Chicago Union Station

I think you will always have trouble with management. They only look at the $$ amount. Nothing Else.

 

I believe that was the train sitting on YOUR desk at work. Hummmmmm....I didn't even get to see it. Wait, I remember! You didn't work..what, three days because you were to busy playing.

Tisk Tisk Hemi.:tb-tongue:

 

I believe I have told this board that I worked for United Airlines for just over 25 years and
I USED TO enjoy flying! I left the airline in 1985. Long story!
My wife & I took # 5 to Emeryville and the connecting bus into SFO in 1999 as part of an
AMTRAK rail/fly vacation package. We had a thoroughly good time in spite of a 6-8 hour delay in leaving Chicago due to the most ungracious act of my employer(BNSF) putting a coal train on the ground in Creston IA. We were re-routed over the UP(former C & NW)to
Omaha via Mt. Pleasant. We sat for about 5 hours in Chicago just out of the Loop while waiting for an opening in traffic on the UP. We spent another couple of hours in Mt.Pleasant waiting for a re-crew. This resulted in us seeing some remarkable scenery which was normally traversed during darkness. The food and service was quite good and
I got along well with the crew since I was a fellow rail. I used to see the onboard services
supervisor rather often at CUS. He eventually moved up to a desk job.

The return flight to Chicago was absolutely the worst flight I have ever experienced in all
my years with the airline, AND most of my time was spent in public contact work so I know
how to deal with people. Because of that my wife and I are very leery of ever travelling by
air again! Now this was before 9/11 mind you and we arrived at the airport and were in the
CHECK IN LINE about 2 1/2 hours before departure.(my wife walks with a cane or walker-so we allow extra time) With what the airline put us through because I paid for my tickets with
a check instead of a credit card damn near caused me to ask my lawyer to initiate litigation. Short version... I told my wife to go ahead to the gate w/the boarding passes and
I would handle the baggage re-inspection(because I PAID WITH A CHECK!!!!). I came running up the concourse(and my running is more like a double-time march)yelling at my wife to get on the plane. The boarding people were in the process of closing the airplane
door when we boarded. Some Japanese business men were just behind us on getting on.
Luckily our seats had not been released to someone else. I just wish I had seen someone
I knew in SFO, but I didn't.
Everyone is going to have a bad experience, but even as an employee travelling on a pass, I NEVER had such a horrible experience. And believe me, I have been treated like dirt by a lot of my fellow employees(especially by one in HNL several times!) and all this happened when I was a fare paying passenger!

When you have a bad time travelling on AMTRAK or an airline, take it up with their customer service department and vent your spleen there. Avoid losing your temper, dont
use foul language and state the FACTS only. Let them decide who was right and who was
wrong. You'll find that you will receive more satisfaction when you are reasonable than
when you act rashly. If your belongings are lost or damaged,dont claim a value worth more
than you can legally substantiate. Don't demand or even suggest the carrier give you free
carriage for your "injury". Since de-regulation, there is really no legal precedent for them to do so. If they provided you with transportation,even if it wasnt to your satisfaction, the carrier has fulfilled their legal requirement.

Sorry to rattle on so... gotta go now!

Charlie

 

You Go Girl!!!!!!!

Rule #1 - The WIFE is always right

Rule #2 - When the WIFE is wrong, see Rule #1

:tb-biggrin: :tb-biggrin: :tb-biggrin:
​

 

Listen to the Man!!!! Wifey is always right.

 

Hemi, it seems like your wife is a bit more understanding than mine. After that horrible experience we had on the Empire Builder a few years ago, with the lazy car attendant and runaway HVAC (heat) system in our car on the westbound leg and no dining car for the whole trip eastbound. My wife swears she will never darken the doorway of another Amtrak train. Ever.
Even so, Amtrak did pony up and refund our whole sleeping car fare both ways for that little debockle.

That said, my son and I have enjoyed two more trips on Amtrak with very little to complain about.

 

I took P370 on the Pere Marquette from Grand Rapids to Chicago on New Years eve and I had a blast. There are lockers if you need them, nice food court, plenty of other places by the station to fit your needs. There is a Walgreens about a block away. If you get enough time you can plan to take Metra around. I took it to Aroura and back, stoped at a bar in Naperville and still made my train with time to get food and eat before we boarded.

 

This is why we men do not let our wives on to train discussion boards.