Tipping our vacation away!

[highflyer747b]

Having read a few threads on tipping, I'm beginning to wonder where it all ends!
I've started this thread to find out where people's limits are on tipping, for what it's worth, here's my two cents:

First of all I agree with tipping the servers in restaurants - however I do not agree with rewarding mediocre service with the standard 15% tip. We should all expect excellent service - at all of the WDW restaurants at all times - as standard. Remember, prices are inflated, so even 15% is a good tip.

Secondly, I disagree with tipping every single person that's touched my luggage. For instance, it could be the driver from the airport, then the bellhop taking the luggage while I check in, then maybe the room not being ready and having somebody else bring the bags to the room and having to tip them as well.

Of course the list could go on,

- Housekeeping: isn't this included in your room rate?
- Why not tip the front desk staff, lifeguards, guest services? - these are all people that make sure you have a comfortable stay, but they're still only doing their job.

Don't get me wrong, I whole heartedly agree with rewarding excellent service or anyone that has gone the extra mile, but (for instance) I will not tip housekeeping for simply cleaning my room (of course if there were towel animals involved...).

Remember folks, we're on vacation, let's be considerate to ourselves as well!

 

[ead79]

I try to tip generously while on vacation at WDW. I tip servers 15 percent for good service, and 20% for great service. Even though Disney's food prices are high, the servers still depend on tips to offset the low server's wage. I also tip housekeeping since I think Disney's resorts are kept much cleaner than other hotels I've stayed in. I also tip bell staff, as I do whether I'm at WDW or not.

 

[taylor1293]

I will tip housekeeping, but certainly don't care that there are others who don't.

I tip up to 20% for excellent service, and I will tip nothing if I feel that is what the server deserves.

I think it's important for each family to decide for themselves who they want to tip and how much.

Teresa

 

[Carrieberry]

I'm sure I will get totally flamed for this but....

I am done tipping 15% just for someone bringing me my food. Some the the attitudes I've encountered at restaurants lately (not including WDW since we won't be there until Dec) have been awful. Rude, impatient, inconsiderate and all around miserable. We have always tipped at the very least 15%, and higher for excellent service, but I'm tired of tipping these awful servers 15% for making my meal miserable with their attitudes. From now on I will tip the 15% for adequate friendly service, and higher for excellent service, but to tip the miserable servers who act like they would rather be anywhere else in the world but helping me, is not going to happen anymore. I refuse to continue tipping them 15% so they can continue to make other peoples dining experiences awful as well. If everyone keeps giving them 15% what incentive do they have to change?

Now to tell you the truth, I have never had a bad server at WDW, and always tip higher than I normally would because the server has always deserved it, but whomever decided that we always have to tip 15% is loony. A tip is just that- a tip to tell the server how much their attitude, friendliness and competance hightened the enjoyment of your meal. JMHO.

 

[dcedwards]

We typically tip 15% for good service and more for excellent service in sit-down restaurants. We tip 0 for poor service and feel very good about it.

As far as the bellmen go...we only tip once. We tip when the bags are delivered to our room and when they are picked up from our room. We do not tip everyone who handles them. We also tip the van driver who assists us with our luggage.

In regards to housekeeping...after having "trained" personnel in this area I came to realize that they typically are not paid well. A room can be cleaned or a room can be VERY clean. I find that if I leave a tip that I usually get lots of extras thrown in ... including have my room cleaned first, towel animals, extra towels, extra hangers, etc. If I find that the room is poorly cleaned or just so-so...I stop tipping. What I do know is that...most...not all...in this service do very much appreciate a tip. And, I just plan it in on my budget.

We will also tip a "bar person" who delivers drinks to us, if they are doing a nice job of keeping our refreshments "full" and fresh. Again, if the service is mediocre we do not tip.

The thing to keep in mind is that some of the positions estimate the average amount of tips and then reduce the hourly wage....often times paying them below minimum. While it isn't my responsibility to make up that difference...if the service is good I don't mind. But, that is me. Everyone is different.

 

[jennymouse]

I'm with you on this one as well.

Restaurant Servers: 15% for normal good service. This could go up or down depending on the service I actually receive.

Luggage Related: If curbside check-in at the airport, I'll give $1 per bag. We'll use a free shuttle service from the MCO to Hampton Inn for the first night. If the driver helps, $1 per bag. The limo driver the next day will get $15. $1 per bag for the bellhop delivering our luggage to the room.

Mousekeeping: Last year I tipped $3 every day for so so service. I hear mousekeeping at AKL is average at best. This year, I'm playing it by ear. I'm not making the Mousekeeping envelopes like I did last year. If I come back from the parks to a dirty room, or if the room is just wiped down & the bed made, normal service, I won't tip. If they really do a good job cleaning, I'll start tipping. I can tell when someone has just blown through it and if it's really been cleaned.

 

[Carrieberry]

When we stayed at POFQ a couple of years ago, I tipped Mousekeeping the first couple of days and then stopped because I felt like room had been "blown through". This year we will be staying at BCV and the DVC's don't have daily Mousekeeping, but we will have someone come in one day during our stay to clean up. I will leave a tip since they will be cleaning up three days worth of mess ( DVC mousekeeping comes on day four).

With baggage, we tip $1 a bag if, and this our general rule, the person has had to carry the bag more than twenty feet. This means that we usually tip the person that takes it to the room, and the person who unloads it from our towncar. We also usually tip the towncar person $10 each way if he is friendly and talkative, $5 if he just gets us there safely. We have always tipped $10 since we have never had an unfriendly town car driver.

 

[Gillian]

Do any of the towncar companies in the Orlando area add a tip on to your bill? The ones around here do - 15%.

I hate tipping the person who unloads your trunk right on to the cart & then a different person who brings it to your room!

 

[Lewisc]

If you ever think the service is so bad that a tip of less than 15% is warranted you should tell the manager on the way out of the restaurant. The waiter and management should understand the reason for the low tip was substandard service and not that the guest is cheap or ignorant.
I agree tipping has gone too far when some of the fast food "restaurants" have a tip cup by the register.

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

After spending a few hundred dollars on tips during our recent trip to WDW, I can see what you are saying. We basicly tip depending on how we like the service provided. It can get expensive, and at some point you do start to question what all you are tipping, but if you set some general guidelines before you go it makes it just a little easier.

 

[Carrieberry]

When we leave no tip or a really low tip, we always ask for a manger and tell them why, or at the very least we fill out a comment card and instead of dropping it in the box, we ask that it be handed right to the manager. It probably gets looked at once and then thrown away. Once I was so upset that I wrote a letter to the district office, only to get a letter back saying only "Sorry you were dissapointed." Needless to say, we never went back to that restaurant. Not that we wanted anything from them, but a whole sheet of paper with that one sentence was more of an insult than anything else.

As far as the tipping of the person who loads tou luggage on to the cart, unless they take it all the way to the room, this falls under our "Under 20 feet" policy....

 

[mikesmom]

I budget tipping in because I feel that it's part of the "vacation" fun. Instead of schlepping my bags into the airport and feeling like a pack mule, I give the curb porter $1/bag and I sail on through. Instead of collecting the bags, and dragging them into check in and then up to the room, we give bell service some money and the bags are in the room almost before we get up there. Instead of looking for a parking space and then trudging thru the heat to get the car when we want to go back out, we give the valet guys a buck or two coming and going. Coming in, we don't worry about parking. When we go out, we call them and the car is waiting with the air conditioning ON when we get downstairs.

We're not rich, but even when I was a single mom, I felt that a couple of bucks was well worth it to get a little help with the stuff while I juggled kids, checkin, tickets, etc. Over the whole course of a week vacation, I suspect we don't spend an extra $100 on tips - it's well worth it to improve the quality of our vacation.

 

[patsal]

I plan on tips as part of the cost of my vacation. I always bring an envelope full of $1's nd $5's for lugage and valet tips. I usually don't tip the airport shuttle person unless they make an effort to help with luggage. I check luggage curbside and tip the handler $1.00 per bag, not having to lug it is well worth the tip! When I arrive at the terminal and collect my luggage, if I get a towncar I tip the driver for his help with the luggage, but not until the end of the trip ( I usually give hime $10-20 depending upon the number of suitcases and the level of service). I tip the bellman who brings the luggage to my room, and the one who removes it from the room. I tip the bellman who loads my car for my return to the airport. I tip valet $1-2 per time he brings me the car. Waitstaff gets tipped 15-20% depending upon the level of service. If a person is inattentive and "bothered" by doing his/her job I have no problem leaving a very small tip (usually $1. per person in the dining party). I also make it a point to follow through with a manager since no one else deserves to have a poor dining experience because of a poor waiter. Besides, sometimes people need to know what they have done wrong so they can correct it for future customers, and they need the feedback. I also tip mousekeeping. As much as I have traveled I have never seen rooms as clean as the ones that are at Disney even the budget and moderate are as clean as any five star hotels I've ever stayed at. I tip one dollar per person per day during regular stays. During DVC stays I tip a little differently. I tip $1 per person on trash and towel day ( We place the towels in one big heap in the tub and I empty all the trash bins into one bag. All recycling we take care of on our own. On full cleaning day I tip $2.00 per person and again I do the same with the towels, and trash. Sometimes I even strip the beds to help out a little. I treat the DVC rooms like my home, so everything is always put away and they really have very little cleaning to do. I even run the vaccume before they get there to help them out.

I think tipping is a touchy subject and everyone should just do what he/she is comfortable with. Keep in mind that the waiter and waitress do not set the prices of the food you choose and they really don't profit from it unless you tip based on a percentage of the total. They are often paid far below minimum wage and must make a living from the tips they earn.

 

[DeeP]

I basically do excatly the same thing as patsal. If someone has taken the trouble to take our luggage out of the trunk or into the trunk etc onto a luggage cart etc and we are not assisting, then I tip for everyone who has assisted with the luggage. Whether it went from the luggage carousel to the waiting limo that was picking us up so that is tip #1, to the bell hop at the WDW resort that took the luggage out of the towncar and has now stored it for us because our room was not ready -this is tip #2, and then several hours later when our room was ready and we were in our room and called for our luggage when it is brought to the room I give tip #3. Three tips for all the same luggage getting from the airport to our resort, BUT there were 3 different individuals that moved your luggage for you. If you move your own luggage then of course you should not tip nor should you use luggage services.
I know there are not only other countries that do not have "tip" jobs but also areas of the US that do not have the same number of tip jobs nor the same standards for tip jobs. But on the entire eastern side of the States including FL there are many tip jobs and the tip is the reason why these jobs are paid such a low hourly rate--their income depends on tips. This is just the way it is. If you do not get good service in a restaurant then yes you can tip lower than 15% but if you get good service the customary tip is 15% of the total tab. No matter how high the total tab is it is still 15% for good service and for service above that you tip accordingly. Housekeeping positions in WDW do state that they are not tip positions however I will gladly tip anyone a dollar a day per person who cleans our bathroom and makes our beds. So I do tip housekeepers at no matter what hotel I stay at. Luggage handlers usually get $1.00 per bag, Valet drivers I always tip both ways because they are providing a service to me both ways.
Tip jobs are jobs where the individual gets paid a significately lower hourly wage because their income depends on tips, these are always jobs that provide a service. Whether it be serving a meal or a drink, driving you in a limo or cab, parking or delivering your car, cleaning your hotel room or moving your luggage. These are tip jobs in the US and the people that work these types of jobs do depend on tips that are paid at the customary rate for good service.

 

[Jinnyboom]

I pretty much tip along the same lines as most of the posters to this thread......
$1.00 per bag for luggage handlers and $1.00 per person for maid service....

It only now strikes me as odd...that I would pay a person $4.00 for carrying my baggage and tip the same $4.00 for someone to clean up after myself and 3 teenage girls

Had to share........

 

[epcotfan]

Originally posted by Jinnyboom
I pretty much tip along the same lines as most of the posters to this thread......
$1.00 per bag for luggage handlers and $1.00 per person for maid service....

It only now strikes me as odd...that I would pay a person $4.00 for carrying my baggage and tip the same $4.00 for someone to clean up after myself and 3 teenage girls

Had to share........

I agree Jinny. I would rather tip the maid more since he or she has to clean up after me.

I would rather tip a Disney sales person who has gone out of their way to find or package something for me than someone who takes my one suitcase from the towncar and immediately deposits it on a rack.

 

[Dizzyworld]

When we stayed at the Poly. in June 2002, I had forgotten to leave a tip for housekeeping. The next day, I asked the person in the hall if she was the person taking care of our room? After the "deer-in-the-headlight" look, I quickly told her everything was fine that I had forgotten to leave a tip and wanted to make sure the right person got it. So I left a$10 tip for the 2 nights, at that point, for a family of 4. From that point on, the service went down. The towel animals stopped, fresh soap didn't appear, and you could tell the room wasn't taken care of as nicely as before. Since we saw it was the same person in the hall, I figured she didn't like our tip?

I was also told on an earlier trip, housekeeping only vacuums about every third day unless the room is really messy.

As for the luggage situation, when we were helping to put our luggage on the cart along with the staff, he kept saying "I will not be the person taking your luggage to your room." After he said it a few times in a few minutes, I felt like saying "Yeah, I know we are to tip you." We did, but I didn't like the approach.

And for some reason it bothers me to be tipping all these luggage people, especially the ones who picked the luggage off the ground and put it on a cart and wheeled it to the door. I understand the theory, it is just that one piece of luggage tipping that bugs me.

 

[moosebug]

I am a college student working in a camera store. I don't work on tips but sometimes a customer will slip me a few dollars...It really makes my day!!! Sure it may be a dollar or two but it will pay for my starbucks habit. I am fortunate to have a husband who is able to take me away to places like Disney. I am not rich ar "well off" but I feel if I am able to reward someone else for the wonderful (key word) service offered to me it is the least I can do. I usually tip 15% at sit down dinners--2 dollars a person at buffets, and I know this doesn't sound like much but it usually ends up being a few dollars for 2 people I use the change from my souveniers during the day and put that as my mousekeeping tip. Now I may get flamed by this but other than The towncar ($15) I don't tip anyone else!?! Dh carries my luggage (we're light travellers) But then again i never knew you were supposed to tip the people in the bathrooms at fancy restarants. Who would want that job?!? I think to each his/her own.

 

[minster22]

As someone who works solely for tips {as a waitress} one of our true joys going to Disney is tipping all of the people who serve us. We always use valet parking and bellboys for our luggage, we make the tip envelopes for the maids and tip all the people who bring all the extras , like a coffee pot to our room. We budget our tip money for each service and have all that cash in envelopes accordingly. My daily job is serving people and one of the reasons I love vacationing at Disney is the way I am served while I am there.It truly renews me for my own job and it makes me feel wonderful to be able to tip very generously and I do even when someone is not 100% wonderful.Please don't flame me for this...it is my way to give back to everyone who serves people for a living and there are many at Disney.

 

[Lewisc]

Dizzy--I think the majority of people don't tip housekeeping, Disney doesn't even list it as a tipped position. I try to tip on a daily basis (might get a different maid). Is it possible you tipped the wrong person and your maid got upset? The tipping books say you only have to tip the person who brings the bag to your room. I guess that assumes the tips are pooled. I tip $1 / bag (rounded down) which is low but tend to tip everyone who handles my baggage. If I'm feeling cheap I'll just handle my own luggage.