Passenger Trains > Amtrak culture

Today I traveled from Reno to the Bay Area on train 5 

i went to the dining care to have breakfast and was appalled at the condition of the dining car.  There were supplies stacked on 2 or 3 tables. There were linen bags under a table.  One table was reserved for the bookkeeping of receipts and business and it looked like a mess

There was a lounge attendant eating at a table complaining about things to a fellow worker. The lady waiting on our table never looked into her customers eyes. She would pour coffee for one but didn't offer to pour for others because she never looked at her customers even though they had their cups up for a refill

to make matters worse the lounge attendant would announce that he is closed as he is taking his break instead of announcing that he will be taking  a break in 10 mins so to entice customers to stop in before he closes the car. 

The culture of paying attention to detail,,keeping a clean professional atmosphere, and putting the customer first must be addressed by Mr Moorman   I was shocked at the condition of this car - just look at this picture. 

on the positive side there was an attendant in the coaches who vacuumed all the cars twice and kept the bathrooms clean. My hat is off to this young man 

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You would NEVER see this in a VIA Rail dining car. The diner on The Canadian is always a warm welcoming atmosphere with friendly staff (with very few exceptions).  Lets hope the new Amtrak President takes some time to travel on his long distance trains to get first hand knowledge of what really goes on out there. Of course it would need to be done on a random surprise basis to avoid his crack staff from putting on a show that they are probably capable of but seldom do.

This post exemplifies Amtrak perfectly. No consistency whatsoever from one train/crew to another. If there are any standards as to how or when things should be done, they are obviously not enforced. I think brand name recognition goes a long way with the public. If you go to a Holiday Inn Express, for example, you pretty much know what to expect. Each property's rooms will look and feel more or less like the other, and their procedures will be similar. I think they generally have a solid reputation. Mention Amtrak to anyone other than a railfan, and you will more than likely get a rather interesting reaction. and not always in a positive way. Consistency goes a long way with the public. And consistent inconsistency and indifferent service doesn't count.

There are disturbing inconsistencies on many routes. Some great people and services, others who treat customers as a bother.

It's a crap shoot, you just don't know what you'll get.

Posted from Android

Looks like a school cafeteria around 1pm, after the children have left, before they can clean up. Show you where Amtrak's head is at.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/16 06:54 by joemvcnj.

A positive culture starts at the TOP and is built upon direct supevision and accountability throughout the
activity. Along with that supervision must come trust and support and it takes much time to build both
Unitl and unless those criteria are met, this is what will continue.

Amtrak is the U.S. Postal Service of railroads.

and this is exactly why we opted to ride VIA Canadian this fall instead of the Amtrak Zephyr....

My US-PO and DMV office doesn't like that messy.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/16 08:32 by joemvcnj.

It was much different on the Empire Builder a couple of weeks ago. The lounge car attendant always did announce his closings in advance and thanked all the patrons over the PA as we approached Chicago stating his pleasure in serving us. The LSA made the same "pleasure serving" announcement. He also explained that lunch on the last day would be "abbreviated" and end at 1 pm (shorter time but full menu). [and the BBQ pork shanks were delicious!]. HOWEVER he also stated that anyone arriving at the dining car by 1 pm would be served. He made this announcement multiple times and one time said that there was now a waiting list but again, come to the dining car if you wish to have lunch with us.

That diner crew is based in Seattle, though the lounge attendant is based in Chicago. The Zephyr is entirely Chicago.

When the Pioneer's cars were routed to Chicago, its diner crew came out of Seattle. They would serve 5 seatings in the time the Zephyr diner would serve 3, and people from the rear Zephyr coaches would walk back to the Seattle diner for better service.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/16 11:47 by joemvcnj.

And people are still asking why dining cars can't 'make money'?

Well, they will never 'make money', but you can certainly close the gap more by offering what customer's want.   One of the things customers generally want is a clean and inviting environment in which to eat.   How's that for starters?

I'll be on the Cardinal later this week in a sleeper.  I expect to see customer tables in the diner occupied by crew, paperwork and supplies. 

the Cardinal??  don't do it.  gas-station food on that one.  no real diner.

amtrak bill did you forward this information to Amtrak?  Posting it here is preaching to the choir,  Sending it to Amtrak might contribute towards bringing about change.  BSB

I know Mr. Moorman has a lot on his plate but preaching consistency has to be one of his top priorities.  This is a issue that requires no additional dollars only better supervision of onboard crews.  I am sure Amtrak has policies regarding the proper setup of diners, but if a crew doesn't want to follow the policies, there does not appear to be any repercussions.  I know working on the western LD trains is tough given the schedules and the amount of work involved, but again, some crews handle it fine...others don't.  My suspicion is that current front-line supervisors know who the poor crews are but, given Boardman's relation with the unions, didn't want to make waves.  As long as Amtrak has been around, this has always been the one issue they have never been able to completly solve.  I personally think a lot of it has to do with, upon Amtrak's creation, the Penn Central facilites were used in Chicago and New York to service trains, and the Penn Central passenger mentality creeped into the company and over 40 years later it is still around to some extent.  I really hope Moorman makes an effort to address this problem.

462pacific Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A positive culture starts at the TOP and is built
> upon direct supevision and accountability
> throughout the
> activity. Along with that supervision must come
> trust and support and it takes much time to build
> both
> Unitl and unless those criteria are met, this is
> what will continue.

Where's the "like" button?

I haven't heard anything on my positive comments on an AutoTrain trip a few weeks ago. Or on a complaint about sloppy and incompetent dining car service on another trip.

No word back from Amtrak on either trip or on an email to Mr Moorman.

Posted from Android

Wow hate to hear that. Took the Zephyr in July (July 16 to be exact) from Union Station Chicago all the way to Emeryville so had 6 meals in the dining car. Only similarity to your experience was one table used for totalling near the end of seatings. Both server's attitudes was outstanding. Very personable, attentive, efficient, even remembering our preferred drinks after the 1st lunch &grabbing the last Sierra Nevada for me post Lunch a couple of hours before getting to the the last stop of Emeryville CA. Food was fine to very good, place was clean and neat.  As an aside, as we had adjoining bedrooms, Karen our sleeper car attendant was aces also! Super friendly, attentive, probably catering to us too much after we adjourned from the lounge car and resumed our little card game in the rooms with an adult beverage or two, getting us supplies and buckets of ice at our every whim. Hope the tips were appropriate.

Overall though suppose this all just points up the inconsistencies mentioned by several here. Guess we were fortunate, AND that Amtrak needs to instill that attitude of excellence before they can truly BE excellent.   Ed

Nasty OBS people tend to cling together on the same runs for some reason. Maybe they like hearing each other bitch to justify their own attitude problems. I have always heard there was a nasty diner crew on the CZ cycling back and forth. I suppose the odds of getting them with 6 trainsets and 5 days off in Chicago are less than 10%.

So who is this supposedly "nasty" crew?  And why have they remained on the CZ togethor on a regular run? I have used the CZ quite a bit between Holdrege and Chicago and return and luckily have, too my knowledge, not come across this crew.  Anymore information on this crew would be helpful.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/16 15:56 by fulham.