Hotlancer, here's a few thoughts and comments on your experience.
Originally Posted by hotlancer
I contacted Amtrak numerous times to make certain that the train that I was riding (on September 26th, 2006) did in fact have a Parlour Car. I was ASSURED that EACH AND EVERY TRAINSET HAD A PARLOUR CAR ATTACHED.
Each trainset does indeed have one Parlour car assigned to it, but that doesn't guarentee that one will be running on any given day. These parlour cars are over 50 years old and parts are often very hard to come by, with many needing to be manufactured specfically for the car. Sadly with Amtrak's limited resources it takes a while for the money to be found to order the parts.
There are currently two cars down awaiting air conditioner parts that need to be specially made. A third parlour car is currently at Amtrak's major overhaul facility awaiting a rebuilding. That left only two cars in service at the time of your trip and with 4 trainsets, you had a 50/50 chance of getting one.
Prior to this summer, when Union Pacific started causing huge delays for Amtrak on this route, the Coast Starlight used to have 3 trainsets. That left Amtrak with one spare Parlour car for unexpected breakdowns and one out for heavy maintence work, FRA mandated inspections, or for rebuilding. So there was more room for problems to keep cars on the trains. Now that Amtrak has had to assign another trainset, life has gotten much more difficult unfortunately.
However, no reservations agent would know any of these details and can only report what the norm is for any given train.
Originally Posted by hotlancer
Furthermore, the reservations agent rudely told me that if the train didn't have a Parlour Car, that I would be called. Please know that NO ONE EVER called me to tell me that there wasn't a Parlour Car aboard. When I found out about it, I had already boarded the train in Los Angeles.
I'm a little surprised that any agent would tell you such a thing, but maybe they were just trying to get you off the phone or maybe they were new. But under no circumstances would Amtrak ever call anyone to inform them that a specific type of car wasn't running. Amtrak generally only calls to inform passengers of departure time changes or if the train is being cancelled for some reason, like for example a freight derailment that is blocking the tracks.
Whatever the reason that this agent told you what they did, they were wrong!
Originally Posted by hotlancer
Needless to say, the train that my wife and I were riding DID NOT HAVE A PARLOUR CAR. THIS WAS VERY UPSETTING! HAD I KNOWN THAT THE TRAIN WASN'T GOING TO HAVE A PARLOUR CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE TAKEN THE TRIP IN THE FIRST PLACE.
I wanted to take my wife on a classic American trip (this was our honeymoon) - and was very upset that your company would lie to me about the service provided aboard.
I'm not quite sure why one car should make or break the trip for you, frankly I think that I'd be far more upset to learn that my sleeper wasn't there and that I was being relegated to coach. Although in that case you'd at least get a partial refund of the monies paid or points.
Originally Posted by hotlancer
I DINED WITH SEVERAL OTHER FULL-FARE PAYING PASSENGERS WHO WERE EQUALLY ANGRY AT WHAT TRANSPIRED! THESE PASSENGERS HAD PAID THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN CASH FOR YOUR SERVICE. One lady in particular told me that she specifically takes the Coast Starlight to enjoy "Annette's Parlour Car" (Annette is a regular hostess on the Parlour Car) and that she wouldn't take Amtrak again.
It should be noted that the bulk of the monies that they paid were for a sleeping car and for meals in the dining car. The Parlour car is just a extra perk and one that is not even available on any other Amtrak route, where people often pay even more than they do on the Coast Starlight.
Originally Posted by hotlancer
I intend to post my remarks on FlyerTalk.com and warn other Amtrak Guest Rewards members against making bookings on the Coast Starlight if this is how you are going to treat your customers.
Actually I believe that we already had one or two warnings on FT, that many of the trains were running without Parlour cars.