Passenger Trains > Gratuities on Amtrak

I’m soon going to be traveling with my family on train 8 from Seattle to Chicago in a sleeping accommodation. What is customary in tipping the crew for satisfactory service?

David Audley
Baldwin, MD

$25.00 if they just do basic beds up/down. Or more depending on the size and needs of your crew. i usually go $10 a nite alone in roomette if they explain room functions, diner reservations, wake up call etc. I have given zero when a crew member disappears.

I give them 5 dollars a day, because them people make 18 or 19 dollars per hour.

For a one night trip, I generally give $15 or $20. Less if the service is fair.

If the attendant is invisible, which has happened, I will give bupkus.

Opinions on this topic vary significantly, of course.

I've traveled by sleeper many times, on many routes. It never ceases to amaze me how random the service levels are.

The kicker happened a year ago on the Starlight. We arrived in Oakland, and an elderly lady was trying to unload her baggage from the downstairs rack. I helped her. Then, she took it to the door. The attendant just stood there outside on the platform and looked at her--no offer of help, nothing. So, I helped again--and the lady offered to tip me, right in front of the porter!!! To this day I still wonder if he ever got a clue from that situation! I mean, come on. Lazy bum.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/11 19:16 by coach.

railcity Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I give them 5 dollars a day, because them people
> make 18 or 19 dollars per hour.


Man, that was good pay back in 1982.

i do 20-25 on auto train , depending on number days figure out what you want to give you might give them half first day and say i see you at end of trip also ,

HogBoyJr Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> railcity Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I give them 5 dollars a day, because them
> people
> > make 18 or 19 dollars per hour.
>
>
> Man, that was good pay back in 1982.

Lol. That Is correct *- not so much these days.
Having said that they do have to do some work to get more than 5 a day from me. On a 2 leg trip I just ccompleted today the cardinal attendant got 5 bucks and the LSL attendant got zilch. I almost zeroed out the cardinal attendant because he tried to kick me out of my room less than an hour before arriving Chicago. He wwanted to make up the room and told me he would get in trouble if the room was not made up upon arrival. I told him I didn't believe him and closed the door. I have him a little bit since he was nice and helpful up to tthat point.

The LSL attendant did nothing more than set up the room upon leaving Chicago. He didn't disappear but did not want to be bothered with us after that

Posted from BlackBerry

I gave a $10 last fall on the Empire Builder to my attendant who did an excellent job! Back in 2009, my attendant on the Texas Eagle got zilch because after Dallas, he was basically nowhere to be found, I didn't even see him get off the train in San Antonio! To make matters worse, the attendant that took over for him at San Antonio had her hands full since he never completed half the work he was supposed to do! That was the trip where I had to teach myself how to set up the bed for sleeping since the attendant was nowhere to be found. I gave the attendant on the Sunset Limited (the one who took over for the attendant who disappeared from the Eagle) a $7 tip because she absolutely bent over backwards for everyone, including finding a way to keep me in the same sleeping car for the duration of that trip (I was ticketed in 2 different rooms but saved $322 doing so by booking part of the trip with AGR points and the rest straight thru Amtrak), she also heard me tell another passenger that I would have a long drive the day I arrived at LAX since I was renting a car to drive to Vegas, so she brought me breakfast to my room at 6am on the Sunset so I could sleep in since I didn't want to get up at 5am for breakfast! I really don't know what the proper amounts are for tipping the sleeper attendants. In the dining car, I tip based on what the food would have cost me had I been paying (assuming I'm in a sleeper), and if I am paying, I still tip based on the price of the food like at any sit-down restaurant. If I get really good service, I will give a very generous tip! I have done business with some absolutely phenomenal Amtrak employees over the years and have tipped accordingly, I have also encountered a waitress in a dining car who asked another waitress to serve me as she didn't want to because I was a railfan, and I'm a good tipper!

Tip as MUCH as you can possibly afford to receive the best possible service.
Do anything less and imagine yourself at the DMV or post office.

(Edit: HOWEVER, there are some AMAZING Amtrak employees I definitely don't mean to offend by this!)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/11 22:34 by coaststarlight99.

railcity Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I give them 5 dollars a day, because them people
> make 18 or 19 dollars per hour.


What does how much they earn have to do with tipping? You tip to the service you receive, not the amount of income you think the person being tipped is earning. You receive lousy service you leave lousy tips, it works in reverse too... You leave lousy tips you receive lousy service.

No matter how much money they make per hour, remember that the people who are receiving these tips;

A) Are living on the train, in some cases they're gone from home for a week at a time.
B) Are working LONG days (I believe their contract only grants them 4 hours of rest per day, which is still not guaranteed if the train is late).
and C) do NOT get overtime (Yes, if you're on a 36 hour trip they get paid 36 hours straight... No overtime after 8 hours like everybody else bub!)

Taking a Southwest Chief trip for example, an OBS person works a round trip every two weeks (Six days on, Eight days off). The average trip time is 43 hours with some adjustments for breaks and set up/clean up. At $19 per hour this equals about $43,498 per year. Hardly the high end of the average pay scale if you ask me.

I will admit, I know the hourly rate is higher then that (it wasn't before 2008 though), and if they work more than 160 hours in a month an OBS person DOES finally get overtime (so they'd get the equivilant of four hours per trip in my example if the train's not late), but trust me when I say that OBS personnel are HARDLY living rich lives.

Now, as for me, having worked in the industry (though not OBS) I would suggest a per night tip based upon the service received...


*First night: $5 paid as they turn the seats into beds (Not paid if you have to convert your own room into beds) (Lake Shore Limited might be better handled differently, not sure how the crew does this)

*Subsequent nights: $10, paid as they turn the seats into beds ($5 if you had to convert the beds to seats yourself in the morning or received no service during the day, not paid at all if they don't convert the seats to beds)

*End of trip: Up to $20 based upon the service received over the duration of the trip, using
$0 for no service (Maybe they greeted you as you boarded then said goodbye as you left)
$5 for lousy/limited service (They threw the step stool out when you boarded/detrained, and converted your bed when you asked),
$10 for "average" service (See above, but they didn't need to be asked, and they were available almost whenever you needed them)
$20 for stupendous service (See above, but always there for you, always helped you, and genuinely made you feel appreciated and welcome)

The bigger issue is why is service still so inconsistent? Why can't they get rid of those not doing a competent jobs. VIA Rail doesn't seem to have the same problems with inconsistent crews. Wonder if they make any more per hour? These people don't have to be overly friendly, just do their jobs and be cordial to the passengers who are paying their salaries with their tax dollars. Sure the hours are long, often things go wrong, and some customers are jerks. But if they don't like it, find different work. All the great Amtrak employees out there get a bad wrap because the minority that are still employed who could care less about good customer service.

Training, training, training; That's what makes the good ones good. They took their training to heart. Did Amtrak do away with the On Board Train Captain, or whatever they called him. I'm not talking about the conductors. I am talking about the Chief of the on board service personnel. He/she is the person who is supposed to be on top of everyone. If they don't have those people anymore, the fox has the run of the henhouse.

Someone mentioned sticking it to the porter on the Texas Eagle because he did his magician's act and disappeared. Then, on his next leg from San Antonio to LA, he had a gal who was a real gem. She even brought him breakfast without his having to ask. She had heard him saying something about having to be up early because he was driving to Lost Wages, so she took it upon herself to have a meal ready for him. He said he tipped her $7. What wasn't clear was if the $7 was for the breakfast, or for her services from San Antonio to LA. That's a 30 hour run if it is on time. It seems to me $7 is a little on the low side if it was supposed to be for a lady busting her hump for 30 hours.

I don't know if Amtrak still does it, but upper management would go ride trains unannounced back in the 1970s. I took the Pioneer from Seattle to Portland, and had Bruce Heard as a seatmate. At that time, I think his title put him in charge of onboard passenger services on the western trains. He was in a seat, dressed nicely, and not drawing attention to himself, but keeping an eye on things with the idea of making improvements as needed. I took the Pioneer twice. It was a great train; well run, good food and good service.

Service personnel; good service, good tips!

Barry Stone

I generally tip $5 a day with $10 a day for really good service and $0 for bad service. I tend to travel one way across country by Amtrak about three times a years. In about 75% of the instances I end up taking down (and putting up) my own bed either because the attendant is busy (not his fault) or nowhere to be found (???). Attendants get extra points from me when the ice is kept refreshed and when they are carrying a corkscrew I can borrow.

I also tip consistently in the diner cars based upon the menu prices for the food items ordered and erratically in the snack cars. One observation: I took the Chaleur sleeper from Gaspe to Montreal last month and when I arrived in Montreal, I gave the car attendant a $10 note. (He had given me permission to go shoot pictures out of the platform on the back sleeper car which was out of service.) I didn't notice a single other sleeping car passenger detraining in Montreal giving any kind of gratuity to the attendant. I am curious if anyone out there has a clue regarding what percentage of first class passengers on Amtrak long distance trains don't tip sleeping car attendants or dining car personnel. My guess is that it's somewhere near to 50%.

25 dollars for multiple day trip in the sleeper for good service sounds quite fair...$5 a day sounds pretty tight with the money. Back well before Amtrak my Dad made good tips cutting cash fares on the PRR Broadway from HBG, Lancaster and Paoli for the "gentry" that commuted to NYC.

Posted from iPhone

daudley Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I’m soon going to be traveling with my family on
> train 8 from Seattle to Chicago in a sleeping
> accommodation. What is customary in tipping the
> crew for satisfactory service?
>
> David Audley
> Baldwin, MD


My wife and I recently utilized #5-6 between GBB-SLC, the crews on both trains were great & were
tipped well accordingly. Yes, both trains were very late , #5 to SLC being ten hours off, not the fault
of Amtrak.

We also remembered the dining car crew. At the end of each trip we handed our servers $15, and I
gave a bit extra to a dining car server whom I found out from my car attendant was on his first run!

On #6 I also helped our attendant remove an overflowing trash bag at DEN and an elderly lady's
luggage at a stop in Iowa (weighed a ton) from the end of car compartment, trying to make his
job easier. I make a similar wage in a union shop and appreciate all the hard work and sacrifice
the average middle-class working stiff has to endure....

billwood Wrote:
---------
I didn't notice a single other
> sleeping car passenger detraining in Montreal
> giving any kind of gratuity to the attendant. I am
> curious if anyone out there has a clue regarding
> what percentage of first class passengers on
> Amtrak long distance trains don't tip sleeping car
> attendants or dining car personnel. My guess is
> that it's somewhere near to 50%.

Remember that many people leave the tip in the Sleeping compartment or roomette. Most people are used to leaving tips in hotel rooms and do the same thing on trains which is why you might not have seen them handing money to the attendant.

For what it is worth I took a trip on the Starlight about a year ago. The sleeping car attendant at no point touched any passenger luggage. I helped an elderly woman who was in the "H" room get her bags off. The attendant just looked at me. I called Amtrak customer service to report this person when I returned home and was shocked to hear from the customer relations agent that sleeping car attendants are not supposed to handle luggage at all. I was shocked. I tip well for good service when on the train. I tip zero for poor service. My largest tip was to Gul on the Empire Builder. He lets you know when you get on the train that he is there to serve you and he does that to say the least. He brings your champagne to you, presents it to you and lets down your tray table. Puts a white cloth on it and pours it for you. Lets you know that you may eat in your room if you so desire. Gul makes each passenger feel like he is your personal Porter. Unlike the attendant on 28 last year who advised that he would not bring any meals to the rooms because the walk was too long. Or the attendant on 21 when I upgraded from a roomette to a bedroom onboard and found the bedroom to have the last passengers "droppings" in the toilet. I advised him that the room needed cleaned and he actually brought me a spray bottle of cleaner and a toilet bowl brush. I advised him that I would not clean the toilet. He did in a huff. That was the last I saw of him during that trip. I tip the dining car service personnel well for good service. Once I tipped a coach car attendant upon arrival in CUS as she did an outstanding job during the trip from PGH. All the sleepers were sold out and I had to sit with my two sons who were 4 and 5 at that time. She took us to the rear of the coach and gave us seats across from each other. When we were coming in to CUS I gave her twenty dollars. Tears actually came into her eyes. And then there is Kathy Jackson on the Builder. 70 years young and in my personal opinion Amtraks best dining car server. But my worst experience was on 28 last year. We left PDX and were due into CUS the day before Thanksgiving. Engine failure and freight replacement along with a host of other delays caused us to arrive into CUS on Thanksgiving day 20hrs and 8min late. Our attendant during that 3 day trip never once introduced himself to us. Never offered to put down or put up our bed.

coaststarlight99 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Tip as MUCH as you can possibly afford to receive
> the best possible service.
> Do anything less and imagine yourself at the DMV
> or post office.
>
> (Edit: HOWEVER, there are some AMAZING Amtrak
> employees I definitely don't mean to offend by
> this!)

Seems like you're advocating an advance tip? Seems to me that the attendant should demonstrate an interest in serving before tips are exchanged. Am I missing something here?

A guy 28 from my post above advance tipped the attendant in our sleeper. $50.00 to be exact to get 1st class service for him and his wife he proudly told me upon leaving PDX. Halfway through the trip he admitted to me that his money had been wasted when he asked for dinner in his bedroom and was refused by this attendant. I never advance tip on Amtrak or anywhere for that matter.