Mandatory Gratuities?!

[punkin712]

I found the following post on eGullet today:

"Walt Disney World is one of our favorite places to visit, they have a huge variation in culinary experiences as well as many other forms of entertainment. We have recently found out that effective January 1, 2008 they will be imposing a mandatory 18% gratuity out all dinners in sit down restaurants no matter what the party size!"

The full post and any responses can be found here:
http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=109814

What are your thoughts on this policy? I also posted this on the Restaurant Board, but thought the Budget Board folks might be interested too.

 

[java]

Ok I didn't read the post- I think it is re- DDE? If that is the case I have already emailed them about how upset I am about the "service charge" that I am being charged for my meal. If you are forcing me to do it it is a Service charge not a tip!
So now I am going to go read if it is ALL sit down meals- cash too?

 

[WendyisDarling]

It strikes me as odd that Disney decided to implement this. When DDP was changed, I emailed that I didn't like the change of not including gratuity. I was called by a rep. who told me that the surveys they have conducted showed that people want to be able to leave whatever tip amount they want. A rhetorical question here, if they know that is the general consensus why would they mandate the tip on the DDE?

 

[Lives4Disney]

I bet people were tipping on the reduced amount vs. the original total.

Lives4Disney

 

[java]

I bet people were tipping on the reduced amount vs. the original total.

Lives4Disney

Not us we tip exactly what they take off- so the 20%. And most that I know with the card do the same. And with great service I will tip above it too!

 

[punkin712]

Ok I didn't read the post- I think it is re- DDE? If that is the case I have already emailed them about how upset I am about the "service charge" that I am being charged for my meal. If you are forcing me to do it it is a Service charge not a tip!
So now I am going to go read if it is ALL sit down meals- cash too?

The way the post was written, this policy would apply to ALL sit down meals. It's possible the person misunderstood, but since they mention that Disney is one of their favorite places to visit, I assumed they would know if it only affected those on DDP or DDE.

Hopefully someone here will know the scoop.

 

[java]

I am pretty sure they are talking about the DDE- as that email went out the day they posted or right around that time. I can't see them slapping an 18% tip onto every restaurant.

 

[punkin]

Who knows?

I abhor mandatory tipping. I think it reduces the level of service waiters provide.

 

[It's A Happy Day]

I am curious what WDW would do if I paid the amount of my bill minus the tip due to poor service If I am paying cash how could they make me pay more? I would complain about a substandard meal and not expect to be forced to pay for a meal I couldn't eat (usually that portion would be taken off the bill), so why would I be forced to pay for substandard service. I thought a tip was optional not mandatory in any restaurant setting. Although I understand why they would add a gratuity onto a bill with large parties....to ensure the math is done properly....I have always used that as a guide and tipped what I felt was adequate. By enforcing an 18% tip on every customer reinforces that a waitstaff does not need to do its job properly to ensure their pay.

ETA: If this is the DDE that it is regarding I too forwarded my concerns to WDW and expressed that we would not be purchasing the DDE on future trips as it got rid of the all inclusive feel to it by excluding tips and forcing the patrons to pay OOP for it. That was a huge perk for us. We liked setting foot on WDW property and not worrying about paying for anything other than souveniers. I also recommended that they keep the tips included on the plan but give the patron a 3 level check off option on the receipt for tipping (example would be - 15% for fair, 18% for good, and 20% for excellent service). This way the patron has some control over the tip the waiter is receiving and the restaurant has a way to track a servers performance. If a patron wants to go over the top % they could always leave cash but this way no server gets stiffed a tip because a patron feels they get that meal on the plan but shouldn't be forced to pay a certain % tip.

 

[stitchlovestink]

If this applies for all TS's I will seriously reconsider where and when to make ADR's. There are lots of CS's I like, esp in Epcot WS. I don't think anyone should be forced to leave a specified tip. Standard tipping is anywhere from 10 to 20%. I know 10 is on the very low end, but some servers deserve very little tip if any. I don't understand why It needs to be so high. How much more work does it take to bring a plate with a $30 steak vs a $15 chicken breast? I understand that a lot of times large parties will run a server ragged and therefore they build in the gratuity. If they're going to build it in to all checks it should be renamed a service charge not a gratuity.
This is just my opinion. No flames please and thank you.

 

[Not so Dumbo]

If this applies for all TS's I will seriously reconsider where and when to make ADR's. There are lots of CS's I like, esp in Epcot WS. I don't think anyone should be forced to leave a specified tip. Standard tipping is anywhere from 10 to 20%. I know 10 is on the very low end, but some servers deserve very little tip if any. I don't understand why It needs to be so high. How much more work does it take to bring a plate with a $30 steak vs a $15 chicken breast? I understand that a lot of times large parties will run a server ragged and therefore they build in the gratuity. If they're going to build it in to all checks it should be renamed a service charge not a gratuity.
This is just my opinion. No flames please and thank you.

I completely agree. If it's mandatory why consider it a tip? A tip in my opinion is something that is given as a thank you for good service. Not something that a patron has to pay regardless if their service was good or horrible.

 

[leahjade]

I bet a lot of people will be choosing all counter service meals!

 

[TDC Nala]

There is a sticky thread on the restaurant board with extensive discussion.

The following, utilizing current policy and new announcements from DDE, will be assessed an automatic gratuity in 2008 on WDW table service dining (NOT COUNTER SERVICE but including buffets) and at lounges.

1) Bookings at dinner shows (luau or Hoop de Doo) or special events (i.e. Food and Wine Festival prepaid culinary events).
2) Disney Dining Experience members (regardless of party size) – 18%.
3) Disney cast members using a cast discount, where available – 18%.
4) ALL parties of 6 or more – 18%.

If your party doesn’t fit the above categories, then current known policy is that you will NOT be assessed an automatic gratuity. Yet.

If this is the DDE that it is regarding I too forwarded my concerns to WDW and expressed that we would not be purchasing the DDE on future trips as it got rid of the all inclusive feel to it by excluding tips and forcing the patrons to pay OOP for it. That was a huge perk for us. We liked setting foot on WDW property and not worrying about paying for anything other than souveniers. I also recommended that they keep the tips included on the plan but give the patron a 3 level check off option on the receipt for tipping (example would be - 15% for fair, 18% for good, and 20% for excellent service).

You are referring to the Disney Dining Plan (DDP), not the Disney Dining Experience (DDE). DDE is a discount program limited to AP holders and Florida residents. This is the program that will now have a mandatory 18% gratutity attached to all table service and lounge checks.

 

[Lives4Disney]

Not us we tip exactly what they take off- so the 20%. And most that I know with the card do the same. And with great service I will tip above it too!

Ya, that's exactly what we did. I was just reading about this issue on another thread a few days ago and a few posters were unaware that you are supposed to tip on the original bill. If a few over there didn't know, I can imagine MANY people didn't know and the wait staff got shafted often.

Lives4Disney

 

[Ishy]

And this is what I have been told by cast members that work at the table-services... there is a large percentage of guests, that do not tip at all. And some of those kids/people work their arses off being happy and spreading magic just to be stiffed... sometimes... not always...

I know it sounds silly to most of us, but there are parts of the US that are low tippers, and there are Countries outside the US that don't tip and then there are just cheap bastids (remember racheals father on the show Friends?)

But I do like my option of leaving what I want on the table, not have to whip out a CC or the change to return....

Oh well... its a different world... gotta go with the flow sometimes.

 

[MiniGirl]

I think it is something we will be seeing a lot more of. There was another thread about CC fraud, and many people tracked it to restuarants. It is easy for unscrupulous people to simply photgraph the front and back of a cc with their cell phone camera while the card is out of the owners view. My dh and I were talking about this, and he brought up an interesting point. We've noticed fewer and fewer people in area restuarants (Melbourne area -- about 90 miles east of WDW). Taxes and home owners insurance -- not to mention fuel and other rising prices -- are really doing a number on people around here. In our county, 1 out of every 8 houses is being foreclosed, and I would think the numbers are similar over most of Florida. Anyway, fewer patrons means less in tips for someone who makes well below the minimum wage as it is. I would think that if restuarant owners/operators want to continue to pay such low wages (thereby saving on taxes and benefits they pay out), they need to make sure the people who are still eating out are paying good tips. The only way to do this is to add it to the bill.

Just something else to consider.

 

[livndisney]

There is a sticky thread on the restaurant board with extensive discussion.

The following, utilizing current policy and new announcements from DDE, will be assessed an automatic gratuity in 2008 on WDW table service dining (NOT COUNTER SERVICE but including buffets) and at lounges.

1) Bookings at dinner shows (luau or Hoop de Doo) or special events (i.e. Food and Wine Festival prepaid culinary events).
2) Disney Dining Experience members (regardless of party size) – 18%.
3) Disney cast members using a cast discount, where available – 18%.
4) ALL parties of 6 or more – 18%.

If your party doesn’t fit the above categories, then current known policy is that you will NOT be assessed an automatic gratuity. Yet.



You are referring to the Disney Dining Plan (DDP), not the Disney Dining Experience (DDE). DDE is a discount program limited to AP holders and Florida residents. This is the program that will now have a mandatory 18% gratutity attached to all table service and lounge checks.

So I would be paying $65.00 to save 2% and possibly have horrid service because a tip is required. I think not! I do not believe in mandatory tipping. So I will be skipping the over priced, poor service meals. I had enough of those during my stay a few months ago.

 

[peanut12392]

I do not believe that they can MAKE you pay a gratituity. I have crossed it off my bill and reduced the amount with very bad service.

 

[RNMOM]

I believe there are many countries in Europe that include gratuity in the price of the meal...hence no tipping. I am not sure which countries but I did read that on a travel site.

I have no problem tipping well and always have but having sons who have worked in the biz, they often have clients who do not tip or tip poorly. Cheap people will always be cheap people.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

DH and I have the DDE card and always tip a minimum of 20% so it's not a problem for us at all. I suspect servers are being stiffed by people from other countries who don't understand tipping, and by the usual "I can afford to go to Disney but I can't afford to tip" crowd.