Dining car recommended tipping and Amtrak personnel

[RickIronton]

Some diners tip nothing. Others tip 15-20 % of bill.

I usually tip $2-3. Why?

If the dining staff was paid the national minimum wage for tipped employess which is less than half of hourly wage earners, then I would tip 15-20 % but the dining staff is paid full hourly wages plus benefits.

So, why should they be over compensated as if they were a wait person at a local restaurant? And, please, don't tell me that they work under extremely harsh

conditions with the rough tracks. I just came back from a trip on the City of New Orleans and none of the wait staff went out of their way. They curtly seated us; rushed our order and were slow to respond to any requests. Such service in a local restaurant would have meant dismissal but not on Amtrak.

We members of this blog are too soon to make excuses for less than acceptable service.

Surprisingly, the conductor of the train voluntarily, expressed his displeasure with the staff on board. He lamented that he was powerless to improve their performance. I really think he could have been more forceful in getting better performance.

The more we express our lack of acceptance for bad service of Amtrak personnel, the sooner the service will improve.

I've written to Amtrak concerning my City of New Orleans service. I suggest all of us start complimenting Amtrak directly with pleasurable reviews and when bad service was encountered, let them know.

 

[Rail Freak]

IMO, everyone should tip what they believe is fair, that's what I do!!!

Give me good service - I give you good tip, pretty simple & to the point!!!

 

[ronkstevens]

Some diners tip nothing. Others tip 15-20 % of bill.

I usually tip $2-3. Why?

If the dining staff was paid the national minimum wage for tipped employess which is less than half of hourly wage earners, then I would tip 15-20 % but the dining staff is paid full hourly wages plus benefits.

So, why should they be over compensated as if they were a wait person at a local restaurant?

I am known to over tip and usually still give 15% even for mediocre service. I like tipping employees that properly take care of me while they provide me service. However, I have always struggled with giving 20% on a train for this very reason: The server is making union wages with all of the benefits included in such an agreement, which is considerably different than someone making $4 an hour with no benefits and relying on their good service and tips to earn their wages.

 

[FormerOBS]

I'll say one thing about the wages: Yes, the Amtrak employee receives union wages for hours WORKED. The Amtrak employee receives no wages at all for the hours when he/she is not on the clock, but is on the train or on layover, several hundred miles from home and subject to being called back into service at any time. If you take the employee's pay and divide it by the number of hours between arrival at work and release to go home, you will get a far lower figure.

I say tip what you believe to be fair, but don't presume that the attendant is rolling in dough. I can't dictate a percentage to you.

 

[Rule G]

A tip should be based on the service that you received.

You shouldn't tip more because you believe a server is making minimum wage or less because you think the server is well compensated.

 

[ronkstevens]

I'll say one thing about the wages: Yes, the Amtrak employee receives union wages for hours WORKED. The Amtrak employee receives no wages at all for the hours when he/she is not on the clock, but is on the train or on layover, several hundred miles from home and subject to being called back into service at any time. If you take the employee's pay and divide it by the number of hours between arrival at work and release to go home, you will get a far lower figure.

I say tip what you believe to be fair, but don't presume that the attendant is rolling in dough. I can't dictate a percentage to you.

Just like a lot of others in the transportation industry. Truck drivers earn very little when you add in all of the time not compensated for.

Trust me, I know that nobody in the service industry is rolling in dough.

Do servers need to split their tips with the cook or LSA, similar to land-based restaurant servers having to split their tips with bussers or the matre' d?

 

[FormerOBS]

Chefs receive a slightly higher hourly wage. In my experience, chefs usually do receive a share of the tips, but it is not usually an equal share. Each crew has its own arrangement, so I can't be very specific. In most cases, the chefs receive a predetermined amount of money from the tips, and the servers split the rest. This normally means that the chef, whose base pay is higher, receives less tip money. Occasionally, tips are so poor that the chef receives more. SCA's who serve meals in rooms sometimes (not always) share tips with chefs, using their own judgment to determine the amount.

Tom

 

[Paul CHI]

I tip 10-20% using the menu price for the meal.

It's usually closer to 10% because the quality of Amtrak diner service usually falls far short of normal restaurant service. Little things annoy me, like throwing plates on the table instead of "placing" them there. Running out of food doesn't help, either. I know that's not the server's fault, but it diminishes the quality of service overall. It would help if they would have the courtesy to tell me before ordering what they are out of.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

A tip should be based on the service that you received. You shouldn't tip more because you believe a server is making minimum wage or less because you think the server is well compensated.

I don't think tipping has hard and fast rules like that. Tip whatever you want for whatever reasons you find relevant. I've tipped anywhere from 0% to 100% over the years for any number of reasons that seemed important at that time. The main factor that's working against Amtrak staff is that they don't have many tools and options for exceeding customer expectations or handling special requests with exceptional service. My largest tips are often the result of special requests that were executed with polish and precision. The simpler the restaurant the less I feel inclined to tip. Unfortunately for Amtrak staff making a special request on board is kind of pointless since there's only so much they can accomplish with what little they have available to them. I wouldn't expect that to change either. French, English, German, and Japanese trains all have food services that are even more limited than Amtrak.

 

[rrdude]

Some diners tip nothing. Others tip 15-20 % of bill.

I usually tip $2-3. Why?

If the dining staff was paid the national minimum wage for tipped employess which is less than half of hourly wage earners, then I would tip 15-20 % but the dining staff is paid full hourly wages plus benefits.

So, why should they be over compensated as if they were a wait person at a local restaurant? And, please, don't tell me that they work under extremely harsh

conditions with the rough tracks. I just came back from a trip on the City of New Orleans and none of the wait staff went out of their way. They curtly seated us; rushed our order and were slow to respond to any requests. Such service in a local restaurant would have meant dismissal but not on Amtrak.

We members of this blog are too soon to make excuses for less than acceptable service.

Surprisingly, the conductor of the train voluntarily, expressed his displeasure with the staff on board. He lamented that he was powerless to improve their performance. I really think he could have been more forceful in getting better performance.

The more we express our lack of acceptance for bad service of Amtrak personnel, the sooner the service will improve.

I've written to Amtrak concerning my City of New Orleans service. I suggest all of us start complimenting Amtrak directly with pleasurable reviews and when bad service was encountered, let them know.

While I would NEVER apologize for the staff that treated you the way you were on the Crescent recently, I would encourage you to think about the fact that while on the train, the staff are "captive" and away from home for extended periods of time, completely unable to see, visit, or be with friends or loved ones, or "go out for a bite to eat, or movie". THAT is why they are paid more than minimum wage, (and union bargaining) and THAT is why they should be tipped as though you were dining in a land-based operation.

I tip 15% to 20%, or LESS, depending upon the service provided. You are DAMN RIGHT I have stiffed a few employees over the years, but they totally deserved it.

 

[NW cannonball]

The whole "tipping" thing goes back to slavery days.

My policy is -- the standard 15% -- IF -- the slave provides the service!

In civilized countries, this "tip" or "bribe" to get the unpaid (or overpaid) slave to have enough to eat -- naah -

Love all places where the "service provider" like restaurant actually pays a decent wage. Not here in the US.

When I'm at degenerate cultures where everybody asks for money, more money, yes you paid, but it will take more money

I pay the restaurant slaves enough tip to make their rent.

In decent cultures, where the "FREE MARKET" rules -- like Japan -- I trust that nobody is working for less than survival wage. Like amtrak employees, have living wage, whenever they treat me bad, which is about 40% of the time, NO TIP.

ZERO.

Damn the whole thing where the owner and master doesn't make the slaves life decent, so the slaves take it out on the customers, and the customers (sometimes) give the slaves a tip.

 

[CoachSlumber]

A tip should be based on the service that you received.

You shouldn't tip more because you believe a server is making minimum wage or less because you think the server is well compensated.

I just disagree. Waiters in restaurants are paid a subminimum wage based on the premise that they earn tips. Amtrak dining staff is paid an actual wage. It is like the difference between waiters in restaurants here and in Europe. In Europe they are compensated for their work by the restaurant and it is not the custom to tip them. Your logic would have us tip everyone we have some business with.

 

[Steve4031]

I usually tip 3-5 per meal. When the service is deliberately rude or indifferent I'll stiff. They know what they are doing and they get what they deserve. When I enter the diner I have positive expectations until I experience different.

 

[FormerOBS]

Can we agree to drop all references to slaves in this context? It seems a bit anachronistic, demeaning, and tasteless, especially to one who has just ended a long career in this service. I was proud and happy to serve my passengers, but I was NEVER their slave. Thank you.

Tom

 

[Aaron]

It seems a bit anachronistic, demeaning, and tasteless,

These are the exact words used by many to describe the concept of tipping.

The over-reliance on tipping in our culture actually has a disproportionate negative effect on many minorities. I do not believe that comparisons to slavery are unwarranted if they help to illuminate the detrimental effect that this custom has on our society at large.

 

[PRae_Train]

These are the exact words used by many to describe the concept of tipping.

That doesn't make it right. I cringed when reading it.

Edited to correct the pasted quote.

 

[XHRTSP]

I hate stepping into racial politics, but the trends are in fact that minorities get tipped less on average. For that reason alone if I were Emporer of the US I'd end all minimum wage exceptions.* Anyway, as one transportation worker use to being 'out in the system' to another, I'll absolutely tip on board service personnel for doing a good job.

*I'd also bring back several LD trains and Firefly.

 

[rrdude]

The whole "tipping" thing goes back to slavery days.

My policy is -- the standard 15% -- IF -- the slave provides the service!

In civilized countries, this "tip" or "bribe" to get the unpaid (or overpaid) slave to have enough to eat -- naah -

Love all places where the "service provider" like restaurant actually pays a decent wage. Not here in the US.

When I'm at degenerate cultures where everybody asks for money, more money, yes you paid, but it will take more money

I pay the restaurant slaves enough tip to make their rent.

In decent cultures, where the "FREE MARKET" rules -- like Japan -- I trust that nobody is working for less than survival wage. Like amtrak employees, have living wage, whenever they treat me bad, which is about 40% of the time, NO TIP.

ZERO.

Damn the whole thing where the owner and master doesn't make the slaves life decent, so the slaves take it out on the customers, and the customers (sometimes) give the slaves a tip.

I tell ya this Cannonball, if I'd been your waiter, on a multi-day trip, and you stiffed me at the first seating, I'd still serve you with a smile, and be courteous, but you would be the last to get your order, the last to get your coffee topped off, the last to be seated, etc., etc., and when you asked for something that might have been in stock, but required me to make an extra trip back to the kitchen to get it, "We'd be 'out' of it...." for you at least. Like it or not, tipping food service employees in sit-down restaurants IS PART OF OUR CULTURE, it makes NO DIFFERENCE if the person doing the serving is paid squat, or is paid handsomely. You should tip owners and managers too, if THEY provide the service. (who in turn, in virtually EVERY circumstance, should turn 100% of the tips they received, over to the hourly staff)

 

[jebr]

So should I be stiffing customers on a daily basis because virtually none of them give me an extra monetary tip for it?

 

[Rule G]

A tip should be based on the service that you received.

You shouldn't tip more because you believe a server is making minimum wage or less because you think the server is well compensated.

I just disagree. Waiters in restaurants are paid a subminimum wage based on the premise that they earn tips. Amtrak dining staff is paid an actual wage. It is like the difference between waiters in restaurants here and in Europe. In Europe they are compensated for their work by the restaurant and it is not the custom to tip them. Your logic would have us tip everyone we have some business with.

Please please, tell your Amtrak server who has been away from home for several days and worked 3 meal periods per day that you are not tipping them because you think they are making enough money.

That way they wont't think you are a cheapskate... just uncaring.

 

[FormerOBS]

I'm not sure about the historical reference. I don't know whether tipping is a vestige of the days of involuntary servitude. What I do know is that tipping is a way for a happy customer to tell a person that he appreciates the quality of the service provided. If I knew I had done a good job and still received no tip, I always tried to avoid thinking that I knew the customer's thoughts because that would be a good way to poison my own mind. Maybe the person forgot to bring extra money; maybe they didn't know tipping is traditional; maybe I inadvertently offended the person and didn't know it; maybe the customer has a personal problem that distracted him and caused him to forget. At the very bottom of that list is the notion that he's just a cheapskate and I can't do anything about it. That last one isn't worth dwelling on.

To me, I always tried to do my best, although I have to admit that I, like everybody else, sometimes had a bad day. When the tips came, I appreciated it because it helped me to pay my bills, or it helped me to afford something that I would otherwise have had to do without. It was a visible, tactile symbol of the customer's appreciation. I tried to forget about those who didn't tip because I believe bearing a grudge over something like that is way too much mental baggage for an adult to carry around.

Tom

 

[D.P. Roberts]

I tell ya this Cannonball, if I'd been your waiter, on a multi-day trip, and you stiffed me at the first seating, I'd still serve you with a smile, and be courteous, but you would be the last to get your order, the last to get your coffee topped off, the last to be seated, etc., etc., and when you asked for something that might have been in stock, but required me to make an extra trip back to the kitchen to get it, "We'd be 'out' of it...." for you at least. Like it or not, tipping food service employees in sit-down restaurants IS PART OF OUR CULTURE, it makes NO DIFFERENCE if the person doing the serving is paid squat, or is paid handsomely. You should tip owners and managers too, if THEY provide the service. (who in turn, in virtually EVERY circumstance, should turn 100% of the tips they received, over to the hourly staff)

I often take multi-day trips, and we tip as well or better than anyone we've ever dined with (for every meal). Our dining car attendants have often smiled, and have sometimes been courteous. We've often been the last to get our orders, last to be seated, and they always run out of stuff right before we order.

I've never noticed that tipping makes a difference to anybody anywhere on Amtrak. Some employees seem determined to do a bad job no matter what; many others seem just as determined to do a good job no matter what.

 

[FormerOBS]

At the risk of being presumptuous, may I suggest that they may have seated you last because you were the last ones to arrive in the diner to be seated? That's the way it would have worked on my train. That's probably also why you were the last to be served your meals. And since all the earlier arriving passengers wanted the same thing you wanted, it makes sense that they might have run out of that item about the time you arrived. The supplies of any one menu item are not limitless.

For my part, I never adjusted my service to reflect the tip I expected from an individual. It wasn't worth the effort, and I was as likely to be wrong as right in guessing how each passenger would tip.

Nobody singled you out for Special Abuse. They don't have the time, the energy, nor the inclination.

 

[greatcats]

I am happy to tip well for good service, which is usually the case. Mediocre tip for so so service. This was not in the dining car, but I had an uncooperative SCA last year, which I have documented previously. I always tip those folks something, but she received zip and a complaint was made.