When did the tipping % increase?

[Pumbaa_]

To intentionally avail oneself of a service in which one KNOWS tipping is standard/required to bring the person providing the service to a level at least equal to the minimum wage that locale (i.e. country, in this case) with the predetermined decision not to tip, for whatever reason, is, yeah, incredibly tacky and selfish.

Well said

 

[DreaminDisney]

To intentionally avail oneself of a service in which one KNOWS tipping is standard/required to bring the person providing the service to a level at least equal to the minimum wage that locale (i.e. country, in this case) with the predetermined decision not to tip, for whatever reason, is, yeah, incredibly tacky and selfish.

Well said

I agree! Very well said

 

[catne]

Wow...I never would have guessed that way out here in the boonies, behind the back of beyond, the hicks are paying better tips than the East coast? Whoa. It's been 20% tips (for good service) in the Midwest/Great Plains for years...

 

[FayeW]

To intentionally avail oneself of a service in which one KNOWS tipping is standard/required to bring the person providing the service to a level at least equal to the minimum wage that locale (

It is not the diner's concern how much any person not employed by them (or who is not them) earns.

I wish you would make up your mind...either we (as patrons) are responsible for making sure they earn a minimum wage...or we aren't.

I choose very few (2-3) TS meals when we are in Florida. I know that a ridiculous tip is expected and I just don't feel that it is deserved. As a result I pay what I am required to, but I limit the times I am required to do it.

I was a server for YEARS. In my opinion, there is no such thing as "exceptional" table service. Their job is to take my order, bring my food, enquire after the quality of my meal, clear my plates and bring me my bill. That is their JOB. Unless they are cutting my food and feeding it to me, well, I don't know what else they could do to make my experience "exceptional"!

 

[bates$hreve]

Amen to that. The idea that a server reaps the windfall from working at a place that charges $5.50 for a beer or $2.50 for a soft drink is somewhat amazing to me. Disney makes a killing on food. Should that wait staff receive premium gratuities on theme park pricing?

 

[honeybee30]

Because tipping a percent of the total order is customary. Diners who choose to tip a certain dollar amount, instead of a percent, should note that 15% is standard and order accordingly. Planning to tip $5? The total food/beverage order should be no more than $33.

That's just the way tipping IS in this country.

Even Disney has many options for diners who choose not to tip the standard amount, or not tip at all, or who don't agree with the whole tipping mechanism. Counter service.

I totally agree with you.

When service is provided, it must be compensated. It is the consumer's choice whether or not to contract a service that incurs gratuity. If I eat in a sit down restaurant, I expect to tip the server. If I use curb-side check-in at the airport, I expect to tip the sky cab. If I request turn-down service at the hotel, I expect to tip the housekeeper. That is just common etiquette.

It seems like when most people travel abroad they take the time to read up on local customs, such as tipping, so as not to offend the locals. So why don't more people educate themselves about tipping customs in their own country?

I also think it is poor reasoning to tip the servers less because food prices are inflated at WDW. It is simply an issue of supply and demand. The market bears the cost of that obscenely priced steak or draft beer. You, the consumer, drive those prices by booking a vacation at WDW, staying onsite, eating their concessions, and buying their merchandise...in record numbers, I might add! I feel that if you agree to pay what Disney charges for a sit-down meal, then you agree to pay the server a compensurate amount to serve it you.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I wish you would make up your mind...either we (as patrons) are responsible for making sure they earn a minimum wage...or we aren't.

Responsible for? Yep, absolutely. Concerned with? Nope, not at all. Again, it's not my BUSINESS how much a server (or ANY person whose EARNINGS IN DOLLARS I am responsible for), makes - either hourly, daily, annually, or lifetime.

Whether somebody earns $76,000 a year, or $76 dollars a year, has and should have NO influence over my/any diner's tip. It is customary to tip 15% to 20% in the United States. Period.

 

[kaytieeldr]

If I use curb-side check-in at the airport, I expect to tip the sky cab.

No longer necessary/allowed if you're flying American Airlines out of Logan Airport in Boston - but that's an issue for a different board

 

[honeybee30]

No longer necessary/allowed if you're flying American Airlines out of Logan Airport in Boston - but that's an issue for a different board

Oh really? That's news to me. I better practice what I preach and do some research of my own on tipping customs in the US...

 

[jennykay]

Good point! DH and I tip 15% of the bill. It usually doesnt come out to be no more then $5. HOWEVER, in WDW - we will be eating at some pretty nice places. Chefs de France - for the same amount of service we would get at Applebees and tip about $5, we're gonna be tipping $10 at chefs de france. Maybe DH and I need to rethink how we tip. Why should someone work at chefs de france get more money then someone at applebees just because the bill is more? Their both serving the same amount of people. We always just order a entree and MAYBE dessert. We never give the waiter a hard time. We're not messy eaters, etc. Yes, yes I know..waiters have to fork over some money for other people (buss boy, etc) and pay a certain % for each bill, just doesnt make any sense why we have to give a waiter more money just because our meal cost more then another place. Im gonna have to talk to DH and see what he thinks about the whole tipping issue. Either continue on with the 15% of the bill or start doing a set amount regardless how much the bill is.

Just a quick point - they are serving the same number of people at your table, but generally speaking, the more expensive (fancy) the restaurant, the fewer tables each server is responsible for at a time, and the fewer tables he/she gets tips from over the course of a shift. The theory is that each guest will get a higher level of service for the higher price. I don't know if that's how WDW does it, though.

 

[cmwade77]

Generally speaking when it comes to tipping:

Counter Service - No tip (Why should someone get a tip just for standing behind a register and taking my order? This includes, but is not limited to: Rubios, Starbucks, It's a Grind, Cold Stone, ma and pa style places that are not full service restaurants)

Take out: No tip, unless it is being delivered to my car or house, then a tip may be justified depending on the quality of service.

Buffets - 10%-15% (no tip if I have to get my own drinks, no service there, clearing the tables is the bus boy's job and they never get the tips in other restaurants). (If it is a Disney buffet AND the server has been doing "extra" things for us, like taking pictures and such, I will tip better, as long s my drink is kept refilled)

Full Table Service:
Really Bad Service - $0.01 (I always leave some sort of tip so that the server doesn't think that I forgot the tip).
Bad Service - 5%
Acceptable - 10%
Good Service - 15%
Excellent Service - 20%

Also if something is wrong that is not the server's fault, but they give a discount to correct it, we will leave an additional tip, usually the full amount of whatever the discount the server gave us was, but if it's a problem with the server, then we do not do so.

Here's one example:
We went to Baker's Square one night, the night before they had been totally dead, so that night they had to ask some people not to come in to make up for the money lost, well that night was extremely busy for some reason, the server explained this to us up front, but we were in no real hurry and knew what was going on when we came in and sat down (it was an extremely hot day and their air conditioning worked really well, so no problem to us). We just asked our server to bring drinks two at a time for each of us to save her some time, they even had the bus boy refilling drinks. Well, at the end of our meal she gave us our two slices of pie for free, we gladly added the cost of the pie to her tip, so her tip was about 50% of the bill, she was delighted and I am sure we would have had great service the next time we went, but we just drove by there the other day and they are closed

Now mind you, here in California server's must make at least minimum wage, but to me it doesn't matter, those that do not should go on strike until they get that concession made to them, it's not my fault that they don't earn what they should, why should I feel obligated to make up for their lack of pay when they spend no more than 5 minutes talking with us to get our order and in many cases bring one drink and our food and nothing else? Now, if you keep my drink refilled, are friendly and check up on us a couple of times you are much more likely to get closer to the 20% range.

As far as WDW servers go, they will get tipped according to how good their service is, I usually find that the buffets are the ones that are the worst at keeping my drink refilled.

All of the following factors are part of the service and affect the tip, in my opinion:

• How quickly did the server take our drink orders.
• How quickly did our server return with our drink orders?
• How well did the server do at making recommendations if we asked?
• How friendly was the server?
• Did the server make sure we were finished with our previous course prior to bringing the next course out?
• Did the server make sure that our plates were cleared before the next course came out?
• Did the server make sure that our orders were correct prior to bringing them out?
• Was it the server that brought our food and drinks out or did they have an assistant?
• Did the server check on us with each course to make sure that we had everything we needed and see how we were doing?
• Did the server refill the drinks before they were less than 1/4 full?
• How quickly did the server bring our bill after we told him/her we were done?
• How qucikly did the server bring back the bill if paying by card or the change if paying by cash?
• Was the change correct if paying by cash?

Drink order should be taken no more than 5 minutes after being seated and unless they are mixed drinks, the drinks should come back within about 3 minutes, if they are mixed (non-alcoholic) drinks, then the first ones within about 5 minutes.

The server should be friendly and knowledgeable about the menu, I understand using an assistant at busy times, but if I have 10 different people bringing me something it makes it very hard to determine who gets what portion of the tip. Drinks should be kept filled at all times (of course if I drink it within 30 seconds, the server could not possibly keep up, I understand that and if I know that I am really thirsty I will often ask them to bring me two drinks at once and/or order a cup of water as well), really all of the above items should be addressed properly.

 

[cmwade77]

No longer necessary/allowed if you're flying American Airlines out of Logan Airport in Boston - but that's an issue for a different board

Skycaps, it depends on the airline, I look for a tips welcome sign or other sign that ask for tips (like at LAX it says $2 per bag, tip not included)

Same goes for the bus drivers and it also depends on if they are handling my luggage, if not, then no tip is needed in my opinion.

 

[DiszyDean]

Generally speaking when it comes to tipping:

Counter Service - No tip (Why should someone get a tip just for standing behind a register and taking my order? This includes, but is not limited to: Rubios, Starbucks, It's a Grind, Cold Stone, ma and pa style places that are not full service restaurants)

Take out: No tip, unless it is being delivered to my car or house, then a tip may be justified depending on the quality of service.

Buffets - 10%-15% (no tip if I have to get my own drinks, no service there, clearing the tables is the bus boy's job and they never get the tips in other restaurants). (If it is a Disney buffet AND the server has been doing "extra" things for us, like taking pictures and such, I will tip better, as long s my drink is kept refilled)

Full Table Service:
Really Bad Service - $0.01 (I always leave some sort of tip so that the server doesn't think that I forgot the tip).
Bad Service - 5%
Acceptable - 10%
Good Service - 15%
Excellent Service - 20%

Also if something is wrong that is not the server's fault, but they give a discount to correct it, we will leave an additional tip, usually the full amount of whatever the discount the server gave us was, but if it's a problem with the server, then we do not do so.

Here's one example:
We went to Baker's Square one night, the night before they had been totally dead, so that night they had to ask some people not to come in to make up for the money lost, well that night was extremely busy for some reason, the server explained this to us up front, but we were in no real hurry and knew what was going on when we came in and sat down (it was an extremely hot day and their air conditioning worked really well, so no problem to us). We just asked our server to bring drinks two at a time for each of us to save her some time, they even had the bus boy refilling drinks. Well, at the end of our meal she gave us our two slices of pie for free, we gladly added the cost of the pie to her tip, so her tip was about 50% of the bill, she was delighted and I am sure we would have had great service the next time we went, but we just drove by there the other day and they are closed

Now mind you, here in California server's must make at least minimum wage, but to me it doesn't matter, those that do not should go on strike until they get that concession made to them, it's not my fault that they don't earn what they should, why should I feel obligated to make up for their lack of pay when they spend no more than 5 minutes talking with us to get our order and in many cases bring one drink and our food and nothing else? Now, if you keep my drink refilled, are friendly and check up on us a couple of times you are much more likely to get closer to the 20% range.

As far as WDW servers go, they will get tipped according to how good their service is, I usually find that the buffets are the ones that are the worst at keeping my drink refilled.

All of the following factors are part of the service and affect the tip, in my opinion:

• How quickly did the server take our drink orders.
• How quickly did our server return with our drink orders?
• How well did the server do at making recommendations if we asked?
• How friendly was the server?
• Did the server make sure we were finished with our previous course prior to bringing the next course out?
• Did the server make sure that our plates were cleared before the next course came out?
• Did the server make sure that our orders were correct prior to bringing them out?
• Was it the server that brought our food and drinks out or did they have an assistant?
• Did the server check on us with each course to make sure that we had everything we needed and see how we were doing?
• Did the server refill the drinks before they were less than 1/4 full?
• How quickly did the server bring our bill after we told him/her we were done?
• How qucikly did the server bring back the bill if paying by card or the change if paying by cash?
• Was the change correct if paying by cash?

Drink order should be taken no more than 5 minutes after being seated and unless they are mixed drinks, the drinks should come back within about 3 minutes, if they are mixed (non-alcoholic) drinks, then the first ones within about 5 minutes.

The server should be friendly and knowledgeable about the menu, I understand using an assistant at busy times, but if I have 10 different people bringing me something it makes it very hard to determine who gets what portion of the tip. Drinks should be kept filled at all times (of course if I drink it within 30 seconds, the server could not possibly keep up, I understand that and if I know that I am really thirsty I will often ask them to bring me two drinks at once and/or order a cup of water as well), really all of the above items should be addressed properly.

Wow...that is quite a checklist... Do you really go through all this before you figure out what tip to leave? Is there some kind of point system you have developed for this method of tipping?

Here is an abbreviated version that I use:

Was I extrememly happy at the end of the meal? = 20% or more
Was I satisfied at the end of the meal? = 15 - 18%
Was I not happy at the end of the meal? = 5 - 10% (or nothing in rare circumstances)

It is really not all that complicated. Maybe I try to be a positive person and give people the benefit of the doubt and don't start deducting money if another server brings me my salad? If the overall service is good, that is all that matters to me.

 

[shellybaxter]

Wow...that is quite a checklist... Do you really go through all this before you figure out what tip to leave? Is there some kind of point system you have developed for this method of tipping?

Here is an abbreviated version that I use:

Was I extrememly happy at the end of the meal? = 20% or more
Was I satisfied at the end of the meal? = 15 - 18%
Was I not happy at the end of the meal? = 5 - 10% (or nothing in rare circumstances)

It is really not all that complicated. Maybe I try to be a positive person and give people the benefit of the doubt and don't start deducting money if another server brings me my salad? If the overall service is good, that is all that matters to me.

I like your scale, but mine would read:

Was I extrememly happy at the end of the meal? = 25% or more
Was I satisfied at the end of the meal? = 18 - 20%
Was I not happy at the end of the meal? = 5 - 8 to 10% (or nothing in rare circumstances)

Also, I tip the same at a buffet (in Disney - not at the Hometown Buffet type places) as at a regular sit down.

At home I do tip the person who give me my take out if its a sitdown restuarant - its a lot of work to put together a good take out order. I appreciate that they think to include napkins, condiments, etc so I tip to say "thank you"

 

[cmwade77]

Just to clarify I do not go down the checklist nor do I have a point system, but those things all go through my head when I determine my tip. Now if service is bad enough that I would leave a small tip I generally won't go back, so why should I worry about leaving a small tip?

Servers at buffets do not do as much as those at regular sit down restaurants, why should they get the same tip? Like I said, there are exceptions at certain Disney Buffets.

Now everything is on a case by case basis.

 

[3mickeys&me]

We are from Jersey and we tip 18-20% here in Jersey and at Disney.

 

[Willow25]

At the end of the day a tip is at the discretion of the customer.

 

[divawife]

I haven't read thru the whole thread but I must say I came back 2 weeks ago on the DPP and the poorest service was at CRT where the tip is included.

That said, I take offense when an establishment tells me (or suggests strongly) what amount to tip. That is my decision.

I did not (and will never) put my credit card on my DPP/Key to the World card. I pay tips by cash.

At a buffet is ludicrious to pay more than 15% tip. Unless it is completely out of the ordinary circumstances.

 

[spooky1]

IMO tips are something that the server should earn by giving good service not something that should be automatic. I hate places that add a tip onto my bill - if the service was bad at a place like that I would not feel obligated to pay what they suggest.

20% Great Service
15% Good Service
10% Questionnable Service
5% Bad Service
0% Horrible Service

 

[biscuitgirl]

Where we live, the norm is 15%, but I will leave 20% if the service is really good. I am planning to use this strategy when I go in Sept.