Tipping "rant" by our assistant server

[caribbeandreaming]

I just thought I'd throw this out there for discussion because I'm still perplexed by the whole DCL tipping thing...

We were on the Fantasy a few weeks ago, and at breakfast on debarkation morning our assistant server (AS) went on a mini-rant about tips. She said that she kept getting assigned to a new server almost every cruise and that it made it harder to get good tips. I understand why it would be easier to stay with the same server, but honestly they worked fine together as a team. We tipped both the server and AS slightly above the recommended amount the evening before, and then what she told me made me feel bad that we didn't leave more.

Our server on the Dream last year was excellent. He really went above and beyond and we really bonded with him. Therefore, we left him almost double the amount of recommended tip. On that same cruise, our AS was adequate and met our needs so we left a little over the suggested amount.

On the Fantasy, our server and AS met our needs but they didn't blow us away with their friendliness or Disney magic. But they did the minimum job I expected them to do, and we left them a few dollars more than the suggested tip. So, I'm just curious why the AS would not be okay with the standard tip DCL suggests? I'm sure most people aren't going to GS and reducing her tip amount but she made it seem like she was expecting much larger tips than what she was getting. It made us feel kind of cheap, but if you don't go over and above what you're expected to do, I'm not going to give you much more than the recommended tip, kwim? Do most people just tip the standard amount for okay service or is everyone tipping way over and above what's expected?

 

[FJS961]

I leave the suggested amount if my expectations and needs are met. I leave more if I am blown away by excellent service and good vibes. I leave less if they are truly bad servers.

You can tell what kind of a team they make and what chemistry is there. Sometimes one is extra strong to make up for their weak counterpart. Ill adjust tips accordingly when that happens.

 

[peachygreen]

I just thought I'd throw this out there for discussion because I'm still perplexed by the whole DCL tipping thing...

We were on the Fantasy a few weeks ago, and at breakfast on debarkation morning our assistant server (AS) went on a mini-rant about tips. She said that she kept getting assigned to a new server almost every cruise and that it made it harder to get good tips. I understand why it would be easier to stay with the same server, but honestly they worked fine together as a team. We tipped both the server and AS slightly above the recommended amount the evening before, and then what she told me made me feel bad that we didn't leave more.

Our server on the Dream last year was excellent. He really went above and beyond and we really bonded with him. Therefore, we left him almost double the amount of recommended tip. On that same cruise, our AS was adequate and met our needs so we left a little over the suggested amount.

On the Fantasy, our server and AS met our needs but they didn't blow us away with their friendliness or Disney magic. But they did the minimum job I expected them to do, and we left them a few dollars more than the suggested tip. So, I'm just curious why the AS would not be okay with the standard tip DCL suggests? I'm sure most people aren't going to GS and reducing her tip amount but she made it seem like she was expecting much larger tips than what she was getting. It made us feel kind of cheap, but if you don't go over and above what you're expected to do, I'm not going to give you much more than the recommended tip, kwim? Do most people just tip the standard amount for okay service or is everyone tipping way over and above what's expected?

My personal opinion is that it is never okay to talk about salary or tips and it is especially not okay to complain about tips to people that just gave you more than the minimum tip.

 

[caribbeandreaming]

My personal opinion is that it is never okay to talk about salary or tips and it is especially not okay to complain about tips to people that just gave you more than the minimum tip.

I agree - we were very turned off by this. You could tell she was frustrated, but we didn't need to hear about her issues while we were still on the vacation we paid for. I guess she didn't care at that point b/c we had already tipped and turned in our comment card. The bright side is it made getting off the ship just a little bit easier.

 

[dpuck1998]

My rule, any complaining about tips usually equals less tip. I guess this ploy works on most people however because they keep using it.

 

[wehavesix]

We tipped the recommended amount for 2 and added some cash to the other 2. Our server and our room host did a great job so we gave them some extra. By no means was it double though. The head server was friendly but really didn't DO much other than ask if we had all we needed. Our asst. server was actually pretty lacking. We even discussed reducing his tips but didn't want to go to the trouble of going to gs to arrange it. I imagine that very few ppl actually reduce tips for that reason.

OP, I think your asst. server was out of line and I might be tempted to shoot an email to DCL about it if I were you.

 

[GoofyTwinDad]

I agree - we were very turned off by this. You could tell she was frustrated, but we didn't need to hear about her issues while we were still on the vacation we paid for. I guess she didn't care at that point b/c we had already tipped and turned in our comment card. The bright side is it made getting off the ship just a little bit easier.

I have been on only two cruises, but on each cruise I noticed a clear shift in attitude on the last night in the MDR by our servers. It seems once they have secured their tips, they felt it was acceptable to give substandard service. We even added extra tips to each server. Has this happened to anyone else?

 

[su_A_ve]

I have been on only two cruises, but on each cruise I noticed a clear shift in attitude on the last night in the MDR by our servers. It seems once they have secured their tips, they felt it was acceptable to give substandard service. We even added extra tips to each server. Has this happened to anyone else?

I hand them the envelopes at the end of breakfast on debarkation day.

If they even hint on saying anything, I would simply remind them that I reward generously good service and there's no need to remind me. In fact, a reminder is a sign of bad service and lack of trust. They would stop right on their tracks...

 

[wehavesix]

I have been on only two cruises, but on each cruise I noticed a clear shift in attitude on the last night in the MDR by our servers. It seems once they have secured their tips, they felt it was acceptable to give substandard service. We even added extra tips to each server. Has this happened to anyone else?

We, too, have only been on 2 cruises so I can't say my experience was typical. I can't remember any difference on our '07 cruise. But we just came from a cruise last week. The last night was wonderful. No difference whatsoever in service from our server. Even the lazy asst. server was a bit more attentive about drink refills. Breakfast was fine but you could tell they were more rushed than our 2nd seating dinners. I attributed that to their need to get us attended to and off the ship in a timely manner. At no point did I find it substandard though.

 

[MagicMe]

I never hand out the tips until after dinner that last night. I usually tip the norm on my account and add cash as extra. I very rarely have not added more to the tips except for the head waiter which I've only added on one cruise.

On my first 7-day cruise we tipped the normal amount to the server and gave all the extra cash to our assistant server. He was fantastic and really made our trip. Our server wasn't bad, just wasn't connecting as much. We did find out that this was his last service before his break and he was heading home the same morning we were so obviously he was preoccupied!!

On my 14-day, I tipped our server extra, the assistant the normal amount (he really never did anything special) and our head server more. She was excellent. She dropped by every night and talked with us and we always saw her jumping in to help deliver food, clean off the plates, etc. Too bad she's no longer working but on a good note, she's a happy mom!

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

I agree - we were very turned off by this. You could tell she was frustrated, but we didn't need to hear about her issues while we were still on the vacation we paid for. I guess she didn't care at that point b/c we had already tipped and turned in our comment card. The bright side is it made getting off the ship just a little bit easier.

I agree. Our servers, both of them, were great for us. Yes the "Please only give us excellent" speech was annoying, but he did it in a professional way and kept it very brief. None of our servers ever said "we need more tips!" although our CCL room attendant did tell my husband that he ONLY made tips (which I honestly don't believe. What if the cruise isn't full? He has to make SOME kind of base even if the majority of it comes from tips?) which my husband and I found very unprofessional to discuss.

Our Dream servers were good enough on our 3 day that we left all the standard tips and gave BOTH the server, asst server, and room attendant all an extra $20 and a bit extra for our head server (although we imagine with a bigger 'pool' of tables that his does add up but he didn't exclusively serve us as much.) That was just from our 3, as Mom & Dad and Sis & BIL also tipped extra from their trip funds on top of that. And we all shared the same servers, so I think ours should have been pleased between the 7 of us? They did earn it, no doubt of that, but there was nothing unprofessional on their part either (such as asking for more.) We were happy to give it to them and NOT because they asked for it.

If they don't come out and be unprofessional about it, and allow their service to speak for themselves, good people like the ones on this board will show their appreciation. Unfortunately some people don't. But I was very happy the next morning for debarkation breakfast knowing we had given them extra the night before. My hungarian waiter got a hug. he made the trip VERY magical and he loved to visit with our family and play puzzles and his meal recommendations were outstanding. I hope I get them again next time!

But yes it is CRAPPY to ask for extra tips. Its crappy to suggestion that your whole livelihood is tips too. I wish they would show more professionalism and not guilt us out of desperation. It really does awkwardly backfire. Perhaps a better way to ask would be "Was anything missing from your service? Anything we could have done better next time to make your trip more satisfactory?" Something along those lines. Asking for more money is...

 

[lady9]

Our Wonder servers were amazing so we tipped them extra. Our Magic servers were terrible! There were nights we didn't get an appetizer were ordered, we had to beg to get refills on drinks, and the high pressure "only give us excellent" was enough to make us not want to eat in the MD. We left the recommended amount only and did not leave "excellent" on the comment card. I felt bad but figured the serving team needed some extra training, and they wouldn't get it if we lied and said they were excellent. We hope to have great service this summer but if we hear the excellent speech more than one time, DH said he will stop them mid-speech and say to SHOW us excellent not just say it and if we hear the speech one more time, we will not be back to the MD and will not be leaving a tip. Hopefully it will not get to that because we want to enjoy our vacation and enjoy our serving team like we did in Alaska.

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Our Wonder servers were amazing so we tipped them extra. Our Magic servers were terrible! There were nights we didn't get an appetizer were ordered, we had to beg to get refills on drinks, and the high pressure "only give us excellent" was enough to make us not want to eat in the MD. We left the recommended amount only and did not leave "excellent" on the comment card. I felt bad but figured the serving team needed some extra training, and they wouldn't get it if we lied and said they were excellent. We hope to have great service this summer but if we hear the excellent speech more than one time, DH said he will stop them mid-speech and say to SHOW us excellent not just say it and if we hear the speech one more time, we will not be back to the MD and will not be leaving a tip. Hopefully it will not get to that because we want to enjoy our vacation and enjoy our serving team like we did in Alaska.

Do they give you the excellent speech early on? Ours was the very last night after dinner service. The service did speak for itself. Your comment to "SHOW us" excellent service makes me wonder if they asked for that early on, which doesn't make sense for them to ask at that point. By the time it came up, our service was nearly over for the cruise.

 

[Fantasiesabound]

I have been on only two cruises, but on each cruise I noticed a clear shift in attitude on the last night in the MDR by our servers. It seems once they have secured their tips, they felt it was acceptable to give substandard service. We even added extra tips to each server. Has this happened to anyone else?

Yup! I have felt that on all but one of my cruises.

 

[lady9]

Do they give you the excellent speech early on? Ours was the very last night after dinner service. The service did speak for itself. Your comment to "SHOW us" excellent service makes me wonder if they asked for that early on, which doesn't make sense for them to ask at that point. By the time it came up, our service was nearly over for the cruise.

Yes-the very first night the server talked about wanting to give us excellent service so please tell him if he can do anything to make the service better. We were fine with that and appreciated it. The second night all through dinner both the server and assistant kept asking if the service was excellent. That was the night I didn't get my appetizer so I said it would be better if I got my appetizer but neither seemed to think they should get it for me. By the 3rd night the "speech" started as we were being seated. We didn't get our drinks until the main course was served, our table mates didn't get 2 of their appetizers, and coffee with dessert was nonexistent. On the fourth night we were giving thanks it was only a 5 night cruise! I suppose we should have spoken up and said something. We met the head server only on the first night, and he didn't reappear until the last night when it was time to hand out tips. It was one of those vacations that you just have to laugh at all the disasters that happen and remember that it makes for really good stories later on. (Two favorite stories-DD had a coke dumped in her lap and I sat in maple syrup on one of our shore excursions-yeah-good times!)

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Wow! What a bummer! That is awkward and awful service. I am unsure that MDR could have competed with Cabanas or Flo's at that rate!

Glad you can laugh about it and realize that they aren't all like that. I guess we were just super fortunate as it was the first DC for all 7 of us. I guess they probably knew that. Hopefully they take first timers and don't give them new trainees so they never come back! haha.

Hm. Any truth to that?

We never would have put up with such a speech every night. But our hungarian server had worked in fine dining establishments all his life, prior to cruising. Perhaps his experience reflected that. It was a matter of real personal pride to him. At one point, Twinkie thought the EG tuna salad was going to be the tuna version of a california mayo-based chicken salad. When I told her, "its salad..with a tuna on top!" she was like "Oh I don't want that." So not sure if she didn't read the menu or not! So she told our server, "Nevermind, I don't need the entree. It's my mistake." And you should have seen his horror! He shook his head, "nononono I bring you the sea bass." He didn't have to, you could tell it would break his heart if she didn't get an entree! And she loved it!

You can really tell who is only there to collect the paycheck and who is making service their career...

 

[Justacruiser]

My experiences have generally the same across the board. They give the "excellence" speach the first night assuring us that the will meet our expectations. They generally don't mention the survey until around night 4 or so of our 7-day cruise. At that point it is generally the head server that mentions it in an overview of the service thus far. And then finally on the last night, the server and head server mention the survey.

Generally I tip our wait staff according to the recommended with exceptions being made for outstanding service.

But to support the wait staff, i notice a lot of folks miss the last night in the MDRs. I wonder if it is because some folks don't tip. I understand in some countries tips are not generally provided by patrons. Also, some of the cruises I have been on lately aren't full. Well, a ship that has empty table means someone is not getting tips. That would be hard to handle if you have a family.

Most of us at least in the US live within our means at a minumum. Meaning we spend a large portion of what we make on a regular basis. The problem is that a large portion of the wait staff's salary is based on butts in seats, and when the ship isn't full or people don't tip, they may lose a bit of the pixie dust attitude we demand.

Same for the room host. One night our room host and I were just talking, and he showed me all the do not disturb signs posted beginning the afternoon of the final day. He stated, these folks will all be non-tippers. He wasn't asking me for more tip, just making a statement. He then told me to watch the MDR that night because (pointing at the rooms with the sign on them) they will not show up for dinner. And regrettably he was correct, the dining room was not as full.

And finally, about service. DCL went from about 2,000 staff on cruise ships at a time to over 4,300 staff in leass than 2 years (covering there 4 ships). The experience level WAS really good, until you have to hired all the new folks. A lot of them took the job just because it was an opportunity for a check. It will take 3-4 years IMHO before we get to a higher standard accross the board. It took 15 years to get the Wonder and Magic to where they were. Then we dismantled their staff to spread their experience around. In the end, probably 70% of the staff have been hired within the last 2 years.

Great discussion!

 

[wcw57]

soooooooo....the AS rant made u feel as if you should have tipped more? then, it served its purpose.......

adequate service gets MORE than standard tip? that doesn't make sense to me....

slightly sub-standard service, it follows, would receive the normal tip.

 

[momof2n2]

Hmmm - so am I to take from all of this that the mandatory tip is not seen as an adequate amount by the CMs? This bothers me. As someone who generally tips 20-25% for dining out, I consider myself an above average tipper IRL. ???

As a family of 8 I've budgeted the money per person indicated in the website. I personally loathe the idea of mandatory tipping, but I'd never, ever skip out on it. I very much understand these individuals are counting in it as part of their income. But for them to expect more doesn't seem right.

What if service IS poor?

 

[Presley]

I think ranting about not getting good tips would have a negative effect on my dining experience and I may have been inclined to mention it to the head waiter.

However, we have asked the servers about their tips, living conditions, Disney as an employer, etc. We were traumatized by the answers, but we asked. I didn't hold the answers against my servers and they didn't complain at all, actually. I just felt that the difference between them and the cruisers was very shocking and made me feel like I was supporting slavery.

Since then, I've mellowed out to the point that I realize the servers come from a totally different world than I do and they are happy to have the job that they have. We always tipped extra before, but with this new knowledge, we will budget to tip lots more.

One our 7 night, we gave the main server an extra $100 over the prepaid gratuities and she started crying. My husband to this day feels bad that we didn't give her more. After reading various boards, I can imagine that she was undertipped/no tipped by others based on our last night being at the Victoria port - most people probably didn't go to dinner and some probably didn't tip because it wasn't on their minds.