WASHINGTON -Amtrak is moving forward with a plan to eliminate its food and beverage losses over five years. It builds on successful initiatives implemented since FY 2006 that have increased the cost recovery rate from 49 percent to 65 percent.
"We have made steady and consistent progress, but it is time we commit ourselves to end food and beverage losses once and for all," said President and CEO Joe Boardman. "Our plan will expand initiatives that have worked, add new elements and evolve as updated information and opportunities lead us to better solutions."
Amtrak Inspector General Ted Alves agrees improvements have been achieved and testified before Congress that "over the last several years, Amtrak has taken action to reduce food and beverage losses and improve program management controls and these efforts have yielded benefits. We believe opportunities remain for further improvement."
In inflation adjusted dollars, the Amtrak food and beverage loss is down $31 million, from $105 million in FY 2006 to a projected $74 million in FY 2013-or about a 30 percent move in the right direction.
Boardman explained that approximately 99 percent of the food and beverage loss is reported from the long-distance trains that Congress requires Amtrak to operate, specifically costs associated with the dining car service. Cafe car services across the system, on the other hand, essentially break even or make a positive contribution to the bottom line.
The centerpiece of the plan is an improved management structure that consolidates operations and accountability for food and beverage into a single department. This new organization also establishes a long-distance services general manager and route directors responsible for profit and loss of specific trains who will identify opportunities for further cost savings and efficiencies.
Some of those opportunities include: aligning dining car staffing with seasonal changes in customer demand; establishing metrics to assess service attendants' onboard sales performance; reducing spoilage; closely tracking onboard stock levels; regularly refreshing menus; and exploring new pricing and revenue management options to align with customer needs and enhance cost recovery.
Further, Amtrak is using technology onboard trains aimed at improving customer service, automating financial and other reporting, and eliminating the error prone and time consuming method of manual data entry. Just this week, for example, Amtrak began a pilot on the Silver Meteor (New York-Miami) long-distance train to test a new touch-screen tablet-based solution that dining car service attendants use to take passenger orders and print customer receipts.
Also in 2014 Amtrak plans to test "cashless" sales for food and beverage on certain routes. The elimination of cash reduces transaction time and significantly reduces accounting expenses and the risk of fraud or abuse. In addition, many venues that have pursued similar initiatives have seen increased sales. This model is very popular in the airline industry and has been seen as a favorable change by travelers.
"I am confident Amtrak will succeed in this effort just as we have in other areas and across a wide range of financial and operating performance metrics," he said, noting records for ridership, ticket revenues, and on-time performance as well as significantly reducing corporate debt and the amount of federal operating support.
If Amtrak were to eliminate food and beverage services as some observers recommend, the railroad would actually lose more money because of the loss in associated ridership and ticket revenue, and thereby increase its dependence on federal support, he stated.
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
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Well, kudos for cutting the loss by 31 million. I hope they don't back to microwave meals in the dining car. Besides cutting costs, how about revenue enhancement ideas for meals..such as better and more pricy meals if they can achieve restaurant quality. How about an additional bistro car, if such would not increase the labor burden excessively.
What do they mean by "establishing metrics to assess attendants' onboard sales performance?"
Richard
Posts: 1909 | From: Santa Rosa | Registered: Jan 2004
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quote:Also in 2014 Amtrak plans to test "cashless" sales for food and beverage on certain routes. The elimination of cash reduces transaction time and significantly reduces accounting expenses and the risk of fraud or abuse. In addition, many venues that have pursued similar initiatives have seen increased sales. This model is very popular in the airline industry and has been seen as a favorable change by travelers.
I've been advocating this for as long as I can recall, although I do think some arrangement, such as prepaid vouchers, would be provided. But there is simply no reason whatever that Food & Beverage could not be handled in a currency free environment.
Airlines do it for in flight purchases (and you get comped on United as I have found out if the card reader does not work), which makes me ask 'why not Amtrak'?
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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Ugh...I don't even know where to begin here. I honestly don't. The first thing that jumps out at me is the same thing that Amtrak ALWAYS does when it addresses issues or problems: "Let's add managers!". It looks like that's exactly their plan (again)----to add more managers to "manage". Sorry, but we've been through this deal before. And before that. And before that. And before that. And before that. And before that. And before that.........
Another issue that is simply not talked about is this: Amtrak operates one of the most expensive "Denny's on rails" in the world. Why? Because of labor costs. All food service employees on-board the train are paid VERY well. They have great benefits. This all costs $$$$$$. Until the pay of dining car employees is adjusted downwards to be more in line with similar occupations (which will NEVER happen), they will always be over budget and they will always lose money. None of these "magic managers" are going to change this. It's a complete waste of money.
Hey, I have an idea! Maybe they should spend $3 million PER CAR and rip apart the dining cars and replace them with a cafe-type of car. You know, maybe have a lounge at one end and a dining car at the other end. I'm sure it will save soooooo much money. (Oh wait, they already did that one.......)
Another issue not directly addressed is employee theft. By going to a cashless system, that will help. But I happen to know from inside sources that employee theft is rampant in food services at Amtrak. Especially on the east coast in Chicago and New York. In Los Angeles, they tried a system to curb employee theft but I'm not sure if they're still doing it. The plan was to HOLD the long-distance train right there at the platform after unloading passengers, and not allow it to head to the yard until the diner and lounge have accounted for every single item that was checked out to them when they departed. A new inventory system went along with that. Previously, the train would drop off passengers at the platform, and then head directly to the yard for unloading and servicing. But "unloading" truly meant UNLOADING----right into the trunks of AmEmployee's cars. Leftover steak, chicken, chips, hamburgers, soda---you name it, and they took it. I have not asked recently to see if this platform inventory system worked (or is still in use) or not though. The train was not allowed to move until a manager cleared the dining car and cafe employee's inventory lists first.
Anyway, Boardman is saying things that other CEO's have said before. This is nothing new. He can make all the promises he wants, but unless they go back to paper plates and microwaved hot dogs in the diner, they're not going to meet their lofty goals. It just can't happen with the way it's set up.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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Currently there is a huge gap between the wages paid to food service workers at Subway and the wages paid to food service workers on the LD trains. That's because the Amtrak workers earn expensive benefits like health care and retirement plans. With the on-going drama in DC--and I'm not referring to high speed car chases--we'll see how large that gap will be in the future. That foot-long sandwich may become a bit more expensive in the future. But regardless of what happens in DC, it's clear that food service on Amtrak trains is very inefficient.
On LD trips I find that my concept of time warps a bit. During a normal day at work or at home, I'm very conscious of time and what I should be doing at particular hours. But on an LD train, I find myself being more conscious of distance, rather than time: I'm paying more attention to the location of the train rather than the time on the clock. My body rhythms are also usually thrown off a little bit, too, and I may not be hungry for breakfast at 730am or my body may not require a lunch at 1215, but that's when the meals are served, so I head off to the dining car and eat.
One change that I think might improve efficiency would be to eliminate the set meal times and have the dining car open continuously from about 7am to about 9pm. Most quick-serve or casual restaurants keep their doors open all day and allow their patrons to choose when they want to dine. But the LD trains try to cram all the breakfast diners into a 2 hour window, then serve lunch in a 3 hour window and serve dinner in a 4 hour window. That policy creates peaks where the kitchen and waitstaff must work very hard to meet demand followed by a lull where there isn't much for the staff to do. It also requires that Amtrak carry enough staff on board to meet the peak demand periods. Quick serve and casual restaurants make their money by controlling their food cost and keeping tight control over their employees work schedules. But it isn't possible to schedule fewer Amtrak workers during the slack periods. Amtrak can't just drop a cook off in Ephrata and tell them "we'll see ya tomorrow". By allowing the customers to choose the times they get hungry, demand would likely be spread out over more of the day and dining car crews could be scheduled more efficiently.
I think passengers should still be able to make reservations for dinner but the breakfast and lunch menus would be available from 7am to 3pm without interruption and no reservation would be needed. Maybe sleeping car passenger might be given priority over coach passengers, but allowing more access to the diner might motivate more coach passengers to sit down for a meal instead of buying snacks in the lounge.
Posts: 831 | From: Seattle | Registered: Jan 2011
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Interesting how Mr. Boardman noted Snack Bars are a virtual break even; Rep. Mica seems to hold otherwise.
The most tangible loss prevention proposal is to first me and now Mr. Smith is all Food and Beverage in a cash free environment. Be rid of that readily concealable, transportable, and universally desired stuff and there goes much of the loss prevention issue. So far as employee theft of tangible property, I leave that matter to those with law enforcement experience.
Given the initiative now playing to 'unionize' fast food service workers, it is a simple fact of life that Big Mac or Foot Long is simply going to cost more. The more that full service restaurant checks are settled by credit card than that Green stuff will also put upward pressure on the check. Lest we forget, a restaurant check on which the tip has been added then paid by credit card is deemed 'reported' by the employee and then the employer is obligated to pay Social Security taxes on such (cash tips are to be reported to the employer as well.....but then who wrote those funny papers?).
Finally, I know to some a hotel housekeeper and table waiter, the cost to Amtrak is something around $80K (earnings and benefits), but lest we forget that employee has been trained in assisting in the evacuation of a train if necessary in an emergency - and in routine service ensuring passengers board and alight safely. Of course here comes the cocktail waitress aloft; if she has been around for a while, we're talkin' $100 - benefits included. Of course there is far more to a Flight Attendant's job than the 'care to purchase a beverage' or 'Coffee, Tea, or M...'. In fact, the job nowadays is more that of a first responder or even law enforcement, and much less that of a 'hostess'.
But as Mr. Smith notes, you are simply not going to have On Board service employees working for restaurant worker and hotel housekeeper wages, nor for that matter will an airline have a Flight Attendant working for cocktail waitress wages. Somehow, I don't think too many passengers, rail or air, would be too happy about that as well.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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quote:Originally posted by smitty195: All food service employees on-board the train are paid VERY well. They have great benefits.
I can't suggest any cost-cutting ideas for Amtrak.
But if Mr. Norman is correct -- that a dining car server is paid about 80k annually with full benefits, plus tips -- I can definitely think of a money-saving idea for me:
At the conclusion of future onboard meals, I'll stop leaving any tip at all.
posted
To clarify, $80K should probably have been reported as the cost of an OBS employee - not wages earned. Included within is health insurance for the employee (and the option for family members to buy in) and the excess of employer contributions to RRTA over what otherwise would be that to SSA.
I sincerely hope you will 'think twice' about choosing to withhold tips, Mr. Dilly. There are enough 'cheapos' out there who do just that. I've sat in Dining Cars with them.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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There's a big difference between what an employee earns and what that employee costs the employer after taxes and benefits are added in.
I looked through the job openings at the Amtrak website and a newly hired LSA would be paid $18.82/hr. There aren't any openings for cooks or waitstaff, but I would presume that they would earn less than a LSA.
posted
I just hope they don't come up with some half-baked plan to do away with "complimentary" meals (which I know are NOT really "complimentary") for 1st class passengers.
I don't think a "cashless" system would work on AMTRAK, since there are still many many people who do NOT have credit or debit cards for whatever reason, especially probably the majority of LD coach riders. I suspect many of these people do NOT fly either, for the exact same reason. I am sure most of us at this forum have credit cards and would welcome a cashless system, but not everybody is like us.
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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If employees are stealing food products from the kitchen and lounge it would be a good idea for Amtrak to set up some sort of "cost of goods sold" monitoring process for the trains, at least for the high ticket items like steaks and other center-of-the-plate entrees. Crews that consistently have higher than average cost-of-goods-sold averages might be given some "re-training" to improve their performance. Video monitoring at the stations should be able to catch employees stealing cases of soda or loading stock into their cars.
Maybe a supervisor from food services should board the westbound Empire Builder at Spokane and inventory items like steaks and other expensive products that won't be used for the next morning's breakfast service. If there are 11 raw steaks in the cooler at the Spokane stop, but only 8 of those steaks arrive in Seattle the next morning, there is a problem.
Posts: 831 | From: Seattle | Registered: Jan 2011
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What about spoilage? Can leftover steaks and eggs and other perishables be safely used on the next train(s) out? Do federal and state food handling laws apply here?
If this stuff is going to be thrown out, then is it just preventing needless waste if employees take the leftovers?
When I was writing Zephyr in the early 1990s, I was struck by the on-board chiefs' spraying detergent over leftover foods in the kitchen at the end of a run. Couldn't this surplus go to a soup kitchen for the poor? I asked. It could, the chiefs said, but laws and regs would be violated. Amtrak also didn't need lawsuits over bad reactions to thrown-out food, one said.
Inventory was taken of beverages at the end of a run, and the LSAs were responsible for making up any deficiencies in proceeds from their own pockets. Hard to imagine theft in this department.
No idea if these things still apply in 2013.
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
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They are among the highest-paid performers at Carnegie Hall, even though they do not play a note: they are the stagehands of Local 1, whose average total compensation of more than $400,000 a year is more than some of the hall’s top executives earn. Little happens on Carnegie’s stages without them.
This is what happens with a craft serving an industry that can simply pass on any costs incurred and know that demand for the product will not diminish. Somehow, I think that most Carnegie Hall patrons simply accept 'well that's what it costs'.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Gilbert B Norman: Mr. Dilly, if you think Amtrak Service Workers are overpaid, try this craft on for size
Based on the information you gave earlier, I wouldn't say that Amtrak's food servers are "overpaid." Everyone deserves to earn a living wage.
Keep in mind, however, that the average restaurant waiter/waitress receives only the Federal minimum wage. That's $7.25 per hour before taxes. With no health coverage, vacation time, sick days, or pension benefits whatsoever.
In fact, many restaurant workers are paid even less than the Federal minimum wage. So tips really are essential for their survival.
Granted, waiting tables isn't rocket science. But the same can be said for working in an Amtrak dining car. Amtrak's food servers set the tables. They take passenger orders from a very limited menu. They carry plates to and from those tables. They clean up afterward.
Since that's pretty much what the entire job entails, I'd say that their combined salary and benefits are extraordinary. Hey, they make more money than I do.
Good for them, I guess. And up until now -- operating under the mistaken belief that they're poorly paid -- I've always left a tip.
But I now question why an Amtrak employee making $80k a year -- in combined wages and benefits -- should expect to be tipped extra for simply doing their job.
Especially when most American workers (including non-OBS Amtrak employees, many of whom make lower salaries) receive no tips at all.
posted
And let us not forget that the IRS knows what these servers are tipped and expects them to report the full amount. If you don't tip, they have to pay anyway.
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
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posted
We can expect dining car servers to be paid at least a little extra than those in normal restaurants simply due to the fact they're away from home.
I had a "discussion" with a waitress in NYC who boasted that she regularly earned well over $125k per year, mostly from tips rather than base salary, and to some extent pocketed without tax declaration. What made it worse was how she gleefully admitted to treating low tippers with disdain, to the point of actively ignoring them if she ever saw them again. She is a perfect example of where tips aren't working. I doubt her situation is that uncommon, though I do accept there are servers at the opposite end of the spectrum too.
-------------------- Geoff M. Posts: 2426 | From: Apple Valley, CA | Registered: Sep 2000
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I like Vincent's suggestion of having the dining car open 7-3 for breakfast/lunch. I suggest that it might lead to more passengers using the dining car.
-------------------- My new "default" station (EKH) has no baggage service or QuikTrak machine, but the parking is free! And the NY Central RR Museum is just across the tracks (but not open at Amtrak train times. . ..) Posts: 337 | From: Goshen, IN | Registered: Jun 2006
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quote:What about spoilage? Can leftover steaks and eggs and other perishables be safely used on the next train(s) out? Do federal and state food handling laws apply here?
As long as the food has been stored properly (frozen or refrigerated below 41F) it is good until its expiration date and could be used on the next train.
Any successful business has to find a balance between its cost of operation and the budget of its customers. For Amtrak, I think the key to success might be finding a way to entice more coach passengers into the diner by offering a few more budget priced items and greater promotion. If the diner is open continuously, there would be more available tables. If business is slow in the diner, announcements could be made in the coach section that immediate seating is available. Maybe sleeper passengers could be allowed 2 free meals a day instead of 3 meals. I'd be happy to sleep in a little later, eat a hearty brunch and then wait for dinner.
Posts: 831 | From: Seattle | Registered: Jan 2011
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Don't forget Form 4070 and Form 1244. There's a lot of bookwork involved with tips, but employers can learn a lot by watching tip records. Better employees get better tips and if the tip percentage is increasing, that indicates that customers were satisfied and will create favorable word of mouth advertising and more return visits. If the tip percentage is decreasing, business managers might assume the opposite is true.
Posts: 831 | From: Seattle | Registered: Jan 2011
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