Tipping the Mousekeeping

[Starwanderer]

can I ask those that leave $5+ do you get the towel animals more

At CBR last February, we tipped $5 per day and got towel animals either every day or at least most days. There were some other neat things too. One evening we came back to the room after a long day in the park to find my DD's plushies all sitting in our window waiting for us to return. It was so cute I took pictures. On most days my DD's bed would have her plushies arranged in some cute way.

We wanted some extra magic and what we got was worth every penny of the tip. We brightened their day a little bit and got the same in return. Definitely a win-win situation for all.

 

[Starwanderer]

No store employees don't, but custodial employees do and they make less money than housekeeping. Why doesn't everyone feel the need to tip them?

Probably because it's just a less personal contact vs, someone coming into your resort room and also it's not as if one can leave an envelope in a public restroom and reasonably expect the custodial staff to actually get it.

That said, I'll be willing to tip the custodial staff when I can find them. I think I'll carry some bills into the park and try to tip some of them too. Disney vacations are about magic. There's precious little magic in the world these days. If I can brighten up someone's day with a little magic, then why not? As others have noted, to tip or not to tip is a personal decision and everyone should do exactly what they feel they should. As for me, I like to spread some magic around.

 

[TiggerCat]

If Disney didn't want you to tip mousekeeping there would be a sign in your room saying it is not necessary.

As far as mousekeeping making the same as store employees- store employees don't have to clean bathrooms that strangers have used. Believe me if you ever worked in a hotel you know some people leave their rooms filthy.

Huh? Disney also doesn't say that you shouldn't tip the store employee or the person that cleans the pool. Do you tip those employees as well? Sorry but I just don't understand your logic.

TC.

 

[GrumpyFamilyof5]

hope this doesn't sound cheap, but I usually put out .50 per person in our room per day while we are there, plus DH usually put whatever little change is in his pocket that day on the table to, then on check-out day I leave $5, plus what change DH has, plus if the kids have any money leftover on occasion, they have put some of their change and and little note saying thank-you!

 

[chimo2u]

First off let me say this. My hats off and a big thank you to your husband for laying his life on the line for freedom and for your sacrifice being a military wife. I served in the military and remember the sacrifice's my wife made during that time.

However, as for tipping. I'm not going to blast those who don't tip room service. However, if you go out to a restaurant and don't tip because you can't afford it then yes you should not eat there or perhaps go to a less expensive restaurant. If you still can't afford it then there is cs restaurants for you. Servers in most restaurants are paid way below minimum wage and if not tipped still have to report a percentage of tips. If you don't tip they pay to serve you. I'm sure you would not pay to perform your job.
Now if you receive horrible service that is different. I would let the manager know about the service and tell he/she because of this you are also not leaving a tip for the server.

Hello and thank you so much for your kind words You are right, being in the military is a hard life on both soldier and family, but we keep plodding along year after year ... so thank you for your support, it really means a lot to all of us (Soldiers and family members)

I agree with your position about tipping servers in the US... In Canada our servers are always paid a set amount first (at minimum wage at a minimum, and upwards.. Minimum wage here is around $8.00/hr) then the rest is their "gravy" so to say! So, I tip based on service received. As I said, I am not against tipping and I will look at all circumstances when deciding what to leave as my "gift" (country customs, employee salary, job position, etc...)

Where I get upset is when people look down on others for making a very personal decision and say " If you can't do/pay X, Then you shouldn't be at Y"
Tipping is a gratuity and decideable by the giver of such gratuity.

That being said, I will tip disney employees for the wonderful service they provide to my family, but I would choose how much I want to leave as a "gratuity" based on what I feel I should leave, not a pre-determined amount.
If I haven't answered yet the original post (which I was thinking all night last night I may have gotten a little side-tracked and forgotten to include ).... Well, I think that if your room is kept nice and clean, fresh towels left, fresh soaps and shampoos, your garbage cleaned..... then, it is a nice gesture to leave whatever you feel is appropriate for your families' gratuity not very helpful, I am sorry...I think you can assertain by now I feel that tips are a very personal decision based on many, many factors.

And that's all I got to say about that .... whew! what a taxing subject to talk about now off to read more about my "happy place"
for magical, special vacations no matter when you are headed to Disney.... It sure is a wonderful place like no other.

 

[smylie1]

Thank you. Disney rooms are not very clean. Please stop tipping these people for doing a terrible job.

I keep reading this, but we've stayed at AKL and ASMu and both were very clean and Mousekeeping did a great job. Granted, we have not been as often as many others, so maybe we just got lucky.

 

[mmexpress]

I have never had a room that was dirty, they seem to be cleaned well, but if you look hard enough you can find fault.

 

[JPN4265]

This is right out of TheOfficial Guide to WDW.

Tips are no less valued at Disney resorts than at any other hotel.- $1 per bag for lugging luggage; $1 to $3 per person, per night for housekeeping services(include a note to avoid confusion)
Gratuities of 15 to 20 percent (excluding tax) are customary at full-service restaurants ( if service is exceptional or otherwise adjust accordingly)

We usually tip mousekeeping $5 per day and have always had good service, then of course you can always find probems or something you don't like if you look hard enough.

This way Disney can feel justified in not giving out decent wages. They want to charge a high room rate, and still have the customer supplement the employees wages. I don't get a tip where I work, and I give excellent service to my customers. Look last night we went to dinner at Long Horn Steak House. The server took our order (with out even a small smile) someone else brought the salads, someone else brought the main course and then the server brought the check. The guilt was to leave a tip, the reality was to just pay the bill and leave. I paid the bill. A tip should be for excellent service, not just ordinary service or expected service.

 

[mmexpress]

The guilt was to leave a tip, the reality was to just pay the bill and leave. I paid the bill. A tip should be for excellent service, not just ordinary service or expected service.

I agree 100% I would not leave a tip for bad service, and I will speak up when the service is bad.

All the negatives in this thread say DON"T TIP!
I think if housekeeping does a nice job they should be tipped, if they do a bad job=no tip.

 

[lisadr]

Tipping is a personal thing from the heart... At least that is what I thought "gratuity" meant... a gratuity is a gift. You are no more better a person if you tip than you are if you do not tip. I, too, think tips are getting out of hand because everywhere you go, someone expects it...From Tim Hortons person pouring your coffee to the juicebar attendant making your smoothie, to the hairdresser or the housekeeper.

I am sorry, this is just my opinion, but I save many months, sometimes years for my family to go on a vacation, and we deserve to go wherever we please, no matter if we tip or not. The person doing the job knew the salary before starting, just as we all know what we will make at our respective jobs. I work in a customer service industry, yet I do not expect tips everywhere I turn. I do my job well for all who I meet, regardless of circumstance. My husband serves our country and puts his life on the line daily here and abroad so we can enjoy our freedom.... yet he does not hold out for tips. I am so tired of hearing the argument "if you can't afford to tip, you don't deserve to eat out...or If you don't tip you should not be going to on a vacation... etc... etc..."

I also work hard, and we deserve to enjoy a restaurant meal out if we like once in a while, non dependent upon if we "tip" or not. I am not against tipping, I feel it has its time and place, but I am tired of everywhere I go people automatically thinking a tip is a given right, and if you do not do so, then you are a cheapstake. If I tip everywhere it was becoming "expected" of me then I would be so broke I would not even afford to run my household. I am aware that this subject is intensly personal and it will obviously bring up many different views and opinions. It is like stirring up a hornets nest as much as discussing politics or religious views. That's all I will say on the matter. In the end, we need to remember TIPS are a gift, determined by the giver.

I hear this argument all the time. IF companies like restaurants paid the servers a competitive wage-enough to survive on-YOU would probably not be able to afford to eat out. Every cost get absorbed into the cost of the product to the consumer. You would be saving a lot longer for that WDW vacation as well.

Tips are not a gift-they are the customers direct control over the salaries of the people who are serving them.

 

[lisadr]

This way Disney can feel justified in not giving out decent wages. They want to charge a high room rate, and still have the customer supplement the employees wages. I don't get a tip where I work, and I give excellent service to my customers. Look last night we went to dinner at Long Horn Steak House. The server took our order (with out even a small smile) someone else brought the salads, someone else brought the main course and then the server brought the check. The guilt was to leave a tip, the reality was to just pay the bill and leave. I paid the bill. A tip should be for excellent service, not just ordinary service or expected service.

A little insight on this:

In many corporate restaurants, food runners are there to do just that-run food to the tables. Why? So your food goes right to your table as soon as it's made. Why? Because the server isn't just waiting on you-they might be taking an order, getting drinks, taking payment, etc. Food runners are then tipped out by the server. Just like bus boys, bartenders, and in some restaurants hosts, mangers, and the kitchen.

Let's say, to make the math easy we use this equation:

Your bill ..........................................................$100
You tip 15 %................................................. $15
House tip out is 3% of sales(if you are lucky)......$3
Actual tip the server gets..................................$12

Now the server gets taxed on sales before tip out. Some places charge the server to process your credit card tip. Oh and that food runner makes minimum wage.

You better hope you get at least a 15% tip. Drop that to a 10% tip and you may get $7 dollar tip.

The REAL service industry is a hard place to make a living. It's both physically and mentally demanding and to top it off our salaries are at the mercy of others.

If you receive bad service I can understand having issue with the tip-but to decide you don't feel the work the server did was enough for a tip-well that just sucks.

I will say it again-if servers were paid minimum wage- a lot of people would be eating a McDs.

 

[catne]

we have always tipped housekeeping at Disney (and other hotels, for that matter.) Our rooms have always been relatively clean...certainly clean enough for us. I'm sure we could have found some problems if we'd looked hard enough, but nothing glaringly dirty, ever. Housekeeping always seemed to do a very excellent job after the first tip...obviously they do appreciate the extra $$. We never, ever had a request turned down (for specific times for room to be done by, for extra coffee or towels, that sort of thing.) Most stays, housekeepers have made a point of stopping and personally thanking us for the tips (and cards...we usually put it in a little card with a hand-written thank you) Have had Housekeepers nearly in tears about how nice we are to think of them.

For a couple of bucks a day, it is worth it to cheer someone else's day...what goes around, comes around.

Also, previous poster is so right about how the money gets split in restaurants...several relatives have worked as waitpersons -- in many places, it's the waiter/waitress that loses in that situation --they're expected to pay out the "house" on their total sales for the night, no matter what. So if several people decided the waitress "didn't do enough work" to deserve a tip and leave none, she still has to pay those food runners, bus people, bartender & hostess -- but it comes out of tips from other parties. Just because she didn't get tipped by you doesn't mean she can skip tipping those that help in the serving process. In a lot of cases, she's just the person who "collects" the tip but it's not hers to keep - some places it all goes into a pot & is split out by management.

 

[aceys_h0ney]

Ok here is my question. I am not debating tipping or not but the problem I have is this. We were there for 3 nights. They were good one night and horrible the next. If I leave a tip when we leave in the morning they still get that even if they did a bad job. If I leave it the next day based on the previous days service it might not be the same person. Does that make any sense ? I think I am having problems because we had poor service our first night and our second night had great service. It leaves me kinda jaded to leave a tip. Or am I over thinking this ? I did not tip on our last trip, I am embarrassed to admit this but I did not know you tip housekeeping. I also didn't know people leave tips for mail carriers and trash collectors until recently so I feel bad for all those I left out who I certainly don't mind tipping for their great service.

 

[EnnEss]

I hear this argument all the time. IF companies like restaurants paid the servers a competitive wage-enough to survive on-YOU would probably not be able to afford to eat out. Every cost get absorbed into the cost of the product to the consumer. You would be saving a lot longer for that WDW vacation as well.

Tips are not a gift-they are the customers direct control over the salaries of the people who are serving them.

Explaining this is perfectly logical. Unfortunaly it seems most people think servers process 50 tables a night and dont tip out anything. They won't ever get it because they are determined not to. The suggestion that an owner can just magically pay everyone more is ludicrous. Jump all the staff's pay up and the price of food would go way up. Not a few cents. Tip is the way to compel the server to do a good job. To the person that ordered there food, got it in a timely manner and then got the bill in a timely manner, you're right that service was awful, good for you for not tipping. Your table cost that person money btw, because the previous formula is not the norm. Most servers at most places have to tip out the people who help them based on sales.

So if they sell 1000 in food they tip out out 3 percent of that, not the tips recieved, so they pay thoes runners that served you so well but you snubbed anyways. So you LITERALLY cost servers money. If they do something to wrong you, fine. But they'd all rather you stay home. They aren't there to wash your car or somehow exceed your expectations, they are there to get your food to you, think of them as the manager of a team and they pay their little helpers. Chimo2u, hopefully this sheds some light on the attitude if you cant pay stay home.

It is done in other countries, in those places people dont have two cars, 5 bedroom houses and 4 tvs. They live differently but the poor dont scrape by as they do here.

 

[tecdavidt]

We have not tipped housekeeping at the resorts. We do on the ship. The reason, we have the same person each day on the ship. At the resorts, we have different people each shift. The person in the morning isn't the person in the afternoon for turndown. We also have different housekeepers each day. So if we leave a tip, do we leave tips in the am and pm? each day. If service is bad one day and we skip the tip the next day the person who did the bad job would not know. Now if we had the same housekeeper am and pm the tipping situation would be different.

What makes sense is if Disney had a policy that all tips get divided equal and had a suggested tip just like on the ship.

 

[EnnEss]

I don't think that if someone posts that they don't tip they should then have to qualify it with details of their own employment and pay - just as someone who says they do tip a certain amount doesn't need to do that.

If you feel you can judge others and the standards and customs in their industries, you should be compelled to do the same. Realize a lot of people have or do work in this industry and know a lot more about the realities of it than yourself. Armchair experts are a dime a dozen, and if you want to be one in this instance, why not open yourself to the same type of critique, possibly others will think you are overpaid and act to inform your employer of this or negatively affect your livelihood, as your doing here to people who are tipped.

So, tipping is obviously based on service, if its bad dont do it, if you dont want to do it, thats fine. If you want to start a crusade to convince anonymous strangers on a message board to stop tipping because of some imagined evils in an industry you don't understand, that actual live people rely on to live, I think its fair to ask what you do, how much you get paid and what company this is at and why that's a fair wage. At the very least, hopefully my perspective makes you think about it the next time you think to critique how much others make for a living, I bet no one outside your company does it to you.

 

[dbriggsq]

If you feel you can judge others and the standards and customs in their industries, you should be compelled to do the same. Realize a lot of people have or do work in this industry and know a lot more about the realities of it than yourself. Armchair experts are a dime a dozen, and if you want to be one in this instance, why not open yourself to the same type of critique, possibly others will think you are overpaid and act to inform your employer of this or negatively affect your livelihood, as your doing here to people who are tipped.

So, tipping is obviously based on service, if its bad dont do it, if you dont want to do it, thats fine. If you want to start a crusade to convince anonymous strangers on a message board to stop tipping because of some imagined evils in an industry you don't understand, that actual live people rely on to live, I think its fair to ask what you do, how much you get paid and what company this is at and why that's a fair wage. At the very least, hopefully my perspective makes you think about it the next time you think to critique how much others make for a living, I bet no one outside your company does it to you.

No-one is saying what housekeeping should or shouldn't receive in pay - they go into that job knowing what the pay is - just as I did when I took my job - they would also have been told that housekeeping at Disney is not a 'tipped' position and therefore should not expect to receive tips in the normal course of their jobs. I do have an insight into the industry - my daughter works as a waitress in hospitality at an international sports venue where tips are not expected nor even allowed. She does her job in a professional manner and gets paid to do that - the customers are happy and don't try to make her jump though hoops to earn a tip.

 

[TiggerCat]

If you feel you can judge others and the standards and customs in their industries, you should be compelled to do the same. Realize a lot of people have or do work in this industry and know a lot more about the realities of it than yourself. Armchair experts are a dime a dozen, and if you want to be one in this instance, why not open yourself to the same type of critique, possibly others will think you are overpaid and act to inform your employer of this or negatively affect your livelihood, as your doing here to people who are tipped.

So, tipping is obviously based on service, if its bad dont do it, if you dont want to do it, thats fine. If you want to start a crusade to convince anonymous strangers on a message board to stop tipping because of some imagined evils in an industry you don't understand, that actual live people rely on to live, I think its fair to ask what you do, how much you get paid and what company this is at and why that's a fair wage. At the very least, hopefully my perspective makes you think about it the next time you think to critique how much others make for a living, I bet no one outside your company does it to you.

Not sure I understand what you are trying to say. I don't have to be a server or housekeeper to understand when I am getting good service so it stands to reason that I should not feel "compelled" to justify my position concerning whether I tip or not. I also don't see how you are able to make the leap that not supporting the position to tip housekeeping is somehow reflecting negatively on these employees. Oh, and just because someone doesn't support your personal opinion does not make them an "armchair expert".

Once again I will state that housekeeping is not considered a tipped positon so it is an individual choice whether or not to tip for services rendered. Again, no requirement on my part to be a member of the union to make that determination.

TC.

 

[lisadr]

No-one is saying what housekeeping should or shouldn't receive in pay - they go into that job knowing what the pay is - just as I did when I took my job - they would also have been told that housekeeping at Disney is not a 'tipped' position and therefore should not expect to receive tips in the normal course of their jobs. I do have an insight into the industry - my daughter works as a waitress in hospitality at an international sports venue where tips are not expected nor even allowed. She does her job in a professional manner and gets paid to do that - the customers are happy and don't try to make her jump though hoops to earn a tip.

I am sorry but I have no idea what this could mean or entail. I am assuming she gets an hourly wage and does not rely on tips at all. If that is the case then the analogy does not work and you have no insight into the industry. Also if all her customers are happy people who do not make her jump through hoops she is a very lucky girl.

 

[Ilovemyprincesses]

Huh? Disney also doesn't say that you shouldn't tip the store employee or the person that cleans the pool. Do you tip those employees as well? Sorry but I just don't understand your logic.

TC.

Store employees and pool cleaner is not (anywhere that I have heard of) a tipped position.

My question is

Is this really about tipping mousekeeping? Do you tip the waitstaff? Would you tip at another hotel? Are you just opposed to tipping mousekeeping?
I know some people don't believe in tipping at all.