Room Service tips?

[Chicago526]

BF and I are planning on having room service for breakfast on most mornings to help us get an early start on the day (BF is not a morning person, so letting him get a few extra minutes by not having to go down for breakfast will be well worth it). Thanks to Tikiman, I've been able to review the room service menu at the Poly ahead of time, and the prices are in-line with Disney dinning. They automaticly add the tip (18%) and sales tax to the bill, both of which I'd pay at a restaurant anyway so that's no big deal. There is also a $3 service charge, but that's cheap considering it will help keep BF in a good mood that early in the AM!

My question is, that if the 18% tip is included in the bill, do I then NOT need to tip the CM who actually delivers the food to the room? Or is a few dollars still apropiate?

 

[JerzeeGirl4Disney]

Chicago-

I personally always tip the staff that brings my room service - I dont tip the normal 18-20% that you would tip in a resteraunt because most hotels do already charge that to the bill. My rule of thumb is this:

normal dining hours room service : $1 -$2 per person (and yes I am one of those people that tip more when staying in a higher class hotel...sorry...LOL)

After hours room service: at least $5 even for just one person and approx $3 per person

My reason behind this theory is a friend of mine worked in an Embassy Suites here in NJ and the way they worked it was they used the waiters and waitresses from the full service resteraunt to deliver the room service meals and after hours they used the kitchen staff to deliver the meals, so he was always leaving a task to go deliver the meal - they also did not get 100% of the included gratuity and on top of all that they were taxed on it as well - not sure how any other establishment works that out, but I thought it was crappy for him so I always tip the server whether its included in the bill or not.

 

[MamaQuack]

We too are big room service breakfast folks. Also prone to calling at 11 p.m. for a pint of ice cream and 2 spoons. We have stayed at YC for 7 years and almost always have the same CM deliver to our room. He is always fast, polite, kind to my ds and extremely considerate. I tip in cash every time and depending on how much we order the tip goes from $5 up to $15 - he is always so appreciate and told me they do not receive the 18% gratuity. This CM has kindly brought cough medication from the gift shop when I had a sick kid, has gone to YSH and brought a favorite bottle of wine not on room service menu and has always added that Disney Magic to our stay. I think it is well worth it to sleep a little longer, eat in your p.j.'s. watch the weather and then start the day relaxed.

MamaQuack

 

[Tiffany]

Originally posted by Chicago526
BF and I are planning on having room service for breakfast on most mornings to help us get an early start on the day (BF is not a morning person, so letting him get a few extra minutes by not having to go down for breakfast will be well worth it). Thanks to Tikiman, I've been able to review the room service menu at the Poly ahead of time, and the prices are in-line with Disney dinning. They automaticly add the tip (18%) and sales tax to the bill, both of which I'd pay at a restaurant anyway so that's no big deal. There is also a $3 service charge, but that's cheap considering it will help keep BF in a good mood that early in the AM!

My question is, that if the 18% tip is included in the bill, do I then NOT need to tip the CM who actually delivers the food to the room? Or is a few dollars still apropiate?

I do not tip extra. My brother worked for the Westin for a long time and his girlfriend works the room service kitchen for a different hotel here in Boston and the added tip is spilt between the room service kitchen staff.

This might differ from resort to resort but if they add a tip to the bill that is all I give.

 

[Tiffany]

Originally posted by MamaQuack
We too are big room service breakfast folks. Also prone to calling at 11 p.m. for a pint of ice cream and 2 spoons. We have stayed at YC for 7 years and almost always have the same CM deliver to our room. He is always fast, polite, kind to my ds and extremely considerate. I tip in cash every time and depending on how much we order the tip goes from $5 up to $15 - he is always so appreciate and told me they do not receive the 18% gratuity. This CM has kindly brought cough medication from the gift shop when I had a sick kid, has gone to YSH and brought a favorite bottle of wine not on room service menu and has always added that Disney Magic to our stay. I think it is well worth it to sleep a little longer, eat in your p.j.'s. watch the weather and then start the day relaxed.

MamaQuack

So Disney is calling the 18% a gratuity and not spilting it between their wait staff? I would like to see how they are handling this from a tax reporting point of view. Maybe the guy ment that he does not get the 18% for the exact orders he delivers but unless he is a salaried person just helping out he should be getting a portion of the gratuity. By a portion I mean the room service staff spilting all of the tips on a shift.

 

[floridafam]

I'd like to know, also, who gets the 18% gratuity. It should be the CM who delivers the order to your room.

I always add on extra in cash. I just prefer to tip in cash.

Does anyone know who gets the automatic gratuity?

 

[Chicago526]

So let me get this staight. Disney charges more for food on the room service menu than the dinning room menu (Tonga Toast is 7.99 at Kona Cafe and 8.75 on the room service menu), then they add a $3 service fee and 18% gratuity to room service orders, but they don't pay the CM the 18%, so I still should tip the CM that delivers the food to my room?

That makes me mad! If Disney includes that in the bill then that would make a guest think it's alreay been taken care of and they wouldn't tip the guy/girl that brings the food to the room, which really stiffs the CM. If Disney is pocketing the added 18%, then why call it a tip and make people think they don't need to tip the CM, why not just call it a surcharge like the do the $3 fee? Why even charge this much to begin with? I've got no problem paying a little more for room service, but the higher menu prices, the $3 fee and the 18% "gratuity" and the tip I need to give the CM cuz Diseny stiffs the poor guy make me just want to eat at the food court!

 

[MamaQuack]

O.K., sorry for confusion, although this may still be confusing - all I know is the regular CM told me he does not get "18%". I believe him. I asked him straight out years ago. Later I asked several other mousekeepers who have friends in room service and they told me the same thing. I think and would hope the 18% is split and shared. However, what I give when he comes to my room is for the prompt service, the attention to extra detail, the wonderfull willingness to try and the fact that year end and year out after thousands of guests he still remembers certain things about me and DS. An extra $5 or $10 is not going to ruin my trip and means so much to him. Having put myself thru law school on tips I know how much it means.

 

[Tabetha]

It is common in the service industry for tips to be shared.

The waitstaff in most restaurants "tip out" the kitchen staff from the tips they're given. So of the tip you're giving your great server for a sit down meal, a certain amount goes to the prep guys, and the chef for making the food. Even the busboys get a cut.

I've known restaurants where servers have to hand over all their tips to ensure that the money is spread around appropriately.

I imagine that's how Disney works it. The 18% collected on Room Service (and any pre-paid dining) is split between servers and kitchen and support staff.
Additional tipping is not required, but if you want to slip the CM who brought it to you and extra couple of bucks for getting it there so fast, bully for you!

 

[lark]

Most etiquette books -- even ones with a heavy pro-tipping bias -- seem to say that no extra tip is required, but $1 or $2 in cash will be welcome.

I've seen a few references to something posted here -- that the server doesn't always get the entire tip, so that should lead to heavier tipping. I don't think I agree with that unless the money is going to the hotel, which I think would be exceptionally rare.

Room service works differently in different places. Sometimes everything is plated and wrapped in the kitchen and the server does virtually nothing but push the cart. Sometimes there is someone whose job it is to package everything up for the server. Sometimes the server gets drinks and rolls, but someone else does the rest. What happens to the tip can differ depending on all these scenarios, but the bottom line is that 18 to 20 percent is plenty to split around.

Don't forget that you're paying that 18 to 20 percent on already dramatically inflated prices from table service, which already increases the tip.

 

[lovmy2girls]

We were there at the Poly and ordered room service. I was not in the room when it came and my husband asked the delievery person, "Hey my wife handles this stuff, do I need to tip, so sorry" My husband said he was real nice and said no that our bill took care of it.

 

[skiwee1]

We get room service at the Poly all time on our visits. I was told by the first CM that he gets the 18%. I asked as I was knew to Poly room service and I didn't understand all the charges. All I said was, Wait let me get your tip, as I was rummaging through my fannypack. He held his hand up and said, No,no. My tip is already on there. They charge 18% for my tip. So I said okay. I will add some if they come in and set the table all nice though.

 

[DFiore1]

I've never worked the service industry, but my boyfriend has. These people are some of the hardest working guys and gals on the planet. They are routinely abused by guests, screamed at over luke warm eggs, and chased down hallways by crazed, some times drunken, hotel guests over bottles of perrier! It happens alot more often than you think!

My rule is, If some one is bringing me room service, I tip 'em well! I can't make up for everyones bad behavior, but it always makes me feel better. Besides, Some people don't tip them at all. Alot of the time, they are taxed on what there tips should be regardless of what they actually made. Thats just not fair.

Besides, its Disney. Most of the CMs will bend over backward for you regardless of whether or not they might get a tip!

 

[lark]

Tipping is a lot more art than science. The way we calculate tips is also a little silly. It takes a waiter no more effort to bring a $70 bottle of wine to your room than a $20 bottle of wine. Why it should make a $10 difference in the tip is a bit silly. By the same token, if you take up a table for 2 hours over salads, no appetizers, and coffee because you're chatting with your friends, an 18 percent tip does not feel appropriate.

The way that we calculate tips also creates a little bit of a situation that I personally find distatestful -- waiters acting as salespeople to get the value of your bill up. While this doesn't happen everywhere, it is more common than I think most restaurants would like to admit (in fact, it's in their interest to encourage or tolerate it), and even if it's subtle, it drives me nuts. I just want to say, "how about I add $10 to your tip and for the next hour and a half you don't push the tiramisu or an appetizer?"

I usually take alot of things into account. If I've done something extravagant that has inflated the tip, I do not go out of my way to tip extra or go to the high end of the range. On the other hand, if I've made a guy come all the way to my room to bring me one item or if I've lingered in a place where I know from the service that my server has a small number of tables, I usually over-tip.

 

[mega13]

I know that everyone has their own opinions, and you are most certainly entitled to them. We're all friends, here, right?

I was laid off from my "regular" job last year, so I took my first job as a waitress at a chain restaurant. Did you know that servers (in my state) earn $2.65 per hour? My check every week was about $48.00. I had about $850 a month in bills to pay, not counting gas, groceries, etc. Many of the waitresses that I worked with were single moms, trying to put themselves through school, etc. I could not even imagine trying to live off of that while supporting an education and/or a family.

Our managers did teach us the finer points of "upselling." It wasn't to be sleazy or to worm more money out of our customers. We were simply doing our job. All of you sound like great tippers, but the reality is that most people (I said most) only tip about 10%.

I don't know about you, Lark, but now that I have a "real" job again, I ALWAYS make it a point to make my server's day by overtipping. On there are occasion someone did that for me, I didn't think, "Oooh, yeah... sucker!" I thought, "Oh, thank you so much! Now I'm that much closer to making my car payment."

Just something to think about.

 

[MamaQuack]

amen MegaSister,

if you read my two previous posts you will see I cannot agree with you more!!!! glad you have a "real job" now - good for you!

MamaQuack

 

[Chicago526]

thanks for the help, everyone! I used to work in a restaurant, but as a hostess on regular wages, it wasn't a tipped position. But I did see how hard our waiters workd. I always tip around 20%, unless the service truely was terrible (I left 5 cents once, it was THAT bad!). So I posted hoping to clarify if I needed to slip the CM that brings the food a few bucks or if the 18% covers it.

It sounds like the 18% gets split between several CM's along the way, so technically, I wouldn't need to tip the CM that delivers the food, but I think I will anyway. For what I'm spending on this trip, $2 won't kill me!

 

[TaurusSES_Sport]

You know, all this money you are spending on room service for breakfeast and such, I would just upgrade to a concierge level. It figures out to be much more cost effective...just a suggestion...

 

[jcemom]

My sister works room service at a very nice local resort. (Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa, if anyone has heard of it...they recently hosted the 84 Lumber Golf Classic Tournament.) She works night shift and although it is considered a "tipped position" her hourly pay is quite good, the day shift is paid significantly less. They add 18% gratuity (no service fee) automatically. 15% of that is "pooled" and split at the end of the shift by the room service staff. Any additional tips she recieves are hers to keep. More money is always appreciated, but she doesn't expect to be tipped extra...she's happy to take it of course, but certainly wouldn't be upset if a guest didn't tip more.

 

[Chicago526]

Originally posted by TaurusSES_Sport
You know, all this money you are spending on room service for breakfeast and such, I would just upgrade to a concierge level. It figures out to be much more cost effective...just a suggestion...

I thought of that. But we are only having a light breakfast, so even with the added tips, taxes, inflated menu prices, and the $3 service fee, our breakfast bill should still be less than $25 a day, and we won't be eating in everyday we are there. We can't upgrade to Concierge for that (darn it) so we are actually better off with the room service. Thanks for the suggestion though!