RogerD408

If the conductors are not going to enforce the rules, then Amtrak should stop purporting the feature exists and customer expectations can be set appropriately. Each failure should be reported so Amtrak can choose what they want to do.

Freckles68

The conductor did eventually concede and ask the offenders to move. He apologized to the elderly couple and blamed the redcap for putting the parents in the Quiet Car. BUT before the train ever left the first station, the parents were made aware that they were in the wrong place, and the conductor told the elderly couple to move instead. This was not a young conductor, either. So I don't think it's a training issue.

RogerD408

Thanks for the update.

Yes, the redcap should have known better. But it sounds like the conductor was taking the easy way out telling the first people complaining to move. Probably took up the cause once more people made comment. Still a service failure on the part of the conductor and reporting it is appropriate.

Freckles68

Amtrak should not rely on paying customers to enforce THEIR rules. We are not Amtrak employees and we don't have the authority, nor are we paid, to enforce Amtrak's rules. Your business, your rules, YOUR JOB. If you want me to do your job for 3 1/2 hours, you can pay me for it.

The flimsy signs way above everyone's heads are not sufficient, nor is the occasional announcement that the second car is the Quiet Car, etc. No one counts cars. They get on whichever car they're closest to when the train pulls in. And they don't crane their necks to read signs above them… they're looking for a seat.

The solution is simple. 1) At EVERY STOP, when the conductor enters the car to collect tickets, he announces that this is the Quiet Car, and if you need to make noise of any description, you need to move. And if you choose to stay, you must be quiet. Or 2) Where the ability exists, the announcement (that I've heard before) is made AT EVERY STOP, after people get on, "If you can hear my voice, that means you're in the Quiet Car…" followed by the rules.

Either way, it must be made clearer to everyone getting on, at every stop, that they are in a car that has rules, and those rules must be followed. If they can do it for First and Business, they can do it for the Quiet Car.

physioprof

My experience up until a few years ago was that they do this pretty diligently on Acela, although I haven't been in the quiet car in a few years.

Freckles68

It's a little different in cattle class than on the Acela. You pay twice as much, you get treated twice as well. If I could afford the Acela, I'd take it every time. But I can't, which is why I don't count and Amtrak can't be bothered to enforce any rule that doesn't directly benefit themselves (like "you must have a business-class ticket to sit in business class").

RogerD408

You can help them "feel the pain" by repeatedly taking up their agent's time making reports of service failures. Also, by posting those events to their social media accounts (not just FT) may get their attention. Especially if they start seeing a reduction in sales of their upscale services that they don't deliver. It's easy to get lazy on the job if no one notices.

Reindeerflame

A Quiet Car on Amtrak is essentially a misnomer, a fraud.

It takes more to implememt than Amtrak is willing to do.

Freckles68

I did. More than once. They ignored me. And BTW, I do this every time. Their only response has ever been "Call customer service and complain." I JUST COMPLAINED. Do YOUR job and pass that on to customer service.

RogerD408

The email agents most likely don't report to Amtrak. So many functions are outsourced and/or off-shored these days they don't have the means to get the visibility needed within the company. So unless you have a personal contact within Amtrak (neighbor, relative, friend of a friend) calling and speaking with an agent is the way to get your complaint heard.

Also, understand AGR is NOT Amtrak. It is a marketing department function that works alongside Amtrak managing the loyalty program. They have limited powers to "fix" on-board problems, if at all. One of the toughest problems these days if finding the right group to contact for a particular problem.

AlanB

Last I knew Amtrak had not outsourced or off-shored anything. That info is current as of February of this year. But one can never tell for sure just where an email gets forwarded. The best bet is to send a letter directly to the President's office. I'm not saying that Mr. Boardman personally reads every letter, but I do know for a fact that he does review some personally. And the rest are handled by staff that do know what to do with them and who to contact.

AGR is entirely Amtrak. Yes, it is a department within Amtrak, but all employees of AGR are Amtrak employees. That said, they have no power to fix any non-AGR issues. However, they can and often do pass on particularly egregious issues to the proper managers to deal with.

But still one's best chance at being heard is to call Amtrak and be connected with the Customer Service department or to write the Office of the President.

RogerD408

Thanks for the corrections Alan. I was trying to drive home the point you can't just drop the problem on the first person you see and expect the world to change. Doing the research to find the right person/department can be challenging in just about any organization.

diburning

It wouldn't be very "quiet" if the conductor announces this at every stop now, would it?

Freckles68

Announcements of some kind are made at every stop anyway as people board. And considering most of the stops on the Northeast Regional are at least a half-hour apart, I think people sitting in the Quiet Car wouldn't mind the new arrivals being reminded by someone with the authority to do so that they are in a car that has special rules.

It's certainly a better suggestion than announcing it once at the beginning of the run and expecting people at every stop thereafter to enter the car with the necks craned, at just the right moment, to see one of only two signs posted above their heads.

Noisemakers generally tell fellow passengers to go eff themselves when reminded they're in the Quiet Car, and continue their conversations either with their companion or on the phone. Passengers have no enforcement authority. It has to come from the conductor. I'm a customer, it's not up to me to make sure people follow the rules that Amtrak has set forth. They should either make an effort to enforce the rules, or not have any rules. Again, if they can enforce the rules of the chi-chi cars, they can do the same for the Quiet Car. It's not hard.

Freckles68

I have said twice that I reached out to Amtrak on social media. I didn't say I emailed and I didn't say I contacted AGR.