Reports are in: Bellman are pressuring guest for tips...

[jodifla]

So, reports are over on the resorts boards that guests are being pressured from tips from bellman over at the Contemporary....hmmm. Wonder if these are CMs, or outside workers?

 

[disney junky]

So, reports are over on the resorts boards that guests are being pressured from tips from bellman over at the Contemporary....hmmm. Wonder if these are CMs, or outside workers?

I saw one report....were there others?

 

[jodifla]

I saw one report....were there others?

I read another response that said another family was having the same trouble. I wanted a thread so other folks can respond if they feel they are being pressured for tips by multiple bellman. There's been some uncertainty if the bellman are remaining CMs, or being outsourced, and how that might affect service standards.

 

[Tamar]

Does this affect DVC? We had to store our luggage during a room move at BWV in November, and the bellman who picked up our luggage to store informed us we wouldn't be seeing him again....(we were planning to tip when our luggage was delivered to the new room, but that was a not-so-subtle hint that we should tip him too).

 

[craps7or11]

I had pressure from a bellman at the Yacht Club last summer. He was obnoxious about pressuring us. It sure took away some of the fun for me to have to insist we would take our bags to the room ourselves and didn't need him to. What a jerk. He wouldn't take no for an answer.

 

[CarolA]

Bellmen are STILL CMs. Outsoucing has not yet started and will start at the GF where they have always had their hand out openly!

 

[dumbo71]

Anyone who has seen my posts knows I'm tough on WDW and DVC. I hold them acountable to the standards they set.

I have NEVER felt like I was being shaken down for a tip anywhere at WDW including the GF.

 

[byoung]

When they presure they get less.

 

[DebbieB]

Does this affect DVC? We had to store our luggage during a room move at BWV in November, and the bellman who picked up our luggage to store informed us we wouldn't be seeing him again....(we were planning to tip when our luggage was delivered to the new room, but that was a not-so-subtle hint that we should tip him too).

I've heard that line many times, nothing new.

 

[Sammie]

I have never been presured, and the bellman at this point are still Disney employees. Even when they begin at the Grand Floridian the valet will be outsourced, bellman at the Grand Floridian will not be.

 

[Pennyguy23]

I have never heard that and I hope I don't. I don't think I would take it very kindly and shrug it off. Not that I'm some big tough guy, I just don't like people try to pinch a few pennys from me. I think it would somewhat put a damper on the exciting arrival part.

 

[Doctor P]

This does not surprise me, nor does it differ from our experience. We were never really pressured by the bell person who delivered our luggage (though they went out of there way to work for the tip--that's something else, IMHO). However, the bell people who picked up our luggage for storage and the valet who would park our car typically did pressure for tips in the way that things have been described. Not obnoxious, but the pressure was definitely there. This has been our experience at three different resorts at least. Never considered it anything to worry about, and it's not as bad as at some other hotels at which I have stayed, but it was without a doubt a behavioral pattern that I noticed more than once. BTW, it didn't affect my behavior because I generally try to tip very well when my luggage goes into storage or my car gets valet parked--its the people putting things IN that have more effect on the safety and well being of my stuff while it is being stored, LOL.

 

[Esmerelda]

Gee...their going to love me next year! ANYone that pressures me for their tip....basically will not get one....sorry. I tip due to good service not lip service. To me, that is one of the MOST unprofessional things a person as a bellperson can do.

I may even try that 'Home Alone' move...ya know..the chewed up gum...

good day,
Esmerelda

 

[simpilotswife]

About the only time that I was ever "pressured" was when I was in an elevator with a bellman and remembered that Valet parking was free for DVC members. He looked at me and said "not really". Other than that, I have never felt any pressure from any bellmen but maybe that is cause we tip.

 

[bicker]

Bellmen are STILL CMs.

These reports of guests being pressured for tips point-out why the outsourcing may indeed be a good thing.

 

[Inkmahm]

These reports of guests being pressured for tips point-out why the outsourcing may indeed be a good thing.

Why, will that stop the pressuring?

 

[bicker]

Different management should have some effect on service quality, yes, especially in the beginning, and in the long-term management should continue to have more control over the conduct of the staff, since they don't have to worry about the union stepping in to defend staff that exhibits such pressuring.

 

[Tamar]

I typically don't tip when the waiter takes my order (or when someone delivers the bread basket), when the bellman takes my bags for storage, or when the valet takes my car keys. I also don't tip housekeeping for the way the room was cleaned before I got there (which actually is the most important, isn't it?) I tip for the good service that was provided after it has been provided. As a former waitress and bartender, it is the possibility of a tip for excellent service that is the whole point of tipping, tipping at the front end of a service is counter-intuitive to me.

I assume that bellman receive a paycheck that covers some of their duties and that they're not living on tips alone, and I also hope that bellman switch off on picking up and delivering bags, so that all have an equal opportunity to be tipped.

 

[Doctor P]

I assume that bellman receive a paycheck that covers some of their duties and that they're not living on tips alone, and I also hope that bellman switch off on picking up and delivering bags, so that all have an equal opportunity to be tipped.

I'm not sure that your assumption is correct based on the experiences I have had. In addition, with respect to bag storage, the person who is perhaps most responsible for assuring that your bags are well-stored and secure is the person who picks them up or takes them from you. In my experience, many of the bell people in hotels do not rotate a lot of the duties, either. The larger the hotel, the more likely this is to be the case in my experience. They have specialists.

 

[kdzgon]

About the only time that I was ever "pressured" was when I was in an elevator with a bellman and remembered that Valet parking was free for DVC members. He looked at me and said "not really". Other than that, I have never felt any pressure from any bellmen but maybe that is cause we tip.

Does "free" mean "no tipping"? I thought "free" just meant there is no charge, which (I thought) is generally different and separate from tipping. Now I am confused...