Poll : Gratuities

[wee-haggis]

Is Gratuties a sign of the times?
Is it fair on the disney customers?
Whats your opinion.

 

[Jeanny]

I usually tip about 20% when we go out to dinner. Besides it's being easier to figure out than 15%...BUT, when my server doesn't listen to me about what I'm ordering or if I ask for something, and don't get it, then I leave less of a tip. I know it sounds rude or like I'm being picky... but like when I ask for ice water and stress NO LEMON OR LIME in it--JUST ICE and get it with a wedge of lemon floating, then obviously, they're NOT listening. I know they're busy and have a ton of customers, but if they don't listen to their customers, they won't have a job, jmo...

 

[Debi]

I believe that tips should be based on service. I start with the standard 15% tip, and go up or down based on the service. As with Jeanny, I am not picky, so more often than not, my tip goes above the 15%. However, I always start with the standard 15%.

 

[wee-haggis]

With all due respect Jeanny...i think you have a little too much money to spare...LOL!!

Seriously though...To pay $20 tip on $100 dinner is just plain ridiculous (unless,of course he or she sat at your table and spoon fed you the entire meal!).

You've got to keep things in perspective.
About 20 or more years ago the standard tip for good service (and I stress good service) was 10%.
About 5 or 7 years ago it crept up to 15% (probably egged on by the restaurants who started to make it mandatory in their bills).
Now we're up to 20%???
Where does it end?
This last statement might sound nit-picky and juvenile,but if you consider that a restaurant waiter probably serves you drinks ,starter,main course,dessert and coffee (and just for argument sake add in another 2 rounds of drinks)...that would mean that he/she is probably at your table for maybe a total of 15 to 20 minutes (if that...I'm being generous).
Then that would translate to about $1 /minute for tips (or $60/hr + his/her salary).
Where do I sign up?

 

[Jeanny]

I know what you mean Wee-Haggis about the rates going up, up, and way up...

I should have mentioned the fact that at home, most of my dinner bill for two of us only come to between $25-$30 at the very most... We go to the local restaurants, like Picadilly Pub, Applebee's, Chili's, etc. Another reason I tip 20% is a lot of times we usually have the same wait staff as the previous time we'd been there. The most expensive entree we order is usually $8-10... sometimes, if I get steak, it's a bit more. We don't get mixed drinks, usually just water (NO LEMON OR LIME PLEASE)- lol --and a soda.

Now, in WDW, where everything is way more expensive, I'll probably tip based on the service I receive... and hopefully I won't get lemon or lime in my water-- lol again!!!

 

[WDW2002]

Call me cheap but I do not feel I need to tip every person every where I go. Even Subway and the donut shop has a tip cup on the counter. REDICULOUS!!

 

[Pete's Mom]

Originally posted by WDW2002
Call me cheap but I do not feel I need to tip every person every where I go. Even Subway and the donut shop has a tip cup on the counter. RIDICULOUS!!

Amen to that!

 

[eeyore0062]

Well, since you asked for an opinion, I will be glad to give you mine. I feel that 15% is on the low end of gratuities in this day and age. We tip 20% for service, unless it is less than adequate, then only 15%. DH and I have both had to support ourselves at times on jobs that relied on gratuities, so we have no problem with the concept. We also know that sometimes people can have a bad day, service wise, so we always go with the benefit of the doubt, and always leave at least 15%.

I am sure I will get a load of backlash from my reply...but it is my opinion, and the originator of this post asked for opinions.

 

[wee-haggis]

Originally posted by eeyore0062
Well, since you asked for an opinion, I will be glad to give you mine. I feel that 15% is on the low end of gratuities in this day and age. We tip 20% for service, unless it is less than adequate, then only 15%. DH and I have both had to support ourselves at times on jobs that relied on gratuities, so we have no problem with the concept. We also know that sometimes people can have a bad day, service wise, so we always go with the benefit of the doubt, and always leave at least 15%.

I am sure I will get a load of backlash from my reply...but it is my opinion, and the originator of this post asked for opinions.

Yes indeed eeyore...
I did ask for opinions and they are varied as you can see.
I would like to comment on something you said.
I quote.." we tip 20% for service,unless it is less than adequate.then only 15%"
I have to be honest in saying ,that if the service is less than adequate,you don't give 15% ...you give nothing!
People seem to have forgotten what the concept of tipping is all about.
Heres my take:
If you find that the service was equal to or beyond what your expectations are , then a tip is expected and deserved.
You are under no obligation to tip anone if you don't think it was merited (unlike some who do it no matter what).
As a patron of that particular establishment...it is not my responsibility to pay the wages of its employees.....Its the restaurants!
Lastly.... the automatic 15% gratuity is the death knell for good service....Where's the incentive for the employee?

 

[Tinkbell]

I also start out with 15% and take it up or down based on the service. There was 1 time in my whole life of dining experiences (not at WDW) where I felt that no tip was needed. The server who got no tip was a waitress who was very rude to my family. My grandma wanted a water with no ice . When she brought a water WITH ice my grandma nicely asked her if she could bring her one with no ice. This waitress then picked up my grandma's spoon and began scooping out the ice from her water and placing it on her salad plate. After that, she totally ignored our table. We had to ask the hostess for refills, etc. There was no need to tip her at all.

I've had many friends work their way through College by relying on tips. It sounds like they are making the "big bucks" but you'd be surprised by how many people fail to tip, or tip very low.

 

[tonilea]

As a former "waitress", yes, it wasn't server or food service transportation specialist then, I am normally a generous tipper. Having said that, if a restaurant adds a mandatory gratuity, why don't they just raise the price of the dinner and pay the staff more?? Instead of tacking it on the back door. I can understand a gratuity being included for a large (10 or more) party, and then only 10%, thereby allowing the consumer to determine if service warranted an additional tip.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Erikarate]

We usually tip 20%, unless the service is bad then we tip 15%. If you think about it when gratuity is included in more expensive restaurants, the standard is 18%. Therefore to us, 15% is below the standard, 20% is just above.

I have to say that everyone I know thinks the same way around here...if I saw someone tipping 15% on a good meal with good service, I would tend to think they were cheap.

PLEASE no offense to anyone who tips 15% regularly, what I'm saying is that there may be regional differences, or maybe just my friends are weird or something....

 

[travelitis]

Tipping is optional and tips should be earned. We start at 15% for acceptable and tip 20% for great service. However, I couldn't help myself and had to read what Miss Manners had to say on this subject. To summarize, she hates the tipping system, finds it archaic, and wishes various U.S. businesses would build the cost of service into their charges like they do in Europe. She refused to give a percentage or dollar figure and said it's not as simple as that.

 

[peachgirl]

I just don't get tipping ANYTHING when you get bad service. Let's see...you were rude and didn't do your job...I'm only going to give you a "little" money?

 

[PieInYourEye]

I start at 15% and they have to earn more.

And... I don't tip on the tax. I tip on the amount BEFORE tax is added.

 

[hallie]

I don't know about Dinsye but when I waited tables I made a whopping 2.12 an hour so tips were basically my salary.

I always tip 20%, sometimes even more when service is outstanding. When the service is so-so it all depends on why it's that way. If it's the kitchens fault, under cooked food, wrong food etc and the server was still great then I still tip 20%. If I'm just ignored by the server, they don't come to check how food is, they're rude etc.. then I tip 15%. If it's REALLY bad and there are problems on all accounts I ask to speak directly to the manager.

Oh and I always take the tip into account before we go out to dinner. If I don't have enough to possibly tip 20% on a 100.00 dinner, then I don't order a 100.00 dinner.

Usually I'm a generous tipper but I do tend to be critical when service is poor because I know all the tricks of trade, so to speak-lol. And no I don't have any money to spare, I just remember all those long hard nights waiting tables vividly-lol.

 

[wee-haggis]

To summarize, (Miss Manners)she hates the tipping system, finds it archaic, and wishes various U.S. businesses would build the cost of service into their charges like they do in Europe. She refused to give a percentage or dollar figure and said it's not as simple as that

This is the most sensible statement I've read on this thread.
Thanks




I have to say that everyone I know thinks the same way around here...if I saw someone tipping 15% on a good meal with good service, I would tend to think they were cheap

With all due respect to this poster.......
When I see that you have been three times this year to OKW,Wilderness and Boardwalk Villas....that tells me that perhaps you are in the fortunate position of being able to not only afford an expensive holiday,but have enough cash to be very generous with your tipping...Good for you (I'm not saying this to be rude or because I'm envious...If I were in your shoes I would probably do the same)!....but remember not everybody is that fortunate.
Some of us scrimp and save all year,forgoing any other holidays ,dinners,theatres ,entertainment etc...just so we can have the pleasure of one week in paradise!

 

[minster22]

I'm just a bit scared to put my two cents in here but here goes... I have worked in the food service industry for for 36 years now. Many years ago as a manager and as a waitress for the last 20 years. I tip a minimum of 15% for food service and go up from there. When I get really great service my Dh and I, and also other fellow servers friends, we often leave as much as 30%. In most areas of the country the ONLY money as server makes is the tips people leave them. Any wages paid go to pay our taxes, SS etc. This is the way the food service industry is set up and unless it is changed I strongly feel that if you do not like to tip or feel it is unfair to tip that maybe you should only go to a counter service restaurant. I do my job the best I possibly can and take a lot of pride in it, I enjoy serving people and hopefully add to their whole restaurant experience. Sometimes things go wrong, whether with the kitchen, myself , the food itself. It does not happen often and for the most part people are more than understanding and still tip at least the 15%, seeing that I am doing my best to take care of them. And when they do not tip me our IRS has elected to tax me an arbitrary amount determined ahead of time.I also save , scrimp etc to enjoy my WDW vacations and tipping waitpeople, maids, bell staff, valet is one of the most enjoyable ways to spread my hard earned cash around!

 

[disneymom3]

Just like the other 90% of the population, I have been a waitress at anything from an upscale restaurant to an ice cream parlor.

I have to say that while, I relied on tips for the majority of my income, I never EXPECTED a tip. Especially if I did a lousy job! I can remeber having a few really off days where a couple of tables in particular just did not get the service they deserved and I knew darn well I wasn't getting a tip and didn't deserve one.

I tip 15% for good service, add on if the service was good, REALLY add on if my group sat and talked and took up that table for a long time, and I definitely go down if service is bad. There have been very few times that I have not left a tip at all, but it has happened. Yes, that is their pay for their job, but if they aren't doing their job, I for one am not going to pay them.

 

[Belle5]

I am not entitled to eat in every restaurant I wish just because it's my vacation. I may need to cook in my room, pack a picnic for the car or eat at counter service (if at all in a restaurant). If I don't go into a restaurant expecting good service and realizing that a 15-20% tip should be paid, I should not dine there nor have expectations that I am entitled to dine there. This is exactly the situation my family will be in on our next vacation. Former high dollar diners we will be scrimping and eating much more humbly than we are accustomed to on vacation. I won't entertain the idea of dining somewhere that I won't be able to tip properly. I will, however, have a fabulous vacation!