Sleeper tipping

[D.P. Roberts]

I'm taking a couple of roomettes soon and it hadn't occurred to me to tip! When do you do this? As a Brit I find handing over money randomly to someone rather uncomfortable.

Some may agree with me, but I think you're fine not tipping. Whatever you would do on a train in the UK is appropriate here too, at least on trains.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

Disclosure: I give a good tip for good service. For me, that means at least $10 a night - and more for exceptional service.

As has been stated before, it is not an easy job and though they get a decent salary, SCAs must struggle with keeping a good attitude and on top of things no matter how sleep deprived. Anyone who has had a lousy SCA knows how lousy a trip can be with one. I'm sure tips help the good ones cope and keep a good attitude.

Like it or not folks, it is the custom to leave a tip on Amtrak's sleepers - and diners too! - for good service. Justify not doing so all you want, but that does not change reality.

But go ahead, be cheap and leave nothing. It makes the SCAs appreciate - and like - those of us who do leave a good tip that much more, and ensures a warm welcome and good service for us in the future.

 

[NW cannonball]

Honestly - the range of service on Amtrak sleeping cars has been so - what do I mean - so "various" - I dunno - I like visiting Japan where "no tipping ever" is the rule.

In my own city in North America - at restaurants my rule is "what would make a living wage based on hourly pay, number of tables served, quality of service - many more factors - that usually amounts to $1-2 per person on a $1-30 bill.

Taxi drivers get 10-20% if they help me with bags. Zero if they give me a run-around. Zero and I call the license bureau if they go too far out of the way and put more than their tip on the meter.

Amtrak - usually $10-20 per one or 2 night trip - the car attendants get "union minimum wage" like 3 times what restaurant people do - but for 2-3 day runs with not much sleep.

If they show up and help me one bit my minimum is $5/person/day. If they help me board and reserve dining car places - a bonus. If they help me and/or inexperienced travelers more - maybe $10/person/day.

If I never see the "attendant" it is usually no great loss, but no tip either.

If I never see the "attendant" and can't find the towels and get bumped from dining car - no tip - and a complaint.

More or less.

 

[jphjaxfl]

I think Sleeping Car, Dining and Lounge Car attendents are unique because of what they do. They should be tipped if they provide good service. This has come from a long heritage of tipping attendants on passenger trains. Airlines actually prevented Flight attendents from taking tips early on as a way to make people who were use to tipping on trains to get them to like air travel. How much you tip is up to you and should be higher for service above average.

 

[the_traveler]

But go ahead, be cheap and leave nothing. It makes the SCAs appreciate - and like - those of us who do leave a good tip that much more, and ensures a warm welcome and good service for us in the future.

I fully agree there! SCAs (and Red Caps and Dining Car servers ) remember who is a good tipper, and you may even get better service next time. I've had many SCAs who have remembered me from previous trips. And just a few weeks ago, I used a Red Cap in BOS who said to me (when I walked up to I'm), "Didn't you go out on #449 last Thursday?" ( I have a feeling if I stiffed him last Thursday he my not have made it a point to say that or to be so helpful!)

 

[williamn]

I'm taking a couple of roomettes soon and it hadn't occurred to me to tip! When do you do this? As a Brit I find handing over money randomly to someone rather uncomfortable.

Some may agree with me, but I think you're fine not tipping. Whatever you would do on a train in the UK is appropriate here too, at least on trains.

That would be no tip then! It's never occured to me to tip a sleeping car attendant (though of course in the UK no journey is longer than one night). I guess I might tip a little in a restuarant car - 10% or so, but that is customary in any restaurant.

 

[henryj]

Just remember that servers at land based restaurants may work from 7 am to 3 pm, then get to go home to their families each nigh, get a good night's sleep in their own bed and not have to be back at work until 7 am. On a train, servers in the Dining Car are on duty from 5:30 am or so until sometimes 10 or 11 pm, get to go to their rooms on the train, sleep a few hours and get to do the same long day the next day. An SCA or CA is basically on duty for 24 hours a day, although thy are allowed 4 hours of sleep per night. And the OBS may not get home for a week or more!

They also get four days or more off when they do get home. These people are not abused or worked to death. They are on the 'gravy train'. If you want to tip them that is your business, but they certainly don't need it and in some instances don't deserve it. If Amtrak wants to compete with planes, buses and automobiles they should adopt a no tip policy. The only reason I tip in the diner is I don't want to be poisoned the next meal.

 

[AlanB]

They also get four days or more off when they do get home. These people are not abused or worked to death.

That's not entirely correct Henry. Yes, the more senior people may have managed to bid for jobs that allow for that. But those on the extra board especially, as well as those with less seniority, could well find themselves going back out after 1 or 2 nights at home. Furthermore, the 4 day's off is mainly for the western 2 night routes, where the employee works 2 nights outbound from their home base, maybe spends a night in a hotel maybe not, then works 2 more nights inbound to their home base.

AFAIK, crews working the one night trains don't get as many nights off in a row before reporting back.

 

[Train Rider]

The only time I saw my SCA on my last trip on the Texas Eagle (regular sleeper, not the transdorm) was at a smoke stop. Had to take care of my own bed (which I don't mind). No tip for him.

Meanwhile, the dining crew was great. They were attentive, met a few special requests and were just chatty enough to make it fun, but still left you alone. Good tips for them every meal.

 

[white rabbitt]

i know must of u enjoy the kindergarden walk to the train

,this is the exception to the tip rule , THE RED CAPS

for a small $5.00 tip they drive u to the train in the cart

and in places like chicago where it is a vary long walk

to the train the red cap is needed, i think 5.00 is the normal

rate to tip to get u to your train

 

[henryj]

They also get four days or more off when they do get home. These people are not abused or worked to death.

That's not entirely correct Henry. Yes, the more senior people may have managed to bid for jobs that allow for that. But those on the extra board especially, as well as those with less seniority, could well find themselves going back out after 1 or 2 nights at home. Furthermore, the 4 day's off is mainly for the western 2 night routes, where the employee works 2 nights outbound from their home base, maybe spends a night in a hotel maybe not, then works 2 more nights inbound to their home base.

AFAIK, crews working the one night trains don't get as many nights off in a row before reporting back.

Well Alan, the point is they do get days off in between. No one is forced to work more than the allotted 40 hours a week average. I base my response on comments made to me by sleeping car attendants Jan on the Cardinal and Sonny on the Meteor, both long time Amtrak employees. If you work the xtra board then you automatically get days off when they don't call you even though you are technically 'on call'. Alan, I have no sympathy for these people as they are well paid with union wages even on the xtra board. You may tip them $10 to $20 a night if you please, but I sure am not. Those two SCA's on my last trip were exceptional as was the Eagle sca so I did tip them. And like I said, I tip in the diner because I have to eat there again, but I don't leave 20% of the menu price, I just leave a few dollars. Many people do not tip in the diner at all, at least that is my observation. LD train travel is fun, but it is an anachronism from the past. The biggest tip rip off for me was the taxi in Ft Lauderdale driven by a Haitian. $15 for a $11 ride of just a few blocks to my motel and he really didn't want to give me any change for my $20. lol.

 

[Ryan]

Like it or not folks, it is the custom to leave a tip on Amtrak's sleepers - and diners too! - for good service. Justify not doing so all you want, but that does not change reality.
But go ahead, be cheap and leave nothing. It makes the SCAs appreciate - and like - those of us who do leave a good tip that much more, and ensures a warm welcome and good service for us in the future.

Amen.

If Amtrak wants to compete with planes, buses and automobiles they should adopt a no tip policy.

Absolutely not. I enjoy letting service employees know that I apprecaite the work that they do for me and have no desire for your bitterly parsimonious lifestyle to be forced on me.

You may tip them $10 to $20 a night if you please, but I sure am not.

I'm pretty sure that we don't need your permission to tip, but thanks.

 

[MiRider]

Having worked with the general population in retail, customer service as well as having waited tables - I over tip.

Never less than 20% in a restaurant, usually 25%.

*My* favorite red cap in CHI never gets less than $10, even when he just takes me out to the Pere Marquette - I've seen him and others get zilch.

In the diner, $5 at breakfast and lunch, $10 at dinner - I hate sitting with strangers because so many of them stiff the staff, it's just not acceptable to me YMMV.

If you're so broke that you don't have a couple of extra bucks, you need to budget better and not spend money in the diner - JMO.

After reading this thread, I'll never leave less - unless they're mean to me or something

I'm a new sleeping car convert but on the few trips I've been on, it's been $20 since there were two of us and they were only overnight trips.

I'll definitely drop $20 per night on my upcoming solo trips now that I've learned about how some in the sleepers tip - or don't tip.

 

[white rabbitt]

I give a good tip for good service. For me, that means at least $10 a night - and more for exceptional service.

mr crockett i aplaud u,

but most amtrak passenger's are not as well heeled as u are

u are rich u can afford to tip like money grows on tree's, most amtrak passenger's

are not in your tax bracket. u are the exception to the rule

 

[D.P. Roberts]

I'm taking a couple of roomettes soon and it hadn't occurred to me to tip! When do you do this? As a Brit I find handing over money randomly to someone rather uncomfortable.

Some may agree with me, but I think you're fine not tipping. Whatever you would do on a train in the UK is appropriate here too, at least on trains.

That would be no tip then! It's never occured to me to tip a sleeping car attendant (though of course in the UK no journey is longer than one night). I guess I might tip a little in a restuarant car - 10% or so, but that is customary in any restaurant.

Then Bob's your uncle!

For non-Americans visiting the US, the ONLY people for whom I'd say it's "mandatory" to tip would be the servers in actual restaurants (not on Amtrak). Those people are legally allowed to be paid below our "minimum wage" because of the expectation that tips will make up the majority of their income. US law allows for some other exceptions (many farm-related jobs), but you're not going to encounter them in a service-related job. Everyone else you'll encounter - including every employee of Amtrak - works under the same wage laws as the rest of us.

 

[williamn]

Slightly tangental issue, but yes will be rather odd to be sat with 3 strangers while eating dinner. Unless they're hot of course. Are dining cars generally full? I am taking Empire Builder.

 

[MooCow]

In my travels to the Indian subcontinent I've seen people who carry pens and other trinkets and hand them out to children. They claim it helps the children; actually getting something for nothing turns them into beggars who then quit school because it is more profitable to hassle other tourists for handouts. These same people hand out wads of money to drivers, waiters, porters etc. It's really not a generosity thing. It's more a power thing. You establish your superiority. You also buy love with money. Tipping on Amtrak is the same.

 

[Train Rider]

Slightly tangental issue, but yes will be rather odd to be sat with 3 strangers while eating dinner. Unless they're hot of course. Are dining cars generally full? I am taking Empire Builder.

Depends on when you take it. If during the summer season then not only will you be seated at a full table, you may be put on a wait list for breakfast and lunch.

 

[williamn]

What does a waitlist mean? I mean, I know what one is, but how does it work in this context? I'll be able to eat, right? I'm travelling on a tuesday in May, Chicago to Seattle. Maybe I should start a separate thread for this!

 

[the_traveler]

The Dining car staff takes your name(s) and then call your name over the PA when there is room for you. Because the tables hold 4 passengers, it is possible that they may call 2 groups of 2 before they call your name, if you are traveling alone.

And as far as "sitting with 3 other strangers", I usually travel alone. Some of the most interesting conversation I've had, and some of the most interesting people I've met (from throughout the world), have been those "strangers" at my table during meals. If it were not for the "community seating" rule, I would never have met

• People from throughout the US
• People from Canada
• People from the UK
• People from Australia
• People from many other countries
• An Amtrak Vice President
• Other railroad employees
• Etc...l

 

[AlanB]

Well Alan, the point is they do get days off in between. No one is forced to work more than the allotted 40 hours a week average.

Henry,

I'm not trying to be a pain here, but they are most certainly forced to work more than 40 hours a week! Yes, if your definition of forced means that someone put a gun to their head or chained them inside a car, then fine they're not being forced. But keeping their job most certainly means that they must work more than 40 hours a week. While perhaps that doesn't qualify as "forced" it is most certainly required; they won't be keeping their job if they don't work those hours.

Let's look at the CZ, it takes 50 hours to run from Chicago to Emeryville. Deducting the 4 hours that an SCA is allowed to sleep per day brings us down to their working for 42 hours just on the return trip back to the west coast. They worked a similar amount of time going east to Chicago. So an employee leaving EMY on a Sunday morning will see an 80+ hour work week. And I haven't even accounted for the fact that they have to arrive early to prepare the car both in EMY & CHI.

If you work the xtra board then you automatically get days off when they don't call you even though you are technically 'on call'.

Yes, if they don't call you then you get extra days off. But if they do call, you don't.

Alan, I have no sympathy for these people as they are well paid with union wages even on the xtra board.

I'm not saying that they aren't well paid. But it is a very demanding job too, which is why they do get paid more than a waiter in a restaurant or a hotel maid. One simply cannot compare an Amtrak job with jobs that have similar functions in the rest of the travel/entertainment industry. This is all that I'm trying to say. To argue that tipping an Amtrak waiter shouldn't happen because they get paid so much more than a waiter in a restaurant isn't a valid premise IMHO.

There simply is no comparison in the overall work load between those two jobs. A restaurant waiter works fewer hours, goes home every night, has a bus boy to clear tables, doesn't have a rocking & rolling floor, isn't safety trained on what to do if the restaurant crashes, and doesn't work an 15 hour day.

A hotel maid isn't required to prepare coffee, help carry luggage, doesn't open doors, isn't responsible for making sure that people leave their room at the correct stop, serve meals, doesn't work 16 hours straight, and again doesn't have to help in an evacuation situation.

No one is required to tip any Amtrak worker. But again, the fact that they make more than a marginally similar worker on solid ground isn't a reason to not tip them. Yes, they signed up for that job, but it isn't an easy job either. If they do their job, then people should be allowed to tip them as a way of saying thanks!

And like I said, I tip in the diner because I have to eat there again, but I don't leave 20% of the menu price, I just leave a few dollars. Many people do not tip in the diner at all, at least that is my observation.

I personally do tend to try to calculate a normal tip in the diner, but that is my personal preference and not the rule by any standards. Many sleeper pax do just drop a buck for breakfast & lunch and $2 for dinner. And I agree, a fair amount don't tip at all.

 

[williamn]

They're not forced, they presumably knew the hours and demands of the job before they took it. They don't have to do this job if they don't want to!

 

[Ryan]

So?

They willingly took that job with the knowledge that they would earn tips from most passengers.

 

[roomette]

One simply cannot compare an Amtrak job with jobs that have similar functions in the rest of the travel/entertainment industry.

Then why does everyone keep doing it?

 

[The Davy Crockett]

I'm taking a couple of roomettes soon and it hadn't occurred to me to tip! When do you do this? As a Brit I find handing over money randomly to someone rather uncomfortable.

For non-Americans visiting the US, the ONLY people for whom I'd say it's "mandatory" to tip would be the servers in actual restaurants (not on Amtrak).

Nonsense.

When in Rome or England or the USA - do as the Romans or English or Americans do. When I'm oversees I always do my best to follow the country I'm in way's of doing things. Then I'm much less likely to be either the ugly, or the foolish, American.

I also find that people in other countries appreciate the effort of trying to do what is right in that country, even if I don't always get it exactly right. It has served me well on more than one occasion and has made my time oversees much more rewarding and safe, in ways that have nothing to do with money.