Amtrak staff varies considerably across the map. Sometimes, you get good teams that work regularly together. Other times you have a few good ones and a few indifferent ones.

One rule of thumb seems to be that some employees are not inclined to do more than the minimum, because that will be frowned upon by coworkers. So, even motivated newer employees can quickly become drones. It takes a special employee to ignore those pressures. I.e. "if you bring breakfast to Room 8 in your car, then somebody will want me to bring breakfast to their room, too". As if that was the end of the world!

Amtrak workers are unionized and are generally paid well. Thus, they do not rely on tips as a significant part of their income. What likely happens is that some passengers will tip even with poor service because of the novelty of their trip. Others will not tip even with great service. So, the worker tends to see little or no correlation between the service provided and the tips given.

Anyone planning a long distance trip these days does need to mentally prepare for it, and to have sufficient flexibility to deal with late-running trains. Many times late trains bring other problems with them....crabby crews who have worked long hours, and slim supplies and strained equipment with failures and cleanliness issues.

With all of this kept in mind, a long distance train trip can still be a decent travel experience. Indeed, with advance psychological preparation, it may turn out much better than expected. But....