Having now made 4 long distance round trips since NOV '14 and ridden 10 different named trains I too, have come to question the wisdom of tipping the dining car employees.
I've read the Loomis tomes, read posts on this site and others, ..... all imploring people to tip 20% of the printed menu price. Having owned 5 different restaurants over the years, I can write with confidence that I know all there is to know about tipping and food service.
My experience has been I can count on one hand the number of food servers I thought earned a tip. Most have a sour, rude, surly, attitude, uninterested in doing anything more than flopping down a plate of food and disappearing.
NOT PROFESSIONAL by any measure !!!
Anymore, today I will only tip if I get reasonable, friendly, courteous service.
And NO !!, I don't expect or want anyone to k*ss my arse.
In addition, the VERY uncomfortable occurrence of being seated at the same table with strangers who will get up and not leave a tip OR when I leave a tip then leave first...............?????.
And please don't lecture me about this thing called "Community Seating" That's just a joke. When the staff in the dining car insists on smashing and stuffing everyone into six tables and ten tables or half a dining car sits unused???
And I'm sure some drooling Amtrak Foamer will immediately write that a dining car only has "X" number of tables, not 16, (10 + 6)
Tipping on trains was ORIGINALLY "To Insure Promptness" AND to compensate the fact that many, many MANY years ago, BLACK PORTERS were paid pennies to work the trains. REALITY CHECK HERE PEOPLE !!!!!!
TODAY these people earn between $16 to $26 AN HOUR, guaranteed 40 hour week with gold-plated benefits and STILL the majority of them act like it's a royal pain to do their jobs and the overwhelming attitude is they are doing you a "favor" to be even bothered with you.
Now if I got the same level of service that any of us get when we go to a restaurant with menu prices comparable to anAmtrak Dining Car in a regular brick and mortar restaurant then, ..........
And that is from staff that is being paid minimum wage OR LESS, as tipped positions almost everywhere has a much lower minimum wage. Here in Pennsylvania the minimum wage is $7.75 per hour, BUT a tipped position, minimum wage is $2.36 per hour !! YES, in 2016, $2.36 per hour, right here in PA., Google it if you don't believe me !!
And while you're at it, Google the minimum wage for tipped positions IN YOUR STATE.
I strongly suspect there is an overwhelming atmosphere of hostility between Amtrak Employees and Amtrak Management, ... but if that's the case,... and I really do think that IS what is gong on within the entire Amtrak system, .....
DON"T take it out on the fare-paying passengers!!
I can already imagine the collective howling by all the very vocal Amtrak "Loyalists" on this site who will respond with every excuse and condemnation of what I write. I especially like the oft quoted excuse that , "...but they're away from home for days at a time..." or "....they have such a hard job carrying plates of food on a moving train..." and so much more. PLEASE !! THAT"S THE JOB !!!
I'm so sorry that I actually have the audacity to expect them to DO THE JOBS THAT THEY ARE BEING PAID TO DO.