What Disney uses for a standard gratuity

[LarryJ]

Based on receipts from 2 HDR, one Spirite of Aloha, and one CRT where the gratuity is part of the included cost Disney uses 15% as what they think the gratuity should be and not the 18% or 20% you often see as suggestions on typical restaurant receipts and where the menus only say 18% is for parties of 6 (?) or more. I find this interesting and somewhat telling

Larry

 

[clkelley]

Based on receipts from 2 HDR, one Spirite of Aloha, and one CRT where the gratuity is part of the included cost Disney uses 15% as what they think the gratuity should be and not the 18% or 20% you often see as suggestions on typical restaurant receipts and where the menus only say 18% is for parties of 6 (?) or more. I find this interesting and somewhat telling

Larry

All of those dinners include a picture, so I bet they are subtracting the value of the picture and charging 18% of the value of the meal/entertainment.

 

[LarryJ]

All of those dinners include a picture, so I bet they are subtracting the value of the picture and charging 18% of the value of the meal/entertainment.

Well I got ripped since in the last two years only CRT included a picture and even there the 15% gratuity included in the fixed price is only on the food and not applied to the picture. I went thru heck two years ago trying to figure out what the DDE at the time should be at CRT since it was less than what is normal and that was because the 18% (or 15%) gratuity and 20% discount was only on the food before tax and excluded the cost value of the included picture. I've never had a pic included at either the Spirit of Aloha or the HDR. At the Spirit of Aloha IIRC they took off 20% and then only added on 15% gratuity to that cost and not 18% as stated on the DDE at time. That might have been a mistake, but hey.

Larry

 

[retired and happy]

This is somewhat humorous, but I found this in Wikipedia.

(Worldwide): a gratuity (a voluntary additional payment made for services rendered)

Are these percentages really voluntary?

And in years gone by, a tip was for good service, and was whatever you wanted to give based on how good you thought the service was.

I guess I'm just getting old.

 

[Born 2 Fish]

As a rule, table service restaurants strive to give you their/a certain standard good service and food. In most cases, the sevice tends to be the same, but the food prices are different.
Many people will argue with me on this, BUT, if I eat the exact same "surf'n turf" at two restaurants and the service is the same,,why should the higher price restaurant get the better tip ???
Or better yet, what if the service isnt as good as at the lesser priced restaurant??Does the higher price restaurant still get the bigger tip ??

NOT IN MY BOOK ! I dont care where I eat, YOU WILL BE TIPPED ON YOUR SERVICE.

 

[North7]

When the dining reservation is for 8 or more people, an 18% gratuity is automatically added to the bill. It was added to every meal we had this past summer except for Hoop Dee Doo (which has the gratuity included in the price).

 

[des1954]

Last Friday we ate at the Biergarten & used the TiW card. An 18% gratuity was automatically added to the discounted price - which was fine by me, as I usually tip 20% on the full amount.

 

[clkelley]

Well I got ripped since in the last two years only CRT included a picture and even there the 15% gratuity included in the fixed price is only on the food and not applied to the picture. I went thru heck two years ago trying to figure out what the DDE at the time should be at CRT since it was less than what is normal and that was because the 18% (or 15%) gratuity and 20% discount was only on the food before tax and excluded the cost value of the included picture. I've never had a pic included at either the Spirit of Aloha or the HDR. At the Spirit of Aloha IIRC they took off 20% and then only added on 15% gratuity to that cost and not 18% as stated on the DDE at time. That might have been a mistake, but hey.

Larry

You are right, sorry. Pictures are offered at Hoop De Doo and the Luau, but not included. You know, the gratuity has been included in the price of those eateries for so long that somebody just hasn't updated the computer files lately. I'm betting that's all it is.

 

[AuburnJen92]

The BS about the mandatory gratuity is the reason I no longer have TiW.

I find the service to be a factor when I leave a tip, not the fact that I have a discount card. (That I paid a good amount of money for....)

 

[des1954]

The BS about the mandatory gratuity is the reason I no longer have TiW.

I find the service to be a factor when I leave a tip, not the fact that I have a discount card. (That I paid a good amount of money for....)

I felt that way too, Jen. But then I figured we use TiW mostly at food courts and non full-service restaurants, so we're still ahead of the game. I usually leave a 20% tip for a server - even at a buffet - so I'm saving about 22% using the TiW card when we dine at a full-service restaurant. Plus - you get free valet parking at resorts when you show them the receipt for the dinner bill. The other thing I missed about TiW were the special events. There are a couple that I really enjoyed going to. If we didn't live so close to WDW, I probably wouldn't bother with the card.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Just recently there was a lawsuit locally involving two college students who refused to pay the 18% gratuity that was automatically added to their tab at a restaurant that gave them bad service. They were actually arrested, but all charges were dropped and the suit was settled. They were on Good Morning America and a couple other morning shows that broadcast nationally.

I stick to the 15% gratuity in general. I can't see justifying any more than that unless the service was better than average. I have some friends that try to convince me that a higher percentage is necessary due to inflation, but the cost of the meal went up, too, so the percentage should remain the same. I also lower the tip for bad service. I sort of understand Disney adding the tip since they deal with people from all over the world whose culture may not include tipping at restaurants (when I was in Germany, if a tip was given it was just rounding the bill up to the nearest mark so amounted to pennies, but normally no tip was given nor was one expected).

 

[motherwild]

I don't understand 18%-20% on a buffet.

 

[IslandHtsCampers]

I have found out that when an establishment automatically charges a gratuity(usually 15-20%) for larger parties, the server usually doesn't recieve the gratuity. The gratuity is held by the establishment for added work on the kitchen to prepare those additional meals in sync. I usually tip 15% and then go up to 20% for exceptional service or down to 10% or lower for subpar service.

 

[LarryJ]

The BS about the mandatory gratuity is the reason I no longer have TiW.

I find the service to be a factor when I leave a tip, not the fact that I have a discount card. (That I paid a good amount of money for....)

I understand your feelings but even w/o the card you still have to pay just the cost of the meal like you do with TiW and with it a tip is included so for us and about $2200 worth of food costs $75 in total tips makes financial sense.

Larry

 

[des1954]

I don't understand 18%-20% on a buffet.

At places like Golden Buffet, 10% to me is adequate. I usually tip 20% at regular restaurants due to my lack of math skills (especially after a few beers LOL)! It's easier for me to work in units of 10, and 10% is not acceptable in my book. Servers usually work very hard for sub-standard wages and rely on tips for their income.

That being said - on December 30th we took some dear friends to the Ale House near FtW (we really talked the place up to them) and had a HORRIBLE server. I was embarrassed by our lack of service. In the almost 10 years we've dined at this restaurant - we've always had terrific service. Not this time! Not only did I not leave any tip at all, I asked for the G.M. and complained about our server. I told the G.M. that the meals were outstanding, as usual, but the server was very bad. The G.M. gave us 25% off our meal - which I told him wasn't why I was bringing the server to his attention - but because if he were my employee - I'd want to know what a goof off he was.

There were two booths behind us with 8 very cute girls dining out together, and this guy was all over them & ignoring us. I understand the server's "fawning", but by my reasoning, he probably had this job to make money via tips. He made no money off of us that evening, lost some profit for the restaurant, and may have lost his job because the G.M. told us that he'd had a lot of complaints about this guy, but needed to keep him to get thru the New Year's weekend.

My assessment of servers is this: Servers are the host to the guest and are thereby obligated to make sure all of the guest's needs are met. A guest can't get up and help themselves to another drink, nor can they go to the kitchen to find out what the hold-up is. A guest is at the mercy of a server. So - if a server doesn't have that basic concept going into the job - they need to find another job they're better suited for.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Ironically, he probably made crappy tips off the young girls since younger patrons tend to tip less, so he goofed up big time that night, Deb.

I never go without leaving some tip. I figure if I leave nothing, the server may think I merely forgot or it was stolen. I have been known to leave a quarter, which sends the message "your service was lousy and no, I didn't just forget the tip."

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

At places like Golden Buffet, 10% to me is adequate. I usually tip 20% at regular restaurants due to my lack of math skills (especially after a few beers LOL)! It's easier for me to work in units of 10, and 10% is not acceptable in my book. Servers usually work very hard for sub-standard wages and rely on tips for their income.

That being said - on December 30th we took some dear friends to the Ale House near FtW (we really talked the place up to them) and had a HORRIBLE server. I was embarrassed by our lack of service. In the almost 10 years we've dined at this restaurant - we've always had terrific service. Not this time! Not only did I not leave any tip at all, I asked for the G.M. and complained about our server. I told the G.M. that the meals were outstanding, as usual, but the server was very bad. The G.M. gave us 25% off our meal - which I told him wasn't why I was bringing the server to his attention - but because if he were my employee - I'd want to know what a goof off he was.

There were two booths behind us with 8 very cute girls dining out together, and this guy was all over them & ignoring us. I understand the server's "fawning", but by my reasoning, he probably had this job to make money via tips. He made no money off of us that evening, lost some profit for the restaurant, and may have lost his job because the G.M. told us that he'd had a lot of complaints about this guy, but needed to keep him to get thru the New Year's weekend.

My assessment of servers is this: Servers are the host to the guest and are thereby obligated to make sure all of the guest's needs are met. A guest can't get up and help themselves to another drink, nor can they go to the kitchen to find out what the hold-up is. A guest is at the mercy of a server. So - if a server doesn't have that basic concept going into the job - they need to find another job they're better suited for.

Sounds like my friend Humberto at the HDDR. We never got so much as a drink refill the entire time but the table full of teenage girls dressed for the warm weather sure got his attention.