I just returned from a 30 day trip across this great country of ours and, while I enjoyed the scenery that can only be provided by the train, I was dismayed and annoyed to find a lack of organization, courtesy and overall competence from the Amtrak staff I encountered throughout. The following are ideas that I feel Amtrak should really heed if they want to stay in business, especially since 80% of the people I talked to about train travel have an Amtrak horror story (and only 25% of those involve delays).
My biggest complaint stems from how I was treated at the end of my trip. Having purchased a 30 day/12 segment pass I was told in Portland (at purchase) that, so long as I was on my final train (meaning I was not switching trains), I was okay if I went over the date. Turns out I was incorrectly informed. What made it worse was the constant answer of, "Nope, you messed up. There is nothing I can do to help you" that I was bombarded with by Amtrak employees. I heard this from conductors, ticket agents and in numerous calls to customer service. Worst off, when I finally convinced the people at Amtrak I needed customer RELATIONS, I was put on hold for an hour and ten minutes before I finally gave up. I guess that is one way to deal with a problem.
Only one individual out of the nine I talked to even cared to listen, and he suggested I detrain in SLO to see if the ticket agent there could help. Not surprisingly, I was met with the same response I had grown accustomed to by now. Not only was the slightly balding overweight guy with the porn 'stasche behind the counter rude and unhelpful, he also almost made me miss my train when he decided to answer the phone and talk for five minutes while in possession of my credit card, id and the my ticket home.
It makes no sense to me that, after paying $679 for a pass in which I only used 10 of 12 segments, my 13 hours over my 30 day end date (even though I was still on the SAME train) meant that I was charged $113 just to get home. Again, I guess Amtrak has to make money...
Here's my solution: take heed from companies like REI and Costco (If you don't know them, there is plenty of info on-line), specifically regarding their customer service policies. You see, they still believe that the customer is ALWAYS right but, more accurately, they realize that pissing off one customer will do far more damage (word of mouth, on-line complaints, lack of repeat use) than just taking a one time loss.
Which leads me to a list of things I believe Amtrak MUST change if they want to remain in business:
1) Hire friendly and helpful people. I cannot count the number of conductors I came across who not only never smiled, but were also rude when asked questions. This is their job, train them how to do it properly.
2) Put in place a consistent system for boarding all trains. Some trains we hopped on and grabbed our own seats, some we were issued boarding passes on the door, some we had to obtain from the respective station's lobby. How difficult is it to have a set system, one that minimizes confusion and stops people from having to run back to the station for a ticket they thought they were getting at the door?
Here's an suggestion: Have a conductor at the station tell people which cars are available (they should alway know how many seats are available at each station if they do their job properly) and let the people find their own seats. Once everyone is situated, check their tickets and readjust your seat count for the next train. If that is too stressful, at MINIMUM, have one conductor outside of each stop directing people where to go. If, as was the case in ABQ, there are close to 80 people trying to board, have more than one conductor manning the doors.
3) Don't let conductor and ticket sales personnel laziness win out over consumer comfort. Of my 10 segments, 6 times I was placed in a full car with a seat mate when many of the other cars were 50-70% empty (I know this because I went up to sleep in them). Why would Amtrak not want their customers to be comfortable? How difficult is it to allow people to spread out and find their own seats?
4) I know Amtrak needs to sell food and beverages to have any chance at profitability, but why must all of the personnel (conductors and cafe/dining car attendants) constantly get on the intercom to relay the EXACT SAME message every few minutes; especially at 7am when people are trying to sleep? Have one message every 30 minutes, and stay away from the people who just love to hear themselves talk (one cafe attendant took three minutes every time she was on to tell us stories no one but her cared to hear...).
The nitpicky:
1) Update the bathrooms, at the very least.
2) Ensure that the overhead lights are off at 11pm every night, for every train.
3) Why does Amtrak have a smaller train running in denser populations (Chicago to Cincinnati vs Chicago to Seattle)?
4) Put wifi on ALL trains (talk about a way to make money).
5) When and if the chairs are ever updated, remove the hard plastic partition in the center. People do enjoy lying down when possible.
If you waded through all of this, I appreciate you taking the time. I hope you see the benefit of the complaints and ideas rather than just my bitching. Though I would love to ride Amtrak again, I truly feel I am owed $113 before I would even consider it.
