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Recently, during my travel from Bangalore to Delhi by Rajdhani Express, I and my friends were harassed by the catering staff who serve food and the attendants who supply blankets. They wanted a big fat tip at the end of the journey, but being students, we could only give what we could afford. They were unwilling to accept it and humiliated us in front of other passengers. Considering that we pay the Railways for the food and the service, why should we be forced to pay more? What action can be take in such a situation? Please complain to the Railways administration about it. Let's not forget that tipping is a voluntary gesture meant to express appreciation of a service. So obviously, it's up to the passengers whether they want to tip the staff and how much. It is certainly not correct on the part of the staff to force everyone to pay and pay more, irrespective of the quality of service. So lodge a written complaint and if the Railways fail to act, you can file a complaint holding the Railways vicariously liable for the behaviour of the staff. I must quote here an interesting case decided by the consumer court recently. Even though this was in a different context, I am sure it would apply to your case too. Here the case was that the complainant, Mr Deepak Jain, had hired the services of a band for the wedding of his son on February 2, 2013 — the package included shehnai, dhol and ghori, for a total of Rs 42,000. And he had made it absolutely clear that he did not want any haggling for tips in front of his guests and had therefore fixed the tip for the mare attendant or the "ghoriwala" at Rs 500 and specified this too in the agreement.
In an ex-parte order (the service provider did not appear despite notice), the Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum II held that the ghoriwala not only created a scene, but also humiliated the complainant and caused him mental agony and distress. Such acts and conduct amounted to deficient service and the Band was vicariously liable for the conduct of its representative, the ghoriwala. It therefore directed that the complainant be paid Rs 10,000 towards compensation and costs of litigation. (Shri Deepak Jain vs Shiv Mohan Band, case number: 131/2013, decided on 11-2-2014) Can a complaint be filed before the consumer court for poor quality food served on the trains, particularly certain Rajdhani trains? Yes, you can. After all, the food is not served free and having paid for it , the consumer expects a decent quality of food , prepared and served hygienically. Failure to do so constitutes deficiency in service and you can seek damages from the Railways for serving sub-standard food. Only last year, a major scuffle had broken out between the passengers and the catering staff of the Bangalore-bound Rajdhani Express on account of the poor quality food served. The passengers had also complained that even the quantity was not what was promised. Soon after the consumer courts came into existence, a consumer activist, late S.K.Punshi of the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat, Delhi, had filed a complaint before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum against the Railways for serving burnt soup on Rajdhani and got compensation. You can file a complaint individually or file on behalf of a large number of passengers, seeking a direction to the Railways to improve the service.
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However,
on the day of the wedding, the mare attendant began to demand more
than the amount fixed as tips . Saying that the marriage procession
was going to a big hotel, he started arguing that he needed to be paid
more. Mr Jain decided that he would not take such behaviour without a
protest. So after the wedding, he filed a complaint before the
consumer court, demanding compensation for the embarrassment caused to
him in front of his guests.