Hostile Dining Car Attendants

[JRR]

Don't tell us. We can't do a thing about them. Tell Amtrak!

And don't forget there may be more than a single Amtrak employee named Justin or Eggie.

I've said this before to you and I'm going to say it again. When someone mentions a bad experience they've had on Amtrak, they are not asking you to magically solve their problems. They are just discussing their experience.

Coby, some people do come here thinking it's an Amtrak site. In this particular case, the OP knows exwe're not Amtrak.

That is true. In fact, I accidentally found this site/app while looking for the Amtrak app. Looked it and joined.

 

[Charles785]

The experiences of Margo and cpotisch do hit home for me. It does seem like there is a higher percentage of dining car servers with attitude problems than you would expect to find in the customer service business. At least that has been my experience - and yes, I do report them to Amtrak Customer Relations, and I do hope that does some good.

But why do we find these surly employees in Amtrak dining cars in the first place? And why can't they be fired when they receive customer complaints? Those with negative attitude problems certainly wouldn't last very long in the restaurants with which I'm familiar.

It seems to me that those waiters like the ones Margo and cpotisch described - and like I, myself, have experienced, seem to think they're doing me a favor by just walking over to my dining car table. Frankly, I come away from those experiences thinking that those waiters, for some reason, feel like they don't have to extend themselves, they don't have to smile and thank their customers for their business, and I even get the impression they feel they can't be fired for their lack of customer empathy.

 

[Sauve850]

I like others have had good and bad in the dining car. Mostly good though. I write or call each trip about both good and bad employees and I get last names. Middle of the road employees get no mention by me.

 

[CAMISSY55]

I think insufficient training and lack of an onboard chain of supervision is at root of why this kind of behavior persists.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I think insufficient training and lack of an onboard chain of supervision is at root of why this kind of behavior persists.

Plus indifference on the part of the Suits, whose answer through the years when problems were reported was "Issue Vouchers!"

 

[railiner]

Ever since "the government", (Amtrak), started hiring OBS, I believe a corporate "culture of entitlement" developed and some employees felt "untouchable", except for the most egregious cases, pretty much true, IMHO.

As said, there have been notable cases to the contrary, but these individual's over time might succumb to peer pressure, in a negative way. Unfortunately, the best leave and find better jobs, and the worst.....well they stick around.....

 

[Devil's Advocate]

As said, there have been notable cases to the contrary, but these individual's over time might succumb to peer pressure, in a negative way. Unfortunately, the best leave and find better jobs, and the worst.....well they stick around.....

You see the same thing with flight attendants.

 

[Everydaymatters]

It's been so many years since there were Crew Chiefs on the trains that I can't remember how the crew was. It must have been ok because nothing stands out. In fact, I know a person who was a Crew Chief. He wrote up his entire crew for "bad attitude". True story, he's a relative.

I don't see them bringing back Crew Chiefs, but it worked a lot better than what's been going on.

 

[KleShreen]

I took the WB CZ in August and the dining car attendants tried to make the best of a bad situation, as they had the wrong dining car and a limited menu, but you could tell they were frustrated throughout the entire trip.

On the SB CS I took, though, all the dining car attendants were very pleasant and helpful.

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

Why are some of the Dining car attendants so rude and hostile?

Could it have slowly developed after being stiffed on tips by so many customers? How much do you usually leave (say on the Sunset Limited or the California Zephyr)? 15% or more of the menu price of your full meal?

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Why are some of the Dining car attendants so rude and hostile?

Could it have slowly developed after being stiffed on tips by so many customers? How much do you usually leave (say on the Sunset Limited or the California Zephyr)? 15% or more of the menu price of your full meal?

So you're wondering if employees who already enjoy much higher salaries than most service staff and vastly better benefits than most Americans are treating us poorly as some sort of retribution for insufficient tipping? They're already at the top of the front line service industry food chain and it's still not enough? By its very nature a gratuity is never guaranteed in advance, so how would you go about "stiffing" someone for a payment that was never promised to them in the first place? Aren't you the father of a daughter who was so insulted at the thought of receiving $1 coins or $2 bills as a tips that she preferred those guests would leave no money at all?

 

[tricia]

Why are some of the Dining car attendants so rude and hostile?

Could it have slowly developed after being stiffed on tips by so many customers? How much do you usually leave (say on the Sunset Limited or the California Zephyr)? 15% or more of the menu price of your full meal?

Sounds like you're blaming employees' rude and hostile behavior on their customers. Please note also that Amtrak pays its staff a decent wage and benefits, unlike land-based restaurants where waitstaff are paid sub-minimum wage and expected to make it up in tips. I understand that working on a train comes with unuusal conditions and demands--but neither that nor any perception of inadequate tips is an adequate excuse for rude or hostile behavior.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Why are some of the Dining car attendants so rude and hostile?

Could it have slowly developed after being stiffed on tips by so many customers? How much do you usually leave (say on the Sunset Limited or the California Zephyr)? 15% or more of the menu price of your full meal?

Sounds like you're blaming employees' rude and hostile behavior on their customers. Please note also that Amtrak pays its staff a decent wage and benefits, unlike land-based restaurants where waitstaff are paid sub-minimum wage and expected to make it up in tips. I understand that working on a train comes with unuusal conditions and demands--but neither that nor any perception of inadequate tips is an adequate excuse for rude or hostile behavior.

I did a little digging based on an old memory and I think the following post may help give us some insight about this particular contributor's view of service staff and their guests...

My kid is now in the restaurant business, and I can tell you that leaving something really odd like a $2 bill is definitely not appreciated. The reality is they can't do anything with such, and because of it, the $2 bill will just get tossed into a drawer or box. Leaving a $2 bill, or a $1 coin, is worse than leaving no tip at all, and writing "FU" on the check. You'll be badly remembered by the table help, if you should ever dare to return.

 

[tricia]

I think we all understand that sometimes staff have a bad day.

However, most folks who've taken Amtrak long distance more than a few times also understand that some staff members are consistently rude and hostile even on a good day. That's a problem that I think must be in Amtrak's power to correct. And it's certainly something that no customer deserves--whether that customer is a good tipper or not.

On the other hand, most Amtrak frequent travelers have also encountered really excellent staff who, even--or especially--in bad circumstances do a great job making travelers as welcome and comfortable as possible. The great staff deserve better than to be making up for the shortcomings of the bad apples.

 

[RSG]

Why are some of the Dining car attendants so rude and hostile?

Could it have slowly developed after being stiffed on tips by so many customers? How much do you usually leave (say on the Sunset Limited or the California Zephyr)? 15% or more of the menu price of your full meal?

As DA & Tricia noted above as well as they and others on many other discussions about this topic, Amtrak OBS employees are not your typical food & beverage and hospitality employees. It's not like they are hustling to make their gratuities reach minimum wage. Tips are gravy, not the meat of their existence. If you give me crappy service and act like I'm an imposition rather than a valued customer, then expecting any gratuity much less a particular percentage is really pushing it.

Amtrak OBS jobs are some of the best in the business, outside of an upscale restaurant or hotel. Challenging, yes; but then some people like a challenge, and those are the people that Amtrak should strive to employ. Unfortunately, as we've seen over and over again, that is not who seem to be onboard many of the trains these days.

A hotel brand of my acquaintance uses the phrase "Delighted to serve!" as part of their branding and customer interaction experience. Yes, it can sound a bit hokey and it can become used in a routine and dismissive manner, but if that or something similar is the goal in employee training and attitude, then it can go a long way towards making the customer experience a positive one. If the attitude is "just putting in time" then that too will show through. It's too bad that the latter phrase is often the customer experience that many Amtrak passengers receive in the current era.

 

[jis]

I have wondered what proportion of Amtrak passengers actually make considerably less than Amtrak OBS crew on an average, and what if any, is their obligation to make Amtrak OBS crew's income even higher by digging into their already smaller kitty of dollars. I know there is a contingent on AU who mindlessly keep peddling the mantra of tip, tip, tip. But there needs to be some rhyme or reason to justify trying to essentially shame people into tipping, even in face of mediocre service, those who possibly already make more than them.

If superior service is provided and one feels grateful enough for same to wish to tip, that is great. But tipping at the end of the day is an individual decision and not a requirement.

 

[Skyline]

I have wondered what proportion of Amtrak passengers actually make considerably less than Amtrak OBS crew on an average, and what if any, is their obligation to make Amtrak OBS crew's income even higher by digging into their already smaller kitty of dollars. I know there is a contingent on AU who mindlessly keep peddling the mantra of tip, tip, tip. But there needs to be some rhyme or reason to justify trying to essentially shame people into tipping, even in face of mediocre service, those who possibly already make more than them.

If superior service is provided and one feels grateful enough for same to wish to tip, that is great. But tipping at the end of the day is an individual decision and not a requirement.

I concur that the wage structure on Amtrak OBS is different than much of the food service industry. But who said tipping on Amtrak is required? I must have missed that post.

If you get decent or better service AND CAN AFFORD IT, tipping is a nice thing to do. But required? Please point us toward that post.

 

[AG1]

Please be careful people ! This thread is in danger of being sidetracked into a tipping debate. Do a search and you will find many posts that turned nasty. I hope a moderator will head this off.

 

[AutoTrDvr]

I have wondered what proportion of Amtrak passengers actually make considerably less than Amtrak OBS crew on an average, and what if any, is their obligation to make Amtrak OBS crew's income even higher by digging into their already smaller kitty of dollars. I know there is a contingent on AU who mindlessly keep peddling the mantra of tip, tip, tip. But there needs to be some rhyme or reason to justify trying to essentially shame people into tipping, even in face of mediocre service, those who possibly already make more than them.

If superior service is provided and one feels grateful enough for same to wish to tip, that is great. But tipping at the end of the day is an individual decision and not a requirement.

And, in some cases/countries, tipping is actually an "insult." Don't ever tip in Japan unless the service was "totally extreme."

When traveling on the Auto Train, I would tip my car attendant $10.00 per one way trip. But that was for specific reasons. I had specific requirements in re: managing sleep. Of course, Thus, when I first met my attendant, I would ask them for a favor... Of course they always ask you, "What time would you like your bed made up?" And they usually would try to do it while you were at dinner. But, because of my crazy sleep schedule, and the need to ensure the environment match the activity (I never enter my bedroom at home unless/until it's time to sleep and I leave it as soon as I'm up and dressed), I would ask the attendant just to drop me a set of sheets / blanket, etc. on to the couch, and then "have themselves a good evening." The test being, will they enforce Amtrak's policy that only they can drop down the couch into a bed, or will they honor my wish and just "go have a good evening..." In most cases, they just dropped the sheets/blanket. Some would make me promise that I would not attempt to drop the upper bunk down (which I wouldn't ... don't need it). And for those who insisted on operating the sofa/bed (i.e. enforce the policy), I told them "you need not do anything, Il'll just sleep on the unmade couch when I get tired enough..." I would, of course, tip all the attendants except that last group that insisted on enforcing the policy. I think there may have been only 1 or 2 of those, in my entire Auto Train history. The others were all very nice and I had no trouble. I always ensured that the sofa was "back to normal" before they returned to collect the linens in the morning. What they didn't see, they couldn't do anything about.

 

[cpotisch]

I didn't know that there was any policy that only Amtrak employees can turn down the beds. I've had attendants who just want to do it themselves, seemingly because they "know" they're the only ones that can do it right, but from what I've seen, there is no policy dictating that.

 

[jis]

I have wondered what proportion of Amtrak passengers actually make considerably less than Amtrak OBS crew on an average, and what if any, is their obligation to make Amtrak OBS crew's income even higher by digging into their already smaller kitty of dollars. I know there is a contingent on AU who mindlessly keep peddling the mantra of tip, tip, tip. But there needs to be some rhyme or reason to justify trying to essentially shame people into tipping, even in face of mediocre service, those who possibly already make more than them.

If superior service is provided and one feels grateful enough for same to wish to tip, that is great. But tipping at the end of the day is an individual decision and not a requirement.

I concur that the wage structure on Amtrak OBS is different than much of the food service industry. But who said tipping on Amtrak is required? I must have missed that post.

There are certain advantages to having not been here on AU too long

 

[AutoTrDvr]

I didn't know that there was any policy that only Amtrak employees can turn down the beds. I've had attendants who just want to do it themselves, seemingly because they "know" they're the only ones that can do it right, but from what I've seen, there is no policy dictating that.

Fair enough... Maybe that's just "what they say" to try and convince people not to do it.... for "safety" reasons.... It seems fairly straight forward to me....

 

[jis]

In passing, I'd like to mention that personally I tend to tip according to general customs of the place where I am. Specifically on Amtrak I tip reasonably well for just getting service with a smile and tend to tip less when either the service or the smile or both are lacking or wanting. On the trains that I travel most often (Silver Service) I know most of the crew and generally I am treated well by all of them. Lake Shore Limited is usually a different matter (pay more to be treated like crap half the time

). But one just goes with the flow. But all of that is just between me, my maker and my acquaintances and service providers.

 

[cpotisch]

Lake Shore Limited is usually a different matter (pay more to be treated like crap half the time

).

So you've had consistently bad experiences on the LSL, as well? Why do you think that's the case?

 

[margo]

I called Customer Relations and reported the Dining Car attendants. They said they had no control over personnel. You would think when paying about $1,000.00 for 2 seniors for about 30 hours in a bedroom, dining would be a pleasant experience, instead of a dreaded one.