Lunch Prices

[AmtrakBlue]

I have a trip from Virginia to Arizona coming up later this year: four days, three nights each way. I'm very much looking forward to the trip, but calculating the cost of the tips is kind of horrifying, assuming I do make all the meals and also tip the sleeper attendant each day. Particularly since I don't carry much cash these days.

I came up with a need for 33 ones, 7 fives, and 8 tens, or $148 total. Seems like there has to be a better way. I'd rather pay it up front in the fare.

I do that, too, the breaking down into ones, fives and tens. I carry only one days worth of tip money on me and then pack the rest in several different ways in my luggage (won't reveal that since I sometimes travel with other AUers. h34r: :help: ). The tip money I carry with me is put into an envelope just for that so that I don't accidentally spend it on something else.

 

[fairviewroad]

I am not sure that most people tip in Amtrak Diners is necessarily correct either.

Can't say for sure. I only said it was in my observation. Though, to be fair, now that we are a family of four, I am the only "paying" customer at our dining car table. So my observation of what others do is certainly limited these days!

And thank you, Triley, for the added context. What you've described is one reason why I do generally tip despite the aforementioned salary situation. Someone who can provide a good customer service experience despite those long hours and working conditions is certainly deserving of a tip.

Of course, truth be told there are many such jobs with long hours and stressful working conditions that do not result in tips because they are not in the service industry. But I'm willing to generally encourage good service inasmuch as a tip plays a role in that.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Excellent points Triley, and you forgot to include the All Nighters that the LSA pulls on #66 and #67 in the Cafe.

I consider the Cafe Attendant job the worst one for OBS staff, especially on Superliners where you are down in the Dungeon for 16 Hours or so all by yourself!

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I've never witnessed anyone actually being turned away but I have heard this communicated in advance via PA announcements, though perhaps not with such specificity. [usually something like "the dining car is for full meals only."] While tacky, those announcements may help avoid awkward situations later on. In situations where all dining car reservation slots are taken, I think this is mostly a reasonable policy. [i'd be the most willing to bend in a situation where two or three adults order an entree and the other member of the party just orders a drink.] Of course, there are certainly ways that Amtrak could turn tables faster and accommodate more people, but that's a separate discussion.

I haven't seen anyone tossed out like a hobo or anything. I've just seen them told that if they failed to order an entree for each seat they would need to leave the dining car. I'm not really trying to defend or discredit the practice either way. To be perfectly honest it's not something about which I have a strong opinion. I'm not sure why my plain spoken recollection was previously described as a "nasty comment" when it's not my policy to begin with, but whatever.

Plus, non-Americans do not tip in their countries, so tipping is foreign to them.

This is an outdated myth that hasn't been true for at least a generation. In 2016 there is no country on earth that is unaware that Americans routinely tip each other. They may not understand the reasoning or have memorized all the various guidelines and exceptions, but they know that in general there will be a lot of tipping expected for basic services. By the same token Americans traveling abroad will often be expected to tip even if the locals do not usually tip each other.

I am not sure that most people tip in Amtrak Diners is necessarily correct either. Too often I have been the only one that tipped at my table specially if it was exclusively occupied by Sleeper passengers.

This has been my experience as well.

I have a trip from Virginia to Arizona coming up later this year: four days, three nights each way. I'm very much looking forward to the trip, but calculating the cost of the tips is kind of horrifying, assuming I do make all the meals and also tip the sleeper attendant each day. Particularly since I don't carry much cash these days. I came up with a need for 33 ones, 7 fives, and 8 tens, or $148 total. Seems like there has to be a better way. I'd rather pay it up front in the fare.

Amtrak staff already receive a healthy living wage and benefits thanks to collective bargaining, so in that sense you are paying up front. If you choose to pay again through tipping that's really up to you.

 

[Triley]

Excellent points Triley, and you forgot to include the All Nighters that the LSA pulls on #66 and #67 in the Cafe.

I consider the Cafe Attendant job the worst one for OBS staff, especially on Superliners where you are down in the Dungeon for 16 Hours or so all by yourself!

I didn't include 67/66 because I actually don't think it's a bad trip, in fact it's one of my favorites. Lots of hours to just go for a train ride, for the most part. There are some wonderful T&E crews that work those trains, so there are often some great conversations to be had. It's also great to be able to have an extended conversation with passengers. I have heard some fascinating travel stories while working that roundtrip.

There's also other minor things that are nice about that trip, such as the 27 hour layover in NPN, and easily being able to grab some food at the major station stops. Southbound I usually grab Subway in NY and talk with the 66 LSA too, and in DC I head over to my fellow Boston LSA on 172 for a chat. Northbound I order Unos in DC, and then use to head to Hot and Crusty in NY, but since they closed I go to Le Bon Cafe or Au Bon Cafe for breakfast.

All that's off subject though. The LSA-Cafe is typically seen as the most difficult OBS job, but the LSA-Diner is the one people typically have something against, or so it seems. Or at least that's how it is in DC with the Capitol Limited.

 

[boxcarsyix]

I have a trip from Virginia to Arizona coming up later this year: four days, three nights each way. I'm very much looking forward to the trip, but calculating the cost of the tips is kind of horrifying, assuming I do make all the meals and also tip the sleeper attendant each day. Particularly since I don't carry much cash these days.

I came up with a need for 33 ones, 7 fives, and 8 tens, or $148 total. Seems like there has to be a better way. I'd rather pay it up front in the fare.

I carry $2.00 bills for some of the ones. That helps some. :giggle:

 

[Bob Dylan]

Thanks for the inside dope on #66/#67 Triley! ( Spell Check keeps trying to change your Nom-de-Forum to Turkey!

I've only ridden these trains in Biz Class and usually sleep except during the Loooong NYP Layover, so was really talking about having to be up all night while others are asleep, sort of like the Mid-Watch in the Navy!

 

[the_traveler]

The only times that I've seen diners turned away at lunch if if they sit down, look at the menu and then say something like "I'll just have coffee or a soda". That is when they're directed to the café.

It's not because "they do not meet the minimum outlay". It's because they did not want a full meal.

And if I was not in a sleeper, I would not order the salad for lunch. That alone cuts your cost listed above by $3. (In fact, I once ordered the salad and gave it to my table mate from coach.)

 

[Devil's Advocate]

The only times that I've seen diners turned away at lunch if if they sit down, look at the menu and then say something like "I'll just have coffee or a soda". That is when they're directed to the café. It's not because "they do not meet the minimum outlay". It's because they did not want a full meal.

I'm pretty sure it's about the size of your outlay and not about the size of your stomach. Nobody seems to care if you actually finish a full entree. They only seem to care that you order and pay for it. Again, I'm not defending this rule so much as explaining what I've repeatedly seen on my travels.

 

[the_traveler]

It's only about the DC only serves full meals. (And yes, very seldom do I "eat everything on my plate" at lunch.) It's very possible to spend more for lunch or breakfast at the café - and exceed the "minimum outlay" of the DC!

 

[JayPea]

I was riding coach on the Coast Starlight one time and the LSA made it perfectly clear he wanted no part of coach passengers in the diner. He sprinted through the coaches muttering about lunch under his breath hoping no one heard him. I doubt anyone did.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I was riding coach on the Coast Starlight one time and the LSA made it perfectly clear he wanted no part of coach passengers in the diner. He sprinted through the coaches muttering about lunch under his breath hoping no one heard him. I doubt anyone did.

So, did you have lunch in the diner, just to spite him?

 

[Palmetto]

Amtrak Blue wrote:

"Plus, non-Americans do not tip in their countries, so tipping is foreign to them."

Well, actually foreigners do tip in their own country. The difference is, in restaurants, at least, the tip in included in the bill, like it or not. The French tip at gas stations that are not self-service, and they'll tip an usher who shows them to their seat in a theatre. Well, that used to be the case, anyway. Perhaps the tipping protocol has changed?

 

[JayPea]

I was riding coach on the Coast Starlight one time and the LSA made it perfectly clear he wanted no part of coach passengers in the diner. He sprinted through the coaches muttering about lunch under his breath hoping no one heard him. I doubt anyone did.

So, did you have lunch in the diner, just to spite him?

I thought about it but opted for the lounge car where I probably had a better meal.

 

[mycalpal]

The tipping comes up a great deal on these forums. It seems more people write about it than do it. My standard is you leave a tip for good service, which is what I have received, most of the time. While I don't always tip 15-20 percent of the bill in the diner, I have found that even a smaller tip is greatly appreciated. I am leaving on another cross country trip this week, I go east every year for Father's Day and have me round trips and round the country trips. As I always get a sleeper I am eating in the diner for every meal. A fair number of diners leave no tip, others leave a dollar or two and some people will tip $5-10, usually this is a 2-3 people. The largest cash tip I have seen was $12 that I left for my last lunch on first trip on the California Zephyr from San Francisco to Chicago 5 years ago. We were the first train to get to Chicago, after major flooding around Omaha had closed the tracks for five days. The train was so jammed, they oversold coach and some people had to sleep in the Sightseer Lounge (yes, sometimes people will do this on their own but this wasn't the case) The diner staff worked so very hard, they were seating passengers for dinner up till 10pm at night and still were up very early for breakfast and they did it with grace and a smile most of the time. There was a sleeping car passenger who was not a happy camper and they crew handled him with tact and a sense of humor and made sure the rest of us enjoyed our ride.

 

[D.P. Roberts]

I have a trip from Virginia to Arizona coming up later this year: four days, three nights each way. I'm very much looking forward to the trip, but calculating the cost of the tips is kind of horrifying, assuming I do make all the meals and also tip the sleeper attendant each day. Particularly since I don't carry much cash these days.

I came up with a need for 33 ones, 7 fives, and 8 tens, or $148 total. Seems like there has to be a better way. I'd rather pay it up front in the fare.

We did the same thing for our upcoming trip, and came up with numbers. We've decided to take a different strategy this time. In the past, we've tipped via the usual American strategy - tip everyone a certain percentage, then adjust that number up or down based on the level of service. However, we've often found ourselves on trips where a handful of employees were very bed, several were very good, and most just kind of "showed up." As others have already pointed out, Amtrak employees are already paid fairly well, so not receiving a tip from us isn't really going to hurt them. Yet we've often found ourselves giving the "bare minimum" tip for bare minimum service.

So, we've decided on a new strategy. We're only going to tip those employees who go "Above and Beyond." Rather than tipping 95% of the time, we're probably going to tip 25% of the time, but give 4 times as much to those employees who really go out of their way to make their passengers feel special.

 

[wowixor]

So, we've decided on a new strategy. We're only going to tip those employees who go "Above and Beyond." Rather than tipping 95% of the time, we're probably going to tip 25% of the time, but give 4 times as much to those employees who really go out of their way to make their passengers feel special.

You could also call the 800 number or write a letter and let Amtrak know who is actually doing a great job -- that also helps reward the good workers. They're doing a thing right now that for so many "good" comments or letters, employees will get awarded with customer service pins. They might only be pins, but I sure want them lol.

And also lets Amtrak know who isn't so good.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

So, we've decided on a new strategy. We're only going to tip those employees who go "Above and Beyond." Rather than tipping 95% of the time, we're probably going to tip 25% of the time, but give 4 times as much to those employees who really go out of their way to make their passengers feel special.

You could also call the 800 number or write a letter and let Amtrak know who is actually doing a great job -- that also helps reward the good workers. They're doing a thing right now that for so many "good" comments or letters, employees will get awarded with customer service pins. They might only be pins, but I sure want them lol.

And also lets Amtrak know who isn't so good.

This is a good idea and should be front page news on Amtrak.com IMO.

 

[JayPea]

While on the California Zephyr this week I noticed one of the servers had cards with her name on it at the tables she serves. It had the number to call to tell Amtrak about their experiences, good or bad, they might have had with this server. Never seen that before.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

While on the California Zephyr this week I noticed one of the servers had cards with her name on it at the tables she serves. It had the number to call to tell Amtrak about their experiences, good or bad, they might have had with this server. Never seen that before.

Back in 2014 on the SWC my SCA gave me one of those cards. When I got home I made sure I sent in a "job well done" to Amtrak about her.

Gotta wonder if the good employees are more likely to hand out the cards than the bad employees.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Yep, the bad apples and slackers are usually MIA or don't care so as was said the good ones that have pride in their jobs usually give out the cards!

I also always compliment the Good staff when I call Amtrak or AGR about any problems or concerns I expierenced on a trip!

You'd be surprissed how often Agents tell me they get very few compliments for good staff, mostly they hear about the bums!

 

[andersone]

The Amtrak site is back to working fairly well

I use this link for employee praise