18% being added to ALL dining checks

[KYMickey]

We dine at WDW often and I do not agree the service has gone downhill or is poor.
If anything I notice the table service servers at WDW are better than most any other place we eat sit down.

Luv, I'm sure you visit restaurants at WDW more than we do so maybe you're there too often to notice a declining. We go about once a year and the deterioration has become very obvious to us as we compare servers from year to year. It is not so obvious at the very high end restaurants such as Victoria and Albert's but is much more obvious at the midrange restaurants and those in Epcot. I used to agree with you on your comment about WDW servers being better than those at most other places but during our last few visits I don't think this is true. We live in Louisville Kentucky and while I still think service has deteriorated here, I don't think it has as much as it has at WDW. I don't know where you live so I can't comment for your situation.

 

[PrincessBride010103]

maybe i am biased but i am a bartender and unfortunately some people just do not know how to tip. you can give them 5star service and they will still leave you 10%. did u know that servers only get paid $3.65 per hour? did you know that servers also have to tip out to the bartender, bussers, food runners, hosts, etc. all of you are saying you tip way over 20% so exactly what is the big deal here?

 

[mitros]

maybe i am biased but i am a bartender and unfortunately some people just do not know how to tip. you can give them 5star service and they will still leave you 10%. did u know that servers only get paid $3.65 per hour? did you know that servers also have to tip out to the bartender, bussers, food runners, hosts, etc. all of you are saying you tip way over 20% so exactly what is the big deal here?

The "big deal" here is that we are being forced to give a specific amount for a tip.....regardless of the type of service we receive. We {my wife and I} almost always tip 20% for all food and drink services. We know that the regular hourly pay is not good for service folks. Having said that, there are a few occasions, and they are far and few between, where the service does literally stink. Yes, even at WDW. And we would like to tip accordingly. THAT is the big deal.....

 

[KYMickey]

all of you are saying you tip way over 20% so exactly what is the big deal here?

The big deal here is that we tip 20% because we appreciate the level of service we receive, not because it's required! On occasion I'd tip less than 20% (sometimes considerably less) if the service so dictates. Most servers now realize that their tip is based on the level of service and provide appropriate service. If they've received a mandatory 18% tip then they would have no incentive to provide an appropriate level of service!

A second point that I've heard from many people is the creep of expected tip from 15% to 18% or 20%. The argument is that the cost of living is rising so tips must, the fallacy of this is that menu prices rise as the cost of living does (in general even faster and at WDW a lot faster) so the tips also keep up with the cost of living.

 

[PrincessBride010103]

The big deal here is that we tip 20% because we appreciate the level of service we receive, not because it's required! On occasion I'd tip less than 20% (sometimes considerably less) if the service so dictates. Most servers now realize that their tip is based on the level of service and provide appropriate service. If they've received a mandatory 18% tip then they would have no incentive to provide an appropriate level of service!

A second point that I've heard from many people is the creep of expected tip from 15% to 18% or 20%. The argument is that the cost of living is rising so tips must, the fallacy of this is that menu prices rise as the cost of living does (in general even faster and at WDW a lot faster) so the tips also keep up with the cost of living.

I hope this doesn't come out wrong, but your reasoning makes no sense to me. You expect people who work in retail to help you when you need it right? well these people are guaranteed to make whatever it is that they make per hour and no one complains that since they are guaranteed to make their money that they wont provide friendly service. Being guaranteed to make 18% on each check would make would not make me neglect my bar guests or provide bad service, it would probably make me nicer and not assume in my head that im waiting on you hand and foot only to be left with a 10% tip.

As for your second point...yes the expected tip has increased to 18-20% because of tip outs, not cost of living. In my restaurant for example, the servers have to tip out 3% of their sales. No matter what you leave them. Therefore if you tip 15%, your server is only getting 12%. In some restaurants this tip out is higher. Just my opinion. And im sure if you receive bad service a manager will be happy to adjust your bill accordingly.

 

[CanadianGuy]

And im sure if you receive bad service a manager will be happy to adjust your bill accordingly.

This seems to be Disney's plan on this. If you're unhappy with the service, they'll remove the auto gratuity and allow you to leave whatever you like.

Since it happens rarely enough, this should be a good solution.

Knox

 

[PrincessBride010103]

This seems to be Disney's plan on this. If you're unhappy with the service, they'll remove the auto gratuity and allow you to leave whatever you like.

Since it happens rarely enough, this should be a good solution.

Knox

Agreed.

 

[KYMickey]

This seems to be Disney's plan on this. If you're unhappy with the service, they'll remove the auto gratuity and allow you to leave whatever you like.

Since it happens rarely enough, this should be a good solution.

Knox

This is good for this service staff ONLY! The majority of people will not dispute the gratuity that is automatically added to the bill no matter what the level of service is. Yes some of the more discerning customers may dispute the 18% charge if service is not up to par but in general if the fee is allowed to be implemented it will be paid and the level of service will continue to decline!

I know some people argue that the wait staff will not let the level of service declined but it's just basic human instinct that people won't do more than they can get away with.

 

[manning]

This is what my aunt has to say.

She use to be a waitress.

Whenever we go out to dinner with her and she is paying she leaves a tip of between 10-15%

That always puzzled me so I asked why so low.

She smiled and said "I know how much a good waitress/waiter can/do make."

 

[manning]

The service staff will be mad at me when I leave the automatic 18% if they knew we always tipped 20% on the full bill before discount.

 

[PrincessBride010103]

The service staff will be mad at me when I leave the automatic 18% if they knew we always tipped 20% on the full bill before discount.

I don't understand why you would not still tip the 20%? You are always welcome to leave more than the automatic gratuity. Because Disney decided to add a gratuity you will now change the way you tip? It wasn't the staff's fault this change happened but you will "punish" them as a way of sticking it to disney? tsk tsk

 

[mitros]

This seems to be Disney's plan on this. If you're unhappy with the service, they'll remove the auto gratuity and allow you to leave whatever you like.

Since it happens rarely enough, this should be a good solution.

Knox

OK, the problem with that is, if I am unhappy with the service, I should not be forced to wait for a manager to come over and remove the auto tip amount so I can put what I want in. What am I supposed to do, say to the waitperson, "hey, your service sucked, you ignored our empty soda and water glasses, you were standing in the corner talking to your friend, and it took forever for our food to get here, etc., etc. Will you please call the manager over here so I can tell him you did not keep our drinks filled, you were talking to your fellow waiters and our food was late, etc., etc, and have him take the 18% tip off so I can give you a 10% tip? Is that what I have to do now instead of just leaving a smaller tip when the bill comes?

 

[PrincessBride010103]

I know some people argue that the wait staff will not let the level of service declined but it's just basic human instinct that people won't do more than they can get away with.

Is that how you live your life? Only doing as little as you can get away with? Just wondering...

 

[PrincessBride010103]

OK, the problem with that is, if I am unhappy with the service, I should not be forced to wait for a manager to come over and remove the auto tip amount so I can put what I want in. What am I supposed to do, say to the waitperson, "hey, your service sucked, you ignored our empty soda and water glasses, you were standing in the corner talking to your friend, and it took forever for our food to get here, etc., etc. Will you please call the manager over here so I can tell him you did not keep our drinks filled, you were talking to your fellow waiters and our food was late, etc., etc, and have him take the 18% tip off so I can give you a 10% tip? Is that what I have to do now instead of just leaving a smaller tip when the bill comes?

I dont think that entire speech will be necessary. Im sure a simple "can i speak to your manager?" will get the same result....

 

[PrincessBride010103]

im really not trying to piss you guys off...i just want you to see it from the other side...

 

[mitros]

I dont think that entire speech will be necessary. Im sure a simple "can i speak to your manager?" will get the same result....

OK, fine, but I still have to wait for the manager to come over, and then he has to make the adjustment, and as I said previously, I have to tell him why I called him over. What's easier is for me to simply leave the amount of tip I feel is deserved. Need to get out of the restaurant and back to the parks as quickly as possible ya' know? And your not pissing anyone off, {not me, anyway} I'm just trying to get myself understood about simply being able to tip what I feel is deserved. I have friends who are on the other side, {waitpersons} and I do understand the situation........

 

[KYMickey]

Is that how you live your life? Only doing as little as you can get away with? Just wondering...

Certainly not, but I don't work in the service industry and it's certainly how I feel that a lot of service personnel operate. Most of them will do anything not to go out of their way to provide better service. I know that there are exceptions to this (and maybe you're one of them) but in general from my experience the majority of servers in anything but extreme high end restaurants don't expend any more effort than necessary!

 

[KYMickey]

im really not trying to piss you guys off...i just want you to see it from the other side...

You're not pissing me off a bit. As I stated above (where I guessed you worked as a server) that hopefully you're one of the exceptions and that's why you don't see our side.

Good servers certainly deserve a good tip for their hard work and actually I think this policy will reduce good servers tips. Since customers are forced into leaving 18% many will believe that that's the appropriate amount and not leave any more. It's kind of like unions where they strive for mediocrity protecting the nonperformers and not rewarding the high performers!

 

[Keyser]

I don't understand why you would not still tip the 20%? You are always welcome to leave more than the automatic gratuity. Because Disney decided to add a gratuity you will now change the way you tip? It wasn't the staff's fault this change happened but you will "punish" them as a way of sticking it to disney? tsk tsk

I can't understand why people would tip more than the default (18% or whatever), if it is automatically added to the bill. If I'm not able to give a lower amount, why should I give a higher amount?

There's no "punishment" of the waitstaff. They'll lose out on the extra money they can earn from some customers, in exchange for ensuring they get more from others. It seems what you're proposing is that all waitstaff should get everything they used to, plus pull in more money from those who didn't want to tip as much.

I don't have a problem with restaurants moving to a "pay waitstaff a decent salary but don't allow tips" (which is what the automatic "gratuity" is leading to) - there would be some nice aspects to that from both the customer and waitstaff sides. I know it is convenient for me when the gratuity is automatic (as the dining plan used to be), and I wish they'd just include it in the price of the food (along with tax) so that planning would be easier. But, most waitstaff I've talked to don't like this - they would rather have the opportunity to earn much more through tips. Most people agree that the chance to earn extra money can be a motivator for better service. The chance to lose money for poor service can also be a motivator to not give bad service. That's why people don't like the automatic gratuity.

I dont think that entire speech will be necessary. Im sure a simple "can i speak to your manager?" will get the same result....

You say that it should be easy to talk to a manager to have the tip lowered. This is a significant hassle, wasting the customer's time and energy, especially if you're interested in leaving only a somewhat lower tip. Really, how many people are going to go to the hassle of calling a manager over to say "I want to leave only a 15% tip instead of 18%". If I had really really bad service, where I was interested in leaving no tip, I would talk to a manager, just like I would talk to a manager at any store where I was being charged for something I didn't receive.

What if the situation was reversed? What if people were given the option of lowering their tip from 18% without difficulty, but had to talk to a manager if they wanted to leave an additional tip? I'm guessing the idea of talking to a manager wouldn't seem as trivial.

 

[PrincessBride010103]

You're not pissing me off a bit. As I stated above (where I guessed you worked as a server) that hopefully you're one of the exceptions and that's why you don't see our side.

Good servers certainly deserve a good tip for their hard work and actually I think this policy will reduce good servers tips. Since customers are forced into leaving 18% many will believe that that's the appropriate amount and not leave any more. It's kind of like unions where they strive for mediocrity protecting the nonperformers and not rewarding the high performers!

I am not a server anymore, im a bartender...which generally means that my guests leave drunk and happy and tip me well so this 18% thing really doesnt apply here to me BUT i did used to be a server and it is quite possibly the worst job ever.

I've figureed out the reason why you dont understand the auto gratuity...since you already tip well you dont understand why someone needs to tell you how much to tip. The problem is not folks like you who will tip well if the service is good and adjust accordingly if it is not. The problem is that some people come in, demand only the best service, will run you around for an hour while they ask you for one thing at a time, tell you that you are the most awesome server ever, then leave you $5.00 on a $60.00 check and think that they really took care of you. and that is sooooo frustrating!!