Page posted 20260518 and last updated on 20260611 at 13:22 e.s.t.

June 11, 2026

Dear Amtrak Customer Relations,

DRAFT/unfinished Re: Chicago Station Manager Devenless Wiltz

In 2019, I experienced most of the United States by train, plane and automobile and treasured my journeys with Amtrak[1]. For much of the past 12 months, I’ve used both Greyhound buses and Amtrak trains to traverse the county four times to support my investigative journalism efforts (see work-in-progress “American Towns” at image 001) and continue to recommend Amtrak as the ideal way to travel (see recent “Accolades for Amtrak” at image 002). Two recent experiences with your Chicago Station Manager, Devenless Wiltz, have left me almost speechless as his approach to “customer service” did nothing but:

encourage me (and others) to re-consider air travel and
negatively impact Amtrak’s bottom-line.

Below is my testimony and evidence from:

the 20260407 “Lounge Fiasco”,
the 20260510 “Missed Connection Absurdities” and
the resulting [boycott of Amtrak’s cafe response] so I could be in a better position to clearly articulate my concerns.

I am also requesting:

a refund of my out-of-pocket Greyhound bus fare ($121, see ticket at image 003),
a refund of the Lyft fare required to get to the Greyhound station with my luggage ($x.xx, see request at image 004),
acknowledgment of the unnecessary “Lounge Fiasco” given the false advertising/out-of-date online policy and
an exchange of the “$50 voucher” (see image 005) that I am in no position to use.

The 20260407 “Lounge Fiasco”

TO DO > Continue to insert testimony and evidence from April 2026.

My solution was simple: I booked a return ticket to X which would leave in three hours and bring me back to the station in time for my train. As I was heading on a cruise to Puerto Rico on April 18th, I knew I wouldn’t be using all of my Rail Pass and had plenty of segments to spare.

After about ?2? hours, I realized the lunacy of me being forced to travel simply because Mr. Wiltz refused to honor Amtrak’s published and advertised policy; so, I cancelled the trip to X. Within ?5? minutes, Mr. Wiltz confronted me with some twisted misconduct allegation. After I evidenced the Amtrak policy and informed him that I merely found a simple solution, he stated that I would be leaving the lounge in x minutes and that I could contact Customer Service if I did not agree with his decision. So, for the next ?45? minutes, I spoke with Customer Service: they apologized for Mr. Wiltz’s behavior and e-mailed to me a $35 Travel Voucher as compensation (see image x).

(Aside: The lounge was not empty: one woman approached me and said “you lost that one before you even started”. She said she was impressed with how calmly I handled Mr. Wiltz’s [aggressive behavior]. I let her know that I was a whistle-blower (see image x) and a Targeted Individual (see image x); so, well-versed in all sorts of harassment/intimidation tactics.)

While on hold with Customer Service, I decided to see if Mr. Wiltz had an online presence that might suggest he was some sort of racist (I’m white), ageist (I’m 60) and/or misogynist (I’m female). I found none of that; but, I did find a few posts that suggest he has a relatively low E.Q. and/or some anger-management issues (see images x-y)

He eventually returned with his business card (see image x). When the three hours ended, he brought a police escort to have me removed from the lounge. So, I packed up the mail campaign that I was working on (see image x) and headed toward the food court.

Accordingly, I spent zero dollars in the Café Bar and the Café Bar attendant received zero tips from me. Instead, I boarded the train with everything that I needed for the entire excursion (see image x).

When I returned to Chicago from Nashville on May 14th to begin my journey west, I did the same (see image y). Although, I did purchase a few coffees two sandwiches, I explained to the Café Bar attendant that the reason I wasn’t a better customer was due to my lingering frustration after having to micro-manage Amtrak’s Chicago-based customer service team.

The 20260510 “Missed Connection Absurdities”

Instead of buying a $121 bus ticket so I could get to Nashville on time, Mr. Wiltz chose to put me up in a hotel for two nights: I couldn’t leave until May 12th, he informed me. Then, his assistant Reggie chose to send me to the hotel via Lyft instead of a taxi even though those drivers are not properly insured. After collecting the evidence of this ridiculousness, I asked the Lyft driver to simply drop me off at the nearby bus station: she refused. So, I ordered her to pull over and, not in a position to pay for taxis every time I’m de-railed by some [incompetent and/or malicious] group[2], I ordered a Lyft that would take me to the bus station. I was on my way to Nashville by 1:30 p.m. (see image x),

In Conclusion

Among other things, I am an independent, investigative journalist (see latest piece being compiled at https://twb.rocks/world-cup); plus, I invest a significant amount of time and money evidencing when we are in the Biblical timeline (see evidence linked to https://twb.rocks/living/spirit/satans-little-season/beast-system). That I enjoy wasting time or money is an assumption that Mr. Wiltz should not have made: both are crucial to me as I endure those who would prefer I fail at raising awareness as quickly as possible. (insert fn to link to https://twb.rocks/on-tour).

While I very much appreciate your $35 Travel Voucher to compensate me for the first event and the $50 Travel Voucher as a gesture to deal with the second event, I remain out-of-pocket $128.44 through no fault of my own but merely due to the missed connection that forced me to pay for another way to get to Nashville. Instead of the $50 Travel Voucher, I would simply like my $128.44 to be returned to me in cash … the cash I had to spend … which was significantly less than the “taxi fare”, “meal allowances” and two days of hotel that Mr. Wiltz and his assistant Reggie provided. My decision saved your company ?$200? and enabled me to keep my schedule.

Verily,

Deirdre Moore, CFA, BBA

www.twb.ROCKS || dmoore@twb.rocks || (518) 360-7003

Enclosures:

PS. If properly controlled and audited, a “petty-cash” float could enable Mr. Wiltz to make wiser decisions in the future [13]

PPS. If the 3-hour lounge policy exists, then your online policies and onsite signage should clearly state it; otherwise, it will simply mislead others into similar frustration.

PPPS. (insert comment regarding use of Amtrak Police to act as thugs as Mr. Wiltz fearlessly wields his “power” while having seemingly zero interest in customer service or corporate profitability)

PPPPS. Despite all of the above, I still love travelling by train as I always meet interesting people. We are running an Investigative Journalism Contest and would love you to participate. The launch date has been delayed; however, once details are finalized, they will be published at https://twb.rocks/upig/contest/announcement. Feel free to contact me with any questions, suggestions and/or confirmations.

FOOTNOTES

[1] Although, due to the ongoing persecution that I was experiencing in Canada (see partial evidence and testimony linked to 20260430 USCIS Asylum Application stored at https://twb.rocks/persecution/us-submissions), I was probably using alias “Alice Simpson” and travelling in your sleeper cars at the time.

[2] See partial testimony and evidence linked to https://twb.rocks/hostiles

[2]

[3]

IMAGES – TO DO – UPDATE IMAGES TO MATCH FINAL LETTER

001 – “American Towns”

See work-in-progress articles linked to https://twb.rocks/living/spirit/satans-little-season/cities

002 – Accolades for Amtrak

See link to Twitter/X post at https://x.com/CaeJak/status/2064889549231190433?s=20

003 – 20260510 14:45 Greyhound busfare to Nashville, TN for $121

004 – 20260510 Lyft fare to Greyhound station in Chicago, IL for $7.44

005 – 20260510 $50 Travel Voucher due to missed connection

006 –

00x – 20260508 Arrival in Fort Lauderdale, FL following return Royal Caribbean cruise from San Juan, PR

00x – 20260508 Amtrak ticket from Fort Lauderdale, FL to Nashville, TN

00x – x-hour delay of Train 40 resulted in a missed connection to bus 8850. It took so long for “problem resolution” that I was able to post more of my 20260425 mail campaign that raised awareness on, among other things, the Medicaid/Medicare/Insurance Company fraud (& more) occurring at Buffalo, NY’s Erie County Medical Center Corporation (see copy of material at https://twb.rocks/living/appreciation/artists/jack-white/loving-jack-white/20260425-jack-white).

00x – Insert title

00x – Amtrak-arranged Lyft driver refused to simply drop me off at the closer, cheaper-trip Greyhound station instead.

00x – By HH:MM, I convinced her to simply stop the car so I wouldn’t have to transport myself all the way back.

00x – At HH:MM, I ordered a Lyft to bring me to the Greyhound station

00x – By HH:MM, I had purchased my own Greyhound ticket even though that cash was budgeted for other business expenses.

00x – I arrived in Nashville, TN by HH:MM and went on about my day.

00x – —

00x – Insert title

REVENUE LOST due to harassment/incompetence endured at Amtrak’s Chicago Station

(Insert introduction and link to draft articles “Service Industry Collapse” and “Being Jobless” being pre-published at (https://twb.rocks/living/opinion/service-industry-collapse) and https://twb.rocks/living/opinion/being-jobless, respectively)

00x – Just in from (insert city, state) and en route to Tampa, FL for

00x – I attempted to access the lounge but was refused as my connecting train did not depart within three hours: the online policy said nothing of any “3-hour rule”

00x – I attempted to access the lounge but was refused as my connecting train did not depart within three hours: the onsite advertisement said nothing of any “3-hour rule”

00x – As I had extra segments on my rail pass, my solution was simple: I’d simply book a quick trip to Milwaukee and back so I could continue working and still make my connection.

00x – As the departure time approached, I realized how ridiculous the situation was and cancelled my ticket.

00x – Within ?5-10? minutes, I was approached by Wiltz who told me that I would be escorted out after exactly three hours. I asked to see a copy of this alleged new policy, but, nothing was provided. He said if I had a complaint, then I should contact customer servide. I asked for his card.

00x – I spent 41-minutes on the phone with Amtrak customer service.

00x – I received an apology and a $35 travel voucher.

00x – Then, at approximately hh:mm, I was escorted out of the lounge by Wiltz and Amtrak police.

00x – Later, within 3 hours of my departure for Tampa, I attempted to regain access to the lounge with my $35 travel voucher. “Supervisor” Dominique LName informed me that I was banned from the lounge for the remainder of the day “due to [my] earlier behaviour”.

00x – Following the humiliation by Wiltz et al., I decided to not support the Amtrak cafe car for the remainder of my trip to Tampa choosing, instead, to purchase the much higher-quality, items that is sold by the station’s food court vendors.

00x – 10-segment rail passes are practically given away by Amtrak at merely $500 and one would think that the revenue earned in the cafe car is important to bottom-line profitability. $XXX was lost in this one segment alone (plus, the cafe car attendant received zero tips from me).

00x – Other segments? Other food courts 1/x

00x – Online persona for Mr. Wiltz 1/3

00x – Online persona for Mr. Wiltz 2/3

00x – Online persona for Mr. Wiltz 3/3