Do you leave tips?

[JenDisneylandlver]

Yes, we always do. Unless it's already been included in the price. Like at Goofy's kitchen. Then we don't.

We've never tipped maids though.

 

[pixiewings71]

I wish i lived there!!! We ALWAYS tip, but i turthfully don't like that we "HAVE" to tip or its rude..... i mean if someone does something special for us then yea great u should get something special but i don't like that we tip people just for doing there jobs... you know what i mean... i make min. wage at a gas station but i don't get tips for turning the pump on.... ..... Like i said we tip cause its the way things are but i don't really understand it..... alot of countrys don't tip my fiancee had/has a hard time understanding why we tip here cause in his country it doesn't happen either, inless you get really good service or something...

Well IMO no one HAS to tip anytime. A tip is
To
Insure
Prompt
Service

Seriously, if I don't get good service I'm inclined not to tip, it doesn't happen often tho and when it does we address it with management so it normally gets "fixed" while we are there. 10% is my minimum, I will always leave that unless my service is terrible then I will leave nothing. DBF has higher standards so many times he gets upset with me because I leave a tip after he's decided not to. My sister was a server for years tho so I think that's why I am more inclined to tip no matter what.

 

[TiggerNZ]

Here in NZ most waitresses/maids also make minimum wage, and I don't think I've ever ever ever tipped housekeeping - sadly I also only tend to tip in good restaurants with excellent service (where I guess the servers make more money anyway) - rather than standard places - but thats just the norm here.

I personally (and not wishing to start a fight) think that tips should only be given for good service! I feel that the money I pay for food/wine should more than cover the costs of the restaurant including staff - if they don't make enough to pay their staff better thats not really my problem, I'd probably rather pay $2 more for food than be expected to tip all the time!

Anyway - thanks for the heads-up - don't want to make anyone mad at me while on holiday

 

[kellynz]

TiggerNZ, the tipping can get confusing, I'm glad my dh is american, so I just leave it all to him. I hope you have a great trip!

I didn't realise the minimum wage was only $8 an hour, YIKES! No wonder you need to tip everybody. Here it's a little over $12.

 

[TheAXIOM]

I know that whenever I go to restaurants, generally I always tip well, at least 20%, unless the service is so amazingly terrible I can't even tolerate it or I can sense that the server is apathetic to my needs.

After being a server myself, I see how tough it is to please every single table and every guest, and it's definitely a tough job. Here in VA, minimum wage is still around $6.55, and eventually it will pop to $7.25 by this coming year. However, as servers, they only make $2.13! So for servers in VA, we rely on tips to make the bulk of our paycheck.

Because of my experiences, I always tip pretty well

 

[Gisele]

It is in Ca. that the minimum wage is now $8.00 per hour. That is not the federal minimum wage. That is still only $6.55 per hour. $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. In either case, an adult cannot live properly on these wages. But then, that is another story.

 

[pixiewings71]

When my sis was a waitress she made less hourly because they figured her tips as part of her wages. It was crazy, what if business was slow, then tips are bad and she didn't make as much. That just seemed so wrong to me.

 

[Gisele]

That is why there are laws now. If an employer wishes to disregard the law for the state, then they need to be reported to the labor board.

 

[TheAXIOM]

When my sis was a waitress she made less hourly because they figured her tips as part of her wages. It was crazy, what if business was slow, then tips are bad and she didn't make as much. That just seemed so wrong to me.

That's EXACTLY how I felt as a server!
When business was really slow at my old restaurant, closing up the day making only $2.13/hr didn't sound like such a good deal to me :/

 

[Davids-Coco]

TiggerNZ, the tipping can get confusing, I'm glad my dh is american, so I just leave it all to him. I hope you have a great trip!

I didn't realise the minimum wage was only $8 an hour, YIKES! No wonder you need to tip everybody. Here it's a little over $12.

This varies too... Minimum wage does not apply in some places to tipped positions. My friend in Arkansas was making $2.50/hr plus tips.

 

[Wingles]

The whole tipping thing is confusing for those of us not used to it ( another Kiwi here lol)
I had no idea that it was the norm to tip housekeeping staff oops.

 

[Krissy Marissy]

At WDW, we tipped $5.00 per day since there were 4 of us. Almost every evening we returned to towel animals on the beds. She went above and beyond, making slides and such for the stuffed animals in the room to play with. We enjoyed getting back to the room to see what had been done almost as much as the parks, themselves.

I think someone had told me $1.00 per person per day. You won't have the same person each day, at least not at WDW, so instead of leaving one big one at the end of the stay, we did it each morning. I made mousekeeping envelopes up ahead of time with our name and the date. It made it easy for me to just whip out the next day's envelope and put it on the table where she would see it when she entered. I also put the $5.00 into each one and sealed them long before the trip. That way I wasn't scrounging for tip money each morning.

Mary

I find that to be true as well, they seem to go all out for you. The things they make out of towels and pipe cleaner never ceases to amaze me! And I agree about doing it each morning since the maids will be different Good tip about making the envelopes ahead of time!!

 

[kiwitravel]

Here in NZ most waitresses/maids also make minimum wage, and I don't think I've ever ever ever tipped housekeeping - sadly I also only tend to tip in good restaurants with excellent service (where I guess the servers make more money anyway) - rather than standard places - but thats just the norm here.

I personally (and not wishing to start a fight) think that tips should only be given for good service! I feel that the money I pay for food/wine should more than cover the costs of the restaurant including staff - if they don't make enough to pay their staff better thats not really my problem, I'd probably rather pay $2 more for food than be expected to tip all the time!

Anyway - thanks for the heads-up - don't want to make anyone mad at me while on holiday

Tipping is hard when you just aren't used to having to do it. I found it really confusing but did the best I could and most seemed happy. We didn't tip housekeeping as we didn't know that we should and didn't know how and how does it work tipping once for the whole stay when you have had different people doing your room...

We gave the busdriver $1 per bag and rounded up the restaurant bill by roughly 15%. Only problem we had was on the last day, flying out our plane was delayed and so Qantas gave us vouchers to have a meal at the airport. Our waitress upon showing her the vouchers before we ordered said loudly and rudely that they were fine but they did not include her tip.

The service was rude and abrupt, the food very average, I resented the earlier remark and I had no more US currency left so I didn't leave a tip. As we walked out she loudly and sarcastically thanked me for not leaving a tip, I equally loudly and sarcastically said thats OK thanks for the bad service. There was a ripple of applause so I think their were a lot of kiwis and aussies who were on the same plane in there! I don't recommend it though, my daughter was so embarassed.

 

[Krissy Marissy]

Qantas gave us vouchers to have a meal at the airport. Our waitress upon showing her the vouchers before we ordered said loudly and rudely that they were fine but they did not include her tip.

The service was rude and abrupt, the food very average, I resented the earlier remark and I had no more US currency left so I didn't leave a tip. As we walked out she loudly and sarcastically thanked me for not leaving a tip, I equally loudly and sarcastically said thats OK thanks for the bad service. There was a ripple of applause so I think their were a lot of kiwis and aussies who were on the same plane in there! I don't recommend it though, my daughter was so embarassed.

Dont be embarrassed! If someone were that outwardly rude in the beginning she must be used to not receiving tips and therefore usually provides her guests with awful service. I wouldn't have tipped her either...just rude!

 

[pouncingpluto]

So... I know tipping housekeeping seems to be very common on this message board, but do you guys really think it's that common in the U.S. otherwise? I'm an American, and I travel a lot and sometimes room with colleagues, etc., and I have never heard of someone tipping a maid outside of the context of the DIS.

 

[LavenderPeach]

So... I know tipping housekeeping seems to be very common on this message board, but do you guys really think it's that common in the U.S. otherwise? I'm an American, and I travel a lot and sometimes room with colleagues, etc., and I have never heard of someone tipping a maid outside of the context of the DIS.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I don't travel a lot now but we traveled fairly often when i was a kid and I don't remember my parents leaving tips for housekeeping so I never have as an adult. It wasn't until we were planning a trip to WDW and I started reading these boards that I heard about people doing that. I think I did leave tips for the housekeepers while on that trip but that's the only time. I thought maybe it was just me but I have to agree that I don't think it is necessarily a common thing to do. I don't know.

 

[trodrigue]

Just wanted to chime in. I do tip, and fairly generously when someone has invested themselves in making my experience be the most that it can be I tend to be thrifty and share meals and use coupons, but I also like good food and good service. I always tip on an amount equal to two meals, if we have shared one, and of course on the full prediscounted price, provided the service has been reasonable or better. In addition, I have worked in the serving industry for years. That is what put me through college, and allows me not to wait tables now. It is true that the slow times can be tough, walking out with just your hourly wages, but...the opportunity is huge and it is possible to make as much as $50 or more per hour with tips. So, it is a law of averages, and you have to take the bad with the good.

I also did not know about tipping housekeeping though. But, I can certainly see why it makes sense and would love to see some of those towel animals. Half the time, we don't even have our room made up because it is too much of a mess.

 

[techno]

Decent Article on Tipping Etiquette in the US. Again, remember you're tipping based on the quality of the service you receive. Poor or non-existent service deserves no tip, regardless of the situation or establishment. That being said, I highly encourage tipping 20% (or more if you are so inclined) when service is outstanding.

One other thing to keep in mind, always tip on the pre-tax amount. There is no need to tip on top of what Uncle Sam decides to tax you with.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g191-s606/United-States:Tipping.And.Etiquette.html

 

[Krissy Marissy]

So... I know tipping housekeeping seems to be very common on this message board, but do you guys really think it's that common in the U.S. otherwise? I'm an American, and I travel a lot and sometimes room with colleagues, etc., and I have never heard of someone tipping a maid outside of the context of the DIS.

I think pretty much everyone I talk to that travels often always tips the maid staff. Unless you are staying at a really cheap place, which I try to avoid.

 

[Peri]

Yes it is VERY IMPORTANT to note that wait staff do NOT usually make minimum wage! They make much less and they are "expected" to get tips to make up the difference! I think the system is awful, but it is the reality here in the states.

We tip 20 percent unless the service is horrible. If it is that bad, you should talk to the manager in any event.

We leave a dollar PER PERSON per night for housekeeping. I leave the money on the pillow.