Ack! I have a valid tipping question.

[Allegro]

So we're on the DDP. There are only four of us at the table. We are going in January 2008. I want to tip. I have no problem with tipping. I want everyone to love each other and sing Kumbaya BUT I have a question.

So we're on the DDP and won't be drinking. Will we get a monetary amount for what we have ordered? Or will I be expected to keep a running tally in my head of what my meal cost to to determine tip?

I recognize that as its not 2008 yet practises may be different but what is the SOP right now. Thanks

"Kumbaya my lord, kumbaya" (Sway together now).

 

[Chantilly]

Actually, I prefer Michael Row the Boat Ashore but I won't quibble.

When I was there earlier this month - also on DDP - all the TS servers brought me the real bill with prices listed. After I handed over my card they brought the receipt which showed $0 and my remaining credits. So the short answer is, no, you don't have to keep a running tally.

 

[Allegro]

Thanks. That's good to know. Interesting that they also show you your remaining credits so it would be easy to know immediately if a mistake had been made.

And now a rousing chorus of Michael Row Your Boat Ashore.

 

[barndweller]

Come on, people. Didn't we all learn basic math in school? Round your entrees & desserts up to an even dollar amount. Do basic addition. Do the decimal shuffle trick to get the 10% figure. At a buffet do 10% (or 15% if you want to handle the extra mathematics.) At TS double your 10% figure to get 20% & leave feeling generous. What is the big deal here? Quit whining about carrying extra cash. Charge it on your CC or your KTTK card.

To the OP this is not directed at you. ( I know all the words to Kumbaya which is not saying much!) I'm just so tired of reading post after post of math challenged adults. How the heck does anyone figure tips in the outside world? Don't you people ever help your kids with basic math homework? Sheesh....

 

[Allegro]

Come on, people. Didn't we all learn basic math in school? Round your entrees & desserts up to an even dollar amount. Do basic addition. Do the decimal shuffle trick to get the 10% figure. At a buffet do 10% (or 15% if you want to handle the extra mathematics.) At TS double your 10% figure to get 20% & leave feeling generous. What is the big deal here? Quit whining about carrying extra cash. Charge it on your CC or your KTTK card.

To the OP this is not directed at you. ( I know all the words to Kumbaya which is not saying much!) I'm just so tired of reading post after post of math challenged adults. How the heck does anyone figure tips in the outside world? Don't you people ever help your kids with basic math homework? Sheesh....

Ummm... don't want to be nasty BUT you need to polish your reading skills. I asked if I would be given a monetary total from which to start my math not how to figure out the tip. I wasn't asking about credit cards or cash or asking my dear Aunt Sally to pay. I was just wondering what my starting point would be.

If you're going to be critical read the post to make sure you're being critical about the right things. That wasn't on topic OR nice. It would have been nice if it were at least one.

 

[familyS]

Well, I was a math major, but here at home I can double the tax and round up to the next dollar and I am at about an 18 percent tip.
At Disney this process would put me at about a 14 percent tip.

I may know my own balance, but don't keep tabs on what my family orders, so having the total on the receipt will help. (I will calculate 10% and double it, or not, depending on the service .)

 

[barndweller]

Allegro
I said this was not posted for you. Your post was one of the most reasonable I have yet to read and perfectly straight forward. I appologize for giving any offense to you. I shouldn't have posted this response on your thread but rather on one of the dozens of others asking how much to pay & how to pay & when to pay, etc, etc, etc. I am quite sure that my response was more an over reaction to yet another post about how to deal with tipping. I am beginning to think that many (not all but many who are vocal)DISers are either a bunch of school drop outs who cannot do basic math or a bunch of non-tippers who now have to learn how it is done. It is almost laughable how distraught some posters sound over the issue of how to calculate & pay a simple tip. Not to mention the angst over having to decide how to pay for it. Let's see...carry some cash, carry a credit card, charge it to the room with the Key or just skip it and walk out. And heaven forbid that anyone tip more than is customary at a buffet. Decisions, decisions. It almost makes the dining plan not worth the effort.

 

[N.Bailey]

I know this isn't what the OP asked, and maybe I've not kept up, but won't an 18% gratuity automatically be added for the DDP and the DDE?

 

[familyS]

N.Bailey, as I understand it, an automatic tip is added to
all DDE table service meals
DDP table service meals for parties of 6 or more

Hope this helps

 

[barndweller]

No. Tip is not added to DDP in 2008 if there are only 5 people. Many are happy for one reason or another. Many are not because the cash free everything included aspect is gone. My guess is that by 2009 Disney will have taken it out of our hands & will be adding it automatically to every tab.

 

[familyS]

Ack! barndweller and I posted at the same time

NObarndweller (no offense)

 

[barndweller]

No problem, familyS, Kumbaya and peace at ya.

 

[noahdove]

I'm swaying and at that the same time, singing Michael row the boat ashore...he better hurry cause I am deathly afraid of water I just had to add my weird humor.

 

[TDC Nala]

It's not just DDP table service meals, it's ALL TS parties of 6 or more, no matter how they pay, that will have an automatic gratuity added to their bills in 2008.

The same for ALL Disney Dining Experience members regardless of their party size.

In 2008, the gratuity is not included in the price of the dining plan. If you are a party of 6 or more on the dining plan, the gratuity amount (18%) will be added to your bill automatically. If you are a party of 5 or less, you can figure your own tip.

In both cases, the diner must decide on a method (cash, credit card, room key linked to a credit card) to use for paying the tip.

 

[Colleen27]

Some people have said that there will be a line added to the bottom of the bill with standard tip (15-18-20%, i'd imagine) amounts pre-calculated. That seems like it would make the most sense, since most people don't keep track of how much they're spending as they order. I'm perfectly capable of doing the math myself, but I'd be asking for a menu at the end of the meal to know the prices because I just don't keep track of that during the meal. LOL

What I'm interested to see is if the auto 18% will still be added to items not covered by the plan once the tip is OOP. That will make for some complicated calculations, having to exclude those items that already have tip tacked on to get the amount to base your tip on.

 

[JimMIA]

Will we get a monetary amount for what we have ordered? Or will I be expected to keep a running tally in my head of what my meal cost to to determine tip?

You DO have a valid question, and this is an accurate answer:

When I was there earlier this month - also on DDP - all the TS servers brought me the real bill with prices listed. After I handed over my card they brought the receipt which showed $0 and my remaining credits. So the short answer is, no, you don't have to keep a running tally.

Now, the problem I've had with that system in the past is that I tend to pay little attention at that first bill. I just throw the room key at the server and sign the $0.00 bill that comes back.

In the future, we'll have to pay more attention to the first bill. Fortunately, I have a feeling the servers will help us remember!

Early on, there was some speculation that there might be a little ticket/card/whatever that would say "15% = $**.**; 18% = $**.**, etc." But I haven't heard that lately. Time will tell.

 

[TDC Nala]

The 2008 brochure says an automatic gratuity MAY be added to items not included in the plan.

 

[Allegro]

Allegro
I said this was not posted for you. Your post was one of the most reasonable I have yet to read and perfectly straight forward. I appologize for giving any offense to you.

Apology accepted. Sorry I snapped back. Peace and love and all that mushy stuff.

Where I live tip is easy. We have 15% tax. You simply tip the tax. No thinking necessary. It would be convenient to be told what the tip is but generally its not all that hard to figure out. People figure out what 10, 15, 20 per cent is pretty easy when they're offered a discount. Still I will say nothing else because I TRULY wanted this to be a non-controversial thread. It seemed like such a simple question and I just wanted to know what to expect in terms of information provided - nothing else. Just the facts ma'm.

 

[Tricia1972]

One trick that I discovered for figuring tip on the final bill (with tax) that may or may not help you...

Let's say you receive a bill that just totals $239.89, which is your food bill including the tax. Rather than figure out what the tax is - you will be VERY close to giving your desired tip if you round down a percentage point!

To have a bill of $239.89 - your food bill is $225.25. Tipping on $225.25 is as follows:

15% - $33.79
18% - $40.55
20% - $45.05

If you take $239.89 and tip one percent less you end up with the following:

14% - $33.58
17% - $40.78
19% - $45.58

This works for me because I am a 'rounder' by nature. I'll rarely (if ever) leave a $33.79 tip, I'll leave $34.00. I figure that if service is so great that I am leaving a 20% tip, then I don't mind leaving a 20.2% tip!