WASHINGTON — Claiming to look for “transformational service models and industry best practices for Managed Food and Beverage Service,” Amtrak issued a request for information on Aug. 31 that could lead to outside providers of onboard food.
The request is for information the company may utilize “to develop a request for proposal to solicit new model(s) .. .to create an environment to improve Amtrak’s financial outcome with [sic] providing services and enhancements to the passenger experience.”
Deadline for written question submissions is Sept. 14, and all responses are due by Oct. 16.
The request continues current management’s intent to replace the food preparation and presentation practices Amtrak has refined over its 47-year history in favor of attempts to import ideas from other transportation modes. Stressing the “transformational” aspect reinforces what management did to service offerings on the Lake Shore Limited and Capitol Limited. Beginning June 1, those trains replaced dining car staffs and freshly-prepared full meals — included in sleeping-car fares but also available for purchase by coach passengers — with a single attendant and limited, mostly cold, pre-packaged selections available only to travelers riding in sleeping cars.
Management seems intent on continuing — or even exacerbating — the sequestered class trend by noting that the models “should offer different levels to include luxury service options that are similar to the Rocky Mountaineer in Canada and VIA Rail’s Canadian.” The fact that the information request also mentions stratospherically-priced European tourist trains like the Royal Scotsman and Venice Simplon Orient Express reflects President and CEO Richard Anderson remarks during the past year to the effect that Amtrak’s current onboard service doesn’t do a good job of creating an “experiential” environment.
“Amtrak is reviewing its current service model … to increase revenue and control costs,” the request explains, and “is interested in learning how respondents might address food and beverage service onboard all trains through examples of similar services offered elsewhere or new and innovative approaches that might fit Amtrak’s environment.”
The intent “to transform and reshape all services on Amtrak trains,” and include proposals for “staffing café/lounge cars, dining cars, and Acela First Class for all departures (with and without Amtrak employees performing the work)” also sends a clear message to current employees that their efforts, diligence, and future loyalty to the company are not respected or appreciated.
Judging from passengers Trains interviewed on a Lake Shore Limited trip this week and two previous samplings of cold meal service this summer, customers connecting from trains with traditional dining car service have generally not embraced Amtrak management’s decision to introduce “contemporary and fresh dining choices.”
I recently returned from rising the City of NOLA, I knew we would not have regular as that was gone 2 years when I rode. But I can remember fantastic meals on Builder, Starlight and SW Chief. And great wait service too, a waiter on Chief would pour me a glass of milk while holding the bottle high above the glass and never spilled a drop while the train was moving. That is an art for sure. Amtrak needs a CEO who supports trains and not “propeller head” as a friend calls him. Saying people don’t want to eat with strangers-that is one of the fun things about riding is meeting fellow travelers. And saying people need to stay in their seats and not roaming around, we are not on a plane and strapped into our seats. I agree senior management needs to get out and ride the trains and see what is going on, talk to travelers like me who love riding them.
I’ve ridden the Capitol Limited many times over the past twenty years. With respect to the dining car personnel, I have had only one or two bad experiences. In the vast majority of times, the crew was competent, attentive, and courteous.
Have had one experience with the boxed dinner and two with the breakfast. Compared to the dining car meal service, the boxed lunch was HORRIBLE. Only one attendant was present to pass out meals to all the customers. With regard to the breakfast, the one train had a group of German tourists, and quickly ran out of orange juice for breakfast. I had to wait in line over twenty minutes for my box breakfast.
I’m not against outsourcing food service, as long as the quality and service is maintained as it currently was when the diner was present on the Capitol.
Many passengers want top notch food and service–but are they willing to pay the true cost of that, especially given Amtrak’s very expensive labor costs? Plus there’s no way to tell if better food options would lead to better service for the passengers using current personnel. If they go outside and contract for Food Service I suspect the service will be better [my overall experiences have not been good with Amtrak food personnel]. Therefore, I think they should pursue that route and see if they can get some better food to go along with hopefully better service. But there’s no way to tell in advance if that’s possible.
I do agree with Daniel that this appears to be more of a “hit” piece of journalism that’s full of passion rather than straight reporting. I have no idea who the author is, what his background is, and where this article was published.
Mr. Pins is right. Amtrak tried to outsource food service in the cafe cars on the Empire Service Albany – NYC trains and the union balked. Don’t expect it to be any different on the LD trains. Now there are no more cafe cars on the NYC – Albany trains. Some one lost their job in this union fiasco. The union’s job here is to protect otherwise unemployable people. Along time ago I did receive good service on Amtrak food service cars but the current group has little interest in doing their jobs well or even at all. They’re just going through the motions and nothing else. There’s little hope anything will change any time soon.
To those who say they took a trip and the service and food were “superb” I say you must have very low standards. Not even Acela First Class food and service is “superb”.
And as far as this “news” piece goes, this is nothing more than what typically passes for news these days. A half baked opinion piece that is heavily loaded with author’s opinion and little if any news. My opinion of Mr. Johnston is greatly lessened as a result.
I’d like to look at this positively – The immediate past and present flailing food service is in shambles, so why not reach out to the private sector for proposals? Something good might come of it, although I see an elephant in the room with Amtrak unions.
Actually, I think Mr Johnston hits all the high points about the “corporatespeak bullshit” that were being fed. No pun intended. It really very simple:
#1) trains need to be kept running on time. ALL of them,
#2) comfortable seats, beds, toilets,
#3) good food – properly cooked and properly served.
After that (with some real promotion) there’d be no reason why anyone wouldn’t use the trains much more often. Singles, couples, families.
I honestly hate to say it, but many of my dining car experiences (mostly Silver Service) have been rather unpleasant. I often wondered why Amtrak dining car personnel hated their jobs . . . or at least often acted like they did. I don’t like to see people lose their jobs but something does need to change. The inconsistencies and attitudes need a lot of work.
How many years later has Amtrak awakened to not only how its F&B service consistently totally sucks, but for how long has it been in violation of a Congressional mandate to fix?
Amtrak, meaning it’s Board and kowtowing management, was to have addressed the issues identified by the OIG, including:
-fraud, theft, and waste
-lack of inventory PARS/bar coding
This could only be accomplished by outsourcing the entire F&B operation; instead, Amtrak only outsourced its commissaries. In essence, Amtrak ignored how it’s HR/TA, or whatever, consistently failed to screen, recruit, orientate, and train the best possible candidates as LSAs, SAs (waiters), Chefs, and Asst Chefs.
Consequently, paying passengers have been repeatedly subjected to indifferent service; a lack of enthusiasm to up-sell liquor; a general indifference to the pride evidenced by diner staffs on certain private railroads.
As we see the vultures circling Amtrak, it is only a matter of time now, as no business enterprise, even supported with tax dollars as Amtrak, can continue indefinitely to pretend to be viable and necessary indefinitely.
We need to make significant revamping in Amtrak’s business model, starting with outsourcing senior management and the Board. From there, we can move forward to outsourcing F&B. What the apparatchiks currently running Amtrak have no idea about is how good & beverage services define the essence of the trip by rail.
We must learn from the obvious failures of Amtrak to prevent their repetition compulsion.
Why is this going to be an airline now.
Is this a news article or an op-ed piece? Opinionated statements abound.
As I write this I am in the middle of a two week trip on #’s 29/30 and several legs on 5/6. No food on 29— short coach leg. #5 Chic to Lincoln.–dining crew was great but 3hrs late to Lincoln. Lincoln to SAC —— best 3person crew I have ever encountered in an Amtrak diner!!!! —– and. all. three sleepers plus transition rooms were full !!!!!! Lincoln to Denver—— one good wait person and one very poor. Guess who got a tip ? The. “boss person ” made no effort to assist the wait people. Plus the food preparation at dinner wasvery poor! I also agree with the comment on Silver service—— it is consistently POOR ! Is anyone really in charge of the foodservice?????
What a tub of bull crap this guy Anderson is. Disgusting.
The current food service on the Lake Shore and Capitol is a total joke. Amtrak’s current management needs to be fired—now! Amtrak needs a leader who can inspire confidence and performance excellence throughout the Amtrak workforce, someone who truly loves and believes in rail travel and who can gain the support of Congress, the executive branch and traveling public. If the host railroads refuse to operate Amtrak on time, there needs to be enforcement through laws and, if necessary, litigation. There is more to Amtrak than the NEC. There needs to be superior nationwide service, consistent and predictable funding and effective marketing. I’ve seen none of that from the current management—at least not yet. I also reiterate what I once wrote: all Amtrak personnel need to be prohibited from flying anywhere on company business to anywhere Amtrak operates except only in emergencies like accident and safety investigations and responses thereto. If the management had to ride the trains, I guarantee the service would improve. Claytor proved that with Amtrak and Southern.
I’ve never been on an Amtrak train and given most of the comments I’ve read, I probably never will. Decent food service and food is a must on trains going long enough distance to warrant meal service. Box lunches & dinners may be ok on tourist trains, but not on long haul trains.
Richard you are right about the dinning staff major attitude problem for twenty years. As a career long union brother, complaints about some crabby old seniority train crews pale to the modern experience. If you were from coach on the Lakeshore you were treated like dung. Now its just dreadful. As a daytime passenger to NYC why would I want a room without a view which were never available anyway as they cut the sleepers to a few cars.. So they have upgraded to a jerk who supervises the garbage cans which fill quickly with unopen able packaging and awful content. All shoved at you in non food multi million dollar economic recovery cars ten years late and payed for by the 1% ers. And we need another study? The solution contact the DOT and source road kill and call it gourmet game deluxe.
I’ve mostly had very positive experience with dining car service personel. These changes are going to discourage me from Amtrak LD service, and encouraging others to try it. The dining car is one of the special aspects of LD trips, meeting people from many backgrounds.