Tax & tipping @ meals

[Celestine]

OK - Pending the release of the December hours I am onto final planning. Can anyone tell me what I need to add onto the breakfast cost for tax, e.g. if PSB is listed as $19.99 what does it really cost? Also, what is the tipping norm? Is it 20% (far more than I'd ever tip back here, but when in Rome...)? I'm trying to calculate whether the prepaid breakfast vouchers from people like Keith Prowse are infact vfm as they are the meal, tax & tip.

Thanks in advance.

 

[rhysd2]

florida sales tax is something like 4 or 5%. not more than that from memory.

typically you'd tip 15% if things were avg 10% for poor and 20%ish for good.

thats a rough guideline anyway

 

[Goofyish]

For buffet type meals you wouldn't tip as much as with a full service meal (becasue you are fetching the food yourself and the wait staff only really bring drinks).

 

[keith&carol]

15 -20% is for a full service restaurant. If you go into a buffet place $1-$2 per person is plenty depending how well you are looked after.
Maids expect $1-$2 per person per day depending on the standard of your hotel.
$1-$2 per bag for porters anywhere, taxi drivers , hairdressers etc also expect a tip. It's a way of life over there as most people in the service sector are poorly paid and really do rely on tips to make a living.
When you have a voucher from a Tour Operator which says tax and tip included, servers will often expect tipping anyway. Whether that's because they don't get to see anything otherwise or whether they are just trying it on I don't know!
Carol:

 

[Celestine]

THanks for the replies. Based on that, the vouchers only work out vfm for PSB & if the exchange rate drops back down to about £1 = $1.55 - as we're going to CP & DB the rate would have to be even lower - I think we'll just pay when we get there!

 

[rhysd2]

heh i doubt you'll see the rate drop that low any time soon.

bought some dollars the weekend in M&S for $1.74

 

[vernon]

At buffets I tend to tip at about 10%, a little more for great/attentive service a little less if the waitstaff are a bit slow asking or providing anything we might need.

At full service I base on 15% ( and this should be on the full value of the meal i.e. if you are at a $20 a head meal but have a "buyonegetonefree" voucher you should base your tip on $40 not $20). If I get great service I may go up a little (depending on the restaurant, if I'm at a high end restaurant spending $100 a head I expect GREAT service as a given, if I'm at Denny's I expect the waitstaff to be busy with a large number of tables and have a lower expectation of them), it would have to be pretty poor service (and the waiter's fault not the kitchens) for me to dip below 15%.