Is Sharing w/o Tipping tacky??

[melomouse]

Ok - here goes....any errors in what I want to do here, please let me know..
DD(10) and I will go for 6 days end of September - girls trip only - DS will skip this trip. She's an adult for DP purposes, and does like to try new things. Sometimes I will be ordering a kids meal for her, sometimes sharing my meal with her,sometimes getting her her own adult meal and I guess, lugging back leftovers to POR's fridge..

Also - understood that I can pay OOP for her kids meal and save extra adult TS credit for say, CG or CRT or buffet meal??
OR - I can feed her a kids meal, get her an adult appy & dessert and just use her actual credit...?

Ok! THAT part I got!!! What my real question is - is this - in good conscience, if we sit down at a TS restaurant, and we share one adult meal - which may work fine a few times... - how is the server tipped?? I think it's really unfair to the waitstaff to have them getting one tip for one adult credit when they are serving 2 people - be it a 2-yr old, a 19 year old, or my 82-yr old aunt. Shouldn't I add to an already included tip? It would feel very tacky going to dinner one of the nicer TS restaurants and sharing, then not adding tip for serving one meal, three courses, to two of us.

So do I tip based on what "would" be the "real" cost of another dinner?? Cash, of course...

When it's a fully paid meal and my server does whatever for the kids, it seems, at least in my mind - "included" in the tip I give. On DP - while I understand tip is included, isn't it included for ONE meal/one tip? Thus, if I have one meal and share, the server is losing out??

I am still searching threads on this one as I try to plan our ADR's - but that's my next thread!!! Thanks so much!

 

[Hopefully]

On the DP the tip is included per meal at 18%. So if you shared one meal the server would only receive 18% of the cost of that meal. I would add to that tip. I think your idea of adding on what the cost of the 2 meals would have been is a good idea.

 

[kcashner]

My understanding is that the server is tipped 18% of the actual charge for the food ordered. Using that theory, if you share a meal the server might be getting under-tipped. Of course, you can also rationalize that if you had gone in on "cash" you would have ordered only an entree....so he/she was tipped for the appetizer and dessert with the plan.

Yes, it is certainly appropriate to leave an additional tip if you share. If you order a second beverage (paid OOP), you can add the tip to that ticket. If you order nothing off plan, your only option is to leave cash. You cannot do a "tip only" to your room charge.

For that reason, we will be bringing some small bills on this trip--I normally don't carry cash at WDW at all!

 

[Nedebpats]

We left extra tip most places last year because the service was great for one and if we had a glass of wine we wanted to tip for that too.

 

[iluvepcot]

When we went last year with free dining, we were told the server got 15% on whatever was orderd. They had to wait weeks for the tip. Whatever we ordered, we left extra to make up the dif between 18% and 15%. When sharing a meal we left still a little more.

 

[formernyer]

When we went last year with free dining, we were told the server got 15% on whatever was orderd. They had to wait weeks for the tip. Whatever we ordered, we left extra to make up the dif between 18% and 15%. When sharing a meal we left still a little more.

They get 18% now. It was increased this year.

I have mixed feelings about tipping extra when sharing, so I make a decision on a case-by-case basis. My plans for the free dining include ordering 2 adult meals at every TS restaurant and splitting them up between myself and my two kids (DD10 and DS9).

The "extra" work required of the server would be bringing out/clearing a few extra plates and some flatware. Honestly, there's nothing more he/she would have to do for us. I won't even be ordering an extra drink OOP.

If I dined in the same restaurant without the DDP I would be ordering one adult meal (no appetizer/no dessert/water as drink), plus two kids meals (no dessert/water as drink). Even though I'd be sharing on the DDP, the overall bill will be MUCH higher, and therefore the tip is much larger too. The only "extra" work required of the server is bringing out two appetizers and two desserts (but one less meal). The server is getting a lot more bang for the buck under the sharing scenario than he would be under the non-DDP (non-sharing) scenario, even if I don't leave any extra tip.

Call me cheap, but I'm not going to leave an extra tip if all the server does is bring out a few extra empty plates. On the other hand, if the server does an outstanding job or does something extra special for my kids, then I'll leave extra tip OOP. I'll always leave extra for a great job though...it really has nothing to do with the extra couple of plates and flatware that the server needs to bring out.

 

[bicker]

When guests split a meal, the extra work required of a server is basically a doubling of the work they would normally do for one patron. There is very little they do for the paying guest beyond what they would have to do extra to serve an extra diner who is splitting a meal with another guest. For all intents and purposes, it doubles the server's work without increasing the automatic tip they get through the dining plan.

 

[melomouse]

Something about the tipping is related in my mind to the number of people at the table. If I am ordering ONE TS meal and sharing with DD - she "counts" as a person "served" and thus the waitstaff gets a tip for her, on the basis of the extra meal - or whatever I deem appropriate - probably 15-20% cash on an invisible extra meal. Woule it be different if I were sharing that one TS with another adult? Or TWO kids??

This arguement goes round and round sometimes. I remember cruising with DH and DS when Ds was 3, 4 and 5 and wondering about tipping for the child. The line at the time suggested 50% for the child - but when you see the effort put in by waitstaff sometimes to accomodate the little one, and bring them food, empty plates, drinks, etc. - the kids demand more than the adults sometimes, so why shouldn't the tip reflect that??

I am thinking most folks do as they have responded to me on this thread, but I have a suspicion that some don't. It's not about fairness to the waitstaff necessarily, it's about service to another person being recognized.

 

[kidsister]

I'm sure that in the sitch you described, adding a dollor or two would be a nice gesture.

I put myself through college and traveled around the world by waitressing.
In Hawaii , I worked at a restaurant where we had lots of people on 'tour', and tho my service was the same, the tip was 'included' and I don't remember ever receiving ANY money from it. I'm sure the waitstaff at Disney gets their 18% less taxes...and that in Florida, that might be more than their average tip anyway (Florida seems to be 10-15%, whereas here I tip 20%.


Be that as it may, a server would appreciate the extra buck, just because it would tell him/her that his service was appreciated.

But don't overthink it....or conjure up some % based on what it might have cost/if/when /how. I'd say for a sitdown lunch...a buck and for dinner...2 if you aren't strected for cash.

And remember to have FUN.

 

[bicker]

I remember cruising with DH and DS when Ds was 3, 4 and 5 and wondering about tipping for the child. The line at the time suggested 50% for the child - but when you see the effort put in by waitstaff sometimes to accomodate the little one, and bring them food, empty plates, drinks, etc. - the kids demand more than the adults sometimes, so why shouldn't the tip reflect that??

The argument for this typically goes along the lines that young parents would be discouraged from patronizing a cruise line if they were expected to tip fully for their young children. As such, it isn't logic so much as marketing that prevails.

 

[melomouse]

uh-oh, bicker, I'm going to disagree just a little in your last point:
Quote:
I remember cruising with DH and DS when Ds was 3, 4 and 5 and wondering about tipping for the child. The line at the time suggested 50% for the child - but when you see the effort put in by waitstaff sometimes to accomodate the little one, and bring them food, empty plates, drinks, etc. - the kids demand more than the adults sometimes, so why shouldn't the tip reflect that??
The argument for this typically goes along the lines that young parents would be discouraged from patronizing a cruise line if they were expected to tip fully for their young children. As such, it isn't logic so much as marketing that prevails.
__________________
In the not-so-olden days(DS is now 14), the concept of "family cruise" marketing was still in its infancy. As such, DS DID have kids' programs to attend and kids meals. If there was a fare paid for DS at 3, he was a passenger. The amount of tipping full or half for him never discouraged us.

Of course - we weren't too "young" - mid-30's.!!!!!

And kidsister, thanx for reminding me not to "overthink" and start whipping out the calculator. Nothing like number-crunching ON a trip to sour the experience!!!

 

[bicker]

uh-oh, bicker, I'm going to disagree just a little in your last point:

It wasn't really my point... I was just re-iterating common knowledge about how and why the industry prices things.

 

[disneychrista]

How you tip is really up to you. IMO, tip what you see fit based on the work the server does, not the fact that you only ordered one meal. If you see the server doing a lot of extra because you are splitting then by all means tip extra. If the server doesn't really do anything above what she (or he) would have to do for one patron, then IMO I wouldn't tip extra. IMO you really have to do what you feel is right for that particular situation, just as I hope you do when you are dinning out at home.

 

[fakereadhed]

It wasn't really my point... I was just re-iterating common knowledge about how and why the industry prices things.

Doesn't it become your point when you re-iterate it?

I agree that it is up to the individual whether they leave an additional tip. There are too many variables. However, for great service when sharing or not, I would leave an additional tip.

 

[bicker]

Doesn't it become your point when you re-iterate it?

Gosh, I hope not. Just because I provide some information doesn't necessarily mean I am in favor of it.

 

[SassyLassy]

IMHO, to put it simply I would just add in the additional tip. If I look at the menu and say the meal I was going to order was 16.99 then was the worst damage?? 18% of 16.99 is approx 3.00 so (me) I would just throw it in just to be poilte. It also comes down to the meal and server itself. If the server was rude, rushed and unattentive that might steer my to a new avenue of not adding the tip.

It all comes down to customer service for me. If I was the server and saw 2 ppl order one meal I would still give it my best knowing that probably only 50% of the time I get the extra tip.

Beth