Tipping?

[PKS44]

Originally posted by PamOKW


We can go round and round on this question. I respectfully disagree with the notion that it is unusual to tip housekeeping. All my life my father has always left a tip for the maid in any hotel where we have stayed just as a tip was left for the servers in restaurants. Maybe experiences in other parts of the country are different but I have always considered the tip as part of travel expenses just as I know if I use a valet or a bellhop a tip would also be expected....

Well we do go round and round as everyone keeps talking past each other...

What anybody does personally or what their father does or what people do in one part of the country or not is not the point...those accounts are anecdotes, not standards Our personal worlds are too small to encompass all standards.....nobody says it is UNUSUAL to tip-what was said is that it is not standard practice, it is not UNUSUAL to NOT tip is the point...this is a small but important distinction. Whether housekeepers make a lot or a little is irrelevant. Lots of people at WDW (bus drivers, park CM's,etc ) and elsewhere make minimum wage- CM's who work the rides make little, but nobody tips them, and there are ways they could "enhance" their service to you if you did...of course they would be fired for it...that is Disney's policy to try to keep some services at a certain level that is the same to all who come regardless of how much more money they want to throw around to get "better" service....Clearly, Disney feels housekeepers should be providing a level of basic service without having to receive "extra" money from guests as tips to get that basic service. Some people seem to think that even basic housekeeping service at Disney can only come by paying more- Polly Ann wrote about leaving a $20 tip saying:"I like my place CLEAN!" As if those who don't tip either don't get a clean room or don't care if they do...both of which are ridiculous assumptions. When checking into a hotel, the room should be clean without having to bribe/tip extra for that level of service...For extra services, a tip is appropriate, but for doing their job?-cleaning the room? If standard cleaning only comes with a "standard" tip, something is wrong with the standards...

 

[bicker]

Originally posted by ohiominnie
Uncontrovertible? Looked it up at m-w.com and can't find it. help!

Sorry: "incontrovertible".

 

[bicker]

Originally posted by deerh
Interesting thread. We as a family usually do not tip. HOWEVER, we make the maid/housekeeping staff do less. Before we leave, we pile all the dirty linen in a corner in the bathroom, and clean up before we leave. We do not use the vac or etc, but we will load the dishwasher and start it, clean the kitchen (if so equipped), etc.

Just a note on this. I've read that the housekeepers must run all the dishes through the dishwasher ANYWAY (safety reasons), so there's nothing gained by running the dishwasher for them.

I doubt that anything we could do beforehand really would save the housekeepers much time, and, of course, saving them time, even if we could do it, would work against them: less time, less work, less need for housekeepers, fewer jobs, lower pay for the job, etc.

 

[bicker]

Originally posted by PKS44
...nobody says it is UNUSUAL to tip-what was said is that it is not standard practice, it is not UNUSUAL to NOT tip is the point...this is a small but important distinction.

Bingo. That's really the crux of the issue.

Some people seem to think that even basic housekeeping service at Disney can only come by paying more- Polly Ann wrote about leaving a $20 tip saying:"I like my place CLEAN!" As if those who don't tip either don't get a clean room or don't care if they do...both of which are ridiculous assumptions.

I've never had anything but excellent service from the housekeepers at BWV, and I've known that they're non-tipped personnel for years.

When checking into a hotel, the room should be clean without having to bribe/tip extra for that level of service...For extra services, a tip is appropriate, but for doing their job?-cleaning the room? If standard cleaning only comes with a "standard" tip, something is wrong with the standards...

Indeed. I can't imagine ever getting into a situation whereby one would tip before the service (which is why most travel organizations, including the American Society of Travel Agents, indicate that the standard is to tip auto valets when you get your car BACK, not both when dropping it off and when getting it back -- when you drop the car off the valet hasn't done anything for you yet!)

 

[deerh]

Posted by Bicker:Just a note on this. I've read that the housekeepers must run all the dishes through the dishwasher ANYWAY (safety reasons), so there's nothing gained by running the dishwasher for them.

I just clean the room because that is the way I was brought up in Tennessee as a boy. Clean your room before you leave, if it saves the maids time, then so be it! I just feel like it is the right thing to do, besides, it is a good influence on my kids too.
Deerh

P.S. I do see your point on the less work, etc, but I think it is a wash, for my semi-clean room, you have a messy Joe down the hall who trashed his room.
deerh

 

[BobH]

It amazes me what we spend to join DVC yet this post has gone on so long over the reasons "not" to leave a few dollars as a tip...
The defense rests...

 

[burnsoc]

I couldn't have said it better, Bob.

 

[Lyndarella]

FYI -- Some places the housekeepers are paid by how many units they clean each day, or are given a bonus for reaching a certain number. If you do part of the work for them, it does help them earn more!

 

[PamOKW]

when you drop the car off the valet hasn't done anything for you yet!)

But, the valet will be deciding where to park your car. I usually tip both ways, but for sure when it's my own car and not a rental.

Bob -- I'm with you. If I'm paying $2.50 for a bottle of water I can skip one and give the maid a break.

 

[manning]

Do you go and see where the valet parked your car or when? Chances are they will park it in the first spot they find.

 

[bicker]

Originally posted by BobH
It amazes me what we spend to join DVC yet this post has gone on so long over the reasons "not" to leave a few dollars as a tip...
The defense rests...

Sounds like you're rationalizing your judgmentalism.

This has never been about whether people "shouldn't" leave a tip. This has always been about whether people "should." Seems to me that that hasn't been proven by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[Granny]

We just returned and tipped housekeeping $5 for full cleaning and another $5 on check out.

I noticed in the DVC packet they gave us at check-in that they listed the positions where tipping is expected. Housekeeping was definitely not in there. But we tipped anyway. In fact, I tipped the maid $2 when she brought me extra pillows and blankets the first night.

For whatever reason, we received Trash & Towel service each of the last three days. Didn't ask for it, didn't expect it (except for one of the days), but it was nice.

Still didn't keep them from hitting us with the early morning "mystery call" on check-out day though!

I think tipping is a personal decision here. On topics like this, there really is no "right" answer, no matter how strongly we hold our opinions.

Is it "right" for me to tip? I don't know, but I do. Is it "wrong" not to tip? I wouldn't think less of anyone who tells me they don't.