In the morning of June 21st 2014 I booked my reservations directly through Amtrak. The online services were down (It claimed this on the website and the scheduling was not working via app or website).  At this point I called to make my reservations.  I was planning on traveling from Normal, Illinois to St. Paul, Minnesota on July 17th and coming back the same way on July 22nd.

I first booked the tickets from Chicago to St. Paul, a round trip.  It is important to note that I made it clear to the agent at the beginning of my booking that I intended to connect from Normal to Chicago, then Chicago to St. Paul.  This was completed after a 50 minute on-hold phone call with an agent.  (This was understandable given the website being down).  When I finished my booking I told the agent that I needed to book my connection from Normal to Chicago as well.  At this point I was on my laptop and had noticed that the website was working again.  I asked if the agent preferred I do the booking for the round trip from Normal to Chicago over the website instead of on the phone.  They claimed the process would have to restart anyway for an additional booking and that it was my choice.  Being that I had been on the phone for so long I went with the internet.  I was not told how to book as to not lose connection guarantee.

I received notification quickly via e-mail that I would have expected delays on the train from Chicago to Minneapolis on July 17th.  I note this point to ensure I was logged into Amtrak’s email list and they had the capability to email me.  I also received an audio message via phone about this delay.

On July17th I arrived in Chicago a little over an hour late via the Lincoln 302.  It was scheduled for 9:46am departing and 12:20pm arrival.  This was not an issue being that I had a few hours before the Chicago to St. Paul train which was scheduled for 2:15pm departure.

I was checking the Amtrak app for delays of train 27 to St. Paul.  There was no information given on the app.  I went to the gate around 3pm which was the time I saw for departure.  I cannot remember exactly when the train actually departed, but we did not arrive in St. Paul until 2a.m. that night.  This was a full 4 hour delay from the original 10pm arrival time. Once again- I was informed by Amtrak ahead of time and fully expected this.  I had planned accordingly.  Despite the inconvenience I had no intentions to complain while I talked to many people on this train who were planning on doing exactly that.

On July 22nd I had tickets to leave St. Paul at 8am, arrive in Chicago at 3:55pm.  From there my reservations were for leaving Chicago at 5:15pm and arriving in Normal,IL at 7:29pm.  I woke up at 7am to a delayed train according to the Amtrak App.  I did NOT receive an email about a bus for accommodating connection train passengers despite Amtrak previously contacting me via email as mentioned before.  (I found out about the buses when I finally arrived in Chicago)

After the Amtrak app showed the delay from 8am departure to 10am, I avoided sitting in the station. I went to a restaurant nearby.  I realized the delay would mean that I would miss my connection in Chicago to Normal, IL at 5:15pm.  I contacted the national Amtrak hotline to inquire what will happen if I miss my connection.  This was at 11am.  When the train was delayed again until noon.

When I called Amtrak’s national hotline I talked immediately to an agent about my connection.  This was done to insure proper accommodations for myself and my fiance who was to pick me up in Normal. IL to take me home from the station.  I told the agent exactly what was happening and they asked for my reservation number.  They looked up my information and said that if the train in Chicago is not delayed (as in takes off at it’s normally scheduled time) that I could always take the 7pm train instead.  This was a satisfying answer and I received instructions where to get the ticket changed when I arrive and reported back to my fiance.  When the train was delayed to 2:30pm I realized the feasibility of making the 7pm train was quite unrealistic.  I called back the national hotline, gave my reservation number again, and again explained my situation.  This time they told me that I would have accommodations taken care for me when I arrive to Chicago. They said I would either get put into a hotel or I would be put on a bus with other passengers heading southbound. Unbeknownst to me, at 4pm my fiance also called Amtrak to make sure I would be taken care of.  This is important to note because she was to make the 3 hour drive and pick me up if nothing was to be done on the part of Amtrak.  She specifically asked if there was any chance I would get stranded at the station, and the woman on the phone laughed and said “Oh, gosh no!” and went on to explain about the bus or a hotel.  We both understood via the agents that I was to either get on a bus to Normal or get a hotel and another train in the morning.

The train finally arrived at Union station in Chicago at midnight. This was a full 8 hours of delayed time. Those of us on connecting trains all went to customer services at Union to find out what was to happen to us. I was one of the first customers to reach them. I showed my tickets and told them where I was going. They said that there was a problem. At this time (Midnight in Downtown Chicago) I was told that I did not have a connection guaranteed ticket and that Amtrak is not responsible for honoring the missing connection train to Normal, IL with any further accommodations. They said that they would not put me in a hotel and there was not a bus to ride. Union station closes at midnight. I asked what my options are and they said that I could take the 7am train tomorrow and book myself a hotel tonight. They said that the cost of the hotels in the area were $150. I told them I do not have this money, nor any money to spend on incredibly-unpredictable-8-hour-train-delayed sleeping arrangements. I was then told I could be referred to a hostel for $40 which made me uncomfortable. I asked to speak with a manager. I was told I could, but I have to wait until all the other connection passengers were taken care of first.

At this time I walked off and called the national Amtrak hotline. I spoke with a man who gently calmed me down and explained the same thing the customer service person just had. However given the freedom to hear my entire story that is annotated above he said that I would be most likely deserving of accommodations due to error on Amtrak’s own agents, yet customer relations department who has the authority was closed until morning. He said there was nothing he could do.

By the time 40 or so people went off to their comped hotels there were 5 passengers left.  A elderly couple, an elderly man with cancer, 74 year old woman with high blood pressure, and myself.  The authority figure was a white, bald male who I had forgotten his name.  He told us that they cannot give us a hotel based on the connection problems we each had via booking our trains as separate round trips.  While I cannot speak for the other 4 displaced passengers I do feel it is important to explain how we were treated.

Immediately when we were told that this issue is out of the Union station Amtrak’s hands we were given a two “options ”.  We were told that we could either leave the station (which had already closed) and find a hotel, despite reports that hotels were all booked.  Or follow him into the lounge room of the Union Station.  Being that it was raining, Chicago’s not the safest place to be at night, nor easy to navigate for people who do not live there, and all other passengers except myself were elderly- this was hardly considered an option.  It all seemed to happen very rapidly without our choice in the matter except when I asked the nightwatchman if we could leave if we make other arrangements.  He said we could, but we would have to call the officer to escort us out.  It felt very coercive to me, but for the other folks I couldn’t image how they would have considered this even a hint of an option.

Before we were escorted we were told by the white bald manager(?) that we should “not be so angry about all this- it’s not a big deal”.  He used extremely condescending language throughout the experience in the first hour.  He also he looked into our the faces and said “look things are really hard for us too”.  We were taken by him and a security officer to a bright, cold room with only hard chairs and small loveseats.  This was hardly a place to try to sleep before the 7am train.  We were shown where the bathrooms were and a soda fountain.  We were not given food despite the 74 year old woman, Ann Tolbert, specifically stating that she has blood pressure issues.  It was very disturbing to see a 74 year old woman cry in front of this manager whom simply had nothing to give in that moment other than a gesture towards the TV and saying “look we have a TV, this won’t be so bad”.

Very troubled, I helped Ann by request call the CBS Chicago’s News Hotline to let them know what exactly Amtrak was putting us through. 10 minutes after the reporter told Ann that he would look into this right away, the bald manager man came back with 5 packs of snacks for us. His attitude noticeably was changed and tried to be more apologetic and reasonable. He explained the situation again about the connecting transit and how it is a newer method that has been implemented recently. He admitted that it is possible that some agents do not know the proper procedure. He left and was not seen again around 1:00am. I do not take comfort in the fact that it took us contacting the media for this man to change his attitude.

At one point Ann was having difficulty figuring out if she should take her blood pressure medicine based on a perceived rise from the stressful situation.  She asked a very caring and attentive custodian if there was a first aid pack around that would contain a blood pressure checker.  The custodian immediately got the officer in charge for help.  The officer looked at Ann and told her that they do not have any way to check blood pressure at the Union Station.  He then said that they can take her to the hospital.  To this Ann said no because she was worried about missing another train. The officer then tried to say that they will make her go to the hospital.  At this point I walked up to the conversation and it seemed to end abruptly.  The only other contact we had with anyone was myself asking the guard if they had any blankets for Ann or a way to turn off the AC. He said all blankets are in the train yard on the trains and the AC is automated and beyond his control.  No one had a pillow or a blanket.

When 6am rolled around and the train station re-opened no one came to us to tell us what to do.  Last night we were all told to go back to customer services to get our new tickets.  Since customer services didn’t open until 6:30am and my new train was to leave at 7am I stood outside until the opened on the dot.  At this point I was told to go to ticketing.  I asked for the manager.  It was a blond woman with glasses, looked very professional.  I told her that I was one of the 5 that were told to stay here last night and that we were told to come to this building to settle our tickets.  She then said in the most condescending and cold way possible “Well you are in the correct building sir.” Having just told her I spent the night at the Union Station only to have her tell me “you are in the Union Station, this is where you should be” was extremely rude and unecessary.  Clearly, having been awake and traveling for nearly 24 hours, I made a vocabulary error and she was insensitive to the fact that I was pressed for time.  I cannot believe someone could take such unprofessional tone with others.  Of all employees during my entire experience she was utmost the rudest.

I went to get my ticket changed.  I spoke with a girl at the counter who told me that she was unable to exchange my ticket from the night before because it was expired.  She then said I had to buy a new one.  I noted the 10 minute till departure and argued against paying more money for Amtrak’s mistake, but bit the bullet to avoid missing the train.

I have worked in the service industry my whole life.  I understand that sometimes communication errors can occur.  I also do not blame Amtrak for any of the delayed times.  It is beyond their control.  However, the customer service that I experienced, and shared experience with those who are my elders is simply put unacceptable.  I realize the rationale behind the connection guaranteed issue, however if one re-plays the audio conversations with the agents I talked to it is very clear that there was a miscommunication issue between the agents, the new policy, and myself.  I strongly feel I took appropriate measures to educate myself on Amtrak’s policy, contact the company when confused, had a backup plan, and follow instructions that were given to me. However, I did not receive the email in Minneapolis- and either did the other 4 passengers who slept at the Union station with me.  This in itself is a large failure of communication an Amtrak’s part that would have warranted its own complaint even if the rest of the experience had been satisfying. I know every single one of the customers in the Union Station vowed to not take another Amtrak train again.

For me it seemed to be an experience that held a broad spectrum of error that was, outside of the muddy customer service, non-intentional.  I will not claim to never ride Amtrak again at this time, but if I am not compensated for my loss of time, money, and general frustration I cannot see a foreseeable future with myself on your trains, and I will definitely be telling others about this experience. Thank you for your time.