Some Irks on The Crescent

[reving19]

I just took an Amtrak trip on the Sunset Limited and the Crescent. I loved the Sunset Limited, thought everyone was nice, had good experiences, etc. Not so great on the Crescent. While there was a very good attendant named Claude who took care of me, I do have a few irks about some of the other crew. Mostly this concerns taking photos.

Why does the crew have to be rude about photographs? I politely asked the dining car attendant if I could take a photo of the kitchen crew and he said it was "inappropriate" since they were working. Ok, I can understand if it against the rules, but inappropriate? If you ask permission and they are ok with it, how is it inappropriate? One of the waitresses said when we got to our destination, maybe I could get a group photo, but this never happened. I just like to document my trips, but I am ok with people if they do not want a camera in their face. I always ask first. "Inappropriate" sounds like I am doing something wrong, and I don't think I was. And in case anyone is wondering, if it was me working in the Amtrak kitchen, I wouldn't mind having my picture taken.

Then on the way back, we were going to cross Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana. I was headed to the rear car to get a video as we crossed out the back window. I had taken photos out of it before with no problems. I went through the snack bar car and as soon as I open the door, a woman (Amtrak employee) says to me kind of rudely that the snack bar is closed and there is no one to help me. I said I don't need help, I'm just passing through and she said he car is closed and another guy in there (also an Amtrak employee sitting at a table writing receipts or something) also said the car is closed, go back the other way. I had to settle for a video out of my room window, which is ok, but not as great as it would have been out the back of the train.

Like I said, I understand if there are rules, but can we be a little nicer? Is no one allowed to pass through the snack bar car after it is closed just to take a lousy picture? This would not have happened on the Sunset Limited because the snack bar is located below the Observation car.

 

[Anderson]

I've managed to avoid some of the cafe car issues on the Silvers because I'm something of a regular (I've even had crew members, letting me pass through, actually waylay me to chat a bit), but I do understand that sometimes there can be some issues...the crew can be a bit territorial, and sometimes the door actually gets locked.during those car closures.

 

[dlagrua]

On our trip in June noticed that the Crescent SCA's were nice, polite and accomodating. They are NOL based. However, the food service people are all based in the NYC/NJ metropolitan area. Unfortunately people in this area live with a higher degree of stress and tend to be a bit more honest and blunt in their presentation. I'd like to see Amtrak initiate and enforce a uniform code of conduct by its employees. Passengers should also be polite and courteous.

 

[amamba]

TBH, it sounds like a very strange request to take a picture of the kitchen crew while they are working. I think "inappropriate" would be an appropriate AND polite way to describe it. To me, it just seems odd. If I was working the kitchen, I would NOT want any pax down there and taking pictures. While I agree that it would be cool to get a picture of that, it seems more like that would be something done by a journalist or marketing team for amtrak.

As for the lounge car, if it is closed, they don't want any pax in there because the LSA is responsible for the inventory. If items are missing, I believe the LSA has to pay out of pocket for them.

 

[Rob_C]

Next time if the lounge is "closed" just say, "I just need to use the bathroom in one of the coaches, mine's not working."

problem solved.

 

[VentureForth]

I would tend to agree with amamba. Sorry if you think that staff telling you that taking pictures of a working staff is inappropriate is being rude. I would tend to agree with the staff. But let's not focus on that so much as the fact that folks from various parts of this great land have different ways of expressing things, so I would tend to give them the benefit of the doubt, particularly if the tone is appropriate. If they called you a freakin' idiot and added a couple of adjectives to saying "NO" that would be inappropriate. You say yourself that all they have to say is NO. But in my experience, that has its own flaws. Many people don't give up with NO. They will continue to harass until the subject gets rude. It is also sometimes very uncomfortable to give an honest, yet perhaps invalid reason, like "No, I don't want you to". Too open ended and again subject to arguement.

Don't take it personal. Hear the "No" then leave them alone.

As for passing through the cafe car during closed hours, that's crazy. According to the Amtrak Service Standards Manual, pages 6-47 & 8, the LSA has the responsibility to "Secure car when closed for service."

Page 7-26 then describes the hours of operation:

b) Hours of Service – Long Distance Trains• Café/Lounge Cars operating on long distance trains (500 miles or more) will have normal hours of service from 6:00 am until midnight, unless otherwise indicated on the train manifest.

• Café/Lounge Cars on long distance trains should remain open until 30 minutes prior to the arrival at the final terminal. If a passenger wants to make a purchase after closing, all efforts should be made to provide service.

So what time were you trying to pass through?

This is what I get out of this. No one knows what "Secure car" means. You can lock all the stuff up and the car can be open and still considered "secure".

 

[The Davy Crockett]

...the food service people are all based in the NYC/NJ metropolitan area. Unfortunately people in this area live with a higher degree of stress and tend to be a bit more honest and blunt in their presentation. I'd like to see Amtrak initiate and enforce a uniform code of conduct by its employees. Passengers should also be polite and courteous.

I agree about the need for more uniform conduct. 'The Manual' would go a long way in providing this if there was some effort on Amtrak's part to see that it was more closely followed.

As for the NYC/NJ based dining car crew, in general I think you are right about that too, though there are certainly exceptions. I was on #20 recently and 'Shawn' did a great job! Very attentive, excellent follow through and a really good attitude. Now he does live in Philly, so maybe that explains it! :lol:

 

[zepherdude]

Yeh, I will chime in favor for "inappropriate". I use it. Like someone else said, she could have said Hell No! It is the word she chose and I agree with her. If the car is closed, it is closed! I think you are just upset because you could not do what you wanted to do. I do not blame you, but hey......life is cruel. I have been tossed out of the snack car by the conductor when the car is closed or closing, so I left. Not everyone is polite or will explain why or where. It just people being themselves.

 

[boxcar479]

...the food service people are all based in the NYC/NJ metropolitan area. Unfortunately people in this area live with a higher degree of stress and tend to be a bit more honest and blunt in their presentation. I'd like to see Amtrak initiate and enforce a uniform code of conduct by its employees. Passengers should also be polite and courteous.

I agree about the need for more uniform conduct. 'The Manual' would go a long way in providing this if there was some effort on Amtrak's part to see that it was more closely followed.

As for the NYC/NJ based dining car crew, in general I think you are right about that too, though there are certainly exceptions. I was on #20 recently and 'Shawn' did a great job! Very attentive, excellent follow through and a really good attitude. Now he does live in Philly, so maybe that explains it! :lol:

I would be willing to bet my entire AGR account, that some members of this forum, have spent more time reading "the manual" than most Amtrak employees. :blink:

 

[The Davy Crockett]

...the food service people are all based in the NYC/NJ metropolitan area. Unfortunately people in this area live with a higher degree of stress and tend to be a bit more honest and blunt in their presentation. I'd like to see Amtrak initiate and enforce a uniform code of conduct by its employees. Passengers should also be polite and courteous.

I agree about the need for more uniform conduct. 'The Manual' would go a long way in providing this if there was some effort on Amtrak's part to see that it was more closely followed.

As for the NYC/NJ based dining car crew, in general I think you are right about that too, though there are certainly exceptions. I was on #20 recently and 'Shawn' did a great job! Very attentive, excellent follow through and a really good attitude. Now he does live in Philly, so maybe that explains it! :lol:

I would be willing to bet my entire AGR account, that some members of this forum, have spent more time reading "the manual" than most Amtrak employees. :blink:

:lol: :lol: :lol: Certainly NOT a bet I'm willing to take! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[had8ley]

On our trip in June noticed that the Crescent SCA's were nice, polite and accomodating. They are NOL based. However, the food service people are all based in the NYC/NJ metropolitan area. Unfortunately people in this area live with a higher degree of stress and tend to be a bit more honest and blunt in their presentation. I'd like to see Amtrak initiate and enforce a uniform code of conduct by its employees. Passengers should also be polite and courteous.

Better yet~ make it an all NOL crew !!!

 

[reving19]

I just took an Amtrak trip on the Sunset Limited and the Crescent. I loved the Sunset Limited, thought everyone was nice, had good experiences, etc. Not so great on the Crescent. While there was a very good attendant named Claude who took care of me, I do have a few irks about some of the other crew. Mostly this concerns taking photos.

Why does the crew have to be rude about photographs? I politely asked the dining car attendant if I could take a photo of the kitchen crew and he said it was "inappropriate" since they were working. Ok, I can understand if it against the rules, but inappropriate? If you ask permission and they are ok with it, how is it inappropriate? One of the waitresses said when we got to our destination, maybe I could get a group photo, but this never happened. I just like to document my trips, but I am ok with people if they do not want a camera in their face. I always ask first. "Inappropriate" sounds like I am doing something wrong, and I don't think I was. And in case anyone is wondering, if it was me working in the Amtrak kitchen, I wouldn't mind having my picture taken.

Then on the way back, we were going to cross Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana. I was headed to the rear car to get a video as we crossed out the back window. I had taken photos out of it before with no problems. I went through the snack bar car and as soon as I open the door, a woman (Amtrak employee) says to me kind of rudely that the snack bar is closed and there is no one to help me. I said I don't need help, I'm just passing through and she said he car is closed and another guy in there (also an Amtrak employee sitting at a table writing receipts or something) also said the car is closed, go back the other way. I had to settle for a video out of my room window, which is ok, but not as great as it would have been out the back of the train.

Like I said, I understand if there are rules, but can we be a little nicer? Is no one allowed to pass through the snack bar car after it is closed just to take a lousy picture? This would not have happened on the Sunset Limited because the snack bar is located below the Observation car.

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve been in here. So,

1. It’s not inappropriate to ask to take a picture under these circumstance. I can understand security issues. But a photo of Amtrak folks, if given permission, and with everyone in the pic being Ok with it, is not inappropriate. The guy just used a bad choice of words. The food was good and he did try to engage me later about trains, so maybe he was trying to make up for it. Nobody’s perfect. But I felt then, and do now, that was an odd choice of words and it could’ve been handled better.

2. I don’t care if you’ve had a bad day or if it’s “New York” to act rude. I spent too much money on that trip for employees to act rude to me. Don’t do it. Honestly, I haven’t rode Amtrak since that time. While COVID and other factors play into it, this particular incident does have a role in me thinking twice before I spend that kind of money again on riding Amtrak. Once COVID subsides, I might take the Sunset Limited to California. If I do, I will have Amtrak’s customer service‘s number. Ive looked up what to do about rude Amtrak employees and they said they can’t do anything unless you tell them. I can understand some employees being protective of the dining car especially if Amtrak docks them if anything turns up missing. Nevertheless, there is still no reason to get rude with me for walking in there. But I will speak to the rail car attendant first next time before making a journey to other cars to be sure I’m not doing it when the dining car or snack bar is closed.

 

[caravanman]

The thing is that these Amtrak folk are not animals in the zoo, they don't sign a contract with Amtrak that allows any tom, dick or harry to grab a photo of them at work.
Some folk are shy, some suffer a degree of paranoia, some don't want their other half to know where they are to claim maintenance arrears...
Taking a photo of folk working can be seen as inappropriate, if the worker feels they are not looking their best, etc...
Everyone is different. Just try to enjoy your next Amtrak trip if you go, don't be on a hair spring trigger to look out for "rudeness" to complain about, as you will then surely find some...

 

[fillyjonk]

I dunno, if I were doing my job and someone randomly asked me "hey can I take a picture of you" (and it was not for a clear purpose - like a uni photographer saying "we want a photograph showing you teaching lab to use in university publicity"), I'd be discombobulated and probably say no, because you NEVER know how a photo might be used these days.

And +1 to "they are not animals in the zoo"

I have snapped photos of my *meals* on Amtrak, or the roommette I was in, but have never asked for a person's photo. (I have been asked to photograph people using their own device - at a station break someone's aunt came to say hi to them and they wanted a photo and I was hanging around getting some fresh air, so I took their photo with the guy's iPad.)

 

[Seaboard92]

TBH, it sounds like a very strange request to take a picture of the kitchen crew while they are working. I think "inappropriate" would be an appropriate AND polite way to describe it. To me, it just seems odd. If I was working the kitchen, I would NOT want any pax down there and taking pictures. While I agree that it would be cool to get a picture of that, it seems more like that would be something done by a journalist or marketing team for amtrak.

As for the lounge car, if it is closed, they don't want any pax in there because the LSA is responsible for the inventory. If items are missing, I believe the LSA has to pay out of pocket for them.

Me personally as one of the few people on here who has worked in a kitchen on a dining car I don't mind. I actually encourage it and give you my email so you can email me the photo. All I ask is you don't physically walk all the way into my kitchen or get in the way of anyone actively working. But that is me.

As for closing for inventory I've never truly understood that as you can secure the inventory fairly easy and still walk thru. I have no trouble walking thru during the closed times like Anderson because they know me. And usually they want to talk to me anyway.