Was I supposed to tip in Acela First?
 

First time on that version of Amtrak and the attendant walked around with a $10 and $5 folded lengthwise in his hand/fist the whole trip (3 hours or so), basically showing the currency to me every time something moved to or from my table.

Not sure if it was a "subtle" request for a gratuity or just safekeeping of one's $15 in US Cash whilst traveling the dangerous northeast corridor.

He never mentioned anything and my not providing him anything to add to it seemingly did nothing to enhance or reduce my service received (though there wasn't much less he could have done, save for sleeping).

Was I supposed to tip this guy??

Just wondering.

The showing of cash thing is a bit on the tacky side, but in general, the Acela F attendants are customarily tipped.

You might forgo the tip if you are only on the train for an extremely short time (not long enough to get a drink or meal), but if you receive drink and meal service, a tip is generally appropriate.

I do $5-$10, depending on service. However, I might have skipped a tip in this case.

This is called "trolling for tips".Tipping is not required by rules on Amtrak or by law in the USA for that matter. Tipping is a voluntary action on your part too express gratitude for excellent service. I tip for attentive service ,but I don't tip those attendants who "troll". Other methods include a cup filled with money starting out on the hot towel pick up tray or standing at the exit door with money in hand before anyone exits. The most flagrant "troller" I have experienced was attendant Mr.Johnson announcing on the FC car PA system that "gratuities will be gratefully accepted" during his "Thanks for riding Amtrak" announcement approaching RTE , near the end of the run to Boston.

Tipping is pretty standard in Acela F. On the NYP-WAS route, you typically see people hand the attendant a $20 as they disembark. On intermediate stations, if they serve a meal & drinks, I give them $10. Only time I don't tip is if there's lousy service.

The trolling for tips thing is annoying, but it's also true that there are probably lots of people who would tip if they knew that it was routinely done. They just don't know.

Ok, then I was the uninformed cheapskate....but, in truth, if $20 would be given for good service, I might have left a mere $3, which would have been commensurate with the level of service quality and speed I got over my journey. Now I know.

But, on the flipside, I can't say the $110 upgrade was worth it for the added value....food was only OK and service mediocre. Seat was nice, especially the solo one.

I would not hesitate to forego tips on Acela FC for average or worse service. The Amtrak attendants are not like employees in most tipped occupations. They get good wages and great benefits. Their compensation before tips is at least equal to flight attendants. Since I already paid at least a $100 up-charge for Acela FC, I can't see the need to throw another $5, $10 or $20 at a well-paid employee who simply provides the service.

Now, if an attendant goes out of his or her way to provide great service, then fine. I will tip just as I would provide an A&B card to a US FA who did the same. However, I see no reason that tipping Acela FC attendants should be considered customary.

I usually just ride Business Regional, but constantly think about trying Acela and would do it in F.

Reading this thread though is ridiculous. Why would attendants in Acela F get tips when flight attendants never get tips? The Acela attendants can't be doing more than my favorite FAs, are do they?

It's a legacy thing, plain and simple. Railroad service employees have always customarily been tipped.

The case for gratuity is far more compelling for long-distance train service staff, since they work several consecutive days away from home (18-20-hour days at that). Acela F is a plum assignment in comparison.

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Perhaps it might be good for people who are offended by blatant trolling to send a comment to Amtrak from this page
http://www.amtrak.com/contact-us click on the send email tab. Also PM AGR insider would be good.
If a few people start complaining then the trolling will become less blatant.

Very much so.

That said, I do have a theory that I think addresses the "why are some people tipped and others aren't?" question.

When you give a tip, you are implicitly saying that the recipient of your tip is of a lower social stature than you.

That's why we tip waitstaff, hotel bellmen, concierges, NY apartment building doormen, and maids. Those positions were (in a past era) members of the servant class. It's also why we don't tip people like doctors, CPAs, architects, and professors--those people are usually viewed as equals, superiors, educated professionals, or someone charged with a level of supervision and responsibility.

In the railroad industry, there's a division between the crew (engineers and conductors) and the service staff (car and dining attendants). The crew are viewed as social equals (professionals responsible for operation and safety) and are thus not tipped. The attendants (who have few, if any, real safety-related responsibilities) are viewed as social inferiors primarily there for service and are thus customarily tipped.

In the airline industry, both the pilots and the flight attendants are viewed as professionals primarily responsible for safety and thus social equals and are thus not tipped. Even in the early days of flying, flight attendants (who started out as flight nurses--definitely a profession!) were viewed as professionals and often even social equals. Since the airline industry lacks the sort of staff position that railroad porters and modern car attendants filled for the railroad industry--that of the non-trained, non-skilled position primarily aimed at serving the passengers--there is consequently no culture of tipping in the airline industry.

That's the explanation I came up with, anyway, to address the seemingly random nature of tipping. :)

I normally tip $5 for WAS-NYP or $10 if it is exceptional. When service is bad (or I guess worse than normal) I don't. Also if it's made obnoxiously clear that there's an expectation for a tip, like always having a tip cup on the tray, or in this case carrying money all trip, I would not tip. I see nothing wrong with an attendant being at the door to receive tips at the end of the trip, that seems like standard practice and the perfect time to offer a tip.

Yeah, he surprised me the last time that I rode with him by making that announcement. He'd never done so before. Yet he remains IMHO one of the best FC attendants. My glass of wine never goes empty, unless I want it to, when he's working the car. He really goes the extra mile for his passengers. I recall one trip where the power car was having problems and we had to stop a few times to check things out causing close to an hour delay.

In some what typical Amtrak fashion, the conductor announcements weren't full of information,but most importantly they never made any announcements to provide updated arrival times @ New Haven, Stamford, and NY. Mr. Johnson went to speak with the conductors and came back to the FC car to make an announcement in our car at least with the updated arrival times.

Maybe he got tired of working hard and always getting stiffed. ;)

You must ride different trains than I. $20 is not customary. I usually see a few $1s or a $5.