tipping

[kpfran]

Hi all,
i am travelling to Walt Disney World for the first time this Oct half term with my family.
i wondered if any of you kind people could tell me what the proceedure is for tipping for food service?We are planning on mainly eating in the parks from food kiosks and counter service only.
Do they include the 15% tip in your bill or do work it out yourself and offer it seperately?
I have sorted out how to leave the tip for housekeeping thanks to all your great posts on this site.
Also we are staying at a resort hotel and i wondered if people found the experience of paying for their park food directly onto the key card easier than paying with credit card or cash?
I am finding this forum really helpful as a first timer and thank you all for your friendlyness and help.

Regards,Kevin

 

[wicket2005]

You don't tip counter service. Usually tip at least 10% of the bill for buffet restaurants and 15-20% for waitress service for a bring it to your table meal.

 

[AlanUK]

I agree with Wicket2005 but I would also add that you should check the bill to see if a gratuity has been added when eating at restaraunts. We were caught out by one meal on our first trip that had the gatuity added and then we left a 15% tip as well

doh!

 

[Frances999]

Also we are staying at a resort hotel and i wondered if people found the experience of paying for their park food directly onto the key card easier than paying with credit card or cash?

We use our resort key for virtually all purchases - it saves carrying around cash and is quick and simple.On our final day I trot down to reception with a handful of Travellers Cheques (which have been kept in the resort safe) and pay off the balance so that it does not all get lumpped on to our credit cards. This is best for us, but I know others have different views. This trip I will hopefully have a Nationwide Credit Card with 0% comission and full exchange rate, so may choose to use that to pay the balance with instead. Nevertheless I will still use the resort card for paying

 

[gilld]

We use our resort key for virtually all purchases - it saves carrying around cash and is quick and simple.On our final day I trot down to reception with a handful of Travellers Cheques (which have been kept in the resort safe) and pay off the balance so that it does not all get lumpped on to our credit cards. This is best for us, but I know others have different views. This trip I will hopefully have a Nationwide Credit Card with 0% comission and full exchange rate, so may choose to use that to pay the balance with instead. Nevertheless I will still use the resort card for paying

Be careful with assuming this will work. We planned on doing this on one trip, only to find as we had reached our hotel's limit, they had already processed most of the bill to the CC company. We were left with over £1,000 worth of travellers cheques which we had to change back, thereby losing on the exchange rate.


All the WDW hotels have a limit, after which they send the bill to the CC company. The more expensive the hotel, the greater the limit.

Now we don't bother taking travellers cheques at all. We take a few $100's cash and use a couple of CC's for the rest, always paying the bill in full on our return.

 

[Frances999]

Thanks, Gill.

On our last three trips this has worked fine. The limit for Deluxe resorts is $1500. When we reached that limit the CM at the shop/restaurant simply handed the 'phone to us and connected us to our resort. I then told them to allow this purchase and that I would "wipe the slate clean" that evening upon our arrival back. Then, I paid the balance and the $1500 limit started over again.

The in-house payment scheme is really very flexible. As long as you explain to the resort your wishes they will honour it with no problems.

 

[vernon]

Hi Kevin and welcome to the DIS,
If you're planning on eating mainly on WDW property and are staying at a WDW resort hotel I would recommend you look at the WDW dining plan as an extra on the MYW park tickets. Do check it up, but I believe the cost per adult is currently $35 (ish) per day ( which includes your tips and taxes) extra on top of the regular ticketting option ( check with whoever you've booked your hotel with) Normally I'm not much into taking out these sort of prepay ideas, but this was restructured last year and seems an absolute bargain at the moment. Even if, as an adult, you'd eat two counter service meals per day and the snacks I'd guess it's going to cost you at least the same amount (probably a touch more) but if you'd plan to eat in some of the nicer venues or the buffets at least 30% of the time you're going to save $$$$.
It certainly worth considering for anyone that's going to spend the majority of their time on WDW property and most of their dining on it. You've got enough choices to eat at a different venue everyday for a good few weeks without having to repeat a restaurant choice ( and even then you can try a different menu option )

Here's a link to some information on the plan http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/packages/index.htm#mypd

 

[icydog]

I agree with Wicket2005 but I would also add that you should check the bill to see if a gratuity has been added when eating at restaraunts. We were caught out by one meal on our first trip that had the gatuity added and then we left a 15% tip as well

doh!

Where in the US was this place that added on a tip? I have never had this happen to me here in the US but in France wow did we make mistakes. It was only on the plane ride home that I found out that the tip is automatically added. I never saw any notes on the bills about tips being included so I thought we should leave a tip. This was okay for most of the places we went because the serving people were very good. However, when we ate the restaurant at the top of the George Pompidu (SP???) the waiter was arogant and downright surly. He looked down at us and distianfully took our order. In fact some of the servers in this place openly laughed at my New York High School French and began to parrot me. We left an outrageous tip, I think because we were intimidated by the whole thing, only to find out this guy ending up with around a 35% tip! Most everyone else helped me with my French and were happy I tried to speak their language. They also all spoke some English which helped immensely. Our sign language also got a little better this trip with us acting out a lot of things we didn't know the French for.

As far as the food plan, I didn't know they changed it. It was so super expensive that I always told people not to take it. I am glad they revamped that program. The problem with prepaid meals is that I eat too much and then I get mad at myself. Then of course I get over it and eat a little more.

 

[wicket2005]

the waiter was arogant and downright surly. He looked down at us and distianfully took our order. In fact some of the servers in this place openly laughed at my New York High School French and began to parrot me.

Sounds quite a dreadful man, good on you speaking French though.

 

[wendye]

I'm pretty sure when we went to Cracker Barrell on our last and only trip so far they added this to the bill too as a service charge. I wasn't really sure so I think we left a couple of $ tip on the table each time too but the service was really good so I wasn't bothered. Also I like alot of other brits wasn't aware of the tipping customs at that time - I know better now thanks to this board, the dibb and the brit guide so will know next year. Must admit I wasn't sure about the buffet places on the acceptable amount.

 

[icydog]

I'm pretty sure when we went to Cracker Barrell on our last and only trip so far they added this to the bill too as a service charge. I wasn't really sure so I think we left a couple of $ tip on the table each time too but the service was really good so I wasn't bothered. Also I like alot of other brits wasn't aware of the tipping customs at that time - I know better now thanks to this board, the dibb and the brit guide so will know next year. Must admit I wasn't sure about the buffet places on the acceptable amount.

I'm advising you no restaurant in the United States, even Cracker Barrell, adds a service charge of any type. You should leave 15% to 20% tip for sit down restaurants and 10-15% for a buffet.

What may have confused you is if you have a coupon.Some coupons give you a free meal with another meal purchased, or a discounted amount dollars off promotion. In this case the servers will show you the bill total BEFORE the accomodation was taken so you know to tip on the full amount.

Another scenerio is if you have a large group of people. In the US it is very often written on the bill or menu that parties of 8 and up will have a gratuity of 18% added to their bill. This is because when in a large group, everyone chips in on the bill, but often the guests skimp on the tip. I don't know why this happens but it happens frequently enough that owners have to add a mandatory 18% to the bill to protect their servers.

When planning a trip to WDW you may buy, or have included in your package, food vouchers. On these food vouchers there is an annotation that a gratuity of 18% has already been paid. If the service was superior it is perfectly fine to add enough to equal 20%. If the service was just alright the tip on the voucher is more than enough.

Other than with a large group, or when using food vouchers, there is never an occasion that a tip will be added to your check. It just is not the custom here. I like the idea of selecting the amount I might leave according to the service level I was afforded. My normal tip is 20% but my husband's is between 15-20% even for the best service. Sometimes I sneak more money to the waitress while he is not looking and I feel better. I was a waitress for a short time and I know what hard work it is. Waitess and other service people only earn a very tiny salary. It is the tips that really pay them. So tip accordingly when you eat a nice meal in Orlando or anywhere else over here. Have a great day its 8:25 AM here and the sun is shining and I'm going for a walk in awhile. I hear Orlando is hot and humid. What else is new for Florida in the (almost)summer.

 

[mf1973]

Where in the US was this place that added on a tip? I have never had this happen to me here in the US but in France wow did we make mistakes. It was only on the plane ride home that I found out that the tip is automatically added. I never saw any notes on the bills about tips being included so I thought we should leave a tip. This was okay for most of the places we went because the serving people were very good. However, when we ate the restaurant at the top of the George Pompidu (SP???) the waiter was arogant and downright surly. He looked down at us and distianfully took our order. In fact some of the servers in this place openly laughed at my New York High School French and began to parrot me. We left an outrageous tip, I think because we were intimidated by the whole thing, only to find out this guy ending up with around a 35% tip! Most everyone else helped me with my French and were happy I tried to speak their language. They also all spoke some English which helped immensely. Our sign language also got a little better this trip with us acting out a lot of things we didn't know the French for.

As far as the food plan, I didn't know they changed it. It was so super expensive that I always told people not to take it. I am glad they revamped that program. The problem with prepaid meals is that I eat too much and then I get mad at myself. Then of course I get over it and eat a little more.

Most places in the US do not automatically add "tip", "gratuity", or "service" charge to a bill. It is only usually added automatcially if you have a large party (and even that's not a general rule.) Greater than 6 or 8 people in the party. It will usually state it at the bottom of the menu if tip is automatically calculated.

 

[wendye]

I'm advising you no restaurant in the United States, even Cracker Barrell, adds a service charge of any type. You should leave 15% to 20% tip for sit down restaurants and 10-15% for a buffet.

What may have confused you is if you have a coupon.

Well they did in this instance, it may well be that they asked us if we wanted to do this first I can't remember, but I do distinctly remember it being on there as it was listed after the total at the end (I can't remember the percentage though). Anyhow this won't arise again because we know now so no matter I just hope we didn't insult anyone by not knowing at the time. As far as the coupons are concerned no it wasn't anything to do with those because we didn't actually find any of the restaurants we had coupons for (well it was our first time and the roads round there are somewhat intimidating especially when you are driving on the opposite side!). Also it wasn't because of our group size either we were a family group of 4 I think they just did it to make it easier for us. I remember telling them that it was out first time so I think they were just being helpful and we saw the same waitressing staff each time afterwards so they probably remembered us. As I say no matter we know now and we are very grateful for the help.

 

[Rain]

mmmmmmm, I have heard of lots of occasions when service charges have been added to the bill.

One server told my friend that they have started to do this sometimes with Brits as we are known to be poor tippers!

I usually tip the acceptable amounts after first checking the bill now.

15 - 20 % for good service.


I must admit that I don't think any of our bills have had the tip included

 

[Richard Bruvofetc]

There is one on I-Drive (name escapes me for the moment - renowned for its steaks - lots of wood inside - approx half mile south of Holiday Inn) which had service included. This was actually written on the menu.

We got there at 7.00pm and ordered. At 8.15pm we still hadn't been served, where people around us had been, even those ordering half an hour after us.
At 7.30pm I questioned the waiter. At 7.45pm I question the waiter. At 8.00pm I questioned the waiter. At 8.15pm I asked to see the manager. This was our second day there and my 10 year old DD was both starving and falling asleep. They finally brought the food at 8.30pm. They were a little surprised at 9.00pm when we said we didn't want a sweet; DD was out on her feet. I asked for the bill, and if looks could kill when I sent it back and told them to remove the service charge.....


.... I left them the customery 1 cent tip showing them my disgust at their service.

 

[Richard Bruvofetc]

There is one on I-Drive (name escapes me for the moment - renowned for its steaks - lots of wood inside - approx half mile south of Holiday Inn) which had service included. This was actually written on the menu.

We got there at 7.00pm and ordered. At 8.15pm we still hadn't been served, where people around us had been, even those ordering half an hour after us.
At 7.30pm I questioned the waiter. At 7.45pm I question the waiter. At 8.00pm I questioned the waiter. At 8.15pm I asked to see the manager. This was our second day there and my 10 year old DD was both starving and falling asleep. They finally brought the food at 8.30pm. They were a little surprised at 9.00pm when we said we didn't want a sweet; DD was out on her feet. I asked for the bill, and if looks could kill when I sent it back and told them to remove the service charge.....


.... I left them the customery 1 cent tip showing them my disgust at their service.

....it's just come to me:

Wild Jacks

Having had two holidays to Florida and many business trips to the States this is the only place I have experienced bad service.

 

[kpfran]

a very big thankyou to you all for your information and help.

we are staying at the Port Orleans Riverside and correct me if i am wrong but from what you are all saying, if i use Boatwrights i give a tip ,whereas as planned if we mostly have breakfasts in the Riverside Mill counter service food hall we are not expected to tip.

regards Kevin

 

[steve_rob]

I'm advising you no restaurant in the United States, even Cracker Barrell, adds a service charge of any type.

It may not be the restaurant's policy, but I've been in LOADS of places all over the US, where on hearing I have a British accent, the waitress (or waiter, but normally they have been female for some reason!) writes in on the bill a "suggested tip" and that is added on to the total. Now I am a regular tipper when I'm over there, and normally a good one at that, so this really annoys me.

Once I did actually call someone on it and said something like, "yes I know I'm British and some of my countrymen aren't familiar with tipping, but I am and I'd be grateful if you didn't assume the worst about everybody. I'll decide how much I want to tip thank you."

She walked off with a red face, I felt really bad about making a scene and so I ended up leaving an even bigger tip than I'd planned almost as an apology (up until then, the service had been really good).

But the main reason I like to be able to choose how much I tip is because I will always first add on the 10 or 15%, then round it up to the next dollar, so I don't get masses of shrapnel (i.e. change). The last thing I need is a pocket full of one-cent coins I can't get rid of!

 

[vernon]

I'm advising you no restaurant in the United States, even Cracker Barrell, adds a service charge of any type. You should leave 15% to 20% tip for sit down restaurants and 10-15% for a buffet.

Sorry you're wrong, I've had this happen MANY times in Miami ( and it's happening in Orlando now). In Miami this happened at Emeril's on Collin's , Cafe Cardoza on Ocean Drive and a couple of the street cafes on Ocean Drive whose names escape me. Most of these places mentioned the fact the service charge was added was printed ( in very small letters on the back page of the menus) to "advise" the guest but this wasn't pointed out by the waitstaff. Granted this was Xmas week so maybe this was a "special holiday season" thing, but I remember "catching" a number of restaurants pulling this last time I visited in early December.

There are MANY restaurants that will do this as a matter of course on groups over a certain size, usually I've seen this as 8 or more, but I have seen it with smaller numbers. In the cases I mentioned we were a table of two.

Here's a link to a Canadian information website that warns people to check if a service charge is already added to bills, I found many UK based information pages ( last minute.com etc) that offered similar warnings. The pertinant comment is uually along the lines of "service is not USUALLY added to a bill, but do check each location as there are a small number of restaurants or locations where this is done" . Here's the link and the relevant paragraph
http://www.gonorthwest.com/Visitor/planning/USA_tips.htm#tipping

Tipping
Like Canada, in the USA it is customary to tip for services such as restaurants, bars and pubs, taxis and hairdressers. Usually 15%, although the amount can range from 10% to 20% at the discretion of the person paying the bill. Always check whether a service charge was included in a restaurant bill, especially if paying by credit card, as this is the tip.

Icydog, if you Americans have no idea of what actually happens in your own country, what chance do you think we visitors have

 

[icydog]

Sorry you're wrong, I've had this happen MANY times in Miami ( and it's happening in Orlando now). In Miami this happened at Emeril's on Collin's , Cafe Cardoza on Ocean Drive and a couple of the street cafes on Ocean Drive whose names escape me. Most of these places mentioned the fact the service charge was added was printed ( in very small letters on the back page of the menus) to "advise" the guest but this wasn't pointed out by the waitstaff. Granted this was Xmas week so maybe this was a "special holiday season" thing, but I remember "catching" a number of restaurants pulling this last time I visited in early December.

There are MANY restaurants that will do this as a matter of course on groups over a certain size, usually I've seen this as 8 or more, but I have seen it with smaller numbers. In the cases I mentioned we were a table of two.

Here's a link to a Canadian information website that warns people to check if a service charge is already added to bills, I found many UK based information pages ( last minute.com etc) that offered similar warnings. The pertinant comment is uually along the lines of "service is not USUALLY added to a bill, but do check each location as there are a small number of restaurants or locations where this is done" . Here's the link and the relevant paragraph
http://www.gonorthwest.com/Visitor/planning/USA_tips.htm#tipping

Icydog, if you Americans have no idea of what actually happens in your own country, what chance do you think we visitors have

I certainly do have an idea of what happens in my country, and again I must reiterate I have never been charged a service fee in the US and I am 58 years old. But after reading your posts I am upset that owners discriminate against Brits and add it automatically. I wonder why Miami and Orlando are different from the rest of the US. I visit Orlando at least 5 times a year since we are DVC owners and have not encountered forced tipping. But I don't disagree that maybe you have encountered it. I am surprised and annoyed that restaurants that deal with tourists day in and day out are pulling this stuff. What might work better would be a note on the menu, like the one we found at Perkins in Lake Buena Vista, that shows suggested tipping schedules.
I would have welcomed a tip guide in Paris that's for sure.
I didn't mean that you were being disingenuous in your remarks, I thought someone made a mistake. I would have a fit if a tip was added to my bill, and like the poster who left 1% for poor service, I would do the same. I would also demand that any gratuity that was added by the managment be withdrawn. It is the height of presumption to do something like this here. I might take this thread over to the US DVC Board and see if anyone else had this happen.

Marylyn