Tipping

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C

Chris

Joined
May 26, 2003
Messages
5
Hi all,

I have two questions, first what is the correct amount to tip the dining

car staff, and what is the correct amount/how often to tip the sleeping

car steward???

Thanks,

Chris
 
Tipping in the dining room is just like a restaurant, 15-20%, more for excellant food and service, less if it is subpar. The usual rate for sleeping attendant is $5.00 per person per night. Again, more or less depending on attentiveness and service. Where is Amtrak taking you may I ask? Spot.
 
Hi Spot,

Thanks for replying. We are doing the fly-rail thing from San Francisco

to New York City in late August. Taking the Lake Shore Limited to Chicago

and the Zephyr to Emeryville. On tipping the steward, is it like a cruise ship, at the end of the trip, or do you tip the steward everyday?

Thanks,
 
Usually we'll (my mom, brother and I) leave a couple of dollars on the table in the diner after each meal. We usually give the sleeper attendant a twenty (give or take depending on service).
 
It is best to tip in the dining car on a meal by meal basis, as it generally leaves a bad impression with the Dining Car staff if they don't recieve a tip. As for your Sleeping car attendant it generally occurs at the end of the trip. There are a few thing to do and not to do with this area though. First, do NOT say "I'll take care of you at the end of the trip," as you will get about zero service until the end of the trip. If you tip at the beginning of the trip you will either get outstanding service, or relatively none depending on the size of it. One good way to do it is to break it up, maybe a ten at the beginning, a five for the beds, and maybe a little something at the end of the trip. But, if you do it this way, make sure you do it like you would at a resturant, with the handshake. If you get a drink in the lounge car, .50-.75 cents per transaction is generally appreciated. While you should recieve good service no matter what, a tip is a large part of their income.
 
I find tipping $2 per meal, per person is the average for Sleeping Car passengers are ready getting complimentary meals. In the Sleeping Car, I would tip at the end the trip as you detrain. About $5 per night, minus a few dollars for poor service, or an addition for excellent service. Don't feel obligated to tip in the Dining Car or your Sleeping Car attendant if service is out right rude and unhelpful.
 
If I am in sleeper, of course my meals are free. But I do leave about $2 for breakfast, at least $3 for dinner (or more if service is really good). Point being I tip sort of based on what I would do if the meals were being paid for. Since dinner is usually more expensive I tip more then.

I have never tipped a sleeping car attendant at any time but at the end of the trip as I step off. Only exception has been in Canada since they changed out crews completely halfway across the country( or did 30 years ago).

But I usually tip about $5 per night in sleeper. But I have tipped as little as zero and as much as $20 for extra good or extra bad service. (and often write letters for exceptionally good or bad service, as well).

I do realize that in some cases tipping is a big part of somebodys income---but they should realize that themsevles, and give at least average service. They have more to gain by it than have I. .
 
:D Here's a little tip on tipping! I use $1 Sacagewega coins and $2 bills when I travel anywhere. Makes a lasting impression!! I've found out that if the staff remembers you, service gets better! :D :D
 
Bill Haithcoat said:
I do realize that in some cases tipping is a big part of somebodys income---but they should realize that themsevles, and give at least average  service. They have more to gain by it than have I. .
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I certainly agree with this. I think basic services like making up a bed should be expected without without having to tip at the beginning of a trip. Relatively prompt and courteous service deserves a "standard" tip of $5 per person per night, payable when disembarking. Any service beyond that can deserve more but it's really the attitude of the attendant that would make me more inclined to give them a little more or a little less. Questions like, "How is everything going for you?" or "Is there anything I can get for you?" during the entire trip mean a lot. On my most recent trip aboard the CZ, I saw the attendant when I boarded but he was hardly ever to be found the rest of the trip and certainly at no time when I specifically wanted him.

seajay
 
piedpiper13 said:
Here's a little tip on tipping!  I use $1 Sacagewega coins and $2 bills when I travel anywhere.  Makes a lasting impression!!  I've found out that if the staff remembers you, service gets better!
Click to expand...
I love the $2 bill idea. I am going to use it. Last year I didn't tip, I actually didn't realize I was suppose to. It was my first train expirence (not counting the 5th grade field trip a gazillion years ago). I know better now.

:D 3 more weeks until I board the Coast Starlight :D

Thanks for the great tip!

Diane
 
Tipping has become a required 'curse' of our society. Keep in mind that most food service personnel are 'minimum wage' and depend on tips for income. Amtrak dining personnel (and car/sleeper attendants) are UNION personnel and probably make more than you do. Do you leave a tip in your hotel/motel for the 'minimum wage' maid? If not, why would you tip your highly paid room attendant on the train?
 
pismobum said:
Tipping has become a required 'curse' of our society.  Keep in mind that most food service personnel are 'minimum wage' and depend on tips for income.  Amtrak dining personnel (and car/sleeper attendants) are UNION personnel and probably make more than you do.  Do you leave a tip in your hotel/motel for the 'minimum wage' maid?  If not, why would you tip your highly paid room attendant on the train?
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Pismobum,

I'm sorry but I must respectively disagree with the above. While I'm not a big fan of unions at all (read I’m anti-union), there are still limits to what a union can do.

First a little background. Years ago I worked for JC Penny and after holding several different jobs, I ended up in a supervisory role in my stores accounting office. As such I was privy to certain things that many others were not. One was what the waitresses in the restaurant were making. At that time minimum wage for the regular workers in the store was $3.55 an hour. The starting wage for a waiter/waitress was $1.10 an hour. It’s my understanding that the required minimum for a waiter/waitress is now up to a buck sixty or so. Yes better restaurants may pay their waiters more, so they can attract the best. But even then, most waiters/waitresses still don’t make more per hour (before tips) than the regular federal minimum wage that even a worker for McDonalds makes.

Waiters and waitresses are exempt from the regular minimum wage laws, because they get tips. Therefore no one pays them the standard minimum wage. Even in a union shop, the rules are different for a quote/unquote "regular" worker vs. a worker who depends upon tipping for their livelihood. Yes a waiter/waitress who is in a union may have a higher base rate than a non-union waiter/waitress. But under no circumstances would any waiter/waitress have a starting hourly rate that is equivalent to a worker in a non-tip position. Not even a union can change this simple fact.

Next it might surprise you to know that all Amtrak workers, with the exception of perhaps Amtrak management, are in the unhappy position of being the lowest paid workers in their field. Any Amtrak conductor can go make more money working for a freight company or even on most commuter RR’s. In fact there was a recent article raising concern that many Amtrak workers might actually defect from Amtrak to go work for the new company that will operate Boston’s MBTA commuter RR’s. Why, simply because those with seniority can make more money with the MBTA.

Now I’m not personally privy to just how much a sleeping car attendant makes per hour. In fact I’m not even sure if they get paid by the hour or by the trip. However knowing what a typical Amtrak conductor or engineer makes, I seriously doubt that a sleeping car attendant is making the same amount of money. The same would also be true for a dining car attendant. There is simply no way that any union is going to get substantially more money out of Amtrak for such a position than they could get out of any other restaurant or hotel. According to a few reliable sources that I’ve got, the average salary for an assistant conductor is around $35,000 per year, assuming that he/she works 40 hours a week with no overtime.

Next you should also be considering that unlike a typical waiter/waitress, Amtrak’s work three meals a day. Often from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM with only a few breaks during the day. Not to mention most waiters/waitresses don't have to balance their tray of food or drinks while the resturant is moving at close to 80 miles an hour.

A sleeping car attendant is technically on duty 24 hours a day until the train reaches it’s final destination. How many maids can claim that? He's also responsible for making sure that the passengers in his care get on and off at the correct stops. Additionally he's charged with their safety. Finally most maids don't have to serve the elderly and/or handicapped their meals in their rooms. They have room service, a sleeping car attendant is the room service.

Finally if the temptation of being rewarded for a job well done gets me better service, then I’m all for that. In fact I just left the biggest tip I’ve ever given a sleeping car attendant for the attendant I had on my return on the AT. Even without the slightest hint that I would reward him, this gentleman went way out of his way to make my family comfortable and happy. He was truly a gem for Amtrak and I was quite happy to reward him for his efforts.

If you don’t give me good service, well then you loose.

By the way I usually do leave a tip for the maid in a hotel room if they’ve done a good job. :)
 
Thanks, Alan. I, for one, needed just that perspective of the whole wage/related thing. I will be a better tipper than ever in the future. Also, I hope you wrote a letter of commendation on that particular sleeping car attendant. I always do that(for good and for bad).
 
In my opinion, tips should not be counted into an emplyees wage and everyone, no matter what the job, should be paid at least $6.75 per hour. My family and/or I always leave 20% tips at resteraunts and about $5 per night at hotels. I try to be as generous as possible on the train as well, but when service is a bit shaky, I often feel reluctant to do so.
 
Amfleet said:
I try to be as generous as possible on the train as well, but when service is a bit shaky, I often feel reluctant to do so.
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And there is nothing wrong with that. That's the whole point of tipping, to encourage better performance from the worker. If you don't get good service then that employee takes a pay cut.

It's just like someone who works on commission, they will work harder knowing that they don't get that commission if they don't make the sale.
 
Here is how attendant overtime works. Every attendant is given 150 hours a month under which they will be paid at the normal rate (10 extra hours are given because of late trains). After that 150 hours they go to overtime rate of time and a half. Also, BNSF 1088, the overtime rule at BNSF may be stated that way, but I'm pretty sure Amtrak goes to time and a half once you go over forty hours in a week, or you work an emergency assignment if you are holding a regular job.
 
This stuff is quite simple. Tip in the diner as you would any restaurant. Except, remember that you're probably traveling up a steep slope of the Rockies, or down into the desert. So....the fact that the serving crew is having to heave to and fro while asking and delivering should, at least in my mind, be worth more. At least a 20% tip, if the service was acceptable. If not, lower accordingly. But always remember, the crew is dealing with bumps and grinds unlike any restaurant out there. They're trying to cook in tunnels and on windy passes. Unlike anything your local TGIFriday's crew will ever experience. The fact that your meals are figured into your sleeping car $$$$$ should have absolutely nothing to do with it.

Tip $5.00 per person per bed per night, unless you never see your sleeping car attendant, which has actually happened to me on more than one occasion. These folks should be rewarded, when rewarding is due. They should not be rewarded for shurking duties however.

If the showers have clean towels.....if you have fresh coffee in the morning......if you are helped on and off the train, and your beds are put down and up, pay up. Don't play games about a little before or after. Just say thank you and hand him or her a nice wad of cash. If all of us did this, our experience would, I'm betting, would be a whole lot better.

(unregistered) Frank
 
One thing I have noticed is how many people DON'T tip in the dining car. They enjoy their meal, make multiple requests to the server, and then just leave like it's beneath them to tip. And these are folks that probably tip without fail in a restaurant. What is different about the train? I probably over-tip at times, but when you see how those folks hustle (usually) and what they often put up with, it's hard not to. And when you come back for your second or third meal of a trip, you are often rewarded with an extra smile and prompt drink refills. I suppose when I eventually experience a bad server my opinions might change - but for now I'm a firm believer in tipping.
 

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