San Diego to The North: Three strikes for Amtrak

January 22, 2013

Folding the bikes and fitting them into their bags last night was abit of a chore, since we no longer remembered exactly which way around they needed to go in order to actually fit. Then we did some practicing with how to load these plus all our bags onto our feeble bodies for the anticipated dash down the platform at the train stationn.

How did this thing fit in the bag, anyway?

We woke up at 4 a.m. to get donw to the train station in time to get our physical tickets and be readyfor the 6 a.m. departure of the Surfliner. We had poured another night's rent into the Balboa Park Inn, since Amtrak apparently closes their station over the wee hours, to keep riffraff such as us from sleeping there, no doubt.

Predictably, the taxi we had booked for 4:45 did not show up, and a call to the company had them scrambling to find out what became of the driver.We did get to the station in time for the 5:15 theoretical opening of the wickets. Theoretical it was, because they did not open for a further ten precious minutes. When they did, the agent insisted we could not bring our bike bags on the train. They would have to go in baggage, and oh yes, be boxed.

You know that expression about seeing red? Try telling the normally placid Steve that his expensive folding (folded!) bikes need to go into a bike box, on no notice! Anyway the bike box idea gotr shot down when the lady realized that we were booked to Vancouver. No baggage car Seattle to Vancouver. So her new line was that we could not go at all!

The resolution, such as it was, was that our bike bags got thrown in baggage, to pop out in Seattle. At Seattle, assuming our bikes are still recognizable, we will fight again to keep them with us.

Amtrak followed up this first strike with two more, to achieve a first day strike out. For strike two, Dodie hatched the idea of switching to the sleeperette, whiile we were still in the station. The ticket agent said to get the conductor to do the switch, since there could be a discount if demand was light. On board, the conductor denied beinng able to change our booking. He said call 1-800-USRAIL. I called, and by the way it's USARAIL not USRAIL. USARAIL denied being able to do the switch and said talk to the conductor.

Dodie then saw red and marched off to tear a strip off the conductor and the supervisor conductor.This went down two cars away, orp I'm sure I would have heard it! Anyway, I am writing this in the luxury salon car adjacent to our sleeperette!

Dodie is moving, like Professor Crawley. However it's not to Oxnard but at Oxnard. Satisfyingly, they had to hold the train while this happened.

y For strike three, Amtrak came up with something elegant. Now that we are luxury passengers, we are offered a wine and cheese tasting. Now Grampies don't drink, but they love cheese. So when they called for people to state if they would attend, I said I would, but on a cheese only basis. The lady then refused to take my reservation, stating that though this was a wine and cheese, it was really about wine and not cheese. " Fine then, I retorted, put me down, but I and not you will decide what I put in my mouth".

The Amtrak " batters" are doing poorly because they seem to not read the company's own printed material. For strike one, there is a rack in the car labelled " oversize baggage". For strike two, there is a sign on the door to the salon car that invites you to talk to the conductor to do an upgrade. And for strike three, there are pages and pages in the hand out pamphlets about the qualities of the cheeses offered in the tasting. So there!

Cheese tasting - not played down in Amtrak's official position.

Surfers out our window. Everything we see as we pass now makes us nostalgic for our ride.

Amtrak's written position on the conductor's responsibility is right on the door!

Blogging Office - much upgraded from some we have used!!

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