I remarked to her that bedroom A is slightly smaller than the rest. To quote her: "You can go downstairs to H which is much bigger, I used bedroom A on the outbound and I like to sleep there" ...

 

[rtabern]

I'm thinking there might be some "interesting" SCAs floating around on the Southwest Chief for whatever reason... I had one of the worst SCAs I ever had on Amtrak on the eastbound Southwest Chief this past March.

I'll spare blasting her name in a public forum... but she was something else. The "average" Amtrak passenger who doesn't know a lot about the cars and room sizes and how everything worked probably wouldn't have even noticed what she was trying to pull... but it was clear to us.

The problems started the first night out of LAX, around San Bernardino, when she came to make up the beds in our Bedroom. My friend and I were traveling in "C". Anyway, the latch on the top bunk wouldn't latch properly... meaning it wasn't safe for someone to use/sleep in the top bed. She wanted to move us permanently into "A". I explained that we really didn't want "A" because it was somewhat smaller than the other bedrooms... and just because the bed didn't latch... we didn't want the smaller room for 2 people for the next 2 days.

I got on the phone and had a friend who worked for Amtrak pull up the manifest for #4... and there were A LOT of unsold roomettes in the car all the way to CHI... so I threw out the suggestion to the SCA that we keep "C" (the larger room), use it during the day as we paid for... and then at night... my friend would use the lower bed... and I'd just go and sleep in one of the un-sold roomettes.

She didn't like this idea... and insisted she could try and "fix" the bed. My friend who I was traveling with is pretty handy when it comes to mechanical and technical things like fixing the latch... and I told her... if he couldn't fix it... chances are... it's not going to be fixed... can't we just go with my idea of me just retreating to a roomette at night to sleep and us keeping the room? Well, NO. She proceeds to try and fix the latch... then gives up... and goes and takes her dinner break in the diner... leaving us for almost an hour wanting to go to bed, but not able to because the top bunk was not us-able. VERY UNPROFESSIONAL. She comes back an hour later... and proceeds to try and get everyone on the train to try and fix the latch... conductor, assistant conductor, other sleeping car attendant, even the LSA and other waiter in the dining car!! No such luck... surprise, surprise.

Finally, she agrees on the idea of us keeping "C" and also having Room #2 at night to sleep in.

I'm sorry... the bed latch thing wasn't our fault... so why should be get stuck in a smaller bedroom for 2 days because of it??

Anyway, our SCA's true motive was discovered when I overheard a conversation between her and someone on her cell phone... SHE wanted "C" for herself... and made a comment that she refuses to stay in the Room #1 which attendants traditionally get... she will 'only stay in a big bedroom with my private bathroom'. Nice, huh?

This was further proven when we overhead a conversation she was having with the ticket agent in La Junta, CO... where she and the other SCA had the agent block off "A" and "B" for themselves all night on the second night of the trip so the rooms couldn't be sold in the middle of the night between La Junta and Chicago.

What crap... I mean I can see wanting the bigger bedroom and your own bathroom... but it's also cheating Amtrak out of potential revenue. I mean maybe someone wanted to upgrade along the line to a larger bedroom... that's $200+ in revenue stolen from Amtrak potentially.

And yes, we did call and complain and report her for doing that.

The attendant (why are people using "SCA" when there is no such position? They are sleeper t.a.'s...) did right by you in offering room "A" - it costs the same as room C! It is smaller by about one square foot - it feels different because the lavatory is set in the middle of the room, instead of by the door. Asking for an extra roomette is NOT a viable option unless you're paying for it. It's a lot of likely lost revenue (on busy trains, roomettes almost always sell out on board by upgrading coach passengers). If you HAD done the wise thing and taken room A, the TA would likely have slept in room C. As far as the relative safety of room C, the upper berth latch is a problem when it's up, for day use, not when it's down. When it's down, it is perfectly safe for any normal use. As to blocking off the room/rooms for personal use, I'm going to have to call you on that one: it's not allowed, and no ticket agent who values their job is going to do such a thing, nor will any conductor. I've been on train 4 perhaps 10 times this year so far, and there have been NO sleepers (except the TransDorm) which have had more than one or two empty roomettes for any significant portion of the trip when I've been there, and that's been the experience of all crew members I've spoken to. I know all this because I work there (I'm no the TA described, though I can sympathize). Just because you want to get all fussy about exactly which bedroom you get doesn't make a bad TA!! In fact, with similar mechanical situations occurring occasionally, you may not necessarily get the room that's shown on your ticket. Stop asking for the moon, when you've been offered a reasonable alternative!

EGH... WRONG, WRONG, WRONG... :angry: :angry: :angry:

First off, I should have the right to stay in "C" if I want to... it's the room we booked.

Second, why should we be forced to go to a smaller room during the day too because the bed latch was broken?? There was nothing wrong with the room for day use and we wanted "C".

I don't think staying in the room we booked is "ASKING FOR THE MOON" as you stated!!!

Third, your response totally made me laugh because you acted like me asking to sleep in one of the many un-used roomettes was AND I QUOTE YOU --- "lots of lost revenue". Ummmm... dude... isn't the sleeping car attendant blocking off a Bedroom costing "lots of lost revenue" more than what I was suggesting? She needs to stay in her Room #1 which she was assigned by the company instead of playing games and blocking of Bedrooms for herself so she could have her private potty.

Finally, what's so wrong about asking to keep the original Bedroom and I just sleep in an empty roomette at night? I had a friend who work for Amtrak check and there were a total of 12 empty roomettes on the train --- so NO lost revenue. If the train was near sold out, I would have just done the Bedroom A thing because the last thing I'd do is cost Amtrak extra revenue.

So there...

 

[Guest]

Finally, what's so wrong about asking to keep the original Bedroom and I just sleep in an empty roomette at night? I had a friend who work for Amtrak check and there were a total of 12 empty roomettes on the train --- so NO lost revenue. If the train was near sold out, I would have just done the Bedroom A thing because the last thing I'd do is cost Amtrak extra revenue.

So there...

You are getting two rooms for the price of one and other passengers are not offered the same deal.....that is what's wrong. Revenue is not directly lost by allowing you to use the room, but you are preventing them from using the room for revenue if the opportunity presents itself. I have seen a few trains go from mostly empty to sold out in a matter of hours. All it takes is some passengers a few stops down who missed a connection and are put on your train by Amtrak. Do you want to be the sleeper passenger who was delayed and missed a train, and then got kicked down to Coach on the next train out because someone demanded they get to use two rooms?

SCAs are not conductors, so they cannot wheel and deal with you. They have limited powers on how they can make things right. They made an effort to make it right, and I'm sorry it wasn't the solution you wanted. After reading these posts, I feel sorry for the SCAs for having to deal with some of you.

 

[A.J.]

for pete's sake! bedroom A is not THAT much smaller. i agree that you're essentially asking to use another sleeping compartment without having to pay for it. that isn't right. I can see how it's frustrating that the SCA apparently wanted one of the bedrooms for herself, but that's beside the point. if she wanted a bedroom so badly she would have slept in A. a lot of people travel on amtrak who can't afford a bedroom, much less a roomette. perhaps you should focus on the positive aspects of your vacation. you were offered another bedroom and you wouldn't take it. that's your problem, not the staffs. i apologize for being so cranky about this, but it just seems a bit overly picky to me.

 

[ScottC4746]

for pete's sake! bedroom A is not THAT much smaller. i agree that you're essentially asking to use another sleeping compartment without having to pay for it. that isn't right. I can see how it's frustrating that the SCA apparently wanted one of the bedrooms for herself, but that's beside the point. if she wanted a bedroom so badly she would have slept in A. a lot of people travel on amtrak who can't afford a bedroom, much less a roomette. perhaps you should focus on the positive aspects of your vacation. you were offered another bedroom and you wouldn't take it. that's your problem, not the staffs. i apologize for being so cranky about this, but it just seems a bit overly picky to me.

At least they did not bump down to a roomette.

 

[GG-1]

Aloha

Almost do not want to revive this thread as some of th exchanges were heated. But since I had such good service from this Rene

I want to know if we have been talking about the same guy. Sorry I took me so long to get through my pictures and find this. I am still adding to my Southwest Chief gallery pictures from the April-May trip.

 

[greatcats]

Aloha

Almost do not want to revive this thread as some of th exchanges were heated. But since I had such good service from this Rene

I want to know if we have been talking about the same guy. Sorry I took me so long to get through my pictures and find this. I am still adding to my Southwest Chief gallery pictures from the April-May trip.

Yes, that is the Rene I referred to. A good man and an asset to Amtrak.

 

[ScottC4746]

Aloha

Almost do not want to revive this thread as some of th exchanges were heated. But since I had such good service from this Rene

I want to know if we have been talking about the same guy. Sorry I took me so long to get through my pictures and find this. I am still adding to my Southwest Chief gallery pictures from the April-May trip.

Yes, that is the Rene I referred to. A good man and an asset to Amtrak.

NOT the same Rene I had. He looks a little like the Rene I had on SS Ltd and agree an asset to Amtrak, but NOT the Rene I had on SWC.

 

[pdxjim]

I agree GG-1, Rene was a great attendant on my trip last August on the SWC. I was in bedroom A because it was the last bedroom on the train. The room is slightly smaller, but big deal. Had a great time other than no water between La Junta and Alburquerque and discovered that when I went to put my contacts in and had compressed air send my lens down the drain. Ah, riding Amtrak is always an adventure!

Jim in PDX

 

[ColdRain&Snow]

NOT the same Rene I had. He looks a little like the Rene I had on SS Ltd and agree an asset to Amtrak, but NOT the Rene I had on SWC.

Hmm, so it sounds like there are two different male SCAs named Rene working on the Southwest Chief? Aside from ScottC4746's experience with the other Rene, has anyone else had any experiences with the SCA named Rene that is not the man in the picture above? I guess I am still confused about all of this, especially in light of BlueJeanGirl's post cited above and the fact that the name Rene is a rather unique name for a guy. The odds of having two Sleeping Car Attendants working the same train route with the same unique name of Rene must be astronomical.

I'm not insinuating dishonesty here, but I am sure you can understand why this all seems a bit odd.

 

[ScottC4746]

NOT the same Rene I had. He looks a little like the Rene I had on SS Ltd and agree an asset to Amtrak, but NOT the Rene I had on SWC.

Hmm, so it sounds like there are two different male SCAs named Rene working on the Southwest Chief? Aside from ScottC4746's experience with the other Rene, has anyone else had any experiences with the SCA named Rene that is not the man in the picture above? I guess I am still confused about all of this, especially in light of BlueJeanGirl's post cited above and the fact that the name Rene is a rather unique name for a guy. The odds of having two Sleeping Car Attendants working the same train route with the same unique name of Rene must be astronomical.

I'm not insinuating dishonesty here, but I am sure you can understand why this all seems a bit odd.

Not so strange in the Hispanic or Filopino culture.