Trip Report: October 8 - 28, 2000
by Ted & Sylvia Blishak
ONBOARD AMTRAK
WITH TED AND SYLVIA BLISHAK
Follow along with us on a cross-country journey for a day-by-day journal, and travel tips we're picking up along the way.
Sylvia's Synopsis:
Things under Amtrak's control: The food was good, and the service was better than we have ever experienced on Amtrak (with only one exception). The staff are generally pleasant and unobtrusive, but available when you need them. If you have flown on an airplane lately, you'll really notice a contrast here!
Deferred maintenance seems to be a problem throughout the system.
The service guarantee really sets Amtrak apart from the airlines. Few of our clients have had occasion to use it, however. One who did said that the customer service representative told him that the guarantee policy was being used to pinpoint problem employees, but wondered what, if anything, Amtrak could do because of union protection. Our suggestion to Amtrak would be to break up a crew with a bad attitude, as they tend to reinforce each other's surliness, and it's unusual to see a good team with one bad member.
We urge readers to give Amtrak a fair chance with the service guarantee. First of all, if there is a problem, Amtrak asks that you talk to an employee and give them a chance to make it right. (I got a call from a relative of a client yesterday. He said the client was too timid to mention to the waiter that her shrimp dinner was served partly frozen. This could have been quickly corrected on the spot, and it seems unfair not to have mentioned it. It was information that the chef needed to know in order to correct a mistake. She was also too timid to call me, but asked her relative to do so. He is going to call customer service on her behalf. My own verdict would be that she could have had the problem corrected on the spot and therefore does not warrant a refund.)
We also met one couple who decided to take advantage of the guarantee by complaining about everything they could think of, and bragging about the dollar amount they were getting back from Amtrak. These people didn't need the money; it was like a game to them and they were aiming for a high score.
On our own trip, I would only be inclined to complain about the unpleasant dining car staff and conductor on the Capitol Limited, Amtrak's lack of information about the condition and isolated location of the station at McGregor, and the half-way maintenance on the Texas Eagle that resulted in our toilet tanks not being emptied in El Paso. Our car attendant told us that only cars with tanks two-thirds full are emptied there, a false economy policy on Amtrak's part that must often result in inoperable toilets since the train habitually arrives late into Los Angeles. We observed the tank truck on the platform idling most of the time the train was in El Paso, so there would have been sufficient time to do the whole job.
Connections: Amtrak does have control over booking connections between trains that habitually arrive late. Those of us in the know avoid trying to make them, but there are many travelers who are surprised and inconvenienced by this. Amtrak inconveniences its employees because of this, and also pays a good deal for connecting busses to play catch-up.
Things out of Amtrak's control: Since Amtrak is at the mercy of the freight railroads on which most of its trains must run, and since these railroads consider Amtrak a nuisance, the condition of the tracks (very rough) and the dispatching (freights are often given priority, and we suspect that Amtrak trains are sometimes ordered to stop for no reasons other than harassment by the freight company's dispatchers), rough rides and late arrivals are to be expected. Airlines have recently developed a reputation for not only frequent and severe delays, but also cancelled flights, so flying is not a solution to this type of problem.
My advice to the Amtrak traveler is to approach the trip with a spirit of adventure. Don't be in a hurry or you won't enjoy the journey. Amtrak isn't about getting there fast, it's about experiencing a trip. Unexpected things will probably happen. Take responsibility for speaking up to an Amtrak employee if you aren't happy about something, not complaining to other passengers about it.
Take a cell phone, a good book and carry emergency food and water. We took books (I only read one in the three-week period we were traveling). We also carried nuts, M&Ms, and a couple of bottles of water, which we never had occasion to use.
Amtrak travel gives you an opportunity to sit back and relax that is rare in our rush-rush society. Instead of hurrying on to accomplish the next thing on your agenda, you'll find yourself in the present moment. So enjoy the varied scenery that you will only see from a train window, and treasure the opportunity to meet other travelers often the kinds of people you would never meet in your at-home, day-to-day routine -- for nearly all of them have a story to tell that will enrich your own travel experience.
