I know this is an odd way to phrase a question. And I do mean it as a question, not just a complaint, really, though I am admittedly finding it difficult to rein in my disappointment.
Does AMEX Travel really exist or do they just have people on phones who say "we don't do that" now?

Years ago I could go into a local AMEX travel office, work with a real agent to plan out and book a trip, no muss, no fuss. Recently, I tried putting my personal platinum card to work to help with a family vacation to Italy.
AMEX offered to book a pair of tickets using the International Airline Program for over $20k. I booked them (minutes later) directly on Delta's website for $7k less. This didn't really surprise me as I remembered the "Buy two tickets. Pay five prices." card "benefit" from years ago.

Then I contacted AMEX Travel (fail: "We don't do that") and the Platinum Concierge (Fail: "We don't do that") to see if they would assist with booking rail tickets in Europe. What, other than air, hotel, and car rental do they actually do? Why should anyone need an agent for those things now?

Are all of the AMEX travel offices gone? If so, it is still even possible to find a professional travel agent? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Should I consider "travel benefits" to be of zero value when evaluating the annual fee of the personal Platinum card outside of club access and the $200 airline credit?

Please don't flame me on this -- this is the first time I've tried using AMEX Travel in a very long time and I'm shocked at just how useless they seem to be. I can book air, hotel, and car rental myself with ease online. It seems they don't do anything for which you'd actually need an agent. I'm really curious if I am just totally missing something and would appreciate honest feedback from those who have had more success than I.
Please and thank you.