Dining car/meals

[Joey B]

Ok time for me to chime in here. I have been a Waiter and or Bartender for the better part of 25 years, been working in the Industry for 30 years. As far as good service is concerned, that everyone has their own opinion on. A seasoned Server can sense wich guests like to be interacted with and wich just want sufficient service. Now tipping is a aurgument that has two sides, kinda like States going non Smoking. But in the US we use a tipping system, thats the way it is. We all have bills and rent to pay and families to support. If we went to a regular hourly wage I would get out of the business, although at my age I dont know what I would do. I have also heard from many world travelers, and I work in a business Hotel so I meet many, that the service in the US is much better than in Europe and they attribute it to the tipping system. And I hear this from Americans and Foriegn guests alike. But I will tell you Europeans are the worst tippers if they tip at all. And I cannot believe they do not know our customs. When ever you are going to another country you find out what their customs are. Due to this, whenever I hear a Euroipean accent I think to myself "here we go", but I bite my lip and give the same professional service I give everyone. I know there are a lot of unprofessional servers out there, who feel all they need to do is throw down the food and collect the tips. Beloeve me I encounter them when i go out and it pisses me off. And I tip accordingly, although I have only once stiffed a server in my life, but when I did I brought it to the managements attention and told the why. If i recieve adequate to good service I always tip 20%, poor to mediocre 15% but you really have to be a bad server to get 10 % out of me. So please take care of tipped employees, for many this is their liveliehood, and also remember everybody has bad days.

Joey B

 

[Neil_M]

But I will tell you Europeans are the worst tippers if they tip at all. And I cannot believe they do not know our customs. When ever you are going to another country you find out what their customs are. Due to this, whenever I hear a Euroipean accent I think to myself "here we go", but I bite my lip and give the same professional service I give everyone.

I think you are probably being a bit unfair there, its what you are used to, certainly in the UK its virtually unheard of to tip a bartender, most people like I did assume you actually get paid a decent living wage, and its a bit of a shock to find you actually dont!

In Europe service is generally included in the price, so the idea of paying up to 20% extra is something a lot of people will not have encountered in everyday life. Most people if they read a guide book will probably skip the pages on tipping and other minor stuff and just check out the best museums, clubs, hotels etc. Surely if you work in the service industry you have to take the rough with the smooth, have you never had an American give you no or a poor tip, bet you have....

Isnt it a poor show to assume that just because I speak with an English accent I will not tip you? Thats almost as bad as me assuming all Americans are like the 2 I encountered in Avignon, in Provence,a few years back,who were most insistant the waiter in the reasonably upscale restaurant bought them ketchup to put on their fish main course....... :blink:

Stereotypes are not that great, since gaining an American girlfriend, I have since found out you are actually quite nice people and not uncivilized ketchup demanding oiks......

 

[Chris J.]

Isnt it a poor show to assume that just because I speak with an English accent I will not tip you? Thats almost as bad as me assuming all Americans are like the 2 I encountered in Avignon, in Provence, a few years back,who were most insistant the waiter in the reasonably upscale restaurant bought them ketchup to put on their fish main course....... :blink:

Neil, I don't know if you ever watched the BBC show 'Red Dwarf' but I'm reminded of the episode where Lister asks for ketchup (or maybe it was brown sauce) on his lobster i think it was; Kryten's head literally explodes, along with a comment along the lines of "You want sauce?! on lobster?!"

I do agree with the points about following the local custom, and i'll try my best to do so when i'm in the US - hopefully i'll get it right, tho i'll no doubt revert to my "if in doubt, do what everyone else seems to be doing" policy

 

[Joey B]

Isnt it a poor show to assume that just because I speak with an English accent I will not tip you? Thats almost as bad as me assuming all Americans are like the 2 I encountered in Avignon, in Provence,a few years back,who were most insistant the waiter in the reasonably upscale restaurant bought them ketchup to put on their fish main course....... :blink: Stereotypes are not that great, since gaining an American girlfriend, I have since found out you are actually quite nice people and not uncivilized ketchup demanding oiks......

I understand what you are saying, and I am not assuming. As I said I bite my lip and give the same profesiional service I give all my guest. But I cannot help having it come up in my mind due to past experience. Stereotypes come about for a reason and I try to rise above them. On the rare occasion I due get a good tip from a foriegn guest I am grateful and glad I gave the same service I gave everyone else. When I get Stiffed, which is more often than not I just take it in stride. however I will admit People from the UK tend to tip SOMETHING as opposed to most people from Australia. But I also know that the way I make a living is a crap toss everynight and that is just the nature of the beast. Did not mean to ofend anyone, just sharing my experience from my side of the tray/bar. Also I must admit when someone from the UK stiffs me it's hard to get mad because they are so Damm Polite LOL :lol: unlike other countries.

Again I didnt mean to offened.

Joey B

 

[Neil_M]

Again I didnt mean to offend.Joey B

No offence taken!

Anyone brave enough to take on dealing with the public gains my admiration, my level of patience would run out after 5 minutes...

You are right about Australians though, be gentle with them, most of them still live in caves and dont know how to behave in restaurants and the like...... :lol:

 

[Guest]

The question arises, then, do you respond over and above the 15% when the service is beyond your best expectations. Someone who does magnificently gets the same as someone who delivers marginal service under your system. That goes against the American mindset. Having 15% listed on the bill sounds more like a direct charge for payroll, not a gratuity. IMHO

 

[Neil_M]

The question arises, then, do you respond over and above the 15% when the service is beyond your best expectations. Someone who does magnificently gets the same as someone who delivers marginal service under your system. That goes against the American mindset. Having 15% listed on the bill sounds more like a direct charge for payroll, not a gratuity. IMHO

To my mind having any sort of variable service charge is odd, why should the main portion of the cost of the person who brings me my meal separate from any other of the costs in running a restaurant?

Why not a tip for the chef? Why not a charge for gas for cooking?

My own take on it is that anyone doing a job should get a reasonable living wage for that, that seems a fair way of doing it. Anything a customer facing person gets extra is then just that. Someones wage shouldnt really depend on goodwill, understanding local customs or being able to work out 20%.

 

[Grandma B]

Thank you, to all those that answered my questions regarding tipping/meals. As for tipping, we want to do the right thing for those who wait on us. Hopefully, we'll have a great crew aboard our upcoming Silver Meteor trip.

 

[sechs]

On a related note...

Are tips in the dining car pooled, as they often are in restaurants?

 

[Amtrak OBS Employee gone freight]

On a related note...
Are tips in the dining car pooled, as they often are in restaurants?

Depends on the crew.... some pool, others do their own tables.... With the SDS situation though, I see more of them pooling these days!! OBS gone freight...

 

[saxman]

Most people today would equate Amtrak service personnel to airline flight attendants. Airline flight attendants are not tipped and are, in fact, prohibited from accepting tips even if offered.

I'm not sure if this is totally true. Tipping a flight attendant is a rare occasion, but I've had a couple get tipped from gracious passengers on my flights. I don't think there is a rule against it either. (I'll have to check in to that though)

 

[Dwight Moody]

Most people today would equate Amtrak service personnel to airline flight attendants. Airline flight attendants are not tipped and are, in fact, prohibited from accepting tips even if offered.

I'm not sure if this is totally true. Tipping a flight attendant is a rare occasion, but I've had a couple get tipped from gracious passengers on my flights. I don't think there is a rule against it either. (I'll have to check in to that though)

It may have more than ten years ago at this point but I vividly remember an Alaskan Airlines flight attendant refusing any tips and getting upset when my brother and I slipped one onto her cart (not so much upset as being firm and with a smile to show that she appreciated that we just trying to be kind).

-Dwight

 

[Peri]

I routinely leave a Payday Candy Bar or a packet of Wrigley's Spearmint Gum on the diner table after a meal, but only if the service was good to above par. Other times, something as simple as a one-dollar off coupon redeemable at Del Taco or Carl's Jr. It always brings a cheery smile from the help.

I always bring along some tee shirts, that I have picked up at exotic ports of call or sporting events that no longer fit me. These serve as a unique gratuity for the porters both male and female.

Also, rather than simply tossing a quarter-full Jim Beam bottle in the trash, I will leave it in the bedroom or roomette with a brief note of appreciation for excellent service. As an example: "Thank you for everything. Enjoy!"

And, more than once, I've left a perfectly good lipstick whose color I no longer care for, for the lady porters that work extra hard. Assuming it's a good color for her.

Although I never tip with cash, I think it's important to leave "a little something extra" for excellent service! Please. Don't stiff the staff.

 

[iron mountain]

My opinion on tipping is simply that you are rewarded for you efforts. I work in a wine tasting bar and when I get a $10 bill in my cup the other wine presenters notice and seem to renew their efforts to give the best possible service. Nothing the matter with that. I do the same. There are times when I work very hard on my presentation and get no tip or an inadequate one. Usually folks just don't know any better. Once and a great while a tigtwad comes along and won't tip. Generally, the tipping system demonstrates the generosity of Americans (and I have been nicely tipped by some from other countries) and is what makes America great: you get rewarded for your efforts not a guaranteed socialist grastuity that has nothing to do with your competence.

 

[TVRM610]

I routinely leave a Payday Candy Bar or a packet of Wrigley's Spearmint Gum on the diner table after a meal, but only if the service was good to above par. Other times, something as simple as a one-dollar off coupon redeemable at Del Taco or Carl's Jr. It always brings a cheery smile from the help.
I always bring along some tee shirts, that I have picked up at exotic ports of call or sporting events that no longer fit me. These serve as a unique gratuity for the porters both male and female.

Also, rather than simply tossing a quarter-full Jim Beam bottle in the trash, I will leave it in the bedroom or roomette with a brief note of appreciation for excellent service. As an example: "Thank you for everything. Enjoy!"

And, more than once, I've left a perfectly good lipstick whose color I no longer care for, for the lady porters that work extra hard. Assuming it's a good color for her.

Although I never tip with cash, I think it's important to leave "a little something extra" for excellent service! Please. Don't stiff the staff.

LOL Got a good laugh out of this one, i sure hope this was meant as a joke, cause that's how i took it!

 

[opaque]

As has been mentioned things are different in Europe.

I can certainly see how someone who has never been to the US before and has basically just bought a quick holiday abroad could be totally surprised by the way things work tipwise.

But anyone who is actually planning a holiday would find these things out from any of the travel guides.

But I am very happy that people have brought up tipping on Amtrak on this great forum as it's not something I've seen mentioned anywhere else.

I think I'm more likely to overtip out of fear of looking cheap really And I want to get it right as I have a bedroom for 2 trips right across the country.

 

[TVRM610]

I should also mention that if you are travelling on a multi-day trip, you should definately tip in the diner. You will be surprised how that grumpy old man that served you dinner last night, is as happy as can be in the morning to serve you breakfast! You don't even have to tip big, the servers really do appreciate the fact that you tipped them, and they remember who you were the next day! At least this has been my experience.