DDE Automatic 18% tip!

[theparsons]

Look on the bright side...ADR's will be easier to get!!! Or, even better, we won't have to decide 180 days out where we will be and where we want to eat...we'll be able to walk up and get seated!!

That is EXACTLY what I was thinking....it's going to be next to impossible to get into a CS and grab a greasy slice of pizza or some chicken nuggets now....but I'll be able to walk into Le Cellier or Boma and be seated before I finish telling them how many are in my party!

Kinda making the DDE card look attractive....it didn't appeal because of the forced tip....now I'm thinking if you get it then at least the tip/discount nearly cancel themselves out....so I'll get 2% off my meals and not have to waste brain cells calculating a tip. So...basically it would mean my entire tip cost for the year would be the $65 cost of DDE. So once you've spent $370 then you'll be making a profit, because you won't be paying the tip OOP and the discount cancels out the tip.

I was already planning on eating mostly offsite with a few exceptions mostly buffets...but if they are upping the price of buffets essentially by 18% then I'll likely only do the Princess one because the kids would probably never speak to me again. But Ohana, Chef Mickey, and a few others.....nah, we'll see those characters in the park somewhere sometime.

 

[theparsons]

So you guys are saying that the CM who throws down a couple of drinks at a buffet TS will get just as much of a mandatory tip as a CM who works at a traditional TS where they have to SERVE everything and check on the guest?

Hmmmm....do you think that will mean that CM's will WANT to work the buffet restaurants now? Seems like you get a better deal...more money and less work. Of course ya gotta put up with the noise level since buffet and characters go together and it's just naturally noisy with all the kids screaming for Mickey to come over here! Wonder if the union can get them ear plugs?

 

[deej696]

I am disappointed in this thread. Listening to all the whining about an automatic 18% gratuity, even when most people claim to be giving at least 15% is a travesty. I hold to my initial premise that many are not leaving an appropriate tip at all. When people spend thousands on a vacation and are complaining about $18 on a $100 dinner - $3 more than they claim they are tipping now, something is wrong. Me thinks they doth protest too much.

I agree with you to a certian extent here Sammy. While I think it is someones perogative to tip how they want, I feel there are a lot more people than you think that dont tip at all, or tip very poorly. We tip 20% regardless, so I guess this is saving me 2% if I dont add anything. If we receive poor service, we simply dont return to that establishment. If a server is having a bad night, or is simply lousy at their job, is giving 10% instead really gonna solve anything? In my opinion no. But if the problem persists, and enough people stop showing up at all, then real change occurs when the bottom line is effected.

 

[theparsons]

I am just amazed that so many are taking it out on the waiters and waitresses in a way. So many have said they will not add to the tip even for great service where they may have before. It is not the waiters and waitress' desision to have this policy, yet they are the one that are paying for it. So their employers don't pay them much hourly, letting the custemers supliment thier pay. and the customers will not give extra for exceptional service due to their employers policy


I for one will give extra for exceptional service. Not thier fault thier employers are implimenting this policy.

I don't blame anyone for being upset, I am not to happy with this policy either.

I disagree....the waitstaff negotiated these changes through their union. So they DID have a major decision in this policy. They voted on, they can live with the consequences.

Of course it sounds like the 18% will still be more than they're getting now if "foreigners" are leaving nothing because they don't understand our tipping custom.....and DDP people won't leave a tip because they all think it's still included (ummm, don't any of them read the paperwork they get???)...and then the cheapos just don't leave any tip anyway....and most of the rest of us tip according to service level....that doesn't seem to leave a whole lot of people who were tipping 20% or more....so if they get zero from 80% of their customers, then getting 18% automatically will negate the "loss" from the people who would have paid higher.

 

[theparsons]

This adjustment to the program has been implemented in order to align the Disney Dining Experience Program with other dining experiences where gratuities are included. Effective January 1, 2008, when utilizing your Disney Dining Experience discount 18% gratuity will be added.

QUOTE]

hmmmm.that doesn't seem to make sense...."align...with other dining experiences where gratuities are included".....ummm, didn't they just REMOVE the gratuity from the Dining plan? So what other dining experience is there?

 

[dqpowell]

hmmmm.that doesn't seem to make sense...."align...with other dining experiences where gratuities are included".....ummm, didn't they just REMOVE the gratuity from the Dining plan? So what other dining experience is there?

What they're saying is that when an automatic gratuity is calculated (say, on parties of 8 or more), it is calculated on the value of the food according to menu prices.

Unfortunately, many DDE participants were calculating tips based on the discounted rate for the food... not the menu prices.

Example:

$100 worth of food. 18% tip = $18.

DDE, $100 worth of food should result in an $18 tip. However, DDE gives them a 20% discount. So $100 worth of food results in a bill for $80. And many DDE users were (apparently) tipping on $80 instead of $100, resulting in a tip of $14.40 rather than $18. By implementing an automatically-calculated gratuity for DDE members, the tip will be $18 in this example, as it should be if somebody wanted to tip 18%.

At this point it's pretty clear that the automatic gratuity is only for DDE dining and large parties regardless of the method of payment. For smaller parties paying cash or on the DDP, the tip will not be automatically calculated.

David

 

[cinderbear]

The tipping subject should not be brought up on this board or any board for that matter. It is very offensive to a server who works hard to put a roof over their heads, put food on the table, and pay the rest of their bills. Everyone seems to forget that servers get an hourly wage of $2.00 to $3.00 dollars per hour. That means they depend on their tips to live. Most servers have to tip other people out ( like bussers, food runners, bartenders and so on.) With that being said, if you leave $4.00 on a $40.00 tab that server might be making $1.00. How would that make you feel if you were in those shoes? If you think tipping is so horrible and you must complain about it, then maybe you should just stay home. Not everyone has a salary payed job or gets a very nice hourly wage. Disney is a magical place if you don't have the money to eat at table service restaurant, THEN DON'T.

 

[Robo]

You're never fully dressed without a smile.

 

[Dan Murphy]

The tipping subject should not be brought up on this board or any board for that matter. It is very offensive to a server who works hard to put a roof over their heads, put food on the table, and pay the rest of their bills. Everyone seems to forget that servers get an hourly wage of $2.00 to $3.00 dollars per hour. That means they depend on their tips to live. Most servers have to tip other people out ( like bussers, food runners, bartenders and so on.) With that being said, if you leave $4.00 on a $40.00 tab that server might be making $1.00. How would that make you feel if you were in those shoes? If you think tipping is so horrible and you must complain about it, then maybe you should just stay home. Not everyone has a salary payed job or gets a very nice hourly wage. Disney is a magical place if you don't have the money to eat at table service restaurant, THEN DON'T.

I fully agree, cinderbear. Wait staff folks generally (almost always) do a suer job at what they do and depend so much on those tips, the system as it is. Just wanted to thank you and others who make trips there the great experience it is. And really, most wait staff anywhere, Disney or not, most are great.

As for bringing it up on this board, I was actually quite surprised to see a Disney restaurant thread on the theme park board, and for almost a month now. That is strange too.

In any case, thank you for your hard work and dedication. (from your post, I presume you are a CM there)

 

[Sandy321]

I understand and can sympathize with the wait servers.

I cannot understand an automatic tip -

My question is...

I understand in many European countries there is no tipping - because the servers are paid a wage, and the "tip" is factored into the pricing of the menu items...

Therefore I'm wondering if this "forced tipping" is a way Disney is handling the salaries of the wait servers.... or employees.. the tips "pooled" to be shared with busboys, cooks, dishwashers, hostesses... (thanks Cinder for clarifying that point)

either way its getting out of hand, this trying to "second guess" Disney... or how Disney is "got my money"... again...

I still resent a "forced tipping"

esp after the horrific service (non service) we received at a TS restaurant during free dining, and the manager was too busy handling complaints for me to wait, knowing our meal was "free" what more can they do???

 

[Buzz's Buddy]

If you don't like the automatic gratuity, there's a simple solution, DON'T BUY THE DDE CARD!!!!!

If you purchase the card and get service that doesn't warrant an 18% tip, ask to see the manager, but don't wait until the end of your meal. That's like finishing your meal and then complaining that it wasn't cooked to your expectations.

And for all you bad tippers out there (you know who you are), what goes around come around! I've never been a waiter, but if I was, you wouldn't want me to wait on you after you had left a small tip!

 

[Jedi_Galvatron]

An automatic gratuity should NEVER really be put in place anywhere, and believe me I waited a fair share of tables back in school I understand the plight of the underpaid wait staff. That said, I also understand the wait staff's tendancy to do very little when a tip is already garunteed for them. I worked in a restaurant for a few months before it went "gratuity included" and then for a few months after and I can assure you the difference is night and day. Even some of the best waiters/waitresess would no longer go above and beyond for their tables, many people started to complain, some people saw them only at the time of ordering and then again as they dropped the bill off and ran.

The fact is tipping is built as a measure to ensure good service. I know it's a horrible way of doing it but being in control of how much money a server makes off your table allows for you to have some measure of control over the service you recieve. As long as you honestly tip according to the service you recieve then the system works. I'm pretty sure its the lack of tipping that forced Disney into this ugly predicament. The system breaks down, or stops altogether, when an entire resraurant (booth good and bad servers) start being short changed on tips at all tables. Disney, I presume, rather then pay the staff more and continue with current practices decided to ENSURE the money came out of the patrons pockets, not theirs, and instituted this policy.

That said I have not read all the pages to this thread, so can someone bring me fully up to speed? Is this JUST for DDE patrons or will someone say, on the DDP, have to pay out of pocket 18% tips no matter the level of service? Do we even know the answers based onw hat Disney has said?

 

[apostolic4life]

The tipping subject should not be brought up on this board or any board for that matter. It is very offensive to a server who works hard to put a roof over their heads, put food on the table, and pay the rest of their bills. Everyone seems to forget that servers get an hourly wage of $2.00 to $3.00 dollars per hour. That means they depend on their tips to live. Most servers have to tip other people out ( like bussers, food runners, bartenders and so on.) With that being said, if you leave $4.00 on a $40.00 tab that server might be making $1.00. How would that make you feel if you were in those shoes? If you think tipping is so horrible and you must complain about it, then maybe you should just stay home. Not everyone has a salary payed job or gets a very nice hourly wage. Disney is a magical place if you don't have the money to eat at table service restaurant, THEN DON'T.

Wow, you sound a little bitter. The simple fact remains that most people do tip based on the level of service received and if you do a good job you will be rewarded for the quality of that service (yes, there are cheap people who do not tip correctly or even at all). Yes, you do depend on those tips to live, but I bet most anyone could live on making between $18-$54 per hour (based on the reasonable math from my earlier post) as an average. If you are good at your job you will make the money you want even if some people refuse to tip or tip poorly. My argument is not with the practice of tipping, my argument is based on the "woe is me because I work so hard I 'deserve' a great tip" mentality so many servers exhibit nowadays. Everyone in the restaurant business works hard, and servers do not have the hardest job in the restaurant; go ask the dishwasher who's job is hardest. Tips should always be based on the quality of service rendered because that is what is fair. To institute a mandatory tip will allow servers to due subpar work for great reward.....this is not good for the bottom line of the restaurant since many people who are given bad service will not come back based on the poor service received. What will you do when the customers do not come into the restaurant due to bad service.......oh yeah, you will move on to a new restaurant and eventually to another ......and another ....and another......get my point?

Guaranteed tips benefit the server only. They are bad for customer service.

 

[Blueyed Girl]

I'm wondering when a "tip" became expected anyway. When I was a kid, not everyone tipped. My family has always tipped and if the food was really, really good my dad would make sure the cook got a good tip too! (I may be showing my age here) But, my point is that when any of the staff (wait staff included) would get a tip it was like a "gift" for a job well done. It made faces light up and the wait staff was always very gracious for this unexpected gift. Now, it just seems like you are being judged on whether you are a good tipper or not before you even sit down.

 

[Uncleromulus]

JediGalvatron:
It's just for DDE card holders---.

 

[zacksmammie]

Many of you have expressed concern about the 18% gratuity that will be added to all Disney Dining Experience transactions. When using your Disney Dining Experience membership card the assessed gratuity will be added to all table service restaurant locations and lounges for all transactions regardless of party size. Gratuity will not be added to any counter service, food cart or quick service locations. In the past, gratuity was only implemented for larger parties of 8 or more for guests utilizing their Disney Dining Experience membership.

Part of the-email I received this morning in response to, what I assume, was a lot of negative feed-back on the new tipping policy!

 

[GEM]

If you don't like the automatic gratuity, there's a simple solution, DON'T BUY THE DDE CARD!!!!!

Except that there are people like me who just bought the DDE card last month with no idea that these changes were coming.

 

[TDC Nala]

It appears that the following, utilizing current policy and new announcements, will be assessed an automatic gratuity in 2008 on WDW table service dining and at lounges.

1) Bookings at dinner shows (luau or Hoop de Doo) or special events (i.e. Food and Wine Festival prepaid culinary events).
2) Disney Dining Experience members (regardless of party size) – 18%.
3) Disney cast members using a cast discount, where available – 18%.
4) ALL parties of 6 or more – 18%.

If your party doesn’t fit the above categories, then current known policy is that you will NOT be assessed an automatic gratuity.

 

[TLSnell1981]

This adjustment to the program has been implemented in order to align the Disney Dining Experience Program with other dining experiences where gratuities are included. Effective January 1, 2008, when utilizing your Disney Dining Experience discount 18% gratuity will be added.

QUOTE]

hmmmm.that doesn't seem to make sense...."align...with other dining experiences where gratuities are included".....ummm, didn't they just REMOVE the gratuity from the Dining plan? So what other dining experience is there?

I read this to mean gratuities have been added to all dining plans.

 

[cleo]

Tipping is a factor in trip planning and certainly in the vacation experience and it is an appropriate topic for a travel forum. Not all cultures are aware of or understand the tipping culture in the US, making discussion about tipping a vital educational tool as well. It directly benefits wait-staff when the custom of tipping is understood and it is highly appropriate to aid in that education though a travel forum's posts.

Let's keep the discussion to the change in policy rather than making it a debate about tipping or server wages.