Goodness, I got to the dentist and sleep and the conversation rolls on! Good morning, everyone!
If you cannot afford a proper tip then you cannot afford to eat there. Find a place you can afford.
I wanted to start with this one... Please always be very careful with the word "should." The word "should" is a personal judgement. If it was a requirement, it would be a law. If I walk out of Crystal Palace without paying my bill, I am stealing and violating the law. If I walk out without paying the 18% surcharge that someone decided "should" be applied to parties of 6, I might be a jerk, according to someones opinion (including my own), but I would be breaking no law.
I am asking this question of EVERYONE I meet since it came up the other day. I have gotten about 3 answers (1)Nothing, it's a buffet (2)Whatever amount seems fair based on the service I received that day (3) 15% for a buffet, 20% for TS, always, unless the service is terrible or phenomenal.
Those are the ONLY three answers I'm getting, from people in all walks of life, including a dentist, a waiter friend (who answered #1, btw!) And out of everyone I've spoken to, the high-tippers are a serious minority... like 10% of the responders so far.
"Proper" is also a judgement. I believe a better word would be "customary." It is "customary" to leave a tip, higher or lower depending on service. The point of this thread is to learn about the customs of other people, not to judge.
But then you'd have to sit at a different table than your parents - would you really want to split up your family just so you won't have to pay 18% (though you might)??? If you don't get good service, you can have the auto tip adjusted down.
That being said, I tip the same at buffets as I do at regular restaurants.
If you met my parents, you'd understand why I might not want to be around them around dinnertime after an exhausting day
In the end, this will probably be a moot point... you see, my father is retired and disabled, so my mother, a nurse, works overtime to support them both. She will be one of those that has to work until she dies... they are tagging along on this trip and staying in the 3rd bedroom of our rental, I will be sponsoring them to receive my military discount for their tickets, and I have asked them to tell my by November whether they want to join us for any character meals. I imagine their answer will be "no", due to the cost, but I will insist they join us (at my expense) for the CRT breakfast we want because that is our first day and none of us have ever done that. That is TS, and I have no problem paying 18% for good service there... in fact, I will probably tip higher unless their horrid.
But I can imagine they will eat CS or pack food for all their other meals. Again, my mother is a nurse, she lives in a mobile home and cares for my father... she can't afford to tip someone more per hour than she makes. No way does she earn $150-200 day. But she does bring food, clear dishes, sometimes feed people, clean their waste from their bodies, administer medications, and attempt to keep them alive through the night...
You'd probably be better off going to counter service instead of table service restaurant -then you won't have to worry about it.
Again, let's learn from each other and watch the judgement, please?
If the server is only doing the bare minimum, talk to the manager! Don't just punish with a low tip... I think that sometimes servers make big assumptions about a table, and sadly that causes their tip to be lower, but they don't realize it was b/c of their inactions, but just think they were right. So unless your'e going to leave a note explaining what it is they did or did not do to warrant a low/no tip, I'd talk to the manager about it....
See, I go the other direction. I think of the tip as a personal communication between me and the server. I might want to "send a message" without "getting them in trouble." I can definitely see your side of it, though
I am certainly not going to call you names, and you are free to do whatever you please, but I do know that at most of the restaurants in Disney the servers have to "tip out" other members of the staff. Bussers, Hosts, etc. That tip out is approximately 7.5% of their sales, not what they were given in tips, but their actual recorded sales. If you only tip 5% then the server is actually paying money out of their own pocket to wait on you. Not saying I agree with the practice, but that is standard in a lot of establishments.
I know about tipping out, but I've never heard the actual statistics before, thank you!
Maybe like Cici's Pizza?
As for making your parents a separate reservation, feel free. You may want to make them for (even slightly) a different time, using a different name, not associate with them in the waiting area, not ask to be seated near each other, and if you do end up seated in the same area and have the same server -
100% be sure to complete ignore each other and that your kids ignore them as well.
Otherwise, despite all your deceptive efforts to avoid WDW's mandatory large party service charge, you'll reveal yourself as such and each table will find the 18% s/c added to its respective check
Actually, I've never been to Cici's pizza, so I can't say for sure. And while it might seem deceptive to you, again, that is a judgement, overlaying your values to my actions. My values include rewarding good work, recognizing superior performance over mediocre or poor performance, and teaching my children that "entitled" is a very dangerous word (our opinion.)
But yes, my parents will be booking any of their own meals in their own name, except for CRT, where they will be my guests. And yes, I would be fine with them sitting separately from us.
Perhaps this has been covered, but either you've got one big party of people or your math is off.
An 18% that equals $54, would be a $300 bill....perahps your party is that big, but that wouldnt be normal.
I can't book my ADRS and CMs until November, so I am going off the maximum price listed on the website ($59.99) and guessing that the children would be about half of that... 4 adults, 2 children, that WOULD be $300. So that WOULD be $54 in that instance. I don't know for sure what our actual price would be, since it will after the new year prices go into effect, etc. So that is the math there. And while I'm hoping/expecting it would be less, I still will tip based on service...
Would you then worry about getting food that was spat on? Or dropped and put back on the plate? I would.
Funny story... again, I am asking EVERYONE. Anthropology/sociology are kind of a hobby for me. People are FASCINATING!!! So I asked the assistant at my dentist yesterday (and the dentist, too.) And she was talking about one place they were at, where she was waiting and waiting for a drink refill, and finally they had to call the manager, and the waiter came and was rude, but brought them the drinks... but the way he brought them back, the attitude, apparently, they decided not to drink them, because they were worried about spit. (And they left two pennies-- apparently this is a "customary" thing some people do-- it communicates that you didn't forget the tip, but that you are leaving no tip to express "your two cents."-- I wouldn't do that, because I do understand that would cost them money... I don't want anyone to lose money on me, but they do have earn what they get. If someone gets a "bad" tip from me (10%), it's because they did something to "earn" that...)
And lets talk about children. Buffets are great, because they can try so many new things! I know my kids get at least 4 or 5 plates of food (not full plates, but they do like to sample a lot of the desserts). They make more work for the staff.
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My pixies are different. I HATE taking them to buffets, because they
just don't eat... we do use "a clean plate each time" because that is the law here (for health code reasons), and it can help the restaurant calculate statistics (though not every night, of coure) Anyway, if my girls each take a dinner plate and a desert plate, that's a good night for us. DD4, usually gets everything on one plate, and DD7 does too, but she sometimes goes back for more (especially if there's fruit involved!) And at those places where they bring you a drink, clear your plates, and bring a check at the end, we tend to tip 15-20%... but that's on a $30 check... big difference in the bottom line...
The servers at these restaurants take your drink orders, replenish your drinks, and constantly take away your plates. They do as much work as a server at a regular restaurant. So why would you try to screw them out of a tip? (Sorry but I don't consider leaving a couple of bucks or 5-10% an appropriate tip.)
If a person has a problem with leaving an appropriate tip then maybe they should stick to Mickey D's or a counter service restaurant.
Again, let's go with "customary." "Appropriate" is an opinion. At a casino place, because of the low cost to get you through the door, "a couple bucks" may be MORE than 20% for a person eating alone..
I agree that if one is not prepared to tip the standard then they should plan on eating elsewhere. I don't think what is considered proper is a personal opinion. It is based on manners and generally accepted rules.
I respect your opinion, but that is the point of this thread... to figure out what ARE the generally accepted rules
As for whether someone tips the "standard"... they have just as much right to eat a TS as someone else. There's that word "should" again.... I'd strike it from the dictionary if I could.
I have a friend who used to waitress at one of the restaurants on the boardwalk (maybe ESPN club??? I can't remember) and she said that the biggest challenge with waitressing at a place like Disney was that, since everyone was on vacation many felt that they could get away with tipping very little, since the customer would never see them again (as opposed to when you wait on regulars every week in your hometown). After tipping out to the support staff, On a slow night she would make about $75 a night, and on a busy night she would make about $150 a night. Not quite up there with what Doctors make.
But more than my mother the nurse makes, at least on a "good" night...
This has been very enlightening. I wasn't sure about buffets since we rarely go to one. But have a couple scheduled this trip, so thanks for the insight.
What I've often wondered about is the custom of tipping according to the dollar amount of your food. So, you're at a restaurant and order the chicken dish. Say it is $15. Your server comes to your table to take your order, get your drinks to you, maybe bring the salad, then refills on drinks, then brings your entree and later comes by to see how things are and to refill your drink again. Finally, assuming no dessert, brings your bill and takes care of that. So, with 2 entrees and (soft) drinks, your bill is say, $36. The 20% tip would be $7.20. You go the next night to the same place and this time order lobster for $40 each (& 2 soft drinks). The server comes to your table the same number of times, does the same amount of work as the previous night, but because your entree costs more, they now should get a tip of $17.20. Please understand I am just curious about this. We always tip 20% (or more if we got exceptional service). Has anyone else wondered about this?
One other note: I am in awe of people who are wait staff anywhere. It is a hard, demanding job where they have to put up with some really "challenging" personalities. Never been a waitress, don't think I could do it, so hats off to anyone who does this for a living! You earn every dime of the 20%!
Yep, I've wondered, that's why I started the thread... but as for earning every dime of the tip, yep... I give them as much as they earn, from 10% to 100%... But here's the thing... ever been to Denny's or IHOP? It's horrible. It's packed, lots of hungry people who want their food "NOW!!!" It sounds a lot like a Disney restaurant at the end of a long day when the kids are exhausted and the parents are frazzled (or vice-versa)... The Denny's check for the whole family will be about the same as one person at a restaurant in the parks... So does the Denny's waitress deserve a lower end amount? (ie- Denny's check= $35, so tip is $7; Park check=$100, so tip is $20) is that fair, and if so, why?
OP, I hope you will reconsider not sitting with your family, but have a magical trip either way.
If there was a restaurant that COULD/WOULD seat ME (and me alone) away from my family, I'd tip 50% no matter HOW bad the service was!!! A "Mommies only" zone!!! See, THAT would be worth $60 a seat!!!
Thank you to everyone who's answered so far! This is really very educational.
But again, while everyone's culture, custom, and opinions are welcome, let's keep it respectful, please!
. It is a lot more work to bring a salad $8, chicken $15, and dessert $6 at lunch then just a steak $29 but both cost the same.
