Let's discuss tipping....Magical Express/Car Services/Mears/Shuttles to airports??

[edk35]

See, if it were me, and I drove up, my stuff would stay in the car, especially at OKW. With the parking pretty much right outside the units, why tip someone to bring them to you? I would leave them in the car, checkin, and when the villa was ready, drive over and unpack the car..no luggage help needed, no tip needed.
At other DVC resorts, BWV, BCV etc, the parking can be a hike from the main bldg, so it makes sense to drive up and drop off your bags. But, I tend to drop the bags and leave someone standing there, with them, while I go off and park the car.

Well if you use a car service...you have to get your items from that car and then check in. SO your luggage either goes into holding with bell services or they load it on a cart and wait for you. In that case....I think the same person that takes it out, puts on cart and waits...is who gets the tip.

 

[edk35]

I don't think tipping is based on a percentage. It is based on service performed above the normal routine. It really amazes me to put a percentage on a dirty car, unpolite or lazy driver, tardiness or just ignorance. Actually 20% is a high amount and that should be reserved for the very best and most outstanding service received from a driver.

20% is not the standard tip for car service. That is the percentage owners receive for subbing out rides to other drivers.

Lucky for us we have always had the most professional drivers, very clean in top shape vehicles, never late and always polite. SO I always tip well. If I ever did get someone as you described...then yes I would not give nearly as good a tip. I look at the car service as worth every penny spent when it is makes our trip easy and convenient for us to get from point A to point B on time and it cuts out the chaos of renting a vehicle, or even using the free DME. We are actually using our service to take us to Univesal on two other days....so If I were to figure it all out....it might be cheaper to rent a car from the airport since we are also needing transporation to an offsite park two times in that week......but to me....a huge hassle when renting. I like the attention to detail that our car service provies us.

 

[tekoa]

Lucky for us we have always had the most professional drivers, very clean in top shape vehicles, never late and always polite. SO I always tip well. If I ever did get someone as you described...then yes I would not give nearly as good a tip. I look at the car service as worth every penny spent when it is makes our trip easy and convenient for us to get from point A to point B on time and it cuts out the chaos of renting a vehicle, or even using the free DME. We are actually using our service to take us to Univesal on two other days....so If I were to figure it all out....it might be cheaper to rent a car from the airport since we are also needing transporation to an offsite park two times in that week......but to me....a huge hassle when renting. I like the attention to detail that our car service provies us.

May I ask which car service you use?

 

[edk35]

May I ask which car service you use?

Sure I will pm you.

 

[bavaria]

thanks so much for posting this info. Any chance you dis people could do a sticky on tipping somewhere for us international visitors -- tipping is so different everywhere we go, plus you have services like ME which would not be found elsewhere.

The tipping policies in the US are identical to in Canada. Keep in mind that the DIS population is not representative of the general population, and as Edd points out many here (at least in their posts) tip higher than the norm.

 

[edk35]

Yesterday we did the airline check in at the resort. We checked two bags and I gave the tip to the lady that actually did the check in and printed the boarding passes. Then she said "this is so and so...she will be the one handling your bags, and making sure they get to MCO blah blah blah" so this other lady takes the tags and places them on the luggage and asks us if there are any keys, cells phones or medicines that we needed to take out before she secured them. SO in that situation DO YOU TIP BOTH PEOPLE????

 

[kaytieeldr]

No, and that was surprisingly tacky. I would have discreetly asked for the person in charge, and even if it was one of those women, I would have expressed my displeasure.

To the best of my knowledge, SkyCaps - and so their equivalent at the Disney resorts - split tips. Most people don't EVEN tip them; to try to coerce TWO tips out of the rare Guest who DOES tip, instead of merely thanking that Guest, is incredibly asinine.

When I checked out of OKW last year, their computers were down. Since I had used Magical Express earlier in the week to get a rental car, I wasn't one of the Guests for whom they had already gone to another resort and preprinted documents (I wasn't the only one, though).

One of the women drove over to SSR and got my paperwork generated, then (naturally) brought it back to where I waited.

I tipped the group of workers, AND I tipped her. That was my CHOICE.