Newbies' Great Adventure!

[GusTrain]

Thank you all for this great site! I have learned so much from all of you!

My husband & I took our first Amtrak trip a year ago when we took the Empire Builder round trip from Portland to St. Paul, MN to visit our son in college. We fell in love with train travel! We got the Guest Rewards credit card & started planning our next trip!

We just got back from a trip in which we managed to try the California Zephyr, the City of New Orleans, the Southwest Chief, AND the Coast Starlight! ALL of the routes were amazing! We can't wait to go again.

I just have a couple of questions:

1. Could someone please explain if there is an organized tipping protocol or guideline? For both car attendants & dining car staff. They all work so hard I want to be sure when we go again we are doing it correctly.

2. Does anyone know how the staff are evaluated for their customer service? Do they have "secret shopper" travelers? There just is such a WIDE range of quality of service from 2 specific ones that went above & beyond in every aspect of great care to one who never introduced himself & truly ignored his car & duties the whole time.. I plan to send the praise reports to Amtrak, but should I report the slacker? It just seems they would have a better evaluation

system other than riders' feedback.

OK! Thanks for this site-it's wonderful to know there are other train lovers like us!

 

[JayPea]

Glad you had such a great time! Your trips sound fun....particularly the second one. Train travel is surely addicting. As for your questions: about tipping, what I and a lot of folks do is for meals, tip the amount you normally would for similarly priced meals at restaurants. As for attendants, I tip according to quality of service rendered. For me, the best service nets $10/night for the sleeping car attendants down to $0 for those who provide no service. I always tip attendants at the end of the trip; some do at the beginning. But the best advice is to listen to other folks' answers, and best decide what is right for you. The above is what I do, but that may not be best for you. As for evaluations, there is no "secret shopper" that I know of for train travel. If there was, you can bet I'd sign up in an instant! :lol: The service in my experiences has been widely inconsistent too. By all means, report the slacker too. Amtrak can't correct problems they don't know about.

I am glad you and your husband are hooked! I am eagerly awaiting my next trip in six weeks: Spokane to Seattle, then to Glacier Park and then back to Spokane. And this site is addicting too! We are all just like one big happy dysfunctional family! :lol: !!!

 

[TraneMan]

Glad to hear you two are enjoying the train travels!

I know I got my other half hooked! We are going to Vancouver this summer, and I was making plan B for our trip out, and that was to fly out to Seattle, in case the EB is having a VERY bad summer.. I brought it up to him, and he said , "Nope!".

Anyway, yes you can put in the good word on your attendant or other crew members here. As a poor one I'd suggest call them, and ask for Customer Relation.

 

[SarahZ]

I tip $10/night for good service, sometimes a bit more if I'm traveling with my boyfriend and/or it's a holiday period. I tip the attendant before departing, usually when they change our bedding that morning.

For meals, I tip just like I do in a restaurant. I do a rough calculation of the total (the prices are on the menu) and then figure out 15-20% of that, based on service.

Since meals are included in your room charge, some people find it easier to just tip the same amount for each meal, rather than calculate it all out. You'll see the "2/3/4" method mentioned, which is $2 for breakfast, $3 for lunch, and $4 for dinner. The servers on Amtrak trains make more than server minimum, so it becomes a true tip rather than partially subsidizing their wages.

As far as your second question, TraneMan nailed it. I use the link to provide feedback for good employees and call Customer Relations if I've had a particularly bad experience. Luckily, I only had to do that once.

Amtrak sometimes sends surveys after you've completed a trip. I always fill mine out. It will ask about the temperature on the train, cleanliness, food, etc.