Tipping on Amtrak

[user 32753]

Sleeping car attendant.

Thanks Cal! Spent my entire career on a freight RR. I was the conductor's sleeping car attendant!

 

[Bob Dylan]

How so?

Think they mean the places that have Tips already Loaded onto your Bill,( ie 15%20%25%30%)and you have to choose or Check "No Tip" and the Self ServiceJoints where they have Tip Jars by the Register when you pick up your order!

 

[caravanman]

What is suggested as a reasonable amount to add to the cafe car attendant's tip jar when buying just a coffee or tea at $2.75? A quarter received in change seems embarrassingly low these days. (Yes, I know it is optional...)
Does Amtrak accept card payments in the cafe, I am imagining places where the train is "off the network" and cards won't work?

 

[BoulderCO]

It would depend somewhat on what change/small bills I had on hand, but for just a coffee I usually tip between 50 cents and a dollar.

 

[basketmaker]

What is suggested as a reasonable amount to add to the cafe car attendant's tip jar when buying just a coffee or tea at $2.75? A quarter received in change seems embarrassingly low these days. (Yes, I know it is optional...)
Does Amtrak accept card payments in the cafe, I am imagining places where the train is "off the network" and cards won't work?

Looking at Amtrak.com it looks like credit/debit cards can only be used to purchase tickets on-board. Tried to question "Julie" but it looks like she is on vacation? I stand corrected as I just found a travel site (Amtrak Cafe Car: What You Need To Know) that gives all the ins/outs of Amtrak travel and it says MasterCard and Visa logo'd cards are accepted in the lounge/cafe.

Like you I would leave change left over from a purchase which was usually $2.50 for a 16oz. soda in the tip jar. Nowadays with it being $2.75 (I can get a 2L. bottle for $2.50) I guess I would through a $1 bill in the jar. And yes I am a strong believer in tipping.

 

[basketmaker]

Amtrak Cafe Car: What You Need To Know

 

[tgstubbs1]

What is suggested as a reasonable amount to add to the cafe car attendant's tip jar when buying just a coffee or tea at $2.75? A quarter received in change seems embarrassingly low these days. (Yes, I know it is optional...)
Does Amtrak accept card payments in the cafe, I am imagining places where the train is "off the network" and cards won't work?

Here is a handy internet tip calculator. You just type in the amount and press 'calculate'.

https://www.onlineconversion.com/tip_calculator.htm

 

[fhussain44]

Is tip expected for "bare minimum service"? Specifically for sleeping car and dining car attendant. They do their job but nothing more. When receiving such service are they still expecting a tip? I understand that these folks make a proper living wage with benefits . So the standard 20% tip doesn't really apply to them. But when they do the minimum my guess is they are saying I don't care about your measly tip..

 

[caravanman]

It sounds as though you have already decided not to tip. Most folk do tip, even just a few $. What should they do to earn a tip, apart from their jobs, turn cartwheels?

 

[Devil's Advocate]

In my experience most folks do not seem to tip on Amtrak and many of those who do tip appear to be foreigners who presumably hear PA announcements that “gratuities are not included” and simply assume everyone else is tipping.

I did a poll in the past asking why people tip on Amtrak and the most popular answer was that tipping was expected...by staff that receive living wages and benefits that vastly exceed those of an average American. If we're honest Amtrak is the poster child for the irrational and arbitrary nature of tipping culture.

https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/why-do-you-tip-on-amtrak-poll.80890/

 

[greatwestern]

With reference to Devil's Advocate's comment regarding us foreigners tipping because we assume everyone else is tipping, I probably fall into that category. Culturally it seems to me that tipping in the USA is "expected" just for doing your job - I tip simply so that I don't feel embarrassed !!

On the opposite side of the coin, here in the UK if anyone had offered me a tip whilst I was working (I'm long retired) it would have been ME who would have felt embarrassed and I would certainly have (politely) declined.

I now volunteer, looking after the press and media at my local professional soccer club. Fortunately no-one has ever offered me a tip - for which I am extremely grateful.

A simply genuine thank you is worth much more than an "expected" gratuity.

 

[fhussain44]

It sounds as though you have already decided not to tip. Most folk do tip, even just a few $. What should they do to earn a tip, apart from their jobs, turn cartwheels?

I do tip when there is some attempt at friendly service. But if they make it clear they are only going to do the bare minimum, why does that deserve a tip?

A restaurant is totally different as one is expected to tip at least 15% even for bare minimum service because they are not paid enough.

 

[gregg_vw]

I am genuinely curious when and how the tradition of tipping SCAs was established. I always do tip them, and it's news to me that many people do not. Growing up I learned to tip wait staff because they depended on tips for a living, given their low hourly compensation. However, SCAs earn good wages and benefits. Certainly, their jobs can be stressful and even downright unpleasant at times. That is true for many jobs whose duties require dealing with the public. I understand some flight attendants are also beginning to collect tips. I also wonder if the IRS expects a percentage of SCA income to be reported as tips as they do wait staff. What is a reasonable guide to tipping Amtrak staff, and where do you think this is all going?

 

[Lonnie]

Here's a very recent and very thought-provoking article on tipping culture:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/01/01/has-gratuity-culture-reached-a-tipping-point
I have to agree, tipping an SCA whom you barely see seems pretty ridiculous. And tipping one halfway through the journey seems like bribery.

 

[JWM]

Ah, the old days. Top notch train like the "Super Chief" 15% to the waiter in the Dining Car. $10 per night in Pullmans.

 

[Steve4031]

I usually tip the SCA 20 near the beginning of the trip if they are on point. This means they come and check in after I get on. I usually take a look to see if there are towels in the shower. Then the first night I tip 20 for the two-night trip when the bed is put down as requested. If there is an attitude issue or indifference I hold off. Sometimes the SCA will do better and get a tip, and sometimes not. Many SCAs on the Zephyr remember me, I suspect, for my tipping practices and not demanding extra attention. I sit in my room and look out the window or read and listen to music on my headphones. Usually only need help if the seats stick when I try to take a nap.

In the diner, I tip on the first meal if they are pleasant. If they are being particularly authoritarian I don't tip until later if they improve.

On one trip the LSA tried to jam me in a booth next to an overweight passenger. I was also overweight. I told the LSA there was no way I was going to fit in there. He dismissively waved me to the other side of the diner. The first server I saw greeted me with a good morning and a smile. The second server waited on me. I tipped both. The lady who smiled at me got a 10-dollar tip in front of the LSA for smiling. His mouth dropped open. Needless to say, he did a better job at lunch.

 

[Eric in East County]

We tip the Red Cap cart drivers who take us and our carry on items from the Metropolitan Lounge to our trains $5.00. On our long-distance trains, if our SCAs also bring our meals to us in our bedroom, most of the tips we would have left our dining car waiters end up on the tip we give them at the end of the trip. We try to keep the summoning of our SCAs to a minimum since their workday is a long one and they are only guaranteed about 4 hours of sleep per night. Generally, we have had exceptionally good service from our SCAs and we don’t mind tipping them. Also, once we get home, we often contact Amtrak to acknowledge the good service provided to us by a particular SCA. (In the long run, this is probably more valuable to them than the tips we gave them.)

 

[BowlerMan3]

Is tip expected for "bare minimum service"? Specifically for sleeping car and dining car attendant. They do their job but nothing more. When receiving such service are they still expecting a tip? I understand that these folks make a proper living wage with benefits . So the standard 20% tip doesn't really apply to them. But when they do the minimum my guess is they are saying I don't care about your measly tip..

Tip is optional but recommended. For the dinning car attendant if you eat all meals there $2.00 to $4.00 for breakfast, $3.00 to $6.00 for lunch and $6.00 to $10.00 per person in cash. The sleeping attendent $5.00 to $10.00 per 1 full day depending if the attendant helped you a lot or just a little and those can either be cash, a gift card, or a gift and give it to the attendant when you finish the trip on each line you are on.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

With reference to Devil's Advocate's comment regarding us foreigners tipping because we assume everyone else is tipping, I probably fall into that category. Culturally it seems to me that tipping in the USA is "expected" just for doing your job - I tip simply so that I don't feel embarrassed !!

You're not alone. In the poll I ran the most popular response was that people tipped simply because it was expected of them. Like most Americans I was raised to tip and I still do for sit-down service (in contrast to walk-up/drive-up) but the growth in high-tip-presuming kiosks is starting to get to me.

Certainly, their jobs can be stressful and even downright unpleasant at times. That is true for many jobs whose duties require dealing with the public.

I'd say this applies to most jobs whether public facing or not. On most days my job is pretty accommodating but there are other times when it can get extremely demanding. Phone calls in the middle of the night or when I'm away on vacation are annoying but par for the course.

Tip is optional but recommended.

The usual reasons for tipping (wage recovery, special requests, stronger drinks, etc.) don't really exist on Amtrak. Airlines that make up your bed in business class don't ask for tips and when I tried to tip anyway it was refused. Amtrak is the poster child for how tipping culture is arbitrary and irrational.

 

[joelkfla]

Tip is optional but recommended. For the dinning car attendant if you eat all meals there $2.00 to $4.00 for breakfast, $3.00 to $6.00 for lunch and $6.00 to $10.00 per person in cash. The sleeping attendent $5.00 to $10.00 per 1 full day depending if the attendant helped you a lot or just a little and those can either be cash, a gift card, or a gift and give it to the attendant when you finish the trip on each line you are on.

Why give a gift card or gift, rather than cash, to a person about whom you nothing of their interests or needs? Give cash, so they can use it for food, rent, or whatever they like.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

Looking at Amtrak.com it looks like credit/debit cards can only be used to purchase tickets on-board. Tried to question "Julie" but it looks like she is on vacation? I stand corrected as I just found a travel site (Amtrak Cafe Car: What You Need To Know) that gives all the ins/outs of Amtrak travel and it says MasterCard and Visa logo'd cards are accepted in the lounge/cafe.

For what it's worth, Amtrak has accepted credit cards for many many years, they used to have the old manual credit card slider thing that took an imprint of your card on carbon paper... eh.. now I feel old haha.

And bonus.... if you pay with your Amtrak credit card you get points that way!!!!

 

[caravanman]

Why give a gift card or gift, rather than cash, to a person about whom you nothing of their interests or needs? Give cash, so they can use it for food, rent, or whatever they like.

Handing out money itself as a tip is seen as being slightly uncouth by some of us more refined souls...
However, I do like the idea of handing out cards, not gift cards, after each trip. One could have these pre-printed, with things like "Thank you for your excellent service, much appreciated!", and "I missed your presence on this trip!" The idea being to check/tick the appropriate box,and contrast with the other comments. One should hand the card over in an envelope as one stepped away from the train door, to avoid a possible punch in the mouth as response, of course...

 

[toddinde]

I am genuinely curious when and how the tradition of tipping SCAs was established. I always do tip them, and it's news to me that many people do not. Growing up I learned to tip wait staff because they depended on tips for a living, given their low hourly compensation. However, SCAs earn good wages and benefits. Certainly, their jobs can be stressful and even downright unpleasant at times. That is true for many jobs whose duties require dealing with the public. I understand some flight attendants are also beginning to collect tips. I also wonder if the IRS expects a percentage of SCA income to be reported as tips as they do wait staff. What is a reasonable guide to tipping Amtrak staff, and where do you think this is all going?

Tipping goes back to the railroad days. In fact, the origin of tipping in general is largely linked to black workers being dependent on tips for their livelihood. Tipping Pullman porters was typical so this isn’t some new phenomena. I tip and it’s a tradition of long standing. Tipping in general is kind of silly, but it’s a reality in the US.

Ah, the old days. Top notch train like the "Super Chief" 15% to the waiter in the Dining Car. $10 per night in Pullmans.

You do realize that $10 in 1970 is about $80 today when adjusted for inflation? That’s a Diamond Jim tip in 1970. 15% I get in the diner, but dinner was $7 back then.

 

[Joe from PA]

I tip because I'm glad I never had a job where I had to deal many times a day with the "public". For looks alone, not even a word, I would have been fired.

 

[cassie225]

I stopped tipping SCA when I had to haul my own luggage to sleeper, barely saw until end of trip and it felt like it was expected because he was very present with conversation the last 20 minutes of a 12 hour ride. And no the roomettes were basically empty.