To Tip or Not To Tip (long)

[mistysue]

I've been a server. I've known and been friends with/dated servers. I know they make crappy base pay.

I should probably have specified that I am referring more to disney servers, not real world ones. If we go to Crystal Palace and get out 45 minutes later- I feel silly that I have to leave somebody $20 for it to be an average tip. There is just no reason in my mind that it makes sense for that server to be being left $80-100/hour just because they are waiting tables in a vacation spot. I know, they might tip people out, I know that location might report a certain % to the IRS, but those issues are restaurant specific so you can't assume that every server is really only making min. wage when you know their tips there are CRAZY.

Regardless of where, % doesn't seem like a good system for judging what your server was worth to you.

We go out to breakfast on Sundays, the check is usually around $15 but I start our tip at $5, then go up if it is unusually good. My ordering oatmeal does not somehow mean my server is worth less than if I ordered an omelette, and I tip for what the person does for me. My breakfast servers at home do more work than the ones at our disney buffets so I almost feel like I am betraying the girls at home by leaving 4x as much for their tip because the food prices are inflated.

Maybe you don't realize that server's only get paid $2.35 an hour..........I have been a server for 11yrs. and a darn good one. I try my hardest to make sure everyone that I serve has a WONDERFUL experence. There is no way I could take care of my family only making $2.35 an hour. I LIVE off of my tips. I truley belive that most people THINK that servers make minimum wage......WE DON'T!!!!!!!!!

 

[TinkerbellinLouisian]

OP - My tipping falls pretty much in line with yours....

My First Job (at age 16) was Cleaning hotel rooms at a Beach Resort.

I seldom received tips...the only tip I remember receiving was when a guest had the "Do Not Clean" sign on their door. Right as I was about to leave the hall to clock out...they asked me to clean their room anyway... (IT was my mothers Birthday and I was hoping to make it home for her Birthday celebration). I cleaned their room...and the guy gave me $7 tip. I believe I was earning $3.15 per hour back then ( am 44 now...so that was practically when dinosaurs roamed the earth).

I HAVE tipped for Mousekeeping before though...for special things like when we had Towel animals when we returned...just not regularly.

I have also waitressed before...and I think it is due to that experience that I tip VERY well... 20% at all times... and 15% with not-so-good service. I tipped $15 on a $60 tab at PF Changs Saturday.

It does discourage me to see those "waiting for trouble" on this thread... I suppose it can be expected...but one hopes that folks "Behave" themselves and I do feel it's a valid question....

HUGS -

Mary

 

[HMGar]

I tip for people who earn a tip (in my opinion) by going above and beyond the call of duty to see my needs are met. I also tip for those whom I know are making less because their employer expects that their paid income will be supplemented with tips.


Here's what we've experienced with MouseKeeping. We didn't tip them. We didn't get towel characters on our bed. One morning we did leave a tip (we left in a hurry and things weren't as picked up as I typically leave them and I felt badly). We returned to towel characters on our bed. During this same stay, our family got sick - SUPER sick. We spent time in Orlando's children hospital. It was awful. When we returned to the resort after our hospital stay, our mousekeepers got a run for their money bringing us extra towels, washcloths, and bedding and carrying away the umm well, the used ones. We tipped them - A LOT. They did more than was traditionally expected, did it quickly, did it multiple times without complaining, offered us other things to help make our stay more comfortable, and were extremely helpful to us. Our first night back, they ran to our room several times and we tipped whomever came each time. Eventually one of them actually said it wasn't necessary, but we tipped anyway and told them they were earning every penny since we would be at a great disadvantage if they weren't helping us out in such a timely, helpful fashion.

During our last trip, DH and I tipped 2 of the 6 nights we stayed. Both of those times, nothing special was done with our room. In fact we had to call for more towels since they didn't leave enough.

One morning before any tips were ever left, we received cute towel characters on our bed.

These experiences just left me confused.

 

[HMGar]

Thank you Mary!

 

[jctwizzer]

just another two cents worth:

If your making less than minimum wage because tipping is considered
part of your compensation, I'll tip you. This includes wait staff, valets, etc.

If your making in excess of minimum wage, then tipping isn't viewed
as part of your compensation, and I don't tip. And, based on that, I
never have understood how tipping for housekeeping became an expected
practice. I can see why people do it, but not why its expected.

JMHO

 

[MHTeacher]

Can someone PLEASE pass the popcorn!

Here...........You can share with me

 

[Princess654]

It never dawned on me to tip housekeeping (haven't stayed at disney yet) most of the time we do weekend trips and are only there for 2 nights - I also leave the room cleaned up and most of the time make the bed. I like to leave a tidy room so that housekeeping doesn't think I am a slob LOL.

As for dining - i tip based on service/total bill. If the service is great I will over-tip and if the service is horrible I have also been known to leave pennies. I am picky about my dining experience - I want my drink to be filled when it's just about empty and I want the food to come out together (or my daughters to come out a few minutes before - NOT AFTER mine). I am really excited if they correct a mistake quickly and if the waiter/waitress is personable. Especially if I am having trouble deciding and they offer something that they know is good.

Bus driver - it's his job to drive me from one place to the other. If he goes out of his way to help with my bags then I will give him $1-2 total not per bag, but I guess I am a bit cheap there.

I hope this thread doesn't get closed I like the info (and obviously need some of it LOL)

 

[wisnieea]

It's interesting that you think the ME is common knowledge as a tipped position, but not the mousekeeping... the ME bus driver is also unloading bags because that is his job. I never heard of tipping them until this thread actually but I've always heard you are supposed to tip housekeeping at hotels.

I worked as a barista at a starbucks and I always thought it was stupid that we got tips... then again, I wouldn't be a waitress if I wanted to make more than minimum wage. It bugs me to see servers getting 20% on $100 checks when the meals lasts an hour- and then to know they have at least 4 or 5 tables. I don't think waitressing warrants that sort of pay when actual skilled workers are making less than that. There is some skill that can come from experience serving, but the average server- most are not skilled at all but fell into the job. A good coffee shop barista has to be able to do more for you than your server does.

I wrote an extremely long and heated response to this but I decided its better not to post it.

Instead I an just going to say, my mother, is university educated and a server by choice (because it just works for her) She IS a SKILLED WORKER in what she does. And myself, a university student working my butt of serving people to pay my way through college is too. Being a server is extremely difficult and extends way beyond dropping things off at a table.

Until you have actually worked in a particular job I think it is unfair to make assumptions and insult the skill level involed in it.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I wrote an extremely long and heated response to this but I decided its better not to post it.

Instead I an just going to say, my mother, is university educated and a server by choice (because it just works for her) She IS a SKILLED WORKER in what she does. And myself, a university student working my butt of serving people to pay my way through college is too. Being a server is extremely difficult and extends way beyond dropping things off at a table.

Until you have actually worked in a particular job I think it is unfair to make assumptions and insult the skill level involed in it.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I think anybody who does a job I would refuse to do should make more money than me.

 

[tiredsigh]

*I* don't tip housekeeping, but I also typically do not want housekeeping to come by the room to clean. I will catch them when they are in the halls to ask for extra towels, soap, etc. from the cart. I just like leaving my stuff where I want it and not feeling like I have to clean up every morning

As far as restaurant servers go: I do make a small distinction between buffets and traditional table service when tipping. But, I am also a tipper who tips at least 20% of total bill AFTER tax which is almost 10% sales tax here. That's my low point for mediocre service though.

 

[luvthemouse71]

Tipping to me is personal..don't tip if you don't want to..me, I choose to tip because I feel the Mousekeepers deserve it..lots of piggy people, KWIM?

But, I'm not going to look down on someone if they don't tip. Do what you want.

 

[surfergirl602]

I don't understand many of the controversial subjects on this site. THIS is one of them.

Tip if you want.

Don't tip if you don't want.

END OF DISCUSSION.

thank you!! I cannot figure out, for the life of me, why this subject goes round and round and round over and over and over again!

 

[TinkerbellinLouisian]

Thank you Mary!

You are welcome! If most folks would "mind their manners" on here....they wouldn't be eating their weight in popcorn!

I think anybody who does a job I would refuse to do should make more money than me.

Well - YOU DO test underwear for a living (according to your AVATAR)...so I suppose that is true!


Mary


"A Dream is a WIsh Your Heart Makes"!

 

[disney_bob]

Did you do a job that exceeds the expectations of your position?
Yes? I'll tip you.
No? I won't tip you.

I really don't care if you only make minimum wage or less. If you don't perform well I don't feel I should be forced to reward you with money I earned performing well. "Doing your job" (and this includes bringing things on time and being attentive for you waiters/waitresses out there) isn't grounds for tipping.


... I'm all talk, I tip anyway.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Well - YOU DO test underwear for a living (according to your AVATAR)

Heh, I should probably change than. Although then this quote wouldn't make any sense.

 

[TinkerbellinLouisian]

Heh, I should probably change than. Although then this quote wouldn't make any sense.

Well - I suppose you SHOULD change your underwear....I always tell the kids to make sure their underwear is CLEAN. I mean....You never know when you'll be in a Traffic Accident....
Mary

 

[EclecticWAHM]

I wrote an extremely long and heated response to this but I decided its better not to post it.

Instead I an just going to say, my mother, is university educated and a server by choice (because it just works for her) She IS a SKILLED WORKER in what she does. And myself, a university student working my butt of serving people to pay my way through college is too. Being a server is extremely difficult and extends way beyond dropping things off at a table.

Until you have actually worked in a particular job I think it is unfair to make assumptions and insult the skill level involed in it.

Yanno, I have to agree with this. I've been a server and I've been in skilled positions in the corporate world...I've done all types of jobs, really. On the one hand, sure...it doesn't take much skill to take an order, deliver some drinks and food and clean up. It DOES, however, take a lot of skill to do it in such a way that your guests feel well taken care of. It takes skill to read a table and know whether they just want you to drop the food and leave them alone or whether they need extra attention or something in between. It takes skill to deal with the kind of people you come across when you're serving - it takes skill to smile and give the same level of service to a complete jerk as you do to the really nice people. Some servers are pretty unskilled and don't understand what truly providing a service means- we've all come across them from time to time, but I think they aren't the majority. To dismiss servers as unskilled workers is pretty insulting to the many, many servers who are very skilled in taking care of people.

 

[Carl Fredricksen]

I'm fairly new to the board, so this is my first chance to join the fray on this subject...

I tip only based on the service I receive. It is not automatic, just because of the hourly wage of the person or the job they have chosen. MouseKeeping, Servers, ME drivers, all the same. I don't know what base pay they make, but if they truly go above and beyond to make us feel at home, they get some cash for helping out. None of those is automatic IMO, especially at a restaurant. It is a service related position, and if my water glass is empty to the point that I am eating without a drink, bye-bye tip.

DW and I went on a Royal Caribbean cruise awhile back, and the ship personnel were not paid any wages, only the tips they received at the end of the week. The service we got was spectacular, and I tipped accordingly. I don't expect a song and dance everytime I sit down for a meal, but good attentive service deserves some recognition. Marginal or poor service get's nothing.

My rule has always been, that if you want a person or business to really listen to you, you have to speak through your wallet....

 

[Glencora]

Here...........You can share with me

You must be thirsty after all that popcorn....here ya go!