Laptops and their bags are small and light these days, so there's a very simple answer: take it with you to the buffet car. If you need to answer a call of nature urgently, presumably you'd take it with you to the loo after all.
Get a laptop bag that you wear on your back, which leaves both hands free. Doubles up as a document bag too.
I agree there are pros and cons to both, but it really depends what you're ordering. As for leaving your seat unattended, if the train is so busy that people are standing nearby and ready to swoop on your seat as you leave, then you won't be getting to a buffet anyway and a trolley won't get to you. If it's quiet-ish, you can politely ask someone else sitting nearby (across the aisle for example) to keep an eye on your seat:- this also means you can leave some items in the seat, on the proviso that it wouldn't be a breach of your terms of employment.
Not if you have the wit to go to the buffet with a comfortable amount of time before the next station, or else have a reserved seat. Services where neither of these is likely to be possible aren't suited to having buffets anyway.
Trolley?Buffet car?
No, a dining car where I am greeted by a by a pleasant rail employee asking me if I wish to dine this evening before passing me the menu.
I buy sandwiches, paninnis etc from the onboard buffet whenever I can. I prefer the counter as it tends to be bean to Cup rather than instant. I'm not one for thermos mugs even though I've got countless unused examples of the darn things at home handed out by work everytime we change our trading name. Some pretty good meal deals also offered especially on VWC.
I enjoy giving a trolley service, as it allows me to upsell more by announcing and promoting my stock as I pass through (we're not allowed to use the PA, as catering Hosts) and also it 's a change of scenery in a way, moving between different coaches. I definitely take more money with a trolley service. Another problem with doing a static service, is that when a train even appears to be slightly full, some pax will decide to stand in the buffet area and not even buy anything, making it hard for actual customers to reach me.
Out of interest, do you work on a sort of commission basis and/or monitored against what you sell? I wouldn't have thought it made much difference to catering staff how much they actually sold individually?
Yes, we get a percentage of commission on what we sell and have daily sales targets, as well as regular sales reviews. Sales and also, upselling accompanying products, are a very important part of my role, which is understandable when a large company trusts you to go out on your own with their stock and make them money.
Fair enough - I never knew the staff had any additional incentives besides purely being there to serve customers. As you said, I guess that's to stop someone parking their trolley in the vestibule and then getting paid to spend the journey on their iPad or what-have-you.
That would never happen anyway, as the TMs can get quite stroppy if we don't get through every carriage within the first 30 minutes of the journey.
Yes. I ordered beef casserole & was brought to my seat in standard. Was only on the Plymouth-Edinburgh route. I was North of Newcastle at the time.
Still do them, it's just that muffins and pastries sell very quickly, on Local trains, they tend to be stored in the cool bag for freshness, so be sure to ask your Host if you can't see any.