Survey: Tipping on Amtrak

Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Well it's been 24 hours, so here's an early analysis. I'll keep the survey open for about a week.

[SIZE=11pt]86% of people polled tip Amtrak staff.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Starting with food staff.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Most people tip their meal service staff (waiters & at-seat deliverers) 20% of what the bill would be. It should be noted that tipping $5 is quite common as well.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Cafe Car Attendants are normally tipped about a dollar. Of those people 62% said that they tip $1, The remaining 38% tip a dollar+change.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Turning our attention to Car Attendants.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Most people (48%) tip $10 a night, although $5/night isn't uncommon for sleeping car attendants.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]A whopping 75% of those polled don't tip their coach attendants (actually more than that, if I weed thru the written answers). If you are going to tip, it's usually $5/night.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]At the station, Red Cap tipping still varies pretty widely. More than half the people tipped somewhere between $1-5 per bag (57%), with the flat-rate ot $5 being the most popular amount, if not tipping per bag (25.5%).[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]For the interested, some demographics.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Most people polled, 66% of them, take long distance trains. And it would appear that most of them travel by sleeper, with 72% of poll participants traveling that way.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]23% of poll takers live in a Northeast Corridor State (the state is on the NEC, but not necessarily on themselves) As for individual states the numbers are:[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]10%[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]California[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]8%[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]Illinois[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]7%[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]Virginia[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]5%[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]Massachusetts[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Internationally, as one would expect, 87.5% are from the US. However we did get responses from Australia, Canada, and Switzerland.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]And finally here are some comment highlights:[/SIZE]

  • [SIZE=11pt]Most commentators leave cash on the table after their meal (makes sense when in sleeper in particular)[/SIZE]
  • [SIZE=11pt]If you are going to tip a flat-rate per meal it would seem most commentators tip about $3 for breakfast & lunch, then $5 at dinner.[/SIZE]
  • [SIZE=11pt]Commentators note that they usually only tip in the Cafe when the attendant has to prepare them food and/or is quite friendly (so no tip if their grabbing a soda or a bag of chips, etc.)[/SIZE]
  • [SIZE=11pt]Most commentators tip their car attendants as they depart the train. And many note "if I never see you, I never tip you."[/SIZE]
  • [SIZE=11pt]In the station [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt](as I expected)[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] most commentators only tip Red Caps (or station staff fulfilling a Red Cap's role in a non-Red Cap station)[/SIZE]
  • [SIZE=11pt]There are a few requests in the comments about bundling, or at least providing a way to tip in bulk at the end of the trip. [/SIZE][SIZE=10pt](ooooh this one is going to be controversial!)[/SIZE]

In a different format:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xn27mv09ON0WFYNwlIHy9RJ9gcufShmObCwM67jrxYU/pub

peter
 
A whopping 75% of those polled don't tip their coach attendants (actually more than that, if I weed thru the written answers). If you are going to tip, it's usually $5/night.
I'm more amazed at the 25% that do tip. What exactly does a coach attendant do to warrant a gratuity? The only thing coach attendants have done for me is tell me where to sit, barked at me to be ready to disembark, and kicked me out at my stop. Does tipping them result in a cleaner bathroom? That might be worth the cost since most of the time they seem to ignore the bathrooms until they're so disgusting that they're unusable. At which point they simply lock the door and walk off.
 
Are there actually tipped services on Amtrak that a frugal LD rider can't avoid?

For example, a coach passenger who:

Carries their own baggage throughout the entire journey, including to and from station buildings, as well as up and down train steps.

Brings their own food and beverage and purchases no additional items during the trip.

Only engages in conversation with onboard employees when such staff initiate the dialogue.
 
Nice survey Per Rock. Don't mind the critics who didnt take the time and effort to do this themselves. You're not Mr.Gallup...

Biggest surprise to me is how generous folks are with the dining staff. I find many servers are rude and I tip minimally, as I know they earn a good wage with benefits.

Others seem to back my impression of very inconsistent SCAs.

Being 1 of the many Srs., Red Caps are my heros and always were. Just the fact that they get you on the train ahead of the crowds in NYP or Chi is worth a big tip.. Most seem to work their butts off, and I presume they depend on tips. Tx again for the survey.
 
I don't remember how much I tipped the LAX Red Cap that took me from the Sunset Limited to baggage claim and on to the Metropolitan Lounge at Union Station. The distance that needed to have been walked: would I have made it? I know that I was generous, but it was worth every penny to me.

The Red Cap that then took me from LAX's Metropolitan Lounge via the shortcut to the SWC as well as the Red Cap that took me from the SWC in Chicago to the taxi stand outside the Station desired every dollar that I gave them.

As a Senior Citizen, I really value the services of Red Caps. They help to make my rail travel more pleasant and with much less effort!
 
As everyone knows, NYP is the pit of all stations, a hot, crowded crush of humanity, tiny escalators, nowhere to queue up, on and on.(yeah, supposedly Moynihan Train Hall will get done someday). Get a Red Cap; most look like retired linebackers, they push through the crowd to the escalator, turn it on with their key, and down you go. I know that other passengers get p.o'd when you jump the line with your red cap.

Chicago is a much better station, but is huge; I've only been there 3 times for connections, and it's the only place I get a Red Cap when deboarding.....Love that ride they give you on the little baggage trucks....
 
Really wish Acela 1st class attendants were included as their own group. I'm still unclear why they were left out.
 
A whopping 75% of those polled don't tip their coach attendants (actually more than that, if I weed thru the written answers). If you are going to tip, it's usually $5/night.
I'm more amazed at the 25% that do tip. What exactly does a coach attendant do to warrant a gratuity? The only thing coach attendants have done for me is tell me where to sit, barked at me to be ready to disembark, and kicked me out at my stop. Does tipping them result in a cleaner bathroom? That might be worth the cost since most of the time they seem to ignore the bathrooms until they're so disgusting that they're unusable. At which point they simply lock the door and walk off.
I don't tip the airline attendant (steward, stewardess) either. Well, unless one really went out of their way to do something really special for me.
 
I don't tip the airline attendant (steward, stewardess) either. Well, unless one really went out of their way to do something really special for me.
Yup. I generally consider the Coach attendants and the Acela FC folks to be like the airline cabin crew, since their duties seem to almost exactly match, and treat them accordingly.

Now whether the Sleeping Car attendants are similar to the airline International or Premium Domestic (e.g. United PS) Business/First Class cabin crew or not is a grey area, and there I follow tradition. That is generally tip the rail Sleeper crew and do not tip the airline cabin crew.
 
I would only tip a coach attendant in a special circumstance such as if I boarded the CZ next month for my trip to CA and did not like the upper level coach seat I ended up with, requested to be moved or had the attendant modify my ticket to lower level, in which case I think offering the attendant a couple of $'s should be appropriate.

I also know my diabetic father said he gives CZ coach attendants $1 any time they bring him ice for his insulin cooler.
 
We go around and around on this subject, but suffice it to say there are occupations that in this country are traditionally tipped and others that are not. An extension of gratitude for personal service provided does not apply when you don't use a service, or when the occupation is one where it is neither expected or in some cases not permitted.
 
We go around and around on this subject, but suffice it to say there are occupations that in this country are traditionally tipped and others that are not. An extension of gratitude for personal service provided does not apply when you don't use a service, or when the occupation is one where it is neither expected or in some cases not permitted.
Well, that oughta suffice--nice, succint sum-up, PVD. But I'm willing to bet that, on this forum, discussion about tipping will continue to go on. And on.
 
It's odd, I rarely receive any assistance from the SCA's. In the last 5 trips I've taken, I was only offered bed service *once*.

Maybe it's because I'm young, maybe it's because I shut my door for most of the ride? Who knows.

I still tip, although a smaller amount than if they actually assisted me.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I don't tip the airline attendant (steward, stewardess) either. Well, unless one really went out of their way to do something really special for me.
Yup. I generally consider the Coach attendants and the Acela FC folks to be like the airline cabin crew, since their duties seem to almost exactly match, and treat them accordingly.
Now whether the Sleeping Car attendants are similar to the airline International or Premium Domestic (e.g. United PS) Business/First Class cabin crew or not is a grey area, and there I follow tradition. That is generally tip the rail Sleeper crew and do not tip the airline cabin crew.
I look at the Sleep Car Attendant as being like a Cruise Ship Cabin Steward, and I do tip them each day. I also tip (additionally, separately) the Cabin Steward when he brings to my cabin, my morning coffee and light breakfast. On a Cruise Ship, like Sleeper Class on Amtrak, the food is complimentary/included so the tip is based on my estimated value of the meal, and the effort they must go thru to provide the service.
 
I look at the Sleep Car Attendant as being like a Cruise Ship Cabin Steward, and I do tip them each day. I also tip (additionally, separately) the Cabin Steward when he brings to my cabin, my morning coffee and light breakfast. On a Cruise Ship, like Sleeper Class on Amtrak, the food is complimentary/included so the tip is based on my estimated value of the meal, and the effort they must go thru to provide the service.
Your more generous than me. The second the cruise lines started automatic gratuity charges which they say is for "my convenience" I stopped tipping more than what they already take for my convenience. I have to say it is better than before when they used to shut everything down for a "tipping seminar" on the booze cruise to Mexico.
 
Regarding the Cafe Attendant. Do they really need to be tipped? I don't tip when I'm at the donut store into their little jar or at most coffee stores unless I'm getting an espresso drink made by the barista or getting table service. I mean on the Surfliner or even on the LD trains, I grab everything myself and only pay the attendant. I don't tip the cashier at the grocery store.
 
Tipping is never obligatory, by definition. But in CERTAIN situations, tipping is expected on both sides, by service provider and by the customer.

So the key is knowing which situations are which.

Helpful hint: if there's a tip receptacle (cup, jar or box), tipping is expected by at least one party (the service provider).

Cashier at grocery store or donut store: I never saw a tip jar there.

Amtrak cafe car or Starbucks: I never DID NOT see a tip jar there (pardon the double negative).
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Starbucks starts their Baristas at approximately $10 per hour with the expectation that there will be $2 - $5 per hour earned in "shared" tips. In this way Starbucks doesn't have to start staff at 12 -15 dollars.
 
Starbucks starts their Baristas at approximately $10 per hour with the expectation that there will be $2 - $5 per hour earned in "shared" tips. In this way Starbucks doesn't have to start staff at 12 -15 dollars.
Cancel and remove
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Closed the survey today. Here is my write-up on the results. I'll try and prepare a nice infographic in the next few days.

Final Report.

Survey Analytics.

Very briefly the top results are:

20% for Dining Car

20% for at-seat meals

$1 for Cafe service

$10/night for Sleeping Car Attendants

$10/night for Coach Car Attendants

$2/Bag for Red Caps

~Peter
 
Back
Top