Amtrak Guest Rewards - Tipping on California Zephr

Hi,

My wife and I are travelling in an upstairs bedroom on the Zephyr Chicago to SLC on the 27th of this month.

We are very excited about it.

Coming from a country where tipping is only for really good service , I ask what is the etiquette in terms of tipping the car staff for their services - at the start or the end of the trip or for each service ? - its very confusing for Australians.

I assume that the attendants rely on tips to top up their wages so would not want to shortchange them.

Your advice would be appreciated.

Hi,

My wife and I are travelling in an upstairs bedroom on the Zephyr Chicago to SLC on the 27th of this month.

We are very excited about it.

Coming from a country where tipping is only for really good service , I ask what is the etiquette in terms of tipping the car staff for their services - at the start or the end of the trip or for each service ? - its very confusing for Australians.

I assume that the attendants rely on tips to top up their wages so would not want to shortchange them.

Your advice would be appreciated.

My wife and I have done several Amtrak routes with the sleeper car. We generally find the attendent for the car to be very attentive and would recommend tipping at the end of the journey.

Since your meals are included in the sleeper car price don't forget to tip the staff in the dining car as if you were paying the full price of the meal.

OZ,

Actually the sleeping car attendants make a decent wage, but that still doesn't mean that they don't appreciate tips. The general average is $5 per person per night, provided that they have done the things that they should do. Of course more is appropriate if they do extra things, like perhaps fetching you hot water for tea from the dining car.

The attendant should greet you at the door, come by after departure to explain things in the room and see if you have any questions. They should also ask if you wish a wake up call in the morning at some point; setup your beds for you at night in a reasonably timely manner (keep in mind that they have lots of beds to do); return the room to its daytime condition in the morning (the best notice when you've gone to breakfast and do it while you're gone); keep coffee, water, & juice available during the bulk of the day for you; and freshen the public bathrooms & shower.

They are also responsible for opening the door at each stop where passengers may be boarding or detraining; bringing meals to those who request it (extra tip required for this); and your safety.

OZ,
...
They are also responsible for opening the door at each stop where passengers may be boarding or detraining; bringing meals to those who request it (extra tip required for this); and your safety.
To be clear, at no time are tips "required" on Amtrak. While an extra tip may be appropriate if you have your meals served in the room, that is one of the services provided by the attendant on request, and tipping is the choice of the passenger.

Many previous threads on the subject which can be found using the search function and typing in Tipping

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/search.php?searchid=12039794

To be clear, at no time are tips "required" on Amtrak. While an extra tip may be appropriate if you have your meals served in the room, that is one of the services provided by the attendant on request, and tipping is the choice of the passenger.

Thank you for that - is there an option of having meals served in room or only if disabled etc ?

Anyone can request that a meal be served in their room, disabled or not. Of course if you have a less than enthusiastic attendant you may get some odd looks if you're not disabled. But most will comply without comment.

Do understand however that taking meals in your room does put an extra load on the attendant and you could find that it takes a while to get a meal and then get it cleared away. As again, they do have many other duties, the most important of course opening the door at station stops. And sticking your tray out in the hall for others to fall over is not an option, unlike many hotels where people do that.

I for one highly recommend taking at least a few of your meals in the dining car, even if you decide to have a few in your room.

I've been wondering: we don't tip flight attendants for doing their jobs. Why are we expected to tip Sleeping Car Attendants (and yes, we are expected to tip them), for just doing their jobs. They are paid a very good salary so they don't need to rely on tips to pay the mortgage. Yes, I've tipped SCAs who have provided extra services like bringing a meal to the room at my request.

America has developed a very tippy culture. I think it's absurd that there's a tip jar on the counter next to the register at my local coffee shop. What's next? McDonald's?

[suit of armor on - flame away]

I've been wondering: we don't tip flight attendants for doing their jobs. Why are we expected to tip Sleeping Car Attendants (and yes, we are expected to tip them), for just doing their jobs. They are paid a very good salary so they don't need to rely on tips to pay the mortgage. Yes, I've tipped SCAs who have provided extra services like bringing a meal to the room at my request.

America has developed a very tippy culture. I think it's absurd that there's a tip jar on the counter next to the register at my local coffee shop. What's next? McDonald's?

[suit of armor on - flame away]
I believe that tipping sleeping car attendants is something that has been in practice since the days of the pullman sleeper car and the "porters" that took care of you in them. Thus I think tipping the SCA is a historic practice that probably goes back from before airplanes were widely available to most americans.

Thus that is why SCAs are tipped. It has always been that way.

One could argue that instead it is strange that flight attendants aren't tipped!

I believe that tipping sleeping car attendants is something that has been in practice since the days of the pullman sleeper car and the "porters" that took care of you in them. Thus I think tipping the SCA is a historic practice that probably goes back from before airplanes were widely available to most americans.

Were porters paid as well back then as SCAs are paid today? This is not a cynical question. I really don't know, but would be interested in knowing the historical evolution of the porter/SCA pay scales.

Thus that is why SCAs are tipped. It has always been that way.

In my opinion, that alone is not justification for continuing the practice.

One could argue that instead it is strange that flight attendants aren't tipped!

With today's typically poor service by, and indifferent attitude of, many flight attendants, that would be a tough one to pull off. Maybe the next round of compulsory fees the airlines will impose will be a 15% gratuity added to your airfare to cover flight crew services. (Only half-joking ;) )

I believe that tipping sleeping car attendants is something that has been in practice since the days of the pullman sleeper car and the "porters" that took care of you in them. Thus I think tipping the SCA is a historic practice that probably goes back from before airplanes were widely available to most americans.

Thus that is why SCAs are tipped. It has always been that way.

One could argue that instead it is strange that flight attendants aren't tipped!

Wage has little to do with it. IMHO, tips show two things:

1) a tangible gesture of gratitude (and yes, incentive) for good service
2) affirmation that the person tipping is in a superior social strata than the person receiving the tip

Now admittedly, I'm a bit on the young side to claim personal knowledge of this, but if the new ABC show PanAm is even remotely representative of reality, then at least on some level, being a flight attendant was actually a respectable position. There are several places throughout the show where the women mixing with members of high society proudly exclaim, "I'm a PanAm stewardess!" in a way that a Pullman porter never could or would have done.

Thus, it seems to me that people historically viewed Pullman porters as socially inferior, while flight attendants never received that stigma and were seen more by society as professionals. Tipping culture follows that perception.

My Father and I have taken three long distance trips on Amtrak and we always tip the attendant $20 at the end of the journey.

I've logged a lot of miles on Amtrak and from what I've seen, tipping is most definitely the norm, especially amongst well traveled passengers.

Even though meals are included in First Class sleeper fare, I still tip the dining car staff the same 15-20% as if I were in a restaurant. They are working just as hard. As for the sleeping car attendants, they work very hard, over long hours, with not a lot of quality sleep time. I will tip them a minimum of $5.00 per day. I've had some SCAs that just provide the basic services, but for those who go about their jobs in a friendly, outgoing manner and anticipate rather than await their guests needs, I'll usually throw in an extra $5 to $10 dollars.

For me at least, there are no concerns as to whether they are well paid or not.

Well we've done the trip and it was good - particularly crossing the Rockies west of Denver.

We happily tipped the dining car staff because they were just excellent.

Our car attendant got zilch as she seemed plain lazy - spent almost all her time in one of the roomettes - I would happily have tipped for any extra service and she had her chance and came up poorly.

My first class car had coffee and juice etc on the top level but I much prefer tea. I had my own teabags but had to do to the dining car and get some hot water. I told my preference to the car attendant and thought she would make an effort to occasionally ask if we would like some hot water brought to our compartment.

Not one offer to bring tea over the 30 hour journey.

We left the train at Salt Lake City around 2345 hours - she didn't even come to our compartment to be sure we weren't still asleep and to be sure we were ready to detrain .

So no tip!

perfect you tipped the deserving.

What's the best way to go about actually tipping the room attendant? When it's the dining car one can simply leave the tip on the table as they leave, so how do you folks leave the customary $5 or so for the room attendants? I'd worry that if I left it somewhat obviously in the room they might leave it as they would my other personal property.

I always hand it to the attendant. Most times as I leave the train, as they're always by the door as you leave. But occasionally, and especially if they've been really good to me, I'll catch them as they walk by my door shortly before my stop and hand it to them. I'll do that so that they can actually know just how much I gave them, whereas if I'm getting off the last stop they could have 10 people handing them tips and they won't know who gave them what. So again, if I want them to really know how much I appreciated them, I'll catch them early.

I would never just leave the money sitting in the room however; too easily missed!

I always hand it to the attendant. Most times as I leave the train, as they're always by the door as you leave.On the 2nd of my two trips on the Zephyr, the attendant was nowhere to be seen upon leaving the train at Emeryville. I felt kind of bad, since he got no tip from me, but what can you do?

Next time I'll try to tip somewhere after Sacramento, even though the attendant seems to be busy making up rooms at that point.

On the 2nd of my two trips on the Zephyr, the attendant was nowhere to be seen upon leaving the train at Emeryville. I felt kind of bad, since he got no tip from me, but what can you do?

Next time I'll try to tip somewhere after Sacramento, even though the attendant seems to be busy making up rooms at that point.

That's my concern since I'm getting off at the end of the Empire Builder in Seattle. I'm not so concerned that they see how much I gave them (and probably a good idea since I'm on a tight budget and it may only be $10-15). But so long as they know I gave them something and appreciated their service then all will be well. Would I generally have the same room attendant all the way from Chicago to Seattle?

That's my concern since I'm getting off at the end of the Empire Builder in Seattle. I'm not so concerned that they see how much I gave them (and probably a good idea since I'm on a tight budget and it may only be $10-15). But so long as they know I gave them something and appreciated their service then all will be well. Would I generally have the same room attendant all the way from Chicago to Seattle?
Yes. You will have the same attendant end-to-end.

That's my concern since I'm getting off at the end of the Empire Builder in Seattle. I'm not so concerned that they see how much I gave them (and probably a good idea since I'm on a tight budget and it may only be $10-15). But so long as they know I gave them something and appreciated their service then all will be well. Would I generally have the same room attendant all the way from Chicago to Seattle?

I would approach the attendant as he/she makes up the room your last morning and say.
I wish it could be more but here is a little something for the wonderful service you gave although $15.00 is just about right unless the attendant did something extra special specially if you are in a roomette