Give praise when praise is due
Jul 25, 2014, 12:16 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Toledo, Ohio
Posts: 31
Give praise when praise is due
I grew up with a father who worked for Norfolk Southern railroad for 35+ years. Furthermore, I myself worked for CSX as a freight train conductor. Long story short, I have always wanted to cross the country via rail. A month ago, I decided to use points to book a roundtrip ticket to California and back departing out of Toledo. The journey out would involve trains 29 (Capitol Limited) and 3 (Southwest Chief) and the returning route being trains 14 (Coast Starlight) 28 (Empire Builder) and 48 (Lakeshore Limited) ****Please note this was my new itinerary and the original was the exact same but reversed****
For those who do not know, Amtrak travel can be very costly if one decides to reserve sleeper accommodations. Roundtrip (booking a month in advance) came out to around $2500 for a roomette throughout the journey. (Amtrak smallest sleeper room) Using my "Chase Ultimate Rewards" transfer, I was able to put 40,000 points which is equal to $400 dollars if I was to have them add a credit to my statement. Thus suggesting, that this was the ONLY way to go! Upon booking my reservation, I received a phone call regarding the "Empire Builder" part of my trip. After returning the phone call I was told, "due to schedule issues" I did not have a guaranteed connection and had to switch things around. This is where I instantly thought of all the previous horror stories I have read regarding Amtrak per online forums etc..
Maybe the guest service representatives were having a good day, I was lucky, who knows... After 45 minutes on the line and having to completely reverse our itinerary I was a bit disappointed that I had to pay out of my own pocket the expense of an overnight hotel in Portland. Clearly, this was not something Amtrak could control and being that I too once worked in hospitality went along for the ride and tried to stay positive. During the process of reconfiguring my trip plans, I had asked the representative "Shantay" (pardon my spelling) I had asked if I could possibly have at least 1 upgrade from a "roomette" to a "bedroom" on account that I had to completely redo my plans. After being on hold for awhile, I was told that because I paid with points there was no possible was to "upgrade" a leg of my trip. I was a bit put back; however, I managed to keep calm and realize it was nothing Amtrak could control, even as unfortunate as it was. Finally, while reading back my new itinerary I was shocked to hear her say that I was assigned a bedroom on 2 of the longer portions of my trip. Sheer excitement and awe followed. "Pam" the supervisor (I am assuming) had either been listening in or Shantay was relaying info back to her must have changed her mind for one reason or another. Too get to the point, I am departing for my trip in about 3 hours from now and decided to write this review to give kudos to the CSR's who made it possible. Amtrak gets a bad wrap because it is run by the government and cost taxpayers millions of dollars a year. Thus implying because it is not a private company per say, that good service goes out the window! In my case, this was not true at all. While I was told on the phone an upgrade was not possible the exact opposite happened. What comes to mind is the cliché, "you'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar" Being that I worked in the hotel industry for awhile, I was well aware that regardless of the situation and outcome, yelling and screaming will get you absolutely nowhere and even worse could potentially make your plans even worse than before the change. While I hope I am not going to far as to write this review (since I haven't completed my trip) I am also hoping for any unforeseen changes while I travel. However, once again I have to give a big thumbs up to Shantay and Pam who without a doubt have what it takes to be great employees and provide just the perfect service that Amtrak needs to help revive what many would call one of the worst travel methods. Amtrak should be very happy with these employees for their outstanding excellence pertaining to guest services. Lastly, what some "Amtrak haters" may say is that once again the taxpayers are footing the bill. However, because bedrooms normally don't sell out due to extreme prices and roomettes too, by upgrading me on those two legs of my trip they actually freed up 2 roomettes that otherwise would've been sold out and not available to potential guests. Therefore, not only did they make me happy, but I am sure whoever purchased the roomettes I originally had were happy as well. Empty rooms don't make money. It is hospitality 101. So if a hotel has nothing but suites left (very expensive) those who wanna stay are not going to cause they cannot afford it. Therefore, you upgrade already reserved guests to a suite and sell their previous booked regular room to those who want to stay, but don't have the money for first class reservations. Again hospitality 101...... If the rest of my interactions mirror that of the said above, I have a feeling I am going to have one awesome adventure across America! Employees like this cannot be overlooked. With Amtrak in such turmoil due to budget issues etc. guest service like I experience is a breath of fresh air in which Amtrak comes out as setting a standard in which almost any public or private company would struggle to compete with. Keep up the good work Amtrak! Word of mouth and online reviews make have a huge effect (at least when I travel) and nothing but good things for me to say. Again, Kudos!!!
For those who do not know, Amtrak travel can be very costly if one decides to reserve sleeper accommodations. Roundtrip (booking a month in advance) came out to around $2500 for a roomette throughout the journey. (Amtrak smallest sleeper room) Using my "Chase Ultimate Rewards" transfer, I was able to put 40,000 points which is equal to $400 dollars if I was to have them add a credit to my statement. Thus suggesting, that this was the ONLY way to go! Upon booking my reservation, I received a phone call regarding the "Empire Builder" part of my trip. After returning the phone call I was told, "due to schedule issues" I did not have a guaranteed connection and had to switch things around. This is where I instantly thought of all the previous horror stories I have read regarding Amtrak per online forums etc..
Maybe the guest service representatives were having a good day, I was lucky, who knows... After 45 minutes on the line and having to completely reverse our itinerary I was a bit disappointed that I had to pay out of my own pocket the expense of an overnight hotel in Portland. Clearly, this was not something Amtrak could control and being that I too once worked in hospitality went along for the ride and tried to stay positive. During the process of reconfiguring my trip plans, I had asked the representative "Shantay" (pardon my spelling) I had asked if I could possibly have at least 1 upgrade from a "roomette" to a "bedroom" on account that I had to completely redo my plans. After being on hold for awhile, I was told that because I paid with points there was no possible was to "upgrade" a leg of my trip. I was a bit put back; however, I managed to keep calm and realize it was nothing Amtrak could control, even as unfortunate as it was. Finally, while reading back my new itinerary I was shocked to hear her say that I was assigned a bedroom on 2 of the longer portions of my trip. Sheer excitement and awe followed. "Pam" the supervisor (I am assuming) had either been listening in or Shantay was relaying info back to her must have changed her mind for one reason or another. Too get to the point, I am departing for my trip in about 3 hours from now and decided to write this review to give kudos to the CSR's who made it possible. Amtrak gets a bad wrap because it is run by the government and cost taxpayers millions of dollars a year. Thus implying because it is not a private company per say, that good service goes out the window! In my case, this was not true at all. While I was told on the phone an upgrade was not possible the exact opposite happened. What comes to mind is the cliché, "you'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar" Being that I worked in the hotel industry for awhile, I was well aware that regardless of the situation and outcome, yelling and screaming will get you absolutely nowhere and even worse could potentially make your plans even worse than before the change. While I hope I am not going to far as to write this review (since I haven't completed my trip) I am also hoping for any unforeseen changes while I travel. However, once again I have to give a big thumbs up to Shantay and Pam who without a doubt have what it takes to be great employees and provide just the perfect service that Amtrak needs to help revive what many would call one of the worst travel methods. Amtrak should be very happy with these employees for their outstanding excellence pertaining to guest services. Lastly, what some "Amtrak haters" may say is that once again the taxpayers are footing the bill. However, because bedrooms normally don't sell out due to extreme prices and roomettes too, by upgrading me on those two legs of my trip they actually freed up 2 roomettes that otherwise would've been sold out and not available to potential guests. Therefore, not only did they make me happy, but I am sure whoever purchased the roomettes I originally had were happy as well. Empty rooms don't make money. It is hospitality 101. So if a hotel has nothing but suites left (very expensive) those who wanna stay are not going to cause they cannot afford it. Therefore, you upgrade already reserved guests to a suite and sell their previous booked regular room to those who want to stay, but don't have the money for first class reservations. Again hospitality 101...... If the rest of my interactions mirror that of the said above, I have a feeling I am going to have one awesome adventure across America! Employees like this cannot be overlooked. With Amtrak in such turmoil due to budget issues etc. guest service like I experience is a breath of fresh air in which Amtrak comes out as setting a standard in which almost any public or private company would struggle to compete with. Keep up the good work Amtrak! Word of mouth and online reviews make have a huge effect (at least when I travel) and nothing but good things for me to say. Again, Kudos!!!
Jul 25, 2014, 1:03 am
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Toledo, Ohio
Posts: 31
One more thing.... I am an avid contributor to Trip Advisor; furthermore, I also use it myself to plan business and leisure trips. That said, I am quite shocked that there is not a section or way to post other than in the "forum section" Is anyone on FT having issues with this as well? In my opinion, Amtrak should be just like hotel reviews. What I mean, is that I should be able to look up any give train/route/name and read reviews just as I would when considering prospects for hotel stays... I was just curious if y'all knew what is up with that... I posted the same review on there as I did here; however, I had to manipulate and vaguely enter in info that to me didn't exactly seem proper. Lastly, I wanted to say how much I love this website. It is unreal that it took me so long to find it. Seriously, I use this site for ALL my travel needs and then some.. Big pat on the back from me!
Jul 29, 2014, 7:34 am
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: n.y.c.
Posts: 13,988
If you look for a bedroom on the following trains today:
8 - Empire Builder - Sold Out
11 - Coast Starlight - Sold Out
7 - Empire Builder - 1 left
5 - California Zephyr - Sold Out
3 - Southwest Chief - Sold Out
6 - California Zephyr - 1 left
4 - Southwest Chief - 1 left
29 - Capitol Limited - Sold Out
49 - Lake Shore Limited - Sold Out
30 - Capitol Limited - Sold Out
48 - Lake Shore Limited - Sold Out
So it's quite possible that the bedroom the agent gave you a month ago would have gone to a revenue passenger.