Questions for the frequent travelers:

1.In terms of service quality and procedures, is Amtrak less consistent than airlines?

2. If so, does it matter?

I fly a lot more than I take Amtrak, so I don't have as much first-hand experience, but Amtrak seems a lot less consistent with its service offerings and quality than airlines do. I don't know if it would make me avoid traveling on Amtrak, but I prefer consistency.

For some examples:

A. In sleeping cars on long-distance trains, I understand that dinner can be served in your room if you prefer to avoid the dining car. I've never been offered that; once I asked for it and got major attitude.

Wouldn't it be nice of the sleeping car attendant gave you exactly the same speech about onboard services each time when you board, including offering this option?

B. Sometimes when I take an overnight train and get off at an early-morning stop, the sleeping car attendant knocks on my door and then shows me where to get off.

On this last trip, though, there was no knock and the sleeping car attendant was nowhere to be found; I had to dash back and forth between a few cars to be let off (and the attendant must have been in an unexpected rush, as the attendant wasn't wearing shoes when letting me off). (I have had plenty of erratic airline experiences, but the erraticness is usually with airport personnel, not onboard staff.)

C. Dinner on my last trip, in the dining car, was served on thin plasticware and a paper tablemat. Fine, but why do I see real china and white tablecloths on other trains (on Youtube)?

D. Business class is all over the place; it seems to be coach on the Acela, and exactly the same as coach on the Crescent; on Northeast Regional trains it means more legroom and free nonalcoholic drinks; and I remember one Empire Service train where business class was a very nice car with 2x1 seating. Why not make business class consistent?