Amtrak Guest Rewards - Station TVs rant: where to complain?

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The "entertainment" provided by the waiting room TVs at Wilmington station has finally gotten on my last nerve. This is a new thing since the station was renovated and re-opened this spring, and it has got to be the most annoying instance of mindless, infuriating programming on earth. First of all, the loop is only about 5 minutes long. So God forbid you get to the station more than 5 minutes before your train--you get to see that Kim Kardashian is having a birthday this month, how to make popcorn in a wok, and another cooking lesson from Rachael Ray several times over. There's no news at all, just fluff, AND the program seems to get refreshed maybe once a month. I'm now on my third Amtrak trip in a week, and I'm about to throw my shoe at the screen. Oh, and did I mention that the volume is so loud that it's impossible to find a seat in the station that's quiet?

Who can I write to?? I am really steamed. Turn that cr@p off!!!

Must be someone in charge of that station.

If you insist upon writing, then a letter addresed to Station Master at that address will most likely find the appropriate person. Otherwise, next time at the station, ask a clerk and I'm sure they will have a phone number and/or eMail address if the person is not available.

My advice is to speak with someone at the station, whoever you can find. Just pick someone and calmly explain the problem. Ask who is in charge of the station programming. If they give useful information then follow up. If not then the next time you're there pick another person and so on. You can also pick up the phone and ask Amtrak reservations to get you contact information for whoever is in charge of the station and hopefully get them to cut off the worthless fluff feed. If all of that fails then maybe order/build one of those TV-B-GONE things and turn it off whenever you're there. You can also write a letter if you want but most of the time Amtrak never seems to take any action or even offer so much as a reply in response to any letters.

I'll talk to the Amtrak agents next time I'm at the station--they are not the most engaged individuals, and I suspect I will just get a brush-off, which is why I haven't done it already. I cannot be the only person who finds these TVs completely infuriating, but I may well be the only one who bothers to complain.

I'll talk to the Amtrak agents next time I'm at the station--they are not the most engaged individuals, and I suspect I will just get a brush-off,

You may want to sweeten the deal by taking those agents a selection of food items you learned to make while watching the station TV's! :p

You may want to sweeten the deal by taking those agents a selection of food items you learned to make while watching the station TV's! :pHa! Then they'd get a wok full of popcorn.

I'll talk to the Amtrak agents next time I'm at the station--they are not the most engaged individuals, and I suspect I will just get a brush-off,.In Wilmington? I'm shocked to hear that...shocked, I tell ya.

Earplugs help a lot.

In Wilmington? I'm shocked to hear that...shocked, I tell ya.:( Honestly, I prefer the snappiness of the Acela lounge staff at NYP. At least they're paying attention. I rarely have to actually deal with a human at Wilmington, but when I do, I feel like I'm standing in line at the post office. (And don't get me started on the sloth of the employees over there!)

I'm not sure I want to know, but I could take trips on the east and west coasts just to see how much is coastal culture.

I'm not sure I want to know, but I could take trips on the east and west coasts just to see how much is coastal culture.
I'd suspect that's a contributing factor. Maybe not the sole one, but definitely a part.

If you notice a difference in the general attitudes of people between the two coasts, you're probably not imagining it. ;)

I was born on the west coast. I can't say I have extensive experience on the opposite coast, but what little I have is far more edgy and high energy than what I grew up with in Oregon and Washington.

Have things deteriorated at that station since Joe Biden isn't a daily commuter anymore? Just a thought...

This is a situation perfect for the iPod or similar. That kind of repeating drivel would make me crazy, too.

Have things deteriorated at that station since Joe Biden isn't a daily commuter anymore? Just a thought...
That has nothing to do with it--this is an "enhancement" instituted after the station was renovated in 2010-2011. Among other long-needed improvements, the whole waiting room was revamped, and they added these infernal TVs. Now we have better lighting, more seating, and nonstop yammering. (Oh, and computer-generated train/track announcements, which is also pretty irritating, but not nearly as bad as the TVs.)

I don't think this is unique to railroad stations. Noise of this type is also common in airports and bus stations. Cheap electronics encourages it. Offshoring of manufactures to China made everything so cheap that it is now overused everywhere.

Actually, none of the other train stations I pass through have this--not NYP, not Philly, not DC. Airports do and I hate it there, too--although even in airports, it is somewhat less annoying. At least you get more than 5 minutes in the programming loop, it is usually actual news (CNN Airport or whatever they call it), and usually there is some area of the terminal that's far enough from a TV that it's safe to sit in. That's not the case here.

A day or two after I started this thread, I sent an e-mail via Amtrak's website to make my, er, comment directly to management. I got a couple of responses, the last of which said "We have entered your concerns into out customer database. You can rest assured that information has been shared with the station managers for review and consideration.". To me, this sounded like a direct trip to the round file. Imagine my thrilled surprise when I got into the station this morning and found blissful quiet, with the TV screens showing silent, entirely innocuous advertisements for Widener School of Law! :D. I am not quite sure if I get credit for this change, but I love it anyway!

I'll be registering my satisfaction to Amtrak. I hope the new regime sticks!

Hard to imagine who would be crying out for those noises to continue.

Hard to imagine who would be crying out for those noises to continue.Well, I have the same opinion about TVs in airports, and 95% of the programming on regular TV anyway, but a lot of people seem to be watching that, too. I will remain vigilant!

Hard to imagine who would be crying out for those noises to continue.I haven't been to the WIL train station for a while. Is the lobby (?) area still under construction? If so, maybe they use the noise to keep people from congregating...or the rif-raf from loitering.

I haven't been to the WIL train station for a while. Is the lobby (?) area still under construction? If so, maybe they use the noise to keep people from congregating...or the rif-raf from loitering.
It's been finished for most of this year. No riff-raff in there, just hapless passengers.