What's the tip?

[CK1]

Based on response to my prior thread, it appears we'll have to use bell service to get all our crapola & groceries, etc up to our VWL room. So... what's the customary tip for that service?

And would you suggest showing up BEFORE 4 pm to avoid a rush at the counter? At OKW, we would show up before 4 pm but we were never let in prior to 4.... and at 4, the counter lines reallly began to grow! Now some folks are saying they've been let in early... it sure would be nice, but I don't want to be left hangin' out with my groceries for 2 hours, either!!!

CIndy

 

[ralphd]

Bell services will store your groceries for you while you wait for the room. Make sure you tell them if you have items that need refrigeration.

ralphd

 

[kem330]

It depends how much you have- for a smaller load, $5 , for a large cart full I'd give $10. It also depends on how helpful they are . You do not have to wait to check in- you can check in at the desk anytime, but you won't get into your room until it is ready. They will process all the paperwork, give you your keys and then have you call back for your room number at a later time. So you can avoid long lines at 4pm this way.

 

[pwoodham]

Not sure when it comes to groceries, but I asked the same question a while back. Here's a link to that thread: URL=http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=212019]Thread on tipping[/URL]

 

[Regina]

FYI, the CM who assists you with loading your stuff on the cart will, more than likely, NOT be the same one who brings it to your room.

Two CM's, two tips.

 

[jmminarik]

I've always used the $1/bag rule for tipping, with a minimum of $5.00 as a tip. This is for any hotel, not just Disney, but as my wife always tells me, I'm a very good tipper.

For a full cart load of stuff, $10.00 wouldn't be unreasonable depending on how much (and how heavy) you pack with you. Given the overall cost of a Disney vacation, $10-20 (on the way out too!) as a tip for not having to break my back, nor worry about my stuff if I'm there early, is cheap.

Then again, if you check-in early then head out for some fun, you might not even be in the room when your luggage is delivered. (I can't remember if Disney will place luggage in room if you're not there).

As to checking-in early, a theme I seemed to pick up from these boards is that the earlier you check-in, the better your chance of getting the 'room' you requested. In other words, if you want a smoking room, or a room with a certain view, a studio lock-off in a 2BR (at the resorts that have them), or multiple rooms near each other, your odds go up of getting your request.

Although we've not used it, they will refrigerate your perishables when you leave your luggage with them at check-in if your room is unavailable. We plan to fill up our 12volt fridge before we head out for our big trip in December, and will avail ourselves of this service if necessary (or they won't provide us a wall outlet to plug our ac->dc converter to run the fridge itself).

-Joe
who remembers how sucky it was relying on tips for a living.

 

[kem330]

You do not have to tip the one who unloads as much as the one who carries it all the way to your room and unloads it for you. So split it accordingly. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with it and just tip the one who brings it to the room. I'd be interested to know if they are supposed to split all thier tips anyway as some places do.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

If you have a car, you can check-in first and then go out for groceries. They may tell you the approximate wait time until the room is ready. 2 hours is prefect for some DTD and groceries shopping.

That's waht we usually do since there's usually not to much room left in the car after stuffing all our luggage in!

 

[d-r]

We usually don't have a car, but on our last trip we rented a car from the airport, and stopped on the way to WLV at the store and bought a few groceries (honestly, it was mostly beer). I felt a little awkward pulling up in a way, because I had never shown up to bell services with bags of groceries. The bell man handled it without blinking - they have been doing dvc for a while - and put our luggage and our "groceries" on the cart - it sort of cracked me up, because he hung these plastic bags containing six-packs from the hanging hooks on the cart. I typically tip $1 per bag, but I wasn't sure about the protocal for grocery bags - we had three pieces of luggage and I guess four bags, and I tipped him a flat $5 and a $5 at our room, I think. My point is, I figured that a flat "rate" with the groceries was fine. If we had a bunch of bags, I might tip 10-20, which is worth it if you consider - as someone pointed out - that your vacation is already costing a lot and this is for a nice service at a deluxe resort. It really is worth it, IMHO.


DR

 

[Coastie]

We just returned from VWL and had four different people help... slightly over 1 cart load. In any case, the care and attention provided by the bell hops really impressed us - We tipped $15 for each... a total of $60.

 

[Johnnie Fedora]

First off, I'd like to say that I waited tables all through college and graduate school. So I know what it's like to live off of tips.

At VWL, I've given up trying to tip the five people that swarm your car when you are valeting and unloading. I tip the valet separately, and I usually tip the bellhop $5 for a single trip, I would tip more if they had to cold store foods. Most of the time I end up unloading the groceries myself from inside the car and the hallway. I just don't see it necessary to tip $10-20 for five minutes of work. Is their service worth $100/hr??

Personally, I like the set up at HHI. You get your own wheely cart and do it yourself.

I'd really like to know how much these guys take home in a shift. Does anyone know?? Do they pool tips??

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Just wanted to add that we checked in at OKW early in the morning (around 8:00 am), left all our bags and groceries, and headed to the parks. Later, when our room was ready, they brought all our luggage and groceries to our room for us. All of the cold items were very cold.