Giving the LIRR Some Credit After All...

Within 7 hours, I found a personalized response to my complaint in my inbox. Way to go, LIRR! :)

Here's what Susan McGowan had to say in response to my complaint:

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE.

Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support
center. Below is a summary of your request and our response.

Subject
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Funky Trains


Discussion Thread
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Response (Susan McGowan) - 10/05/2005 05:04 PM
Thank you for your e-mail. Please accept our apology for the unpleasant conditions you encountered this morning. Immediately upon receipt, a copy of your e-mail was forwarded to our Assistant Chief Mechanical Officer - Fleet Cleaning for investigation and remedial action regarding this car.

By this afternoon, the train had been pulled out of service and brought to West Side Yard for inspection. First, the cleaning crew checked the restroom of the car you described, but found it to be in good working order. The cleaners then checked under all the seats, lifting each seat cushion in turn. They found that someone had stuffed a bag containing vomit under a seat cushion. We believe this was the cause of the foul odor.

They did not find the milky film on seats that you referred to. The car was cleaned and deodorized. The remainder of the train was then cleaned.

As information, given the high degree of utilization of our fleet, it is not always possible to clean our trains between every run. However, all trains are swept and mopped at least once during every 24-hour period. Train restrooms are cleaned and re-stocked daily. All cars are given a top-to-bottom heavy-duty cleaning every 90 days.

We appreciate your bringing this matter to our attention and in particular, we thank you for providing the car number, which allowed us to speed the response by our cleaners. We hope that your future travels with the LIRR will be more pleasant.