To Tip or Not to Tip...That is the Question.

[Minnie&Nana]

To Dawnflower:

Sorry! Tried to delete my post, but could not.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Regarding towel animals, we got two animals at WL last week. Never before and in the past we've stayed at Pop, AKL, WL, Poly, CR, CSR, and CBR. I was SO excited when I saw the towel animals--my DH thought that I was loosing it!

We do tip $1/person per day. I have been known to forget, but try to remember. That $ will not break my budget and can add up for the person cleaning the room. If I want to budget I do it in other ways.

T&B

 

[Dawnflower]

OK, this is my last comment on this subject ever! Darn it I am so mad at myself for even commenting on this thread because I know it really is a hot button for a lot of people and we all have very strong feelings about this and I know better than to get involved.

As far as the college degree comment, let me clarify, I am saying that we have people that have college degrees that make less money than some people who are in some of the tipped positions and IMHO a person who teaches children or takes care of my health should make a higher salary than IMHO pretty much anybody else. I don't mean that to be an all inclusive statement but with very few exceptions this is MHO.

To me it is not relevant whether or not a bellman, housekeeper or waitress has a degree or not. My issue is that in order to quailfy for these positions, no degree needed, so again IMHO they should not make the same salary of someone with a college degree! In some cases they make more!

I actually love to tip anyone who makes my experience more enjoyable, it makes me feel good and I do it not out of a feeling of guilt for not, but out of a feeling of enjoyment for making the person who has made me happy..happy.

Ok I am going to WDW in a few hours and I will tip what I feel is appropriate for the service I receive!!

You all have a fantastic week as I sure know I am going to!!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Dawnflower, in general I agree with you. I don't think that teachers get paid nearly what they deserve. There are other jobs that many people don't want to do, ie housekeeping, that tend to get paid a premium since it's a generally a difficult, dirty job. Not to say that it requires great skill or have the importance that a teacher does, but given the choice I'd sure choose teaching.


And, BTW, I do "tip" teachers. I make homemade cookies every holiday season and pass some on to the teachers and at the end of every school year and give a generous gift certificate to a book store. That is in addition to any class gifts that may be given to the teachers. I've heard parents comment that they're not going to give a teacher present because they, for some reason, don't think the teacher is worthy. Sad!

Bottom line is that everyone should tip if and when they are comfortable tipping and when they think the service warrants a tip. That won't be the same for every person.

Now if I can just get my DH and kids to tip me for cleaning this house!!!

T&B

 

[Dawnflower]

Tigger&Belle!! I'll second that emotion!!

We also make/buy gifts for our local Firehouse, mailman, and the teachers!

I tell my DH that I am going to start a SAHM's union and then he won't be able to afford me anymore!!



I'm packin, and dancin!! whooo hooo



FYI I went to see "Cats farewell tour" last night!! If anyone gets a chance to see this, its a great delight!!

month and a half till "Chicago" can't wait!!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Dawnflower


Have a wonderful vacation!!

You're right the tipping issue always gets heated responses and living in the Northeast I get my feathers a bit too ruffled when I perceive someone kind of looking down on anyone who might not have a degree. Not that you did that!!!

I guess I just don't think housekeepers working at Disney make much money and I've always figured the tips help.

You are all correct in saying that tipping should be for services rendered. But then I wonder which services??? LOL Basic? More? Changing my bed? It gets confusing!

We have so many more important issue to have fun discussing!!

Like where are you staying this time and how long do you get to be in the magic??!!

Have a truly "magical" vacation!!

 

[DisOrBust]

I agree the tipping is a bit out of control. I personally got angry when my friend who is a financial planner gets his yearly "bonus" to Jamacia for the mediocre(SP?) job he does. I got to work as an L&D RN' ressitate a newborn, and where is my bonus??? . BUT, this is the profession I have chose. There my be little monitary benefits but it has others.....I think teachers think on the same lines.

 

[flyball]

Originally posted by BaciBecky
P.S.

This yr, for the first time, I made up envelopes before I left so the tip did not have to come out of my funds once I was there. It helped a lot and I did not have to think about it again - just put out an envelope every morning before we left the room!

Read that idea somewhere on these Boards

Thanks!!

This is an excellent idea, and I wish we had read about it before our last trip. It didn't even occur to me that our room wasn't being cleaned by the same person each day. We'd leave $20 on the pillow every two to three days (family of four extremely neat people, due to the fact that Mom, aka Flyball, gets wacky if things are out of place or, heaven forbid, dirty)!!! When you have access to charging everything to the room, you don't think about cash that much, so we kept having to leave large bills because we didn't have anything smaller on hand!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Originally posted by DisOrBust
I agree the tipping is a bit out of control. I personally got angry when my friend who is a financial planner gets his yearly "bonus" to Jamacia for the mediocre(SP?) job he does. I got to work as an L&D RN' ressitate a newborn, and where is my bonus??? . BUT, this is the profession I have chose. There my be little monitary benefits but it has others.....I think teachers think on the same lines.

You know the bonus that you get in your job!!! The mediocre financial planner knows that he's not REALLY making important life or death decisions in his job, hence the bonus.

Any financial planners out there...don't flame me! lol My DH has a well paying job, but nothing that contributes to the health, safety, or education of others (doesn't get those great bonuses, though) so I'm not saying that all jobs should or need to be life-altering.

The rewards that teachers, those in the health care industries, etc, is wonderful. For teachers you can see it in the eyes of the students you are helping.

DisOrBust, I know that you get a wonderful bonus in the gratitude from the parents! Of course that doesn't pay for a WDW trip (bummer), but it's more important and something that will stay with you forever!

Dawnflower, if I don't stop these WDW trips my DH won't be able to afford me! Have a great trip!

T&B

 

[CindyAnn]

We leave $5 per day for our reasonably tidy familiy of 4. I think we've been really lucky with towel animals - several nights at the Poly, several nights at AKL, the Wonder, the Magic (maybe everyone gets them on board ship?) and at least one of the value resorts - POP, I think. Some of them are regular towel animals and others of them are the kind that are sewn together and have eyes or other features added. Other times the children's stuffed animals are moved around to do special things. One night at the Poly, mousekeeping left a Disney beanie baby for each of the two children (bigger tip the next morning, as you can imagine). I guess we must have good mousekeeping karma or maybe it's all to offset that time at CBR when NOBODY came to clean our room.

 

[raidermatt]

Yes, teachers are underpaid.

However I can't figure out how my lack of tipping would change that.

I guess if I'm making a choice to tip mousekeeping INSTEAD of supporting teachers and education, there'd be a good point there. But that's not the case with me, and I doubt its the case with anybody else here.

So, yes, we tip Mousekeeping, as well as housekeeping at other hotels. Usually $5 per day for the three of us.

Sometimes we get "special" treatment, like towel animals, sometimes we don't. On the last day of our last trip to Maui, the maid gave us two of the hotel robes.

Its only money. If we can afford to stay in places like WDW and HI, we can afford to help out the people who are tending to our personal needs, making our beds, taking out our trash, cleaning our toilet, etc, etc.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

raidermatt


Well said!!!!

Thank you!!

 

[Lewisc]

Originally posted by raidermatt
Yes, teachers are underpaid.

However I can't figure out how my lack of tipping would change that.

I guess if I'm making a choice to tip mousekeeping INSTEAD of supporting teachers and education, there'd be a good point there. But that's not the case with me, and I doubt its the case with anybody else here.

......

VERY WELL SAID.

I can't understand what other people are paid, or even the compensation of service workers, has to do with tipping appropriately for services rendered.

Disney doesn't list housekeeping as a "tipped" positions so people who chose not to tip have a basis for their position but some of the posters extend this discussion to waiters and bellhops. The fact that teachers may be underpaid in some areas has nothing to do with what the waiter should be tipped.

 

[totalia]

A tip is NOT to make up for someones low wage. A tip is meant for only fantastic service above and beyond the call of duty. You going to start tipping the cashier at Burger King next because they only make about $7 an hour?

Hey, I only make about $8. Come tip me. I don't make enough. If thats all that it requires for you to tip, then why in the world should housekeeping get a tip and yet I don't working the front desk (housekeeping makes more money than I do btw, just on their base wage) at a hotel?
------------------------------------------

You mean there are people who gets bonus'? We don't get that no matter how good a job we do. If we do a good job, there is a general letter that basically says "job well done" that is posted on all the bulleton boards at work.
------------------------------------------

People now figure that tipping is part of a persons wage when it shouldn't be.

Tipping is supposed to be an encouragement and a thank you for doing an outstanding job beyond the call of duty of what you were hired for NOT to make up on wages. Its the practice of tipping, whether the person deserves it or not, thats caused problems for alot of people like waitresses in the United States (I know never to be a waitress now after the laws I've been hearing about. In Canada it would have been tolerable but not in the United States for any reason) where the employer has them working almost for free.

If someone wants a tip, then give me exceptional service and it won't be any 20%. Ettiquete says only 10%, not 20%. 20 is much too excessive.

 

[Lewisc]

I'm not sure where you're from but in most of the United States your post is factually incorrect. Restaurants are allowed by law to pay waiters substantially less than minimum wage BECAUSE TIPS are the major source of their income. In the past some (most?) waiters weren't declaring all their tips as income. The internal revenue service imputes tip income equal to 15%.

Tips not salaries are the basis of compensation. The few times I've found it appropriate to tip below 15% (for horrible service) I made sure that I complained to management about the poor service. People who don't tip a "tipped" worker are literally expecting the person to serve them without being paid. Etiquette doesn't say 10%, that number is made up by people. Tipping guideline and irs policy indicates 15% is the appropriate tip for reasonable service and 20% is an appropriate tip for exceptional service. When you check in Disney gives you a resort brochure that lists the appropriate ranges for tipping.

More restaurants are adding mandatory service charges to larger parties.

Originally posted by totalia
A tip is NOT to make up for someones low wage. A tip is meant for only fantastic service above and beyond the call of duty. You going to start tipping the cashier at Burger King next because they only make about $7 an hour?
.....-------------------------------------

People now figure that tipping is part of a persons wage when it shouldn't be.

Tipping is supposed to be an encouragement and a thank you for doing an outstanding job beyond the call of duty of what you were hired for NOT to make up on wages. Its the practice of tipping, whether the person deserves it or not, thats caused problems for alot of people like waitresses in the United States (I know never to be a waitress now after the laws I've been hearing about. In Canada it would have been tolerable but not in the United States for any reason) where the employer has them working almost for free.

If someone wants a tip, then give me exceptional service and it won't be any 20%. Ettiquete says only 10%, not 20%. 20 is much too excessive.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Lewisc wrote...."Tipping guideline and irs policy indicates 15% is the appropriate tip for reasonable service and 20% is an appropriate tip for exceptional service."

Once again..another VERY WELL SAID !!!

BTW - how do you make the font bold?? I cannot remember everything quoted to write it in that little box..and if I click "bold" it shows a next to the quote when it posts!

 

[floridagirrl2]

I'm an RN and I don't have any problems with people tipping hairstylists, servers, housekeeping, etc. Yes, there may be a FEW workers in these categories who make more than I do (although my personal hairstylist averages only $10/hour including tips, because he doesn't get paid when there are no customers, but he still has to stay in the shop), but the VAST MAJORITY of people in these positions make very little money.

My best friend in college was a cocktail waitress and she averaged less than minimum wage INCLUDING tips, for the same reason my hairstylist makes such little money--she still had to be there even when there were very few customers. Plus many customers don't tip at all.

I would feel like a real cheapskate if I didn't tip. Plus, it makes me feel GOOD to tip--if I can make someone's day by giving them a decent tip, why not do it?? Like DH and I say to each other, if the difference between a good tip and a great tip is just a few dollars, why not give someone a great tip and make their day?? And believe me, our local restaurant personnel recognize us (because we tip so well) and make sure we get great service.

And don't forget karma!! Hopefully I have good karma since I save lives for a living AND tip well!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Originally posted by floridagirrl2
... it makes me feel GOOD to tip--if I can make someone's day by giving them a decent tip, why not do it?? Like DH and I say to each other, if the difference between a good tip and a great tip is just a few dollars, why not give someone a great tip and make their day??
And don't forget karma!! Hopefully I have good karma since I save lives for a living AND tip well!

Gives me the warm fuzzies!! Thank you for your GOOD thoughts!!!

Christine

 

[Judy from Boise]

we also tip $1/pp/pd.
We do not do it out of obligation, we really do it to share our happiness that we can afford to take a vaction in a beautiful place, that we have good jobs and good health.
We taught our DD that tipping well is just like saying the blessing prior to eating.....it is just an aknowledgement that we are so blessed that we like to share with the people that touch our lives when providing service.

 

[floridagirrl2]

Originally posted by Judy from Boise

We do not do it out of obligation, we really do it to share our happiness that we can afford to take a vaction in a beautiful place, that we have good jobs and good health.
We taught our DD that tipping well is just like saying the blessing prior to eating.....it is just an aknowledgement that we are so blessed that we like to share with the people that touch our lives when providing service.

Hear, hear! {sound of hands clapping}