May make me seem like an *@# but...

[LoveWDW]

I never had a job where I was tipped, but my son worked as bag boy at a supermarket for about a year. He was so thrilled with the money he made from tips! I had never thought of tipping the bag boys (the ones who load the bags into the car) since I understood that they were employed by the store, and so they were. But when I saw how much the tip money meant to my son, now I tip the bag boys.

 

[julie.uk]

Hi,
just to give a Brit's point of view,
I must admit when we first visited the US in 1990 we were amazed at the amount of people we were expected to tip, this does eat into your holiday budget somewhat, however over the years our tips have become larger and we always leave tips for the maids in wdw, usually $2 a day but on our last day we usually leave £10 if we have had good service. I believe we first heard about tipping mousekeeping right here on the Dis boards.
In the UK people do not tend to rely on tips, we have a minimum wage that everyone is entitled to eradicating the need for tipping. The only people that regularly receive tips are restaurant servers 10% is average, but if the service was not good you would not leave a tip. It is not that we are tight wads we just are not used to tipping at home.

 

[Disney Doll]

I tried not to post on this subject because it makes me so angry. How many of us could afford to stay or how long would we have to save if we made 8 to 10 per hour? This board is full for threads regarding stays at hotels that cost $300. plus per night or "it's my 4th trip this year" and a one or two dollar a day tip for housekeeping is even being debated. People who work these type of jobs more than likley work 2 jobs to survive and we complain about tipping. Been there and know how hard it is. Now that I'm in the position of the traveller, I don't forget what it was like to be a member of the customer service crew!

Manda's Mom

I don't feel the need to tip someone just because I make more money than they do.
If someone provides service "above and beyond" their job description, they get a tip. If they do their job, then they get their salary. I assume they knew what their salary was going to be when they took the job, and how it was going to fit into their lifestyle and provide for thier needs.

BTW, I've been there and done it too, and didn't expect anyone to tip me for merely doing my job. I figured my paycheck was the reimbursement for doing my job. A tip was for doing something beyond my job.

 

[Disney Doll]

If you read my original post, you'll see that I have experience with cleaning up after people. I started doing it when I was 10 and it was not for college, we were not immigrants, or anything but Americans trying to make it. That's why my sister and I were taken so my mom could make more $$ faster because we did the dusting, vacuming and took out trash. We did not get tips . As someone else put here, many a day it would have been nice for a cold bottle of water!!! What that experience taught both of us is we want to work hard, get a good education, so we don't have to do this (clean) anymore. We both went to college, and she is a MD and I am an RN. She's been an MD for 10 years and I've been an RN for 13. Neither one of us has ever gotten a tip, we work hard and save lives. When is the last time you tipped a MD??

I take pride in my job, isn't that enough? My family is a success because of HARD WORK. True we would have appreciated any "Thank YOU" that came our way, but why do we feel it has to be money today?

I completely agree with you!!!!

 

[Mainestreetpixie]

I don't feel the need to tip someone just because I make more money than they do.
If someone provides service "above and beyond" their job description, they get a tip. If they do their job, then they get their salary. I assume they knew what their salary was going to be when they took the job, and how it was going to fit into their lifestyle and provide for thier needs.

BTW, I've been there and done it too, and didn't expect anyone to tip me for merely doing my job. I figured my paycheck was the reimbursement for doing my job. A tip was for doing something beyond my job.

Same here..a tip is just that, a little extra for going above an beyond what is expected. I should not be made to feel obligated to leave money every day IN ADVANCE for someone who was hired to clean that room. That is what their job IS. If you are looking for employment, you should be aware of what your salary is, and if that isn't enough to meet your needs, then there's no reason to accept the job.

 

[Disney Doll]

I spent a summer cleaning rooms in Ft Walton Beach...yes I made a bit more than minimum wage but the couple, and I mean couple, times I received a tip it was greatly...GREATLY appreciated. I had a room I went into that not only I had to go home sick from just being in there but a couple of the maintenance men also were sent home sick it was that bad. No tip in that room. Because I have been on that end of the stick I know when I go into a hotel room whether someone has truly cleaned the room and who is just doing the bare minimum......bare minimum I don't tip....truly cleaned...tip because they put the time in and we can see it(we normally aren't in a room more than a night). My husband worked in the service industry(cleaning carpets) and was paid a daily wage.....depending on how hard they worked him it could work out to less than minimum wage. Often he didn't get tipped but those times he did he really appreciated it....he enjoyed getting the homemade jams, goodies just as much(sometimes more) than the cash because these people showed they appreciated his work.

All right I am now stepping down from my soap box and putting a flame retardant suit on.

But it is just my 2 cents

And again, to clean a room that was so filthy that the housekeeping and maintenance staff were getting ill going into it, probably deserves an extra tip.

But to clean a room where the bed, while unmade is not torn apart, the towels are in the tub, the garbage is in the garbage cans, & dirty clothes are contained in a "dirty clothes pillowcase" brought from home, just doesn't strike me as requiring anyone to go above and beyond their job decription.

Since that is generally how I leave a hotel room when I am going out for the day, that is generally why I do not tip housekeeping.

I do agree, however, thatif I was the type who left the room a pigsty,then I would probably tip for causing the housekeeper additional work based on my personal habits.

 

[Disney Doll]

I simply tip on a daily basis because I find over a span of a week or so, my room has extra towels and soap and is done well.

If you don't tip, that's your choice, but don't come back and COMPLAIN that mousekeeping was lousy at the end of your trip and you didn't get a single towel animal.

Anyone not tip and get towel animals???

I don't care if Mousekeeping leaves me towel animals or not, but you can bet your bottom dollar that if my room were dirty, I'd be complaining whether I left a tip or not.

I am not a fanatic about clean. Basically what I expect from a hotel housekeeper is clean bathroom, bed made, fresh towels, new toiletries if I have run out. I probably wouldn't even notice if they didn't vacuum or dust every day, quite frankly, because it's not like I am living in the room and throwing stuff all over the floor. Plus, I don't vacuum or dust every day at home, so why would I expect that in a hotel?????

If housekeeping didn't meet my minimum requirements unless they got a tip, I would complain.

Again, tips are for special service, not to get you just to do your job.

 

[Disney Doll]

Well, if you leave the room in scambles on a daily basis and you're not tipping the mousekeeper, they might be less inclined to want to do it well for you.
Think about Pavlov and his dogs...

You know, I am a nurse. We are not allowed to take monetary tips. If we get a patient who adamantly insists we take the money, we are required to hand it over to our supervisor immediately.

Based on your theory, that means if I am caring for a patient who has a difficult or time-consuming treatment required (say a dressing change for a yucky wound) then they shouldn't expect me to do it well (or be "less inclined to want to do it well") because I am receiving no "reward" for doing that which is my job.

Bottom line, every job has certain pleasant and unpleasant aspects. If you have someone who chooses to reward you in some way because they feel you have helped them, then you are fortunate. I am always grateful to receive a thank you card or a box of candy or cookies from a patient. However, I don't hold anyone's level of care hostage because they may or may not bring us something at the end of their hospital stay. I like to think that I am a bit higher on the food chain than Pavlov's dogs. Therefore I do my job because it is what I am supposed to do, it is what I get paid to do, it is what I choose to do, and I take personal pride in a job that I know I have done well.

 

[Disney Doll]

Tips are not necessary, but they are allowed. I am a former hotel cast member (Y&B front desk!!!) and the housekeeping staff was allowed to take tips. They work 8-10 hrs a day cleaning up after people. I think it is only courteous to tip.

Funny, I am a nurse and have worked sometimes as much as 16 hours a day, and I could pretty much guess that I have cleaned up some stuff that is far worse than any hotel housekeeper could ever imagine cleaning up, and yet no one seems to think I deserve a tip.

It's an amazing dichotomy!

 

[Disney Doll]

What gets me is everytime I go to a hotel, I request a crib and then when I arrive in my room I have to call, which then someone personally brings it and then I feel obligated to tip for something that should have already been there. I guess that's how it goes.

That's because if they got it into your room before you got there they wouldn't be able to hold their hand out for a tip for the "very special service" you received.

 

[randall.nelson@mchsi]

Disney Doll.....I love your quotes on the bottom of your post!!! We have 6 children and indeed it is best to prepare the child for a path, because we sure can't choose the path....as much as we want to I struggle with this every minute of every day

 

[Disney Doll]

Escape . . . So true! I had a wonderful hairstylist whom I loved. . . then she changed salons. Her new place employment has one person wash your hair, a second do color, a third to come in and check on your color two or three times, and then, finally, the stylist who used to do all of those things for me -- and do all of them very well. The first time I checked out the girl behind the desk handed me four tip envelopes. You're kidding right? Needless to say, while I'm sorry to have lost my stylist, I now go elsewhere.

When I go to a salon where more than 1 person may do something for me (ie-one girl does the waxing and another does the pedicure), I add the tip to the total and assume they split it up appropriately bewteen all the people who have helped me that day.

 

[Disney Doll]

Sometimes I even think that some people's tipping attitude is kind of patronising. It seems like some people are saying "I'm better than you because I have a better job and make more money. Here are the crumbs from my table. Worship me for my generosity!" Not everyone who tips is this way, but there is a certain amount of classist snobbery to some people's tipping attitude.

You know, I was thinking this same thing as I read this thread, and was trying to figure out how to say it.

Thanks for saying it for me.

 

[Disney Doll]

Wow! I'm shocked by this! It never even occured to me not to tip. These people are cleaning up after us, just seems like the fair thing to do. But then again coming from the NY area we seem to tip everyone. You can't even walk in a bathroom in a restaurant without there being a tip dish there! And no I'm not a snob! LOL There's been alot of mention as to why we don't tip people in other areas of employment. I think as a general rule we tip those who provide a direct personal service to us, and who do it well. For instance, the cab driver gets you to your destination quickly....you tip. The waitstaff is extra attentive.....you tip. Housekeeping is keeping your room nice and tidy.....you tip. I don't think anyone is expected to tip for lousy service.

And do you tip your garbageman every time he picks up your garbage?? After all, that is a direct personal service and imagine the consequences if, like Pavlov's dogs, he "felt less inclined to do his job if you didn't tip him". I also assume you hand a tip to your postal carrier daily...after all, bringing you mail is a direct personal service. And the girl who rings you out at the grocery store...enabling you to carry the goceries out of the store so you can bring them home so you and your family do not starve to death is certainly a direct personal service. Don't forget about the bank teller, the guy at the gas pump, your car dealer, your realtor, your doctor, your dentist, the plumber, the electrician...

 

[LoveWDW]

I "tip" (give a holiday gift to) the mailman, the UPS man, the paper deliverer, and there may be more that I can't think of. I do it to say thank you, it has been a pleasure being associated with you over the past year. I would tip the trash collectors, but there is not a way to do it that I could be sure they would get the money. I suppose I could mail it to their company, but so far I haven't been willing to go to the extra trouble of discovering names from the company and mailing checks to the company in the names of the trash collectors. There is no being condescending. It is sharing in the only way I know in addition to a thank you card and a word of thanks. I could, and have, given the mailman, UPS man, paper deliverer, boxes of homemade cookies and other small gifts, but the money seems appreciated and is easier for me.

 

[iwannbindisnee]

When I go to a salon where more than 1 person may do something for me (ie-one girl does the waxing and another does the pedicure), I add the tip to the total and assume they split it up appropriately bewteen all the people who have helped me that day__________________
Just wanted to say-I thought this too, until my daughter took a summer job at a hair salon. We found out that unless you sepcify an amount for hair washer & a spearate amount for sytlist, all will go to the stylist. Just wanted tpeople to be aware of this, as I found out form many of my firends who thought the stylist "shared" her tip. You may want to ask at the desk--if it is your intention to give the shampoo girl something. You may have thought you were, but in reality she may not have gotten anything. And, no my daughter doesn't give the person who doesn't tip any less service, she just wonders if she did something wrong & worries about it. (She's just turned 16 it is her 1st job-shampoo girl) I had to explain to her that some people don't tip (and that is absolutely fine) some people thought they were tipping (like I used to!) and some are trying to give her a message that something was wrong with her service, but she may not know. I guess what I am taking a long time to say is--if you do intend to tip in a hair salon & you intend to tip everyone that did something for you-don't assume how the tip is split up-ask! Deb

 

[floridagirrl2]

We tip housekeeping at every hotel (WDW and non-WDW). It's a tough. low-paying job. Yes, I wish people were paid better salaries so I wouldn't feel obligated to tip, but I live in the real world and I know how things work in the real world.

I am also an RN, and believe me, I am MUCH better paid than the average person who cleans a motel room. (And yes, I've cleaned up MUCH worse stuff than mousekeeping ever has.... )

 

[Kycha]

I tip housekeeping as well, unless they are the property owners. I have worked as a housekeeper and now my MIL works in housekeeping for a large chain hotel. That is probably why I tip housekeepers now. Because I know how hard these women work.