In 45 years of flying, have had one good meal on airlines, even during the "golden age" of flight (old Frontier). Feel Amtrak foor is 6-7 on a scales of 10. Then. of course, there's the great Southwest with its offering of 30 peanuts.
Sounds like a "glide path" to me. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)
Seriously, I am just off a 5-leg, 3-route, 5258-mile trip, and nearly everything was so much better than it was the last time I explored so much of the system (10 years ago) I am full of praise for Amtrak.
I make an exception for the lazy and cheeky dining crew -- which must be the one of whom Fred Frailey has complained -- on No. 6 the day I rode into Chicago.
The food could be better -- or a lot worse. (I experienced both on the rails, pre-Amtrak.) Me, I'm not complaining. If they can figure out a way to break even without sacrificing service -- and the china and tablecloths -- God bless 'em.
I'm no expert here, but it seems to me Amtrak needs a 21st Century equivalent of Fred Harvey, or at least someone who understands the restaurant business.
Maybe they should "head hunt" someone from one of the successful chains, like "Olive Garden" or "Longhorn Steak House."
Sam1 Five years to eliminate the losses on its food and beverage services?
Five years to eliminate the losses on its food and beverage services?
Editor Emeritus, This Week at Amtrak
oltmannd Sam1Five years to eliminate the losses on its food and beverage services? Yes. Too slow. And too much "on their own". But, at least they don't appear to be completely brain dead. Gotta give credit when it's due, though! They must have one or a few "hot shots' in their IT dept. They have done a lot an done it well lately - at least that we can see. E ticketing, better web portal, train status map.. They have come from way behind on some of those things and basically caught up.
Sam1Five years to eliminate the losses on its food and beverage services?
Yes. Too slow. And too much "on their own". But, at least they don't appear to be completely brain dead. Gotta give credit when it's due, though!
They must have one or a few "hot shots' in their IT dept. They have done a lot an done it well lately - at least that we can see. E ticketing, better web portal, train status map.. They have come from way behind on some of those things and basically caught up.
You are correct, Amtrak's IT department appears to have gotten some things right, at least from a customer service perspective, i.e. e-ticketing, improved web portal, etc.
If my memory serves me correctly, Amtrak outsourced its IT function to IBM. That may explain the latest IT driven improvements.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
I realize now I made a big mistake (but Amtrak is continuing to make a huge one). I was assuming Amtrak would do the sensible thing and stick to their core competencies, i.e. running trains, not running the food service in dining cars. They should be farming this business out to experienced contractors in that business. Riders might get better, cheaper basic food and Amtrak could save money and use it for better purposes.
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
Five years to eliminate the losses on its food and beverage services? Wow! It is a good thing Amtrak does not have to play in a competitive market. Can you image McDonald's or Chili's saying that it will eliminate the losses on its restaurants in five years? A business, especially a so-called established business, does not get that much time to turn around its losses.
Better inventory control, purchasing, electronic order taking and billing, menus, etc. may help. However, as long as Amtrak runs the food service, as opposed to outsourcing it to a vendor whose core competencies are food service, I would not place much money on Amtrak's ability to get it right.
I have been in the dining car of the Texas Eagle four or five times this summer. Out of San Antonio recently I got the scrambled eggs with red potatoes and raisin toast for breakfast. The eggs were hard, the potatoes were spongy, and the toast was rubbery. The server had a severe attitude problem, perhaps because the lead server sat on her backside whilst the lone server tried to serve four tables.
Coming home from Dallas two weeks ago I had the pasta dish. The pasta was OK, as was the salad, but the vegetables were rubbery. And the ice cream was hard as a rock. They should have served it with a jack hammer. The woman next to me ordered the Amtrak steak for $25.95. It was pitiful. Denny's can serve up a better looking steak for half the price.
The only decent sit-down meal that I have ever had in an Amtrak dining car was in the Pacific Parlor car two years ago. I had a goat cheese and chicken salad that was very good. Also, I have had a good turkey and cheese sandwich from the lounge car on the Texas Eagle.
Good news all around.
Nice blurb in Railroad News.
Gist of it is three year plan to get losses to zero though a series of initiatives the involve technology and just plain paying attention to business. Nearly all the losses are on the LD trains (surely, they charge-back first class "free" meals at menu prices...)
Technology will reduce paperwork and time spent by on board personnel and allow them to focus on selling. Also will help with inventory mgt, and control. Will review menus more often to keep things fresh.
It seems like Amtrak is slowly waking up. Maybe they don't like being such an easy target for the "antis"?
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