This summer my wife and I are taking the Empire Builder from Chicago to Glacier National Park with bedroom accomodations. This is the first train trip we have taken, so have many questions. Are gratuities expected? To whom are they given? How mush should be offered? Any other on board information or etiquete would be greatly appreciated.. Thank you for your time and assistance.
I usually travel sleeping cars and tip the car attendant at the end of the trip. Dollar amount varies in terms of number of days on the train, number of bags, and the attendant's helpfulness-$10 to $20.
In the dining car, I tip 15% to 20% of the printed menu prices, again depending on the quality of the service. Club car 50 cents usually, sometimes a dollar depending on what I buy.
Hope this helps. Have a great trip-relax and enjoy!!!!
Mel Hazen; Jax, FL Ride Amtrak. It's the only way to fly!!!
I would think the same guidlines apply as would with any other and similar tipping situations. I believe 15-25% are general rules of thumb in the higher rent districts while 15-20% in average. Of course in many instances (not Amtrak) the tip is already figured into prices...so be aware of that when traveling. And I don't believe in anything less than a dollar, but I probably have a tendency to over tip.
RIDEWITHMEHENRY is the name for our almost monthly day of riding trains and transit in either the NYCity or Philadelphia areas including all commuter lines, Amtrak, subways, light rail and trolleys, bus and ferries when warranted. No fees, just let us know you want to join the ride and pay your fares. Ask to be on our email list or find us on FB as RIDEWITHMEHENRY (all caps) to get descriptions of each outing.
I'll echo RRCharlie:
Mrs. MILW205 and I took the EB from SEA-CHI last year. We tipped our room attendant $20, even though we only had small bags that we carried ourselves -- because he was very friendly, helpful, and responsive.
In the dining car, we tipped as if it was a restaurant, with the amount at a given meal varying depending on the level of service (and there was a large amount of service variation, depending on who you got)
In the club car, we'd tip a buck or two depending on the quantity of stuff that we got on that occasion.
I agree with all the above. Remember that your (sleeping) car attendant has to perform the duties of a bellhop and a chambermaid as well as offer interim services. Five to ten bucks per person per night sounds about right unless you were given unsatisfactory service (in which case, complain to Amtrak). Extra stuff like cleaning up meals you took in your room, of course call for a more generous tip.
One thing I'm still wondering about is whether a sleeping-car passenger should try to find out what the end point of the attendant will be, because it might be well before your destination. There are two schools of thought on this: one says appportion it between the different people if you can; the other says tip at your destination and it will work out on average (because the attendant you inadvertently "stiffed" will probably work the destination of other people coming back.
My rule for a full diner and lounge is to tip as I would in a good restaurant or cocktail bar on terra firma. Which happens to be just what the above people recommend. Way to go, guys! -- a.s.
Thank you one and all for the information and your input.. It gives me somewhat of a guide line to adhere to. Tipping has always been a problem of mine. Thanks Again
I ride Amtrk once a yr. I do no tipping. Keep in mind the workers make a good wage and are on rr retirement.
When my wife and I traveled on the Empire Builder from St Paul to Seattle in 2005 we had no idea of what to tip the sleeping car attendant. I feel that they either make or break your trip. They are responsible for you boarding and getting settled in your sleeper and for all creature comforts on board, like the coffee and chocolate chip cookies.These guys can spot railfans quite easily and can help you in enjoying the hobby.I found both going and coming that the sleeping car attendants were excellent. They can also tell the first time riders, they bring too much luggage. Some passengers travel only when a particuliar attendent works. We gave our attendant a $20 tip which I realize now was a bit chintzy I think.We tipped 15-20% in the Diner. It is rumored that wait staff on Amtrak treat sleeping car passengers better than coach passengers because they tip better. I thought that everyone was treated nicely.
Tipping is a sore point for many in our society...both ways. There are those who refuse to tip, no matter what. And there are those who have to rely on tips based on the wage scale...it is a system in place for those who provide personal services. Those who don't tip are way out of line with the way the system has been set up. I say to them, open a restaurant, pay your waiters and waitresses $20 or more an hour; then you can tell your patrons not to tip. If they can afford the meal in the first place, that is. How many restaurants, catereres, any company that provides personal services for that matter, how many of them have found it neccessary to include 15-20% to a tab because so many people don't. What I am saying is that this is the system in place so that those who work in it can make a decent liveing. Despite all the cries of disdain about tipping, I have not seen anyone attempt to change the system by paying the employees a living wage so that the tipping part can be done away with. I would think that 15 to 20% of the cost of your sleeping car space, your cost of dinner, the cost of a hotel room, etc., is customary today.
Henry 6, you really made your convincing argument well, indeed. I'll put it even simpler: Americans are addicted to cheap labor (except, of course, for professional athletes).
I have been traveling with Amtrak on three different routes two years ago and I didn't even tip... Never occured to me. In my defense, I'm from Europe where tipping is not very common at all and although I came out to the US prepared to tip in restaurants and hotels, taxi drivers etc. I never even gave it a moments thought that the lovely people on Amtrak are basically all of the above rolled into one... I guess I'll have to compensate for my error the next time I paddle across the pond.
Last time my wife and I rode in a sleeper, we left about 20% of the menu price for each meal in the diner and, for 2 whole days and a night, $50 for the sleeper attendant when we got off. Service on the train was very good all around.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
al-in-chgo One thing I'm still wondering about is whether a sleeping-car passenger should try to find out what the end point of the attendant will be, because it might be well before your destination. There are two schools of thought on this: one says appportion it between the different people if you can; the other says tip at your destination and it will work out on average (because the attendant you inadvertently "stiffed" will probably work the destination of other people coming back.
Al, on the long distance Amtrak trips I've taken the last few years, the Sleeping Car Attendant stayed with the train from one end to the other. I don't believe that it's their practice to change Attendants in mid trip.
TomDiehlAl, on the long distance Amtrak trips I've taken the last few years, the Sleeping Car Attendant stayed with the train from one end to the other. I don't believe that it's their practice to change Attendants in mid trip.
The only change I have known on Amtrak was on teh Texas Eagle, in San Antonio. On VIA, the Canadian sleeper attendants and some diner attendants change in Winnipeg. Last month, our car attendant and most of the diner staff changed in Winnipeg, but one waitress worked all the way across. I did not have an opportunity to talk with her about this.
Now that I think about it, she may have worked from Vancouver to Winnipeg on the train we rode from Vancouver to Jasper, rested in Winnipeg, and then continued to Toronto (we stopped off in Jasper from Thursday to Monday). I did remember seeing her west of Winnipeg.
Johnny
Deggesty TomDiehlAl, on the long distance Amtrak trips I've taken the last few years, the Sleeping Car Attendant stayed with the train from one end to the other. I don't believe that it's their practice to change Attendants in mid trip. The only change I have known on Amtrak was on teh Texas Eagle, in San Antonio. Johnny
The only change I have known on Amtrak was on teh Texas Eagle, in San Antonio. Johnny
That's actually not a change, at San Antonio, the Texas Eagle joins with the Sunset Limited and runs as a single train to Los Angeles. If you look at the timetable, the Texas Eagle is a daily train from Chicago to San Antonio, but only runs three times a week (the same three days and the same timetable as the Sunset Limited) from San Antonio to Los Angeles. And note the long "layover" at San Antonio for the Texas Eagle, from 10:25 PM to 5:40 AM.
Tip as you would in any public establishment. Do not tip operating personnel.
The practice of tipping is bsicaly to reward service excellence; it has never been intended through the years to be a wage supplement. Amtrak On Board Service employees perform extensive duties unrelated to the personal service you experience directly on board the train, sometimes remaining "up" (awake) long after everyone else has gone to sleep at night. For the most part, OBS employees work the train's entire run, in your case, from Chicago through to Seattle. In Seattle, they may arrive in the morning if the train is on time, then turn around and begin the return trip that afternoon. Upon arrival in Chicago they are given some days off.
For whatever base wages they make (and they are less than their operating brethren) they earn it in long hours (the Hours of Service does not apply), days away from home at a time and of course, dealing with us, those pesky people who for the most part are well behaved folks, but every now and then a few get out of line. OBS is the first line of customer service and on board security,
If you are the beneficiary of good service, please remind your attendant through your tips that you appreciate it.
Thanks and enjoy your vacation!
For some reason, people are much more generous with dining staff than other customer service personnel. I suggest giving your coach or sleeper attendant at least 10% of your fare.
"Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood." Daniel Burnham
TomDiehlThat's actually not a change, at San Antonio, the Texas Eagle joins with the Sunset Limited and runs as a single train to Los Angeles.
I'm sorry; I thought that it is a change of attendant when the one who works from Chicago to San Antonio leaves the car and the one who works from San Antonio to Los Angeles boards the car. It has been twelve years since we rode the Texas Eagle; do the sleeper attendants now work all the way through on the days that the cars run west of San Antonio (we had two different attendants when we went from Chicago to Los Angeles in '97)?
Maglev For some reason, people are much more generous with dining staff than other customer service personnel. I suggest giving your coach or sleeper attendant at least 10% of your fare.
. . . Tipping the sleeping car attendant makes sense to me, but why the coach attendant? What if all that person does is point out a seat and leaves me to struggle with any luggage? I don't remember tipping the trainmen who took tickets in coach, back in the pre-Amtrak era.
I agree with Al about the matter of tipping a coach attendant--unless you are given some extraordinary service.
We all should know by now what "tips" is an acronym for. (To Insure Prompt Service). In the case of poor or no service, no tip should be proffered, nor should one be expected. However, the coach attendant is responsible to assist with luggage, keep the car clean and provide for customer's comfort and safety.
Earlier this year, as I do most years, I rode the Texas Eagle from El Paso to Austin. The Los Angeles based attendant on the 2230 car, which is the through car, ultimately got off the train in San Antonio. However, he stayed on the car from arrival time until he was relieved by the Chicago based attendant, who services the car from San Antonio to Chicago. The Texas Eagle from Los Angeles to San Antonio is really the Sunset Limited with two cars for the Texas Eagle.
Whilst on an Amtrak train, I tip 15 per cent in the dinning car if the service is acceptable, and I give the sleeping car attendant $5 per night if he or she goes out of his or her way to make my trip enjoyable. They seldom do. In fact, most of them don't offer a very good service. They would have a difficult time making it at a good hotel, i.e. Hyatt, Hilton, etc.
Most servers in restaurants are minimum wage employees; in fact, they may get less than minimum wage because of a quirk in the minimum wage laws. They are dependent on tips for the bulk of their income. Moreover, the IRS imputes income for wait service employees who depend primarily on tips for their income. That is to say, if they do not declare their tips, the IRS imputes income based on tip tables to the wait person, which means that they have to pay taxes on the imputed income irrespective of whether they received it. So if one walks out of a restaurant without tipping the wait persons, he or she is really sticking it to them.
Amtrak employees are paid a decent wage. Moreover, they have an excellent benefits package, which is part of their total compensation, which rivals any that I have seen. As has been pointed out, they are not paid as well as the trains operations personnel, but they get far better than starvation wages.
I don't know how much a wait person and sleeping car attendant is paid. Amtrak does not list these positions on its website, and I have not been successful finding the information via Google. However, they are advertising for a car cleaner in Florida. The beginning wage is $14.15 per hour, which works out to be $29,432 per year without overtime. They are also advertising for an on-board services manager with a salary of $60,000 to 85,000 per year. If we assume that a wait person and sleeping car attendant gets half to 2/3rds of the manager's base pay, which is normal, they would get a wage of $30,000 to $39,600 per year.
Approximately two years ago the San Antonio News, if I remember correctly, had a story about the wages earned by service personnel on the Sunset Limited. Because of forced overtime, i.e. the Sunset was at that time notorious for being late; some of the wait persons and car attendants were earning more than $75,000 per year, but this is unusual.
These are great answers and very thought-provoking. Two thoughts on this question:
First, to our Dutch friend who is apologetic about not having gotten the tipping "right" on his recent Amtrak trips: Relax. We Americans get the tipping thing wrong half the time when we're in Europe, so we're even.
Second, did anyone else notice that the coach-cleaner wage in Florida that Sam1 mentioned, about $29,000 per year, is the same amount paid to the pilot of the commuter airplane that tragically crashed outside of Buffalo this winter? Draw your own conclusions.
Another comment on tipping: The late E.M. Frimbo ("the world's greatest railfan") wrote that when it came to riding trains his father told him, "A gentleman always travels first class." That's not bad advice. Now, I ask you, what sort of gentleman would fail to give some sort of gratuity to an attendant when travelling first class?
NKP guy These are great answers and very thought-provoking. Two thoughts on this question: First, to our Dutch friend who is apologetic about not having gotten the tipping "right" on his recent Amtrak trips: Relax. We Americans get the tipping thing wrong half the time when we're in Europe, so we're even. Second, did anyone else notice that the coach-cleaner wage in Florida that Sam1 mentioned, about $29,000 per year, is the same amount paid to the pilot of the commuter airplane that tragically crashed outside of Buffalo this winter? Draw your own conclusions. Another comment on tipping: The late E.M. Frimbo ("the world's greatest railfan") wrote that when it came to riding trains his father told him, "A gentleman always travels first class." That's not bad advice. Now, I ask you, what sort of gentleman would fail to give some sort of gratuity to an attendant when travelling first class?
I suspect E.M. Frimbo's father was well-heeled. It takes a good deal of money to be a "gentleman" if that extends to traveling first-class on Amtrak.
"First Class. It used to mean you got a better meal. Now it means you get a better life."
-- Renee Zellweger, Jerry Maguire
Shaw, who was the co-pilot on the Colgan Air flight that crashed in Buffalo, had a base salary of approximately $16,700 per year. However, she earned approximately $23,000 during the previous year because of overtime and shift differentials. The Capitan, Renslow, was making around $55,000 a year. This information can be found in NTSB transcripts.
All airlines start their co-pilots at low salaries. This is truer for the regional airlines than the trunk carriers. One takes the entry level job with the hope in mind of working up to one of the legacy carriers, where the pay is much better.
I hold every FAA flight and ground rating except rotorcraft. I know a little bit about how the business works.
Well, I stand corrected. Thanks, Sam1.
Sam1Earlier this year, as I do most years, I rode the Texas Eagle from El Paso to Austin. The Los Angeles based attendant on the 2230 car, which is the through car, ultimately got off the train in San Antonio. However, he stayed on the car from arrival time until he was relieved by the Chicago based attendant, who services the car from San Antonio to Chicago.
Sam1, thank you for answering my question about the change in San Antonio--that the sleeper attendant still does not run through between Chicago and LA.
Apparently, two nights is enough for one attendant (and the attendants on the Canadian now work two nights, whether they work east or west of Winnipeg).
Regarding tipping the coach attendant--
It is my impression that this person performs the essential service of keeping the bathrooms clean. For this duty alone, we should show our gratitude.
I happily gave up a career in waste treatment technology to live a simpler life working in customer service, so I know all about toilets and tips. My last job was as a hotel bellman, and I can tell you that people blame toilet problems on the toilets. I NEVER got a tip for unclogging a toilet, even when the problem was obviuosly the fault of the room occupant...
Maglev Regarding tipping the coach attendant-- It is my impression that this person performs the essential service of keeping the bathrooms clean. For this duty alone, we should show our gratitude.
...and when I find one who does, I will!
...and speaking of coach bathrooms. Ever try to brush your teeth in an Amfleet II bathroom? You need 3 arms if you want to use teh on board "pointy" cups and potable water.
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