Wait Loss Clinic

Week ending 5/12/07:

Nothing is more maddening than the inefficiency of the Amtrak ticket counter. Baltimore may be the worst, although NY may be a close runner-up! It never ceases to amaze me. Here's the scenario: arrive within 15 minutes of your anticipated departure and it will be a crap shoot, maybe you'll make it maybe you won't. Not because things were too hectic or too crowded, but just because the "reservation agents" didn't feel like doing much at that particular point in time. The reason they call them "reservation agents" is because they reserve the right to serve you! This can occur when there's only one or two people in line! These agents don't have a clue regarding customer service, or if they do, they simply don't care. Their process goes something like this: help one passenger get a ticket, then leave your station, walk around from counter to counter (at least three), go into the back room, come back, fumble with some stuff under the counter (purse, lunch bag, etc.). Now decide to move the bags, boxes, brochures or whatever, while the increasingly fidgety soon-to-miss-the-next-train passenger nervously keeps looking at his/her watch! Finally the agent is back at their computer terminal and the coup-de-grace occurs: they just stare into the terminal for about 5 minutes. What they are looking for I don't have a clue. Maybe the train schedule, maybe last night's lottery numbers or maybe the next vacation they are planning using their rapid reward miles from Amtrak. I don't know, but what I do know, is all of this happens while an otherwise needy passenger watches the minutes tick by, and you then hear over the loudspeaker that your train is boarding! Then and only then do you see that God-send from heaven: the lit up "Next" sign with he arrow pointing toward the appropriate counter. Then it's a mad scramble to see if you can make it. Unfortunately, the usual outcome is a race to he stairs that lead to the platform, only to see the doors slam shut and the train begins to pull away from the station as you cry out "No, wait!" And whoa unto those that cry out in protest to the reservation agent. Not only do they walk SLOWER and create more delays, but they remember you next time! You can be sure you have made their hit list and that ticket you need to re-write will all of a sudden, not be available. It will be sold-out! This routine could almost be forgiven if there were not several occasions where the agent stares out at the one or two people in line, and still decides to ignore them. The agent usually expresses no interest or remorse that their lack of attention may be a material factor in creating a bottleneck that keeps an otherwise important business transaction from happening. That short window of time that can mean the difference between making a meeting that closes the deal that day, or missing the opportunity and deferring to reach an agreement, maybe indefinitely, and maybe not at all! How much commerce is at stake? Such power! Such a loss!