I suggest you ask Amtrak directly if tipping is required rather than follow the self proclaimed tipping experts on the internet. Remember tipping is a 100% voluntary act in the USA.What are the guidelines for tipping on Amtrak trains?
Who do you tip and how much?
I'm in a sleeper car in a roomette for my entire trip that spans 3 trains.
Thanks for the help.
Gotta love the passive aggressive angsty teenager attitude that results in deliberately poor service as punishment for paying customers.Remember that the same crew will serve all your meals for the entire trip - and they remember. So if you stiff them the first meal, you may not receive good service for each meal.
These days Amtrak meal service has been degraded and simplified to the point that there is almost nothing an Amtrak server can do to reward or penalize you regardless of how much you tip or not. What are they going to do? Make you a fresher meal? Upgrade your side dish? Make you a stronger drink? Their hands are already tied so reducing or increasing your tip isn't going to change anything of relevance.Or if you tip well the first meal, your service may improve at later meals.
I usually travel by Amtrak in only one direction per trip. The other direction is usually a flight. That makes bringing a cooler a nonstarter for me. I don't generally need much from an SCA but I still tipped $10 each day just for making ice available overnight. When they got rid of the self service ice and cranberry juice cocktail I started running out of excuses to keep tipping.Also they ask if I need some ice for a little cooler I carry. That ups the tip to $10 per night.
Amtrak food seems to range from retirement home quality to sports arena quality. I don't normally tip in either of those situations so I'm not sure what sort of range to use. Maybe I'm just overthinking it? h34r:In the diner, tip according to the service provided and the tipping standards for a comparable meal in a stationary restaurant. Don't complicate it.
Also, service employees on Amtrak make an actual wage versus the "tipping wage" that restaurant waiters make in the US.I suggest you ask Amtrak directly if tipping is required rather than follow the self proclaimed tipping experts on the internet. Remember tipping is a 100% voluntary act in the USA.What are the guidelines for tipping on Amtrak trains?
Who do you tip and how much?
I'm in a sleeper car in a roomette for my entire trip that spans 3 trains.
Thanks for the help.
I have seen this happen far too often on my Amtrak trips. This is nothing but entitlement on the part of the OBS. Restaurant waiters are paid less than minimum wage and customers are expected to make up for it with tips, but Amtrak OBS are full time employees who get paid decent wages and benefits, so technically there is no reason why they should expect tips.I know there are OBS people who keep a mental file of the good tippers vs. the bad ones, and I know some of them adjust their subsequent service levels accordingly.
Honestly the number one thing that bothers me about the dining car isn't how they treat me but rather how they treat new customers. I already know the ropes because I've been riding Amtrak on and off for as long as I can remember. But brand new passengers don't know anything about the dining car setup and it's perfectly normal for them to be confused and unsure what to do. I really dislike it when the dining car staff snap and bark at people for not following a rule they didn't even know existed. I also hate it when the staff witness some minor mistake or misunderstanding and then take it upon themselves to shout at the rest of the car or even get on the PA and berate the entire train about it.So ask yourself whether they served you promptly and pleasantly. Did they pay attention to you? Did they explain if there was any kind of problem or delay in service? Did they treat you as if they were happy to see you, or did they treat you like you were an unwelcome interruption? If you had any complaints, did they address them promptly and to your satisfaction?
Compared to most jobs in the US today Amtrak staff are very well paid and receive extremely rare benefits that most industries and positions do not offer under any circumstances. I don't want to take those benefits away from them, but the idea that average Americans with typical American jobs should expect to tip Amtrak staff on top of their relatively high wages and exceptional benefits is a bit like a manager expecting to be tipped by his subordinates.I have seen this happen far too often on my Amtrak trips. This is nothing but entitlement on the part of the OBS. Restaurant waiters are paid less than minimum wage and customers are expected to make up for it with tips, but Amtrak OBS are full time employees who get paid decent wages and benefits, so technically there is no reason why they should expect tips. Do you guys tip flight attendants on airplanes? They also serve food and drinks, so why not? Expecting tips just for doing your job, oh if only it worked that way in other industries. I am a software developer and I will deploy good code for you if you tip me, else I will deploy code with bugs... hmm doesn't work that way, does it?I know there are OBS people who keep a mental file of the good tippers vs. the bad ones, and I know some of them adjust their subsequent service levels accordingly.
Why not? Flight attendants on long-haul flights also do up to 18 hours in a cramped plane, get a couple days break like the Amtrak staff does, and do another equally long flight again. What makes Amtrak OBS so special that they need to be tipped?You can't compare an Amtrak OBS worker's long hours away from home with the working conditions of a worker in a stationary restaurant, or even a flight attendant who might spend a few hours in the air on a typical flight.
Sure I can not tip, but then I have to deal with grumpy OBS. My comment was not directed at you, it is for the newbies, like the person who started this thread- tipping is optional but if you want good service from the on-board staff, you will have to tip them. Go one day with tips and one day without tips and see how quickly the onboard staff behavior towards you will change!Look, if you don't want to tip, just don't. You don't HAVE to, and I never said you did.
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