Anon Emp
Anchorage,#2Consumer Comment
Wed, July 23, 2008
The poster says they $164 for their pair tickets from Anchorage to Talkeetna roundtrip. This means the Railroad gave him half off to begin with, since the price is $82 per person, each way on the railroad's website. And it clearly reads that all prices are given one-way unless otherwise stated. The GoldStar upgrade isn't normally offered on discount tickets either. If you can get it, you are lucky. That price is also posted on the website. The food on the train isn't microwaved: there is a fully staffed kitchen and the GoldStar kitchen is first-class, so the poster should have asked for his food to be repaired in the dining room. It has nothing to do with getting the "deal" he got by being allowed to upgrade one-way. The reservation agents are young people who try hard to provide good service to their customers, but they aren't mind readers. If the poster had questions about what he was paying for, he should have asked. The telephone communications in Alaska frequently drop calls, especially around areas like Talkeetna. That doesn't mean someone hung up on you. To state that the Alaska Railroad purposely deceives customers is a blatant flame and a cheap shot. The railroad cares very deeply about being safe, reliable, and providing great service, evidenced by the scores of people who ride each year and are delighted by their trip enough to post rave reviews at Trip Advisor and the like. Including me. I paid for my roundtrip to Talkeetna including GoldStar and the company couldn't have done a better job of showing me Alaska in style and comfort. And while the views are "free", the gas to get there isn't. It now costs about $164 to drive in gas from Anchorage to Talkeetna, and you only get an outhouse along the way, not a restroom with a flush toilet, like the train has. I recommend the Alaska Railroad to my friends and family all the time since I took my trip. The poster has an axe to grind, clearly, as even when he updated saying company officials took his complaint seriously and again tried to help him even more than they had by giving him 50% off, refunding an upgrade that most don't even get, and a discount on a future trip, he was still derisive in his comments. You can't change the past, but it seems like that is the only thing that will satisfy this poster. I applaud the Alaska Railroad for going above and beyond what most large transportation carriers (AKA Airlines) do for customer service today.
Ripped off tourist in alaska
Anchorage,#3Author of original report
Mon, June 23, 2008
Well, I received a call from a one of the Big Honchos at the Alaska Railroad. "What happened?" "Who did it?" When we had called before we were a couple of "its." Today, we were real people again. I have to report that the Alaska Railroad took my compaint seriously. They offered a refund of the infamous upgrade and then even offered a discount on another trip if we would be able to get the bad taste out of our mouths. I thanked them for that, but declined. I didn't want anything "from them." They are working overtime to fix this.