Please be aware that callbacks will occur Welcome to Callback Assist. I have looked up your time based on the phone number you are calling from."
Correct? My mistake one more time. Please tell me what you're calling about."
If this is correct, press one. Otherwise, press two. Just to make sure we're scheduling your return call in the correct time zone, please enter the time of day where you're calling from."
Or if you already have a reservation, say, I have a reservation. Tell me what you'd like to do. You can say pay for my reservation review my reservation, change my reservation, cancel my reservation, or it's something else."
If you're unsure of what to do, say help or press star. Otherwise, please say one way or press one, round trip or press two, or if you don't know yet, say I'm not sure or press three. Or if you already have a reservation, say I have a reservation or press four."
My phone call to Amtrak went fairly well. Given how many schedules they manage and how many different issues could happen within one reservation, I appreciated the automated process which really streamlined things and made them simple to follow. People can call Amtrak to book a reservation, cancel a reservation, price a trip or check to see if their train is running on schedule. They can talk about a billing issue with a credit card and Amtrak, talk about travel accommodations, lost luggage, and address many of the small things that can go wrong during a journey.
It was easy enough to use the automated process. I was a little nervous about talking to an agent about what my options for a rail trip in the middle of November, and I was intimidated by the idea of rail travel. Still, I also am afraid to fly and wanted to make a holiday celebration. Therefore, I decided calling would be best so I could talk about accommodations and make an informed choice before booking my tickets. I like to know all the details ahead of time: it makes travel and unpredictable situations easier to handle.
When I first called, an automated voice answered and said, "Hi, I'm Julie, Amtrak's automated agent." It then offered me an array of options and I didn't have to use my keypad because it was voice-activated. I was please to note that there weren't any problems from the system picking up background noise, as can sometimes happen. The options were, "To check if a particular train is running on time, say 'train status.' To get schedule or price information, say 'schedules.' For new or existing reservations, say 'reservations.' You can also say, 'it’s something else.' "
I chose schedules and fares because I figured it made sense to see how much it would cost before asking questions. It then said, "Great, let's look up schedules and fares, and if you find something you like I can also make a reservation." It then had me say the departure city (Cleveland) and the arrival city (Boston South End). The next question was my departure time, which I said was November 16th.
I had no problem getting through the question, and then it told me "If this call concerns an unaccompanied minor traveling, please press 1, otherwise stay on the line." It then warned that they were experiencing high call volumes and it would take ten minutes or more, but I could use their callback service. I took advantage of the callback service and they did call me back within ten minutes. The agent was very helpful and answered my questions about the reservations and some other questions I had overall about traveling with Amtrak.
This is Amtrak's best phone number, the real-time current wait on hold and tools for skipping right through those phone lines to get right to a Amtrak agent. This phone number is Amtrak's Best Phone Number because 137,892 customers like you used this contact information over the last 18 months and gave us feedback. Common problems addressed by the customer care unit that answers calls to 800-872-7245 include Make a Booking, Refund, Missing Items, Cancel or Change Booking, Problem With a Trip and other customer service issues. The Amtrak call center that you call into has employees from Pennsylvania and is open 24 hours, 7 days according to customers. In total, Amtrak has 2 phone numbers. It's not always clear what is the best way to talk to Amtrak representatives, so we started compiling this information built from suggestions from the customer community. Please keep sharing your experiences so we can continue to improve this free resource.
In short, the two companies are not related. GetHuman builds free tools and shares information amongst customers of companies like Amtrak. For large companies that includes tools such as our GetHuman Phone, which allows you to call a company but skip the part where you wait on the line listening to their call technology music. We've created these shortcuts and apps to try to help customers like you (and ourselves!) navigate the messy phone menus, hold times, and confusion with customer service, especially with larger companies. And as long as you keep sharing it with your friends and loved ones, we'll keep doing it.