What is the proper tip for a Sleeping Car Attendent?

[Phila 30th St]

Last weekend I rode the Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to Portland, OR with my Father. We shared a Viewliner Bedroom and had a very friendly and helpful sleeping car attendent named Jamie. He gave us turndown service right when we asked, knew how to be helpful without being around too much and offered help with our bags. He was very good at materializing right when we needed him. We tipped him $20 once we got to Portland. Was this enough? Is there a standard rate for tips that I should know about for my next trip?

 

[MrEd]

I think $20 is enough.

There is no standard, people tip all different amounts.

 

[AlanB]

A general guideline is $5 per person/per night. But that is just a guideline and nothing more. You can and should vary the tip based upon the service provided and just how pleasantly it was provided. In your case, you certainly got good service so I might have actually gone a bit higher for him, but still what you gave was more than adequate.

By the way, you were in a Superliner Bedroom, Viewliner's only ply the Eastern half of the country.

 

[Shanghai]

I tip $10.00 for an overnight when I'm alone. It's $20.00 if my wife is with me for an overnight.

 

[Acela150]

I'll normally give between $10-20 depending on how well the LSA treated me and how well that person's service was.

 

[RRrich]

We rode the EB from CHI to PDX - 2 nights - at the rate of $5/person/night wifey and I would have tipped $20 - but our SCA Paul was great, and our bedroom was so very far from the dining car, we had our meals in out room - so Paul got $40

On the CS from PDX to LAX, our SCA never did introduce himself and did NOT wear a name tag - his name might have been Andre or maybe Robert - we called him "the elusive Dre-Bob" We were able to get him to put down & put up our but that was it. He provided coffee but no ice or juice or newspapers. For doing less than the minimum, he got his salary and nothing else from me.

Out LAX on the TE our SCA was Lloyd - He was a high seniority employee - but he busted his a$$ - again, since our bedroom was in a different time zone than the dining car, Lloyd had to bring our meals to our room - $5/night/person??? No way not for a hard worker like Lloyd.

I think the SCAs get a good salary and tips at the rate of $5/night/person add a nice little extra - but good workers like Paul and Lloyd get more than a little bonus!

 

[greatcats]

On my last long distance trip last year, I tipped the attendant on the Lakeshore $10 and on the Capitol $5, which was a bit stingy of me, but as a single travler I neded little service. Both ladies on the Southwest Chief, Anna Maria Vella and Sharon Bauman, received $20 from me, which I gave with a smile. if I was an employere I would want these two working for me.

 

[NS VIA FAN]

Playing the devil’s advocate here……why do people feel obligated to tip a sleeping car attendant? Tradition? Perhaps it might have been in “older” times but these are now Union jobs paying a decent wage. If the attendant greats me at the car door and makes up my room, he is just doing his job. I go to work in the morning and don’t expect to be tipped at the end of the day. But if that attendant does provide an extra service like bringing meals to my room etc I would certainly take that into consideration and tip accordingly.

 

[Upstate]

Playing the devil’s advocate here……why do people feel obligated to tip a sleeping car attendant? Tradition? Perhaps it might have been in “older” times but these are now Union jobs paying a decent wage. If the attendant greats me at the car door and makes up my room, he is just doing his job. I go to work in the morning and don’t expect to be tipped at the end of the day. But if that attendant does provide an extra service like bringing meals to my room etc I would certainly take that into consideration and tip accordingly.

+1

 

[RRrich]

Although I increase the tip if the attendant brings me meals, I think that is just part of his job like making the bed.

 

[AAARGH!]

Playing the devil's advocate here……why do people feel obligated to tip a sleeping car attendant? Tradition? Perhaps it might have been in "older" times but these are now Union jobs paying a decent wage. If the attendant greats me at the car door and makes up my room, he is just doing his job. I go to work in the morning and don't expect to be tipped at the end of the day. But if that attendant does provide an extra service like bringing meals to my room etc I would certainly take that into consideration and tip accordingly.

+1

What does that mean?

 

[AlanB]

Playing the devil's advocate here……why do people feel obligated to tip a sleeping car attendant? Tradition? Perhaps it might have been in "older" times but these are now Union jobs paying a decent wage. If the attendant greats me at the car door and makes up my room, he is just doing his job. I go to work in the morning and don't expect to be tipped at the end of the day. But if that attendant does provide an extra service like bringing meals to my room etc I would certainly take that into consideration and tip accordingly.

+1

What does that mean?

It means that he agrees wtih NS VIA Fan. He's adding one vote to that statement.

 

[AAARGH!]

Playing the devil's advocate here……why do people feel obligated to tip a sleeping car attendant? Tradition? Perhaps it might have been in "older" times but these are now Union jobs paying a decent wage. If the attendant greats me at the car door and makes up my room, he is just doing his job. I go to work in the morning and don't expect to be tipped at the end of the day. But if that attendant does provide an extra service like bringing meals to my room etc I would certainly take that into consideration and tip accordingly.

+1

What does that mean?

It means that he agrees wtih NS VIA Fan. He's adding one vote to that statement.

OH.

In that case...

-1 :blink:

I don't care what they are being paid, if I recieve good service, I tip. This is one of the jobs you tip IMHO. I see it as reinforcing good behavior, even though it should be expected to begin with. It is a gesture of appreciation.

 

[Upstate]

This is one of the jobs you tip IMHO.

So how do you determine what jobs receive a tip?

 

[Bob Dylan]

When traveling I tip according to the service provided, and the Attitude of the person involved. As we know these are not easy jobs, but having to constantly ask OBS to perform the basics of their jobs (take the orders/bring the food/put the beds up-down/ensure towels,coffee,juice etc. are available, help with boarding/de-boarding,luggage etc. are the basics that are expected. )Introducing yourself, showing first time riders how the system works etc. is what a good SCA does, checking on the pax regularly is also appreciated! I have seen pretty much all the various types of OBS you can encounter and IMHO the old timers and the newer ones generally do the best jobs, especially, gasp, the females!

Ive tipped anywhere from one cent (much more telling than nothing!)to $50 for exceptional service! Even though they are Union jobs, most of us wouldnt want to do these jobs, and we probably even have made/make more and dont have to live on the trains and cheap motels while away from home for days @ a time! All jobs become routine and have their bad points, there are a few saints you run across but most folks are hard working, regular people who appreciate being recognized for doing a good job! The few a**holes we encounter are the exceptions, hence the 1 cent tips!!

 

[AAARGH!]

This is one of the jobs you tip IMHO.

So how do you determine what jobs receive a tip?

I dunno. I just know. It's customary.

Food servers (waiters/waitresses), SCA's (porters in the old days), hotel / parking lot shuttle drivers who help with your luggage, airport curb-side baggage handlers, red-caps, valets (sp?), hookers :huh: , bell-hops, bathroom attendants (though I hate giving tips there), pizza delivery drivers, and taxi drivers. I can't think of others off-hand, but there may be more.

I don't tip doormen, but I may be wrong about that. I usually don't go places where there are doormen.

 

[DET63]

What is the proper tip for a Sleeping Car Attendent?

Well, if the market looks to be going down, I would tell them to sell. If the market is going up, I would recommend buying.

Oh, we're not talking about that kind of tipping?

(At least the question wasn't about tripping the SCA . . .)

 

[AlanB]

See now I usually tell them not to take any wooden nickles. :lol:

 

[Rob_C]

Or better yet, when is the proper time to trip a sleeping car attendant? :lol:

 

[greatcats]

I have been a tour bus driver in Arizona and Alaska. These are not considered " tipped positions " but we do get them in a sort of " don't ask, don't tell " scenario. Certainly not everybody tips in these situations. I put myself into my job and give the best service I possibly can, with enthusiasm. I have had busloads who have produced a healthy total, and busloads who have tipped nothing, which, frankly, is disheartening. I have gotten away from viewing tips with dollar sign eyeballs, but it is an indicator of the appreciation of the job I do.

 

[GG-1]

Aloha

I see this as an easy question/answer. Give Someone a tip/gratuity according to how you feel their service was ballanced by what you would want If you were providing the same service.

I like Jimhudson's comment about the penny making a statement. I once had a waitress in a Utah Holiday Inn that I left a penny in an upside down glass of water to show my discuss of her treatment of a black coworker I had dinner with from Ice Cadades. This was in the show hotel across from the Morman Tabernacle. Camile did not deserve to be ignored. She would have starved if I hadn't joined her. :angry2:

 

[jmbgeg]

Last weekend I rode the Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to Portland, OR with my Father. We shared a Viewliner Bedroom and had a very friendly and helpful sleeping car attendent named Jamie. He gave us turndown service right when we asked, knew how to be helpful without being around too much and offered help with our bags. He was very good at materializing right when we needed him. We tipped him $20 once we got to Portland. Was this enough? Is there a standard rate for tips that I should know about for my next trip?

Sidebar question: On a multiple day trip (e.g. SEA-CHI) do you tip each day or at the end?

 

[Rob_C]

I came close to tipping an Ambus driver. He did his job, and was pleasant, but didn't do anything special, or noteworthy. I couldn't fault him, and if I was generous enough to tip everyone for *doing their job* I probably would have. He seemed like a nice enough guy.

I felt really bad afterward for not tipping him, but at the same time I didn't see an overwhelming reason to either. If tipping is just there to clear ones conscious, or to thank someone for not being rude and actually doing their job then maybe the whole system needs to be re-examined. Am I alone in this thinking?

 

[Konrad]

I came close to tipping an Ambus driver. He did his job, and was pleasant, but didn't do anything special, or noteworthy. I couldn't fault him, and if I was generous enough to tip everyone for *doing their job* I probably would have. He seemed like a nice enough guy.
I felt really bad afterward for not tipping him, but at the same time I didn't see an overwhelming reason to either. If tipping is just there to clear ones conscious, or to thank someone for not being rude and actually doing their job then maybe the whole system needs to be re-examined. Am I alone in this thinking?

No, absolutely not.

Tip for special service, not for what you expect as a minimum.

Tipping in America is a minefield which only the recipients enjoy.

And here's a tip -

JOIN A UNION.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

I came close to tipping an Ambus driver. He did his job, and was pleasant, but didn't do anything special, or noteworthy. I couldn't fault him, and if I was generous enough to tip everyone for *doing their job* I probably would have. He seemed like a nice enough guy.
I felt really bad afterward for not tipping him, but at the same time I didn't see an overwhelming reason to either. If tipping is just there to clear ones conscious, or to thank someone for not being rude and actually doing their job then maybe the whole system needs to be re-examined. Am I alone in this thinking?

No, absolutely not.

Tip for special service, not for what you expect as a minimum.

Tipping in America is a minefield which only the recipients enjoy.

And here's a tip -

JOIN A UNION.

heres a better tip. stop telling us how to tip. we will tip how we want. don't like it don't come to America.