Tipping with the DDP

[Dipstick]

10% is a pittance for a tip, it's actually an insult to the server. If you get good/excellent service you should reward the server with a good tip. They aren't waiting tables because they just love refilling ice tea all day.

These servers get paid for waiting on these tables it is there job. If you are going to tip the waiters, why don't you tip the cooks as well? Why don't you tip the management? Don't these people deserve tips as well?

Where does it end? It shouldn't be expected to receive a 18 - 20% tip. A tip is for doing a good job, it is not a part of there wage.

 

[*Valdez*]

These servers get paid for waiting on these tables it is there job. If you are going to tip the waiters, why don't you tip the cooks as well? Why don't you tip the management? Don't these people deserve tips as well?

Where does it end? It shouldn't be expected to receive a 18 - 20% tip. A tip is for doing a good job, it is not a part of there wage.

My DH used to be a waiter and it was expected for him to get at least 18%, the establishment where he worked required each server to tip out a percentage to the bartender, the runner(who delivered the plates), and the kitchen staff. The owner believed it took all of them together to make the customer happy. Waiters were also paid more than usual they were paid $4.50. It wasn't an upscale place, just sort of a a bar and grill. The manager never got tipped because they are on salary or the hourly ones got $20 an hour.

 

[mjkacmom]

These servers get paid for waiting on these tables it is there job. If you are going to tip the waiters, why don't you tip the cooks as well? Why don't you tip the management? Don't these people deserve tips as well?

Where does it end? It shouldn't be expected to receive a 18 - 20% tip. A tip is for doing a good job, it is not a part of there wage.

You do realize there is a different minimum wage for servers than for cooks, right? In Florida, it's $3 less an hour, and the server is taxed on tips, whether or not they are given. Sure, restaurants could pay them more, and pass on the costs to the consumer, or keep things the way they are now, giving you the option of not paying as much for poor service.

 

[geishagirl81]

my brother was a cook, and made $12 an hour, not great, but much better than $3.50 the servers made.

 

[pacman9a]

Wow! I'm from the UK and had no idea waiters/waitresses were taxed on tips that they might get! Thanks for the heads up as I would have tipped like I do here,which is very dependant on getting good or very good service.

I'll now tip much higher and if I'm really unhappy with the service I'll speak to the manager (although I can't imagine getting worse service than we do in some English restaurants! )

We will have free dining when we go in August (our first trip ), will my bill (check?) still show the value of each item so that I can calculate the correct tip?

TIA

 

[chartle]

We will have free dining when we go in August (our first trip ), will my bill (check?) still show the value of each item so that I can calculate the correct tip?

TIA

It should show you the itemized total plus something like this.

Suggested Tip

15% 8
18% 10
20% 13

Basically calculating the tip for you. (not sure what percentages are actually listed. I remember three amounts)

 

[tiggersam00]

18-20% is standard now... anything less is not considered appropriate. As my dad always says "I don't tip for good service, I overtip"

 

[BiancaBernard&Penny]

Wow! I'm from the UK and had no idea waiters/waitresses were taxed on tips that they might get!

I was going to bring this point up if it wasn't already. When I was a waitress... (really, was that 14 years ago? Already?) ...we had to "declare" our tips as taxable earnings. Credit card tips were automatically calculated so if you tipped $10.35 on a $100.00 meal (written in on the bottom of your receipt) I was actually taxed on $10.35 income. I never said I was a good waitress, LOL. If you tipped me $25, I was taxed for $25.
When people paid cash or gift certificate on their $100 meal and left a cash tip (I guess DDP fits in here), I could not claim less than $15 earned... even if the only tip left was a religious pamphlet. (yes, people do that...)

Morals of the story-
1- if you tip low, pay credit, if you tip high, pay cash or tip cash.
2- Don't spread your love of your church in lieu of tips or tip in change left under an upside down glass of water.

 

[geishagirl81]

Wow! I'm from the UK and had no idea waiters/waitresses were taxed on tips that they might get! Thanks for the heads up as I would have tipped like I do here,which is very dependant on getting good or very good service.

I'll now tip much higher and if I'm really unhappy with the service I'll speak to the manager (although I can't imagine getting worse service than we do in some English restaurants! )

TIA

That made me laugh. I was in London a few years ago and I would get SO annoyed in restaurants. Being from Northern USA, I expect FAST service. And ice in my soft drink. I didn't realize that I had to ask for ice in some places. Or that ales were served warm. For the rest of my trip I stuck to quick service places or mixed drinks from the bar, lol! I think we had dinner at a pub near Harrod's one night and were there for 2.5 hours total. Sooooo slow

 

[dukebluebell]

We just got back from a trip on the DDP, and tipped based on the amount that would have been billed...usually 18-20%. Our service was, on the whole, excellent, so there was no reason to lower it. On one occasion the service was a bit rushed and not quite amazing, so we tipped at 15% of the value of the meal. Not too much to pay when you consider that the value of 90% of the meals we ate was WAY above what we were paying daily for the DDP.

 

[AmyMama2AvaNtheo]

I prefer to tip based on the service I actually receive. If the server sucks, 10%. If the server is fab 25%. If the server is decent 15%, etc. I am not going to tip just because...

I will add I RARELY tip less than 18%. It needs to be ALOT for me to do that and because I have 2 children I often tip extra if they act out or make a huge mess.

 

[Ava]

Here at home (NY), I usually just double the tax (8.375%) and round up. This leaves the server ~18%. If service is very good, I'll add a little more; if service is poor I'll bring it down to 15%. For buffets, I tip 15% unless the server is exceptional.

BiancaBernard&Penny, thanks for the info about CC tips vs cash tips. I thought it was always better for the server to give cash tips.

 

[Lizziejane]

ok, I'm probably going to get flamed for this.... but several people have stated that they tip less for poor service. Really, if the service is poor, or even terrible, why on earth would I tip them at all? I understand (now!) that they will be taxed as if they were tipped - but perhaps that's the moral of the story they should be learning? Do a good job - get rewarded. Do a lousy job - and don't get rewarded. Isn't this basic stuff we teach our kids?!

I am sorry that min. wages for servers in the States is so deplorable, but honestly, not in a million years am I going to leave a tip if the service is just plain unacceptable. I will pay for the food I eat, but not for the service I didn't receive.

And wow! a 20% tip at a buffet?! where you did 95% of the serving yourself?

 

[*Valdez*]

ok, I'm probably going to get flamed for this.... but several people have stated that they tip less for poor service. Really, if the service is poor, or even terrible, why on earth would I tip them at all? I understand (now!) that they will be taxed as if they were tipped - but perhaps that's the moral of the story they should be learning? Do a good job - get rewarded. Do a lousy job - and don't get rewarded. Isn't this basic stuff we teach our kids?!

I am sorry that min. wages for servers in the States is so deplorable, but honestly, not in a million years am I going to leave a tip if the service is just plain unacceptable. I will pay for the food I eat, but not for the service I didn't receive.

And wow! a 20% tip at a buffet?! where you did 95% of the serving yourself?

For us we still tip for lousy service, but as DH was once a waiter he has stated it is more of an insult for a small tip than no tip at all. If you don't leave anything the server will think you just forgot. A small tip really makes the server think if they actually did that poor of a job. Sometimes bad service is also not the servers fault. It could be the kitchen, bussers, or even bartenders that made the service so bad. DH used to come home and talk about only getting 15% or less and say "I thought I gave them a lot of attention, their order was perfect" Those are just my thoughts.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

Anywhere we eat we tip minimum 20%, sometimes more if the server went above and beyond, we held up the table on a busy night just leisurely enjoying our meal or when the kids were smaller and left a big mess.

If I'm very upset at the service I got I'm more likely to say something than tip low. It takes a lot to upset me so if it was that bad, something needs to be corrected.

Buffet type places I tip 15%, in disney or outside of it. They do refill drinks, take dirty plates, clean up the table.

With the dining plan, it's no different. You tip on the value of the meal.

 

[fayette]

10% is a pittance for a tip, it's actually an insult to the server. If you get good/excellent service you should reward the server with a good tip. They aren't waiting tables because they just love refilling ice tea all day.

Well I can tell you I work hard for a living much harder than a waiter and I am not going to tip a waiter more than I make in an hour knowing they have 3 other tables as well. 4 people times 40 bucks =160 X 18% = 28.80 x 4 tables = 115 an hour. I have never had service worth more than 28 bucks an hour. For all of you that tip on a percentage are wrong. Is it not the same service at waffle house as it is at is at a nice place? Does the waffle house employee not deserve more than a 1.44 tip on you 8 dollar waffle and coke?

 

[*Valdez*]

Well I can tell you I work hard for a living much harder than a waiter and I am not going to tip a waiter more than I make in an hour knowing they have 3 other tables as well. 4 people times 40 bucks =160 X 18% = 28.80 x 4 tables = 115 an hour. I have never had service worth more than 28 bucks an hour. For all of you that tip on a percentage are wrong. Is it not the same service at waffle house as it is at is at a nice place? Does the waffle house employee not deserve more than a 1.44 tip on you 8 dollar waffle and coke?

The difference between a nice restaurant and waffle house is that the time it takes to eat a waffle and coke is less then a 3 course dinner, therefore the server will get less tables at the nice place then the waffle house. The server at the nice place also has more to learn, such as wine lists, daily chefs specials, and are required to follow a certain etiquette. I personally have never worked as a server, but do not think I could. I think they deserve every penny especially when they have to put up with customers who treat them like they are below everyone else because of the work they do.

 

[geishagirl81]

Sometimes bad service is also not the servers fault. It could be the kitchen, bussers, or even bartenders that made the service so bad.



YES!!!! My brother has worked in the restaurant industry his whole life, but always in the "back" (kitchen area). He always says that a LARGE part of the time, people blaim their server for things that the kitchen screwed up. A steak undercooked- most likely the cook's fault. A hair in your food- the kitchen's fault. Your meal took forever to come out- the kitchen's fault. A bad drink-- the bartender. Unfortunately, if you tip low for these problems, the poor waiter gets screwed, but the cook still made his $12 that hour. So if you have a problem with the quality/timing of your food, PLEASE ask to speak to a manager who can than confront the kitchen employees.

 

[Dipstick]

The difference between a nice restaurant and waffle house is that the time it takes to eat a waffle and coke is less then a 3 course dinner, therefore the server will get less tables at the nice place then the waffle house. The server at the nice place also has more to learn, such as wine lists, daily chefs specials, and are required to follow a certain etiquette. I personally have never worked as a server, but do not think I could. I think they deserve every penny especially when they have to put up with customers who treat them like they are below everyone else because of the work they do.

1) The time it takes for something to cook has nothing to do with the server.
2) You don't think servers at waffle houses don't have learn their menu? or act a certain way?
3) If they are treated below everyone else it isn't my fault unless of course I am the one doing it (which I wouldn't), so why would this have anything to do with me tipping them?

 

[tjmac11]

Tips are always subjective. Depending on the level of service I would tip between 10 and 25%. 25% would mean I had exceptional service!