Tipping...can someone help a Brit out!

[Tinks1984]

Hi guys,

We're heading over to WDW in April and I just wanted to know a little more about tipping (So sorry for asking, you guys must get sick of us and this topic!)

Just a simple example for me if possible, say we have our meal at H&V for Fantasmic, and it costs in total $70 (I'm not saying it will, I justed plucked a figure out of my mind ). What would I tip the waiter/waitress? I find it such a difficult thing to work out.

Is there any on-line guides to tipping in the US? Any help would be much appriciated.

 

[Lowell317]

Tipping can be a very very touchy subject, so expect some very passionate responses. Personally I leave roughly 20% for good/average service. So if the total was 70, I'd leave somewhere around 14.

To some people 20% is a minimum to others 20% is obscenely high. I leave 20% for two reasons. 1. I'm bad at math and I find it fairly simple to find 20% of the total. 2. I spent a few summers waiting tables at a bad restaurant and I always loved when someone left 20%, I don't know of any servers who would sneeze at that tip.

Though I'm sure if you googled "Tipping in America" the first result will give some further details. PM me if you can't find it.

Enjoy your trip

 

[magicalcouple]

Generally, we leave 20% off the total ticket for a tip....even with minimal/poor service. Some people don't do that and leave 15 to 18%. I think the 20% is starting to go up....but I'm still there. So, on a 70 tab, I would leave $14.

 

[mamazaz]

Our family and close friends usually tip around 15% to 20% depending on the type of restuarant and the type of service.

If it's a soup/salad bar or buffet style then usually only 10% since you are the one serving yourself.

Also it depends on the party size. We always have 8 or more with us and so the gratuity is automatically added at usually 17 or 18 percent!!! What's really bad about that situation is if the service or food is just horrible, the server still gets a nice tip. And, I think sometimes we don't get the same service because the server knows already that he/she is going to get that nice tip anyways. However if the server does an outstanding job, then we will add to the 17 or 18 percent.

Hope that helps.

 

[kim_o]

Unless bad or exceptional service...you can't go wrong with 18-20% for sit down and 10% for buffet.

So I believe H&V is buffet, so I would personally leave $7.

 

[agentpleakley]

I do 18-20%. If you know the sales tax -- it can be easy. Where I am, it is 9.75%. I just double the sale tax for a tip.

That said, I have been known to give less for really crappy service and alot more for good service. And, when its dark (Sci Fi) -- I give a REALLY REALLY big tip and don't realize it until the waitress chases me out the door saying "thank you, thank you, thank you." Oops. Made her day

 

[winniethepoohsmom]

We tip 18% and I use my cell phone calculator to figure it out. Linda

 

[Tam1067]

Standard is 15-20%.

 

[epcotfreak]

I personally don't tip based on percentage of the tab. I tip based on service. The better the service, the higher the tip. The worse the service, the lower the tip.

For instance, just the other day, I had a $15 bill for a few drinks and a salad. I tipped $10 because of the great service that went along with it. That was well over 20%.

If I had a $70 bill and outstanding service, I would probably tip $30 to $45. If I had poor service, I would seriously have to think about what I give the server.

I know how you Europeans can be about tipping. I remember several years ago in The Netherlands I tried to leave my server a tip because of the outstanding service, she looked at me awkward and chased me out of the restaurant trying to give me my money back.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Similarly, we had terrible service at a restaurant the other day. Total bill was $23 and we left a $2 tip. Felt like leaving nothing.

 

[ms*mountaineer]

One thing to keep in mind - you don't need to tip on the tax. So if your bill is $70, there may be an additional $5 in tax. So you would see your total as $75 - you only need to figure the tip on the $70. So if you decided you wanted to to 20%, you would leave $14.

 

[KorieDWnut]

Hi guys,

We're heading over to WDW in April and I just wanted to know a little more about tipping (So sorry for asking, you guys must get sick of us and this topic!)

Just a simple example for me if possible, say we have our meal at H&V for Fantasmic, and it costs in total $70 (I'm not saying it will, I justed plucked a figure out of my mind ). What would I tip the waiter/waitress? I find it such a difficult thing to work out.

Is there any on-line guides to tipping in the US? Any help would be much appriciated.

I am a server and I think I am one of the few that won't walk around saying I "expect" a tip. I mean, I kinda do, but I don't. Do I make sense? lol Ok, I guess I just understand that I need to put out some really great service and I try to do that with every table I wait on. I average 20% tips every day. I say average because some people may leave me 15% and some leave 20%. It is a very touchy subject. It is customary to leave 15% of your bill. If I get 15% I am happy enough but I do usually get 20% now.

I almost always leave 20% for a few reasons, one because I am a server myself and another because it is just so much easier to figure out. No calculators or math needed. If the bill is 70 dollars, I leave 14, or I round up to 15. lol

Sometimes I do leave a poor tip if I feel the server deserves a crummy tip.

It is a touchy subject on every message board I have ever been on. Some people are servers and EXPECT 20% all the time, some customers don't believe in it, some are cheap, some just don't know what a good tip is.
SO, it is custom to tip at least 15% for good service but it is up to you ultimately what to do.

 

[PISCESANGEL]

There's another way that will be very helpful for you...

Disney puts the 'suggested' tip amount on your bill, so it is all figured out for you!

 

[loco4dis]

Hi guys,

We're heading over to WDW in April and I just wanted to know a little more about tipping (So sorry for asking, you guys must get sick of us and this topic!)

Just a simple example for me if possible, say we have our meal at H&V for Fantasmic, and it costs in total $70 (I'm not saying it will, I justed plucked a figure out of my mind ). What would I tip the waiter/waitress? I find it such a difficult thing to work out.

Is there any on-line guides to tipping in the US? Any help would be much appriciated.

I think tipping should be in the 15% to 20% range. To figure 15%, figure 10% of the bill and then add half that amount. So, on a $70 bill, 10% is $7, and half of that is $3.50. Tip total is $10.50. On a $45 bill, 10% is $4.50, half of that is $2.25, so tip total for 15% is $6.75 (or rounded up to $7). I also tip on the TOTAL bill, tax and all. I'd give 10% for mediocre service, 15% for average service, and 20% or more for good or exceptional service. Quite frankly, the amount of my tip is in the waiter's hands. And remember, as a former waitress I like to remind people that food quality is not the waitstaff's fault unless they give you attitude when you ask for replacements, etc.

 

[OrlandoMike]

They sell little cards like this if you need help with the math....

http://www.tipping.org/tipcards.html

You can find these cards at book stores.....or if you hunt around online you might be able to print your own.

 

[Luv4Disney]

We generally tip 20% before tax. We adjust that number depending on service. We once had an outstanding waiter at Concourse and the bill came to $60 or so and we gave him a $20. He took care of us, so we took care of him. For not so great service (which we've luckily never encountered at Disney thus far) we'll leave less.

 

[boardom]

I was just thinking this whole issue must be rough on Disney servers, because there are definitely regional differences in tipping practices, plus international guests who aren't accustomed to American tipping at all! When you add in confusion over the changes in the dining plan, I'm sure it adds up to a stressful situation for the servers.

Where I live now (Philly area) 20% is pretty much the minimum for decent service, but where I'm from (Ohio) 15% was the "base" tip. So guests' expectations are always going to differ somewhat, I think Disney's putting a suggested range of tips on receipts which is really a good idea.

 

[jensen]

I find all this tipping discussion interesting. I worked all through high school and college as a server at several different restaurants. That was roughly 15 years ago. Tips were 12% on average and 15% was considered a good tip and 20% was a GREAT tip.

For those of you who tip 20%... I'm wondering if you've always tipped that percentage or if that has increased through the years. I just figure the percentage stays the same as the tip already increases with the cost of the food.

 

[HopperFan]

I find all this tipping discussion interesting. I worked all through high school and college as a server at several different restaurants. That was roughly 15 years ago. Tips were 12% on average and 15% was considered a good tip and 20% was a GREAT tip.

For those of you who tip 20%... I'm wondering if you've always tipped that percentage or if that has increased through the years. I just figure the percentage stays the same as the tip already increases with the cost of the food.

Taking off what you say here.........
When I am at Disney it is very clear to me that their prices on most (not all) table meals are over-inflated, while the service remains the same as anywhere else. So if I am paying them 15% on a tab that is already at least 30% higher than outside the world, servers are already getting more than their non-Disney counterparts. Example would be LTT dinner...$28 for a meal that I wouldn't pay more than $12 for outside the world. 15% tip for four of us is $16, and outside the world $7.20. So at Disney, I would be less inclined to leave above my 15% base. (No I do not figure in the characters as I can see them outside of LTT for free and don't feel we have gotten any more time with them inside the restaurant.)

At home I would normally start with 10% for buffet, 15% for full service and then I leave extra on that if my service was over and above. In a meal that is family style I may not leave extra because it is a set meal, left on my table for me to serve.

When we have been with DDP in the past they get an automatic 18%, some I felt were overpaid. Some I felt had done over and above and I leave an extra $5 or so, and one was so super nice to us that I left him $20 (so his tip was something like 40%). When we return with the DDP and we have to pay the tip, they will get my standard....and extra if earned.

 

[stoudt6]

There was a big thread on here about a week or so ago where the woman who started it was a server and the thread title was "tipping advice ". She ignited a huge debate by saying she tips 30% and thinks that it should be the norm.