Crescent ATN & TCL
OBS Chief
If they aren't doing their job complain. There are a lot of people who are just waiting for a chance to work for Amtrak.
I'm starting to sense that the Texas Eagle sleeper is to be avoided at all cost? Way too high of a chance of having Peggy as our SCA?LOL!!! My experience with Peggy was part of a TE/SL trip. Guess who was working in the diner on that trip??? You guessed it! Miss Congeniality herself!!!! Talk about a double whammy with two of the nastiest employees Amtrak has!Peggy is without a doubt the one OBS that makes Miss Polly win the Ms Congealiality Award! She's the Control Freaks Control Freak!
No. I would never avoid the TE just cause people here report an annoying train worker. Pack my own ice - probably. Or even "dry ice" -- naah might be a "see something" thing.I'm starting to sense that the Texas Eagle sleeper is to be avoided at all cost? Way too high of a chance of having Peggy as our SCA?LOL!!! My experience with Peggy was part of a TE/SL trip. Guess who was working in the diner on that trip??? You guessed it! Miss Congeniality herself!!!! Talk about a double whammy with two of the nastiest employees Amtrak has!Peggy is without a doubt the one OBS that makes Miss Polly win the Ms Congealiality Award! She's the Control Freaks Control Freak!
Unfortunately that's how it seems to be going.So the consensus seems to be...
You may or may not get an ice bucket.
You may or may not be able to get your own ice (or quantities of it).
You may or may not get any ice at all.
You may or may not be able to get coffee or juice by the late morning.
And bottled water may be limited or rationed, and (according to some posts) may be on the way out altogether.
Ride Amtrak! "We're making trains worth riding again!"
Everything is a 50% 50% chance these days on Amtrak. It pretty much all depends on your SCA and what good or foul nasty mood they are in. I can't complain. My first LD trip was a joy. Never ran into any of the horror scenarios mentioned by others.Unfortunately that's how it seems to be going.So the consensus seems to be...
You may or may not get an ice bucket.
You may or may not be able to get your own ice (or quantities of it).
You may or may not get any ice at all.
You may or may not be able to get coffee or juice by the late morning.
And bottled water may be limited or rationed, and (according to some posts) may be on the way out altogether.
Ride Amtrak! "We're making trains worth riding again!"
going...Unfortunately that's how it seems to be [for long distance trains] going...Ride Amtrak! "We're making [short and medium distance} trains worth riding again!"
My wife and I were on this same train and I must say your evaluation of Peggy is quite odd. We found her very friendly and accommodating. There was always water available including that which she dropped off in our room. She sat and talked with us on several occasions. We did not require ice so I cannot speak to that situation. I did find several of the passengers in our car to be rather demanding and rude. I guess it just depends on how you approach a person.Rode the Sunset Limited 05/28 from Chicago to LA. Sleeping car attendant Peggy advised us she was under orders to sequester the ice (we were told we would have to ring for her and request a cup of ice every time we needed some) and limit access to bottled water.
I've ridden Amtrak long distance trains (as recently as Nov. 2013) over 13,000 miles now (over the past 3 years) and I have never EVER had this occur. Was it just a case of having a 'control freak tip seeker' as a room attendant or has anyone else encountered such a thing recently?
This wasn't the only problem I had with this dreadful woman. I'll give you details if you wish, but meanwhile I'd like to hear your thoughts, please & thanks!
That does seem to be the consensus, and that's a shame. *sigh*So the consensus seems to be...
You may or may not get an ice bucket.
You may or may not be able to get your own ice (or quantities of it).
You may or may not get any ice at all.
You may or may not be able to get coffee or juice by the late morning.
And bottled water may be limited or rationed, and (according to some posts) may be on the way out altogether.
Ride Amtrak! "We're making trains worth riding again!"
I wouldn't avoid it. I had a wonderful SCA last year. Her name was Shante' (not sure if I spelled that right - she pronounced it Shawn-TAY). I was in the transdorm, and she came around to check on everyone every hour or two. She also kept everything clean and tidy. I'm pretty sure she was handling the transdorm and the sleeper behind us.I'm starting to sense that the Texas Eagle sleeper is to be avoided at all cost? Way too high of a chance of having Peggy as our SCA?
Well, isn't that interesting. :huh:My wife and I were on this same train and I must say your evaluation of Peggy is quite odd. We found her very friendly and accommodating.
Twas ever thus. I've never noticed a consistent level of service from Amtrak.That does seem to be the consensus, and that's a shame. *sigh*So the consensus seems to be...
You may or may not get an ice bucket.
You may or may not be able to get your own ice (or quantities of it).
You may or may not get any ice at all.
You may or may not be able to get coffee or juice by the late morning.
And bottled water may be limited or rationed, and (according to some posts) may be on the way out altogether.
Ride Amtrak! "We're making trains worth riding again!"
Sleeper accommodations are not cheap. It is reasonable to expect a consistent level of service.
Such as?There is quite a lot of outright misinformation which is almost never acknowledged or corrected.
If you read an earlier post I made, I corrected myself - I was riding the Southwest Chief and left Chicago heading to Los Angeles, on May 28th - not the Sunset Limited as erroneously stated in my original post, sorry for the confusion. Perhaps there is another 'Peggy' on the Sunset Limited / Texas Eagle, but I am referring to Peggy on the LA - based Southwest Chief. Just wanted to clear that up, again ...My wife and I were on this same train and I must say your evaluation of Peggy is quite odd. We found her very friendly and accommodating. There was always water available including that which she dropped off in our room. She sat and talked with us on several occasions. We did not require ice so I cannot speak to that situation. I did find several of the passengers in our car to be rather demanding and rude. I guess it just depends on how you approach a person.Rode the Sunset Limited 05/28 from Chicago to LA. Sleeping car attendant Peggy advised us she was under orders to sequester the ice (we were told we would have to ring for her and request a cup of ice every time we needed some) and limit access to bottled water.
I've ridden Amtrak long distance trains (as recently as Nov. 2013) over 13,000 miles now (over the past 3 years) and I have never EVER had this occur. Was it just a case of having a 'control freak tip seeker' as a room attendant or has anyone else encountered such a thing recently?
This wasn't the only problem I had with this dreadful woman. I'll give you details if you wish, but meanwhile I'd like to hear your thoughts, please & thanks!
Our car attendant on the eastbound SWC was also a nice guy and did have ice in a large styrofoam cooler on the shelf. I have problems with a public ice source since we had a couple of yahoos in our car who were coughing and drinking heavily while getting their cache of ice each day. Would rather see the ice sequestered. He did keep extra bottles of water in his room but they were available to grab if you needed more or requested additional bottles.
Yes , there seems to be an inconsistency among attendants.
Ice machines require plumbing (source and drain) and have to regularly cleaned, if they make ice. There are some that must be loaded with ice, but they require drainage, and have some moving parts. Moving parts don't like moving trains.Risk might be low, but the issues can be a life threading event. There is a reason behind this policy.
What we need is a ice machine that drops the ice down into our cups. Does not need to make it just dispense it. Like the older fill the hopper kind, would work fine.
Aha! Thanks for the clarification ... so it truly IS the same Peggy. She had the audacity to boast a claim that she received more passenger compliments than any other SCA of all LA based trains; we can now add delusions of grandeur and narcissistic personality disorder to her ever growing list of mental illness diagnoses. She needs to be fired! The SCA attendant in the car adjacent to us was AMAZING - his name was Steve, and he was ALWAYS taking care of his passengers. He checked on them often, was cheerful, respectful and kind to everyone, and brought meals to MANY in his car. Never ONCE did I see Paggy serving a passenger a meal in their room in our car, nor did she ever offer. The ONLY time I EVER saw her in the dining car was when she was taking her typical hour and a half to 2 hour meal break - ALWAYS during Dining Car passenger meal service. The second evening of the journey she announced on the intercom that, per her contract and as was her right, she would be unavailable after 2200 hours. I've never heard such a thing, have any of you? Every SCA I've EVER had was available 24/7. My understanding was that working those 24/7 hours was what allowed SCA's to be on duty for 6 days then have 6 days off (like firefighters). Am I wrong? One way or another, Peggy is poisonous to Amtrak and they should rid themselves of her and hire others like Steve or, better yet, Janelle from the CZ. I've had Janelle 3 times and I think of her as a dear friend - she is precious and dear. Janelle and Steve should be in charge of training new SCA's and if they don't pass muster, have the authority to recommend termination - there's too MANY 'Peggy's' on Amtrak's payroll. As far as Miss Polly, I'm wondering if she was working on the SWC May 28th when I was riding. All I can tell you is there was a middle aged dour, bitter, nasty, evil-looking woman in an Amtrak uniform that Peggy kept hanging off the leg of; I got the impression it was Peggy's 'Supervisor' ... could it have been Miss Polly???The Sunset Ltd crew is LAX based and Peggy has worked the Sunset in the past! I actually had her on the SWC and the Sunset and neither were a pleasant experience!
The infamous Miss Polly of the Diner crew is known by most who ride the TexasEagle/Sunset but due to complaints
From passengers she was on the California Zephyr for awhile, she's now back on her regular route spreading Amcheer on the Texas Eagles!
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