DDP 2008 Tipping

[TLSnell1981]

I can only speak of my time at Park Fare since its the only Disney buffet I've work at. A typical evening includes being quadruple sat at my 4 six-tops. So the night starts off with getting 24 drinks at one time, including rounds of water and bar drinks and bringing butter to the table. This also includes taking cake orders to the bakery since there's usually one birthday in each round of seatings. And there's usually one allergy in each seating, so I have to hunt down the chef so he can go over to the table. I'm usually in the back part of the restaurant, so when characters come back there when I'm back there, I can't get out for about 10 minutes while holding about 20 plates, all stacked funny. Birthdays are at a specific time (4 or 5 times in a shift) and everyone celebrates their birthday at the same time. So, I have to drop everything I'm doing to grab the cake or cupcake and run out on the floor to help celebrate. I cringe when anyone orders coffee or hot tea because Disney has now implemented the 2-step coffee service. So, I often get screamed at by a guest for placing an empty cup on the table and coming back with the pot. The DDP is so weird that it takes a long time to settle the payment. Those are just some things that happen in my typical night. That being said, I love my shifts at Park Fare!

I think we deserve the same rate of pay than a regular table-service server because we do all the same things they do except take an order and have a larger amount of people to serve at one time. We don't bring the food, but we make so many stops at the table, we might as well have brought their food too. I have been a table-service server at Disney as well.

To answer your other question, full-time buffet servers work about 30-40 hours a week. The shift starts at 3:30, and we usually leave at 10. Typical sections have 5 tables. I'm usually in a section of 4-5 six-tops. I average ***a night before tipping out the bus boys. Park Fare is the only restaurant left in Disney with bussers.

I hope I answered your questions sufficiently.

You sound like an exceptional employee. We are dining there on our next visit. I hope we are fortunate enough to have someone like you as our server.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Conservation alert: quoting only the statement/s in post number 139 to which I am responding

Anyway, when my family returns to Disney later this year, we will be getting hit with the 18% "subsidy" because our party has 8 people. I don't like the fact that it is (1) automatic and (2) not discretionary with respect to percentage. But, what can you do?

Well, okay, here are some thoughts:
You can start with the positive attitude you already possess, and dine with the expectation of good or better-than-good service, so the auto-charge won't even be an issue (instead, it will have been earned).
You can - either in advance, or based on your first couple of dining experiences, budget in a little extra time in case the auto-charge IS an issue, i.e., not deserved by the server. It could take a few minutes (or, okay, more ) to locate a manager.
To reduce that potential drain on your park time, you could go armed with the telephone numbers for the restaurants where you have reservations - then, if service is bad and you're not getting the management attention you want, call from your table.

But, I'm counting on you having only excellent service (over which, since I live 1,200 miles away and know only one Disney server, I can have no possible influence).

 

[TLSnell1981]

Conservation alert: quoting only the statement/s in post number 139 to which I am responding Well, okay, here are some thoughts:
You can start with the positive attitude you already possess, and dine with the expectation of good or better-than-good service, so the auto-charge won't even be an issue (instead, it will have been earned).
You can - either in advance, or based on your first couple of dining experiences, budget in a little extra time in case the auto-charge IS an issue, i.e., not deserved by the server. It could take a few minutes (or, okay, more ) to locate a manager.
To reduce that potential drain on your park time, you could go armed with the telephone numbers for the restaurants where you have reservations - then, if service is bad and you're not getting the management attention you want, call from your table.

But, I'm counting on you having only excellent service (over which, since I live 1,200 miles away and know only one Disney server, I can have no possible influence).

This is funny! Now, this guests have to budget their time around the service received while dining at Disney. It is now the guest's responsibility to insure that their service is up to par. I guess they should feel privileged they were allowed to dine there.

Don't count on having a "gratuity" removed if you have a lousy server. There have been other threads referring to this. I don't think the manager has much say in this matter. The auto grat is mandated by a union contract.

You are counting on guests receiving only excellent service.....but, you live 1200 miles away and have no influence? This assumption is based on......the one server you know or the perfect service you have always received while dining at Disney over the years?

 

[TLSnell1981]

This has gotten way off topic and I hate to see this thread closed.

Lousy servers have no incentive to improve if the are rewarded with an automatic "gratuity" regardless of their work ethic.

Great servers will receive the same pay as a bad one. I know, people can give an extra tip if the service is warranted, but this doesn't usually happen when the "tip" is already included.

Some are asking us to set the standard of 18% for lousy or mediocre service and increase it for exellent service. I don't think this is going to happen.

It does cause problems when everyone receives the same pay regardless of their performance.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

This has gotten way off topic and I hate to see this thread closed.

Lousy servers have no incentive to improve if the are rewarded with an automatic "gratuity" regardless of their work ethic.

Great servers will receive the same pay as a bad one. I know, people can give an extra tip if the service is warranted, but this doesn't usually happen when the "tip" is already included.

Some are asking us to set the standard of 18% for lousy or mediocre service and increase it for exellent service. I don't think this is going to happen.

It does cause problems when everyone receives the same pay regardless of their performance.

I totally agree with you. I did tip above the 18% when I was on the dining plan, and while I only recieved great service while on the plan, there are times when I've paid out-of-pocket, and have only left 10% due to horrible service, which is more then what was earned in my opinion.

 

[LexPlayer]

This has gotten way off topic and I hate to see this thread closed.

Lousy servers have no incentive to improve if the are rewarded with an automatic "gratuity" regardless of their work ethic.

Great servers will receive the same pay as a bad one. I know, people can give an extra tip if the service is warranted, but this doesn't usually happen when the "tip" is already included.

Some are asking us to set the standard of 18% for lousy or mediocre service and increase it for exellent service. I don't think this is going to happen.

It does cause problems when everyone receives the same pay regardless of their performance.

Yep, I agree.

Plus, I still don't see why 18% is the norm/expected tip as opposed to the 10% that I cited in my previous post.

 

[kaytieeldr]

This is funny! Now, this guests have to budget their time around the service received while dining at Disney. It is now the guest's responsibility to insure that their service is up to par. I guess they should feel privileged they were allowed to dine there. No, the Guest does not have to budget their time as indicated. At the end of his/her post, Lex Player asked "But, what can you do"?. My responses were SUGGESTIONS. I did not realize it was necessary to preface my post as such.

Don't count on having a "gratuity" removed if you have a lousy server. There have been other threads referring to this. I don't think the manager has much say in this matter. The auto grat is mandated by a union contract. Responses received from Disney addressing this specific issue (which can be found in now-closed threads on this subject) indicate that according to Disney Guest Communications, the restaurant manager CAN make adjustments when warranted. Until the DDE auto-charge is actually instituted, nobody can have had experience to report.
You are counting on guests receiving only excellent service.....but, you live 1200 miles away and have no influence? This assumption is based on......the one server you know or the perfect service you have always received while dining at Disney over the years? If you are referring to this "But, I'm counting on you having only excellent service (over which, since I live 1,200 miles away and know only one Disney server, I can have no possible influence)." part of my post, I don't understand the sarcasm. Let me try again, to make my response clearer: "But, as a glass half full person with no absolutely no influence or effect whatsoever on the vacation experience of anybody with whom I am not traveling, I'm counting (= expecting, based on past experience and general positive attitude) on you having only excellent service (over which, since I live 1,200 miles away and know only one Disney server, I can have no possible influence - given that, after all, no reasonable person could EXPECT any other person living many hundreds of miles from a particular vacation destination and knowing only ONE person out of a couple thousand in a given department to have ANY effect)".

.....

 

[udsweetpea]

You sound like an exceptional employee. We are dining there on our next visit. I hope we are fortunate enough to have someone like you as our server.

Thank you! I really appreciate that

 

[udsweetpea]

I would edit my post with my earnings, but its been quoted so many times, I don't see the point. I'm only a seasonal cast member, and I only work 5 shifts a year, so its no big deal if you all see how much I make in those 5 nights.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Conservation alert: quoting only the statement/s in post number 146 to which I am responding

Plus, I still don't see why 18% is the norm/expected tip as opposed to the 10% that I cited in my previous post.

My opinion (bear with me):
The standard tip in a table service restaurant has been 15% for a number of years, but many people now tip 20%.
The average of 15% and 20% is 17.5%.
A guess: When restaurants started adding the automatic whatever-you-want-to-call-it to checks for large parties, it was apparently determined that 18% is easier to calculate - for those instances where it had to be done manually, for whatever reason - than 17.5%.
This apparently includes Disney.
When the Disney Dining Plan started, and Disney was paying the tip to the servers, they were (again, apparently) paying the same percentage to ALL the servers.
Now that Disney has decided to add the automatic whatever-you-want-to-call-it to the checks of all Disney Dining Experience users, they are (once more, apparently) not differentiating between the types of restaurants - you dine with a large party, or use the DDE - 18% is added to your check.

If you are a party of five or fewer and are paying cash/credit/room charge, or using Disney Dining Plan entitlements, YOU get to determine the tip. Period. If you're using the DDP at Boma, and feel the server deserves/earned 10% - that's all you pay.

 

[angelmav]

kaytieeldr, the problem is they included the buffets with that 18%, which, no where else in the world (real), do buffet servers (server being a lose term here IMO), do they get anywhere near that type of compensation. Yay for them, except that now parties of 6 or more have an auto-grat, DDE have an auto-grat, and its no longer included in said DDP leading many to speculate how its only a matter of time until auto-grat is across the board. Add to this the fact that many of these servers/friends/associates come on here, complain that its not enough, complain about those that only tip 15% (for shame), state in no uncertain terms how furtunate the masses are to even have the privledge of a table and if they dont like it to eat CS the whole time and suddenly you have a topic for discussion.

 

[kaytieeldr]

kaytieeldr, the problem is they included the buffets with that 18%, which, no where else in the world (real), do buffet servers (server being a lose term here IMO), do they get anywhere near that type of compensation.

Ah, but haven't we all figured out by now that Disney isn't the real world?

Yay for them, except that now parties of 6 or more have an auto-grat, DDE have an auto-grat, and its no longer included in said DDP leading many to speculate how its only a matter of time until auto-grat is across the board.

I won't speculate yes or no on that, but I will speculate that if it were to happen, it would not affect the 2008 Disney Dining Plan.

Add to this the fact that many of these servers/friends/associates come on here, complain that its not enough, complain about those that only tip 15% (for shame), state in no uncertain terms how furtunate the masses are to even have the privledge of a table

While I have not seen the "only tip 15%" complaints, I do not doubt they exist. While Disney, along with any restaurant that adds an auto-charge to large parties, and hotel room service - has set that auto-charge at 18% (see the unsupported but reasonable calculations I provided, above), as far as I know 15% IS still the standard tip for a table service restaurant. Anything higher the diner chooses to tip is gravy (pun intended). As for the 'priviledge to get a table' interchange, well, since none of us - not even the person who reported it - was there, we don't know what actually happened/led up to the incident

and if they dont like it to eat CS the whole time and suddenly you have a topic for discussion

Ah, c'mon - when have we ever needed a topic for discussion


I hope you don't mind that I responded to your post in sections; I did not edit or change the meaning of anything you posted, and as far as I can tell I quoted and responded to your entire post.

 

[udsweetpea]

I'm not sure what you all pay for DDP, isn't usually much less than you would normally pay for food at Disney or completely free? So what's the big deal if you pay the servers a few more dollars at a buffet than you would at the Golden Corral at home?

 

[mom2my3kids]

To be correct its not that cheap for the dining plan, but I don't have a problem giving the servers 18% at a buffet as long as I get good service this coming from a server. In the end I don't care what you bring home at night, you could make 500.00 a night just as long as you make my meal a good one. KWIM? To me Disney is expensive so when I go I realize the meals are going to be much more then I would pay at home, so the tip is going to be more. Now if I get horrible service I would complain, I don't have to worry we won't be purchasing the dining plan and the few table service meals we will eat at I wont mind the tipping. This is coming from a girl that a fancy meal is a twice a year trip to outback steakhouse or roadhouse steakhouse.

 

[Belle1962]

Lousy servers have no incentive to improve if the are rewarded with an automatic "gratuity" regardless of their work ethic.

Great servers will receive the same pay as a bad one.

Welcome to my office. Since we are all govt employees, on the same grade level we all make the same amount of $$$$$. And the "great ones" do carry the "lousy" ones. I think it's that way in a lot of other occupations--not just servers.

That being said--I'm a 20% tipper unless you are so horrid it's unbelievable.

 

[skater]

I'm not sure what you all pay for DDP, isn't usually much less than you would normally pay for food at Disney or completely free? So what's the big deal if you pay the servers a few more dollars at a buffet than you would at the Golden Corral at home?

Your first question is a tough question to answer. The DDP is a good deal for some and not for others - it really depends on eating preferences. OF course, without the tip and appetizer, its not as good a deal as it used to be.

As to your second question, I usually do tip servers a little more at a Disney buffet - but again, it really depends on the level of service. Honestly, some of the servers at Disney seem indifferent. When I receive the service that I would give or the service we received a few years back, then I am happy to tip a few more dollars. Is it a big deal to tip a few more dollars if the service is mediocre? - YES - We struggle to afford Disney and sacrifice throughout the year, so I am very generous when the service warrants, but am content with 10-15% for buffet servers if they do a lesser amount for us than table servers.

I hope this makes sense - I'm a little tired right now - and I love Disney CM's for the most part - I just wanted to give another side to the story.

 

[angelmav]

I'm not sure what you all pay for DDP, isn't usually much less than you would normally pay for food at Disney or completely free? So what's the big deal if you pay the servers a few more dollars at a buffet than you would at the Golden Corral at home?

No its certainly not free nor is it cheap, add to that you have to stay in a Disney resort to get it to begin with and many of your patrons dont even have the option. As for the 'few more dollars' Our party wound up tipping $70 for those couple of iced teas at H & V since we were a large group and paying OOP, so even though its not the 'real' world, the wages that are being earned to be thrown around so cavalierly are earned in it.

 

[udsweetpea]

No its certainly not free nor is it cheap, add to that you have to stay in a Disney resort to get it to begin with and many of your patrons dont even have the option. As for the 'few more dollars' Our party wound up tipping $70 for those couple of iced teas at H & V since we were a large group and paying OOP, so even though its not the 'real' world, the wages that are being earned to be thrown around so cavalierly are earned in it.

I believe its been free for the past few years during certain months. How did you tip $70 for iced teas by the way?

 

[TLSnell1981]

I believe its been free for the past few years during certain months. How did you tip $70 for iced teas by the way?

It has been explained, that you must pay full rack rate for a room at a Disney owned hotel to receive "free" dining. Evidently, otherwise you could get a room at a discounted rate....so you are actually "paying" for the DDP. I assume this is the reason the gratuity is now OOP for DDP.

I hope the OP doesn't mind me answering the iced tea question, but I assume they meant the only service they received at H&V was their drinks....and maybe a refill. The worst service I have ever had was at H&V. If the food had been edible, I might have given it another chance.

 

[angelmav]

You hit the nail on the head TLSnell1981, while the overall experience wasnt terrible, it certainly didnt rate that amount for a couple of re-fills, however we had no control over that due to party size. It did bother me when we asked for coffee's and were brought To-Go containers so as to get us out of the place.

But this harkens back to a Us Vs Them mentality amongst many CM's who have a misunderstanding about just how this is all portioned out. To think that people arent paying top $$ to begin with and are being cheap is, IMO what is leading to this back and forth.