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Cool Amtrak employee, almost made up for the others
Bear with me...there are several Amtrak employees in this post and the last one is the one I refer to in the title. So, I'm leaving Michigan for Arizona in about a week. I ordered my train tickets on May 30th, a month before I'm due to leave. The person told me I could take my bicycle, and charged me a little extra for it. She said from here to Chicago, I could have a bike on a special bike car, but that in Chicago I'd have to buy a bike box and partially disassemble it to put it in, then check it. I figured with four and a half hours of down time in Chicago, I could manage that. I finished my reservation, and called back about 40 minutes later to change the date, because I found out it was about $90 cheaper if I didn't go on a weekend. That all went smoothly. They told me my tickets would be mailed out around June 5th, and if I didn't see them a week later (the 12th) to give them a call.
The 12th rolls around. No ticket. I call Amtrak. The man on the phone says that there's no way to track the tickets, since they were sent USPS and not FedEx. I tell him "I'm moving out on Saturday," to which he snidely responds "It's Tuesday," with as much loathing as can be packed into those two words. I respond that I know it's Tuesday, but I was told to call on this date if I hadn't seen the tickets yet. We get nowhere and I end the call.
Finally yesterday I call the 1-800 number again. In the meantime, I have moved an hour's drive away from the address where my tickets were sent, and have been periodically texting my ex-roommate to ask if she's seen them. And the most divinely helpful woman answers the phone! She was actually able to tell me that the tickets were sent out the 19th (yes, a WEEK after I called to ask where they were and there was "no information") and should be arriving shortly. Then she says "Did someone tell you you could take a bicycle on the train?" "Uh. Yes." She puts me on hold while she does some checking, and then says there's no way to bring a bike from here to Chicago, not even in a box. So my bike has to be shipped after me, and I have to get a refund while I'm in Chicago for the bike portion of my ticket. The whole time she was friendly and helpful...and...
I don't know. I didn't think so before, but as I read over this I'm kind of thinking "She was just being helpful and friendly, not going above and beyond or anything. She only stood out because of the others." What do you think?
The 12th rolls around. No ticket. I call Amtrak. The man on the phone says that there's no way to track the tickets, since they were sent USPS and not FedEx. I tell him "I'm moving out on Saturday," to which he snidely responds "It's Tuesday," with as much loathing as can be packed into those two words. I respond that I know it's Tuesday, but I was told to call on this date if I hadn't seen the tickets yet. We get nowhere and I end the call.
Finally yesterday I call the 1-800 number again. In the meantime, I have moved an hour's drive away from the address where my tickets were sent, and have been periodically texting my ex-roommate to ask if she's seen them. And the most divinely helpful woman answers the phone! She was actually able to tell me that the tickets were sent out the 19th (yes, a WEEK after I called to ask where they were and there was "no information") and should be arriving shortly. Then she says "Did someone tell you you could take a bicycle on the train?" "Uh. Yes." She puts me on hold while she does some checking, and then says there's no way to bring a bike from here to Chicago, not even in a box. So my bike has to be shipped after me, and I have to get a refund while I'm in Chicago for the bike portion of my ticket. The whole time she was friendly and helpful...and...
I don't know. I didn't think so before, but as I read over this I'm kind of thinking "She was just being helpful and friendly, not going above and beyond or anything. She only stood out because of the others." What do you think?
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