Palo Tipping Clarification

[cmcsharon]

I've completed my online Palo ressies for my upcoming cruise...and according to the new DCL web site...the $10 fee per person includes the gratuity. Am I reading this correctly? I'll post it here below:



What about gratuities?

It is customary to give gratuities in recognition of service, which you will most likely be treated to in abundance aboard the ship. As a guideline, may we suggest the following:

Per Guest per cruise 3-Night 4-Night 7-Night
Dining Room Server $11.00 $14.75 $25.75
Dining Room Asst. Server $8.00 $10.75 $18.75
Dining Room Head Server $2.75 $3.75 $6.50
Stateroom Host/Hostess $10.75 $14.50 $25.25
Dining Manager Your Discretion
Room Service Your Discretion
Palo Gratuity included
Vista Spa & Salon Your Discretion
Babysitting Gratuity not expected
Shore Excursions Optional; not included in shore excursion price.

 

[barkley]

the $10 fee for the palo's reservation is generaly not considered to be a tip-i believe they put this in place to discourage people from making a reservation and then doing a no-show (since palo reservations are limited and demand is high, so high that you can only make one dinner reservation and then see if there is "space available" for a second night after the completion of your initial palo's meal). in our experience the service at palo's has always warranted a nice tip to the server. i am just thankful that disney has not done as many of the lines have and started automaticaly posting tips to your on board account. we went on holland america last year (a few months after they implemented the policy), and if you requested to remove or lower amounts you were sure to get a call from whomever it impacted to inquire what more they could do to please you (many travelers were very uncomfortable with this), likewise if you tried to tip privatly some and not others the employees had to report and pool thier tips with whomever you had not tipped. i prefer disney's way-a reccommended amount, but the decision is left in the travelers hands.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

There's another thread on this subject today at http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=808704

 

[RealMickeysGirl]

We enjoyed a wonderful meal at Palo during our last cruise. We figured an approximate value of what our meal would cost at a quality restaurant and tipped our customary percentage based on that approximate value.

Just a thought.

 

[disneyma]

I was very confused by this...so I asked our server at Palo....

Out of the ten dollars....5 goes back to Disney for extra costs.... The other $5.00 is split among the 12 wait staff and the manager. They get 40 cents per customer even if they don't wait on them.

I was shocked by this... it should be put out there so others will know also!

 

[webray]

Well, I can't believe they would find anyone who would want to work at Palo unless they were tipped extra. I am sure the servers do get stiffed from time to time with people thinking the $10 fee is their tip.

We have researched a number of the adult restaurants on cruise ships..they all charge a fee, and much more than what is charged on disney. Tip your servers generously people..or the service won't be special anymore.

 

[inkkognito]

We follow the "tip based on what the meal would cost at a restaurant" theory. If you have alcohol, there will be an auto-gratuity for that part of the bill, so we base our tip on the food, over and above the drinks.
Barb

 

[aprilgail2]

We had Brunch on Monday at Palo and I tipped an extra 35.00 on top of the 20.00 service fee.

 

[miller2470]

You've got to bew kidding me...it only cost $10.00 per person + the tip to eat in palo's? I thought it would be super expensive especially after the dvd I watched on the dcl. I'm going to dcl.com right now to book.

 

[RickW]

the $10 fee for the palo's reservation is generaly not considered to be a tip

I am sure the servers do get stiffed from time to time with people thinking the $10 fee is their tip.

I am surprised that no one on this thread has even commented on the information that the OP included in the first post. If the $10 is "not consdered the tip" and not leaving additional is "stiffing" the server, then why does Disney say specifically that the $10 includes gratuities?

From this page (edited down to the essentials):

What about gratuities?
It is customary to give gratuities in recognition of service... As a guideline, may we suggest the following:
...
Palo Gratuity included
...

Now, every time that we have eaten at Palo, we have left an additional amount because we felt that is was deserved due to the service we received. However, I would have a hard time considering someone to be a cheapskate just because they believed what Disney told them and didn't search the internet to "learn" that despite what Disney says, the $10 does not go toward the tip.

Also, the $0.40 amount that gets tossed around on this board is highly misleading. If that information is correct, then you can consider that $5.00 of your $10 goes toward tip, not $0.40. Saying that the server only gets $0.40 from your $10 just because it is pooled would be like thinking that you need to slip the flight attendant some extra cash since only 10 cents of your airfare went toward their salary.

 

[fljelad]

I think that if the Disney information specifically says the gratuity is included in the $10 per person fee at Palo then NO ONE should feel badly about paying $10 per person. If someone wants to leave more, terrific, but all the browbeating that goes on here about tipping is really getting old. It's like it's some sort of competition to see who can pay the biggest tip.

Sheesh.

 

[disneyma]

Also, the $0.40 amount that gets tossed around on this board is highly misleading. If that information is correct, then you can consider that $5.00 of your $10 goes toward tip, not $0.40. Saying that the server only gets $0.40 from your $10 just because it is pooled would be like thinking that you need to slip the flight attendant some extra cash since only 10 cents of your airfare went toward their salary.

I highly doubt that the server would lie when the manager was right with him. The manager did say that they are allowed to talk about the tip only when asked by a guest. Also....how would the palo manager make his money....he would be no different than the head server at one of the other locations.

You analogy with a flight attendent makes no sense since their position is not tipped based but on a salary basis. We have seen that other disers have posted similiar information. I know several people that must share their tips with others at a bar or eatery.

Let's just say the .40 cents is not the case....
Bottom line.... $5.00 for a tip per person for an experience like that?? If that is all that you leave I think that is being a cheapskate.

 

[Robert and Kelley]

We tipped an additional $20.00. The service was excellent.

 

[RickW]

I highly doubt that the server would lie when the manager was right with him.

I didn't say that the $0.40 was a lie, I said it was misleading, which it is.
The point is, based on that infomation, the servers in Palo get approximately $5.00 per person that they serve out of that fund (I actually use $4.80 in the example below, since the math comes out cleaner) Here is some basic math:
Say that there are 120 people in Palo at any given time, and each of the servers serves 10 people. (It could be higher or lower, I don't know but it doesn't matter for this example). Anyway, you can look at this one of two ways:
1. The server gets $4.80 from each person that they serve. This would be $4.80 from 10 people, or $48.00.
2. The other way to look at it would be that they get $0.40 from 120 people. This would be $0.40 x 120, which is also $48.00.

Now, you may not feel that $5.00 (or $4.80) per person is enough to cover the service that you receive, and I would tend to agree, which is why I tip extra, but telling people that the server only gets 40 cents of your $10 charge is misleading.

 

[kcashner]

What is misleading is that Disney leads us to believe that the $10 is gratuity, when in reality, DCL gets $5 and the serving staff gets $5.

I think that when you go to Palo, you will agree that the service is wonderful. Most people leave an additional tip to account for this special service.

 

[RickW]

What is misleading is that Disney leads us to believe that the $10 is gratuity, when in reality, DCL gets $5 and the serving staff gets $5.

I think one thing that we can all agree on is the fact that Disney should be more clear on the tipping guidelines for Palo.

 

[disneyma]

I think one thing that we can all agree on is the fact that Disney should be more clear on the tipping guidelines for Palo.

I would agree about that....

Not that it makes any difference... but I looked at it as .40 cents per customer that is in there at any time....regardless if they serve them or not. Regardless... they should get a better tip than that.... great service= great tip... bad service= little tip...

Disney does a very poor job communicating about this to the guests...on one page is says tips are included and on the other page it tells it is a dining option....

Why can't they put a little card inside the bill when it comes....just like they do at the Disney Restaraunts...

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Why can't they put a little card inside the bill when it comes....just like they do at the Disney Restaraunts...

That's exactly what DCL should do.

 

[jordgubben]

What is misleading is that Disney leads us to believe that the $10 is gratuity, when in reality, DCL gets $5 and the serving staff gets $5.

Beg to differ... it says that gratuity is included in the ten dollars, not that the gratuity is the ten dollars.

But really, this is getting to be a bit like picking flies, don't you think?

When you go, you will likely feel either that what you've paid already was enough or that you'd like to express your extreme gratitude for a wonderful meal monetarily. Most likely you've read that people do the latter. Go with the monment.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

When you go, you will likely feel either that what you've paid already was enough or that you'd like to express your extreme gratitude for a wonderful meal monetarily. Most likely you've read that people do the latter. Go with the monment.

However, how would diners know if they've already paid enough in gratuities to the Palo service staff if they have no idea how much they've paid, because DCL doesn't disclose the amount?

Looking at this thread and other similar threads, it's clear that some Palo diners think that none of the $10 per person Palo Dining Option fee goes toward gratuities; some think it's 50%; and some think it's 100%. And some Palo diners think an additional gratuity is absolutely required (and not to leave a big tip would be to stiff the server); others see that DCL's own website says "Palo - Gratuity included" under the tipping guidelines, and don't give it a second thought.

In another recent thread on this subject, on the premise that $5 of the $10 Palo Dining Option Fee goes to a gratuity pool, I wrote:

I agree. Assuming that the server gave accurate information (and that nothing has changed since then), DCL needs to make it clear to guests that only $5 of the $10 goes toward gratuities. That's $10 per couple.

It's not suprising that the gratuities are pooled. That's not unusual. It means that the server, the bread server, the host, the sommelier, and anyone else on the service staff gets their share. And since all guests at all tables are paying into the pool, each member of the service team should get a decent amount out of it.

It's easy to spend $50 per couple for wine and bottled water, which would be another $7.50 because of the 15% automatic gratuity on paid beverages.

I agree that the service at Palo should be rewarded with an additional gratuity. But when deciding the amount, keep in mind that you're not starting at zero (despite what some folks write on this board); you're starting somewhere around $17.50. depending on your beverage bill. Then, by all means, be generous if you enjoyed the excellent service that Palo is known for.​