In 2008 Im going with a party of 7 do I HAVE to give 18% gratuity

[kaytieeldr]

Not "upset" or "ticked" - just happened that way. I don't care if you or anyone else wants to flame me, I just stated the facts as they happened.

I don't see that anybody is flaming you; just that a couple of us are wondering why - since the party-size service charge is set by the restaurant and not the server - a diner would choose to penalize the server?

Again, and for the last time, I left the tip he asked for (required me to leave),

Well, really, didn't you leave the tip the RESTAURANT required you to leave? Keeping in mind, of course, that (a) your server did not set the policy and (b) despite what's been stated here, it's more reasonable that he would NOT be permitted to NOT charge that amount? Heck, do the servers even ring up their own checks, or is there a cashier/host/manager taking care of that?

The waiter was not punished, we left the tip that was included in the bill, we just did not leave extra, because the tip was included in our bill.

The waiter was penalized (granted, 'only' about $5) because you were displeased with the restaurant's policy. You have stated several times that you WOULD have tipped $20 or 20%. Now, unless he reads the DISboards, and recognizes you, he obviously doesn't know you would have tipped him $5 more that what the restaurant required. We do.

 

[kaytieeldr]

1) There is usually someone in the party who sees that everyone else is tipping so they don't. This happens more often than not! What's worse is when more than one person does it!

And you can't have once policy for parties of six or more adults, and another policy for parties of two adults and four+ kids, and another for parties of four adults and 2+ kids (before anybody points out that if the party is a family with small kids only one person would be taking care of both the bill and the tip).

as ive been banging on since sept.18% will be added to everones bill except if paying cash under 6 people and not using a dde card

I guess it's a "glass half full / glass half empty" interpretation. Eighteen percent will be added only to the bills of parties of six or more, and DDE users.

I'm just curious. How much does a server need to average, a night or hour to be enough

Again, turn it around. How much do YOU (or I, or antkim, etc) need to earn per work shift to be "enough"?

 

[kaytieeldr]

What would you have done????????

First, I'd most likely have said, "Hey, that's MY money!" - and then when (if?) she gave it back, taken the entire tip and gone in search of the waiter. Given that you chose not to - I'd now drop her from my group of friends

 

[avic77]

For the OP... My sister and her 3 children recently moved there trip to the same dates in Feb as i am going due to an unforseen situation. She plans to stick to my Itenerary and dining and pretty much stay close by my family though not tailing us 100% of the time. We have all the same dining reservations and times however i refused to ask for 1 big table! I told her to make her own reservations at or about the same time. We would show up together but would not be seated as a single party.
One dining location did not have an opening for my family of 5 she offered to make 2 reservations for 2 tables. one for 2 and one for 3 people. She promised the tables would be close but could not promise side by side. I didnt feel it was safe for my 5, 8, and 13 year old to sit close by all alone so we did not reserve those tables.

 

[kaytieeldr]

She promised the tables would be close but could not promise side by side. I didnt feel it was safe for my 5, 8, and 13 year old to sit close by all alone so we did not reserve those tables.

First, chances are the tables would not only be side by side - they would be the same table.
On the off-chance that the restaurant really COULD only seat you as a party of two and a party of three - it would make utter sense to have one adult and one child at one table, and the other adult and the other two children at the second table.

 

[maxiesmom]

The waiter informed us when he brought the check that the gratuity of 15% was already added into the bill - total of 14.65. That amount was exactly what he got, and he would have been better off if he did not have to add the gratuity onto our bill. There is just something about being told that the bill is a certain amount, gratuities included. My point is that we always tip way more than 15% (depending on the service) and this particular waiter would have gone away with at least $20.00 tip under other circumstances (us choosing the amount of the tip).

In your above post you state that you always tip more than 15%, but as the 15% was already on the bill, that is all you left. So you did indeed punish the waiter for a policy that he had no control over.

 

[RACHELSMOM1]

In your above post you state that you always tip more than 15%, but as the 15% was already on the bill, that is all you left. So you did indeed punish the waiter for a policy that he had no control over.

Okay, I went over this before, but some folks are not happy unless they push a point so FAR into the ground. The waiter was not punished, HE GOT HIS TIP - I REPEAT HE GOT HIS TIP - I have said this before, but apparently nobody read it. We did not stiff the waiter - HE GOT HIS TIP- What would you have me do get on my hands and knees and beg your forgiveness? No, the waiter was not punished - he got exactly what he expected. Enough said - sometimes I wonder why I even bother to post an opinion. I didn't mean to start a feud - I only stated fact, and I did not ask for anyone's opinion as to whether 15% was enough (which my waiter got as part of our bill) and you were not there so you don't even know if he was tipped according to what he was worth. You don't even know enough to say he was "punished" (he was not, and HE GOT HIS TIP), so everyone reading this should know that my original post was to say that automatic gratuity is not exclusive to WDW - if you read it you will know, and I did not ask anyone whether 15% was enough. I stated the facts as they were, period. THE WAITER WAS NOT PUNISHED, HE GOT HIS TIP!!!! The tip was included in the bill, just like the one on the DDP the last 3 years.

 

[Dragonfly0521]

I am with you Rachelsmom. I usually tip around 20%... give or take with rounding. But since we will be a group of 7, when they hand me the bill (after DDP), for an 18% tip, I will probably just pay that and no more. It's not to be rude, not to be cheap, but to make it easy on me for one, it's a fair tip for #2, and finally there is a part of me that resents the "Mandatory" tip, although I understand why.

To all the flamers... get a life.

 

[JimMIA]

And then?????

A few weeks ago we went to eat with friends. She is a kind of cents biter (Dutch way of speaking.)
After we got the bill we spilt it and I put 10 Euros extra on the table. I knew the waiter, he was very young and working his butt of.
We put the money cash on the table and my friend counted again. And again and then said :” its to much” and she took the 10 Euros off the table and in her pocked.
I was shocked , in panic and had no courage to correct her.
So when the waiter came to collect the money I just gave him the tip again.

What would you have done????????

In our quaint Florida way of speaking, we call that "theft." We call our "cents biters" "cheap." But this is not cheap; this is stealing -- from both you and the server.

I would have handled the situation by requesting (loudly, but not screaming), "Excuse me, but that money is the tip, which I left, for our hard-working server. Please put the server's tip back on the table."

And my former friend would be hoping they drove their own car, because if they came to the restaurant with me, they'd be walking home.

 

[maxiesmom]

Okay, I went over this before, but some folks are not happy unless they push a point so FAR into the ground. The waiter was not punished, HE GOT HIS TIP - I REPEAT HE GOT HIS TIP -

But you also stated you would have tipped more had the gratuity not been included on the bill! So yes, you did in fact penalize him because the restaurant you were at includes a gratuity on the bill. You said as much. So while you did not stiff him, you did give him less than you said you would have, had the tip not been included on the bill. So you did punish him for the restaurant's policy.

 

[sandym718]

OP - I totally see your point. I totally understand that you did NOT punish the server. Deciding not to add to the automatic gratuity, but STILL AN ABSOLUTELY ACCEPTABLE TIP, is not punishing the server, it's making a choice based on the circumstances. I pretty much always leave 20% for good service (sometimes more for EXCELLENT), but if a bill arrives with gratuity added at 15 or 18%, I'm not going to add more - unless that server was EXCELLENT. It's not punishment if I choose not to leave more, it's a reward for excellence if I do leave more. Yes, the fact that the tip is included automatically factors into my decision (once that's done for me, generally, I'm done) but that does not mean the server is being punished.

 

[RACHELSMOM1]

In our quaint Florida way of speaking, we call that "theft." We call our "cents biters" "cheap." But this is not cheap; this is stealing -- from both you and the server.

I would have handled the situation by requesting (loudly, but not screaming), "Excuse me, but that money is the tip, which I left, for our hard-working server. Please put the server's tip back on the table."

And my former friend would be hoping they drove their own car, because if they came to the restaurant with me, they'd be walking home.

What? Your "former" friend? And, you would make your friend walk? I hope you are never my "friend". A true friend loves her friend no matter what he/she does. Are you saying you would ditch your friend over a server's tip? A true friend would not do that to his/her friend. I have a best friend, and if she ever did anything I didn't approve of, I would not disown her. She has some bad habits I don't approve of, but I would never abandon her friendship, especially for something as silly as a misunderstanding over a server's tips!! Life is too short already!! I love her with all my being. She has been my friend through good and bad times, and I am sure I have embarrassed her in times past, but we still love each other. She is very dear to me, and that is much more important than a server and his or her tips.

 

[TDC Nala]

This has gotten out of the realm of discussion of the WDW 18% automatic gratuity for parties of 6 or more.

The OP's question appears to have been answered back on the first page.