pdac1975

I'm on 2171 NYP to WAS acela in first and the service is horrendous. Is this normal? I rarely take the train but have a new client in Manhattan so I thought I would try this instead of flying. No one can get any service. We got a PDB and a meal and that was it. Finally tracked the guy down and asked for another glass of wine 2 hours into the trip and he did give me a glass of wine but was openly upset about it. Maybe this is normal? I really don't know as this is my first time but was wondering. Anyway, I'm getting to my destination and that's what matters but I would never pay for this again. I swear I have never complained about service before (and I fly Delta almost every week!)
Sorry for the rant.

AlanB

No, that is most certainly not normal and definitely not what the service is supposed to be like at all. It sounds like you got a bad crew and unfortunately there are a few of them around.

I would highly suggest that you call up Amtrak tomorrow during normal working hours, as for Customer Relations and register a complaint about the service. I can't promise anything, but you might get a small voucher good towards another trip because of the miserable service.

pdac1975

Thanks for letting me know. I had heard good things. I took the regional business class to NYP on my outbound so I could leave from Alexandria, VA and would take that over this any day of the week. Oh well. These things happen. I may give them another try sometime but am happy with just buying my own food and drink from the cafe car. Thanks for the feedback.

physioprof

That is totally out of the ordinary. It is true that sometimes after serving drinks and meals, the first class attendants hang back by the galley. But my experience is that if you ask for anything more, they are absolutely happy to serve you.

GrayAnderson

I got the same treatment on 2150 last week. Granted, I tend to be an "Out of Context Passenger" (suffice it to say that I do not fit the visible profile of a stereotypical Acela First passenger...though I'd probably simply be written off as a geek who stumbled into an internet startup if the service was on the West Coast!) but there was really no excuse for not being asked if I wanted a refill/another drink once between WAS and NYP. As it was, asking for a cup of orange juice got a visibly irked reaction (and I only managed that because a seatmate joined me at PHL).

Then again, I'm just thankful my latest Amtrak sojourn ended on the Starlight...every other leg had something feature one of Amtrak's latest service "modifications" (I joked with someone that if I'd managed to book the Star instead of the Meteor for this weekend, I'd have collected the whole set in one vacation!).

It does not say anything good when, in order of service quality to expected service quality, the order has been:
(1) Starlight (PPC trumps any and all issues, wine and cheese in the afternoon made for a nice wrap-up)
(2) Downeaster (Tim Horton's doughnuts FTW!)
(3) LSL-Boston section (surprise wifi and 2-1 seating in lieu of sleepers worked out well)
(4) LSL-Albany-Chicago (on par with what I'd hope for, sans blanket situation)
(5) Adirondack (put in short-distance Amfleets for NYP-MTR ride)
(6) Zephyr (lack of blankets on bunks strikes again, will be complaining about this "service trial" ("trial" being a good word for it); will also be complaining about lack of stocked cordials; and Bedroom A did not help my mood though that's more of a detail than anything)
(7) Acela (see above comments, which would normally be comparatively minor issues but stand out like a sore thumb on the "flagship" train...there is a reason I prefer the Meteor to the Acela)

physioprof

Sorry that happened to you. But I really want to emphasize how rare that is in Acela F. Over the last several years, I have traveled in Acela F on nearly 100 segments, and I have never had anything other than exemplary service.

GrayAnderson

@physioprof: My best guess is that there's one bad F crew that both of us got. You're right...I've done Acela F for probably 25-30 segments this side of 2009 (2150 accounting for a solid plurality of them) and always had good service otherwise as far as I can recall.

pdac1975

Thanks all. Based on what I am hearing this was clearly an anomoly and I just got unlucky. It happens I have friends and family members who take this every week and they confirmed that this was the case. I will definitely give it another try.