Passenger Trains > New Supt Customer Services - Long-Distance Services

From: Savoy, Moe
Sent: Friday, October 04, 2013 4:19 PM

Subject: Superintendent Customer Services - Long-Distance Services

> Dear Co-workers,
>
> Superintendent Customer Services – Long-Distance Services
>
> Please join me in welcoming Sidney Birckett as Amtrak’s new
> Long-Distance Service Superintendent Customer Services, effective
> immediately. In this position Sid will be responsible for
> operational functions of Transportation on-board service Midwest
> corridor operations and Chicago’s on-board service run-through
> services, Chicago’s on-board service crew base operations, and
> Chicago Union Station operations. He will have accountability for
> Amtrak’s safety, customer satisfaction, ridership, on-time
> performance and financial results for the OBS corridor, OBS crew
> base and CUS operations. Reporting directly to me, Sid will be based
> in Chicago.
>
> Sid brings decades of Amtrak experience to this position, having
> joined the company in 1977 and then again in 2011, Sid most recently
> served as the Assistant Superintendent Stations – Chicago Union
> Station in Chicago. Sid will use his past experience to ensure that
> the CUS operations and Chicago’s OBS corridor and Crewbase
> operations meet the standards and polices set by Amtrak.
>
> Sid has held a series of consecutively responsible positions in his
> past years with Amtrak including Assistant Transportation Manager in
> Detroit, Trainmaster in Washington, Superintendent Terminal Services
> in Sanford, Director of Operations in Emeryville, Assistant General
> Manager in Oakland, Superintendent Passenger Services in
> Jacksonville. Sid also has held positions with Veolia
> Transportation and RailAmerica.
>
> I know that you will support Sid in his new position.


Morrell Savoy
Deputy General Manager - Central
Long Distance Service

Assistants to the assistants to the assistants. Almost sounds like a goverment operation

WAF Wrote:
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> Assistants to the assistants to the assistants.
> Almost sounds like a goverment operation


?????

Sid jumped ship only to come back to Amtrak
there must be a story there

>> Sid will use his past experience to ensure that
> the CUS operations and Chicago’s OBS corridor and Crewbase
> operations meet the standards and polices set by Amtrak.
> <<


The wording in several recent announcements is not your boilerplate HR/PR text.

I think Boardman is gearing up for a full scale assault on the "Chicago Way" of maintaining engines, cleaning cars, providing onboard service, etc. This should be interesting.

Amtrak's customers and hard working employees need everyone to do the job they're paid to do. We'll see if this effort works...

This gentlemen certainly has an impressive resume:

Detroit (Mid-West corridor trains)
Wash. (NEC trains)
Sanford (Auto Train)
Jacksonville (Fla. service)
Emeryville & Oakland (California Service)

Still the nagging thought remains: If he comes up with good suggestions; or wonderful ideas; but if they carry a price tag, or require more "spending" in any form; I doubt if Mr. Bordman will be able to implement them.

Nevertheless, this shows that Amtrak "keeps trying" to improve things, even though they don't have much money for improvements.

Joe

1st time he left AMTRAK, everybody in OAKLAND celebrated........enough said!

Frontrunner Wrote:
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> 1st time he left AMTRAK, everybody in OAKLAND
> celebrated........enough said!

Do you see that as a negative or a positive reflection on his job performance? (Serious question - I can't tell)

Dave

To: Frontrunner

Give us a little more detail: Why were they glad to see him go?

This will help us determine if he might do good things in Chicago; or is just a cost cutter, out to get rid of things.

Joe

floridajoe2001 Wrote:
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> Give us a little more detail: Why were they glad
> to see him go?

Frontrunner works for the BNSF in Gillette, WY - not sure why he's commenting on his opinion of the Supt of Customer Services of Amtrak!

Is this the Sid Birkett that I knew in Hialeah with Tri Rail?

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> I think Boardman is gearing up for a full scale
> assault on the "Chicago Way" of maintaining
> engines, cleaning cars, providing onboard service,
> etc. This should be interesting.

I *really* want to have a positive attitude. A positive mindset. I WANT Amtrak to stand out as being clean, efficient, NOT the butt of jokes, and I'd love to see ridership skyrocket along with lots of new rolling stock being purchased. I say all of this before my next comment so that you know where I'm coming from in my "base" of thinking. But my comment is this: "Been there/done that". That's the shortest way I can think of describing this. Do you know how many "wonderful" ideas have come out of 60 Mass over the years that are just like these? (I don't know the number, but I do know that this seems like a broken record to me). Just like NARP's mailings that I get in my snail mail every few weeks-----their envelopes always have a similar theme. Give us money now, or Amtrak will disappear forever. Once you hear that the sky is falling every few weeks for several years in a row, you just blow it off after a while and pay no attention.

If Boardman wants to show that he is truly committed to making these moves, then he needs to see them through to fruition-----beginning with RCM (Reliability Centered Maintenance). Go in there, grab the program by the balls, put the P-42 program through the ringer, establish a plan, and watch the magic happen. Super-increased reliability (but they are machines, so they will still break---it's unavoidable), huge money savings, much easier for the mechanics because everyone is on the same page and knows exactly what/why they're doing what they're doing. Just that ALONE will speak volumes. But if they hire 50 managers to talk about whether it's cheaper to serve scrambled eggs or over-easy eggs for breakfast, then pffffttttt.......Then we'll know the whole thing is a big phony smokescreen.

PS: In case "someone" is reading this and you're dreading Chicago all over again, how about this suggestion: Take a group of managers and regular line-mechanics (I don't know the AmTerm for them)----the people who would actually be DOING the work----and take a quick business trip to Everett, Washington (Boeing plant). Arrange with Boeing to have a VIP tour of the floor, and arrange to speak with the RCM people. Show the AmEmployees some RCM in action, and why it's so good. Boeing will NOT send a plane out for service unless it's gone through RCM. The US Navy will not send out its nuclear subs, either. Show them what they're doing, and why. Take the mystery out of it. It was not presented correctly last time.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/07/13 22:07 by coaststarlight99.

Frontrunner Wrote:
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> 1st time he left AMTRAK, everybody in OAKLAND
> celebrated........enough said!

Don't know what your experience was. I had the pleasure of working alongside Sid for 1.5 years. I found him straightforward, professional, and creative in solving difficult situations. If he is given the authority and freedom to run his shop, good things are likely in store.

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