In a time when Amtrak needs as many supporters as possible, it’s disappointing to take the train and experience such poor service.  I took a quick trip on the Coast Starlight last week and it should have been a quiet, pleasant ride.  Instead, I ran into a surly conductor who gave me a hard time for not signing the top of my train ticket.  I asked him if I could borrow a pen, and he grumpily replied with a very curt, “No.”  This story can’t do it justice, but his bad attitude was palpable.  And it wasn’t just him.  Although I ran into a few decent workers, the overall attitude of the train crew was less than positive.

Oh how I wish I could have asked them if they’d ever watched “Undercover Boss” and then revealed myself as the CEO.  That would have been fun.  But now that I think about it, since Amtrak is government owned, I really am the boss.  Besides paying taxes for that railroad, I paid a lot of money to ride that train, and I deserve a minimum amount of respect.  

The story that I linked to in the first paragraph mentions that Amtrak is subsidized by the government and actually loses money with each rider.  Keeping that in mind, maybe they’re trying to turn us away.  If that’s the strategy, I suppose it worked for me.  I’ll drive next time.  I have to warn them though, now that I’m aware of the Amtrak subsidies, I’ll be voicing my opposition to extending their funds. 

With taxpayer support hanging in the balance, you’d think Amtrak would be working harder to make sure that every passenger had the best experience possible.  Basic manners and a courteous attitude really shouldn’t cost them anything, but the absence of decent customer service could cost them everything.