Tipping.....

[BelleLovesTheBeast]

So many of you have said that you tip mousekeeping. $4-10 a day seems to be about what everyone is leaving. So my question is....what do you tip for restaurant service and why?

I leave 20% or more. Servers work really hard and only get paid $2.13. Also they have to share those tips with busers, bartenders and hostesses.

[#1donaldfan]

We tip at least 20% for dinner.....always have anywhere we eat......more if the server goes out of the way to make our dinner better....

[Disney Baby]

We tip 15% for average service and 20% or more for good service. Having been dependent on tips to get through college - I appreciate what servers do.

We do tip one dollar per person in the room per day for Mousekeeping.

[Disney Doll]

We always tip at least 15%. However, we will usually tip 20% unless we were really unhappy with the service. If I am so unhappy that I feel 15% is too much, then I'll ask to speak to a manager. It hasn't happened yet, but that's the plan.

[Deansgal85]

tips are included in the dining plan...right? Do you all tip 15 to 20% on top of that??

[DizneyRox]

tips are included in the dining plan...right? Do you all tip 15 to 20% on top of that??
For 2007, yes it is, for 2008 it isn't.

I tip based on service. Satisfactory service gets 15-20%. Unacceptable service get less, and no tip is not out of the question if it's really that bad. Tips or gratiuty is just that, IMHO it's not to be expected, it's to be earned. I have no trouble leaving it and expect to, however sometimes the service just doesn't deserve it.

That said, I don't recall ever NOT leaving a tip of some kind at Disney. Well, maybe the one time I sat at a table for 45 minutes before a server even stopped by the table to take our order.

[Goes4FastPass]

Tipping significantly (anything over a few dollars) if using the DDP through 2007 isn't generous, it's silly.

Tipping DDP after December 2007 is like other restaurants.

A good housekeeping amount is $1 per person per day up to like $4.

When we pay OOP at WDW restaurants it's a good thing I'm the one calculating the tip because I'm thinking thoughts like,

"Am I on vacation?"
"Is this the Happiest Place on Earth?"
But my wife is thinking,

"Was the service good?"

[Jared]

My family almost always tips 15 percent, unless the service is exceptionally good or bad. If a server is particularly nice or engaging, we'll drop a few more dollars. Unless our server is rude or invisible, we won't tip below 15 percent.

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

I'm a very generous tipper. It's typically about 18% for me, and up to 30%. If you're not a good server, you will get about 10%.

And yes, on the DDP/discounts, I will tip additional if the service was good.

[jwallace378]

Wow....tipping $4-10 for Mousekeeping seems like a lot. We usually do $2-3 a day. At restaurants we do 18%. That can be varied either way though depending on the service.

[TheRustyScupper]

1) If tip on a credit card
. . . 0% for bad service
. . . 10%-15% for average service
. . . 15%-18% for good service

2) If tip in cash
. . . 0% for bad service
. . . 5%-10%average service
. . . 10%-15% for good service

NOTE: Since many servers do not claim their cash tips for taxes, we discount the taxes. IRS is usually 20%-30%. I figure that I pay taxes on everything, so should they.

[BelleLovesTheBeast]

NOTE: Since many servers do not claim their cash tips for taxes, we discount the taxes. IRS is usually 20%-30%. I figure that I pay taxes on everything, so should they.


I waited tables for 5 years and ALL servers have to report tips. Every restaurant's computer system is set up for them to report them at the end of their shift. They MUST report a minimum of 10% of their sales. So if you check is $50 they must report to the IRS $5 tip even if you stiffed them and left nothing. Also most restaurants require the server to tip out the bartender, hostess and buser 3-5% of that sale. I've seen many times servers have to pay taxes on more money than they earned. If you report less than the required 10% the IRS will audit you. I've seen it happen.

Unlike valet, housekeeping, hair dressers, concierge, etc. who DON'T have to claim them to their employer....wait staff DOES.

[Mickie the Pooh]

Tipping mouskeeping 4 to 5 dollars is not much depending on how many people are in the room.
we are two and normally tip about 3 to 5 a day.

We are on the dining plan this Nov so 18% is included and we would probably not tip over that unless there was special service. Normally we tip 20% when dining in the out side world and next year if we go , and use the dining plan we will tip about 20% I expect.

[thejens]

Anyone cleaning up after my boys deserves a good tip!! I do 15% unless very poor service or very good service. I must say I am annoyed about the meal plan not including tip next year. I really liked the idea of prepaying for everything. It is going to make me feel extra grumpy about poor service!

[snifflesmcg]

I always tip about 20% unless the service is obviously bad. Being a former server myself, I know they depend on their tips. Even though 18% was added to the DDP (until Jan that is), I still tipped extra so they could get their 20%.

[Natazu]

Here's our breakdown:

We tip servers 20-25%
We tip valets $5 (out)
We tip DME drivers $10
We tip bellmen $1 per bag (usually about $12)
We do not tip hotel cleaning staff. I know this is a topic of debate. No offense to mousekeeping.

If we have poor service at a restaurant, we adjust the tip accordingly. If the service is bad enough that we would tip nothing, we'll get a manager involved long before the meal is over.

[Momof2boys]

We normally tip about 15%. For us, it's an all or nothing approach. Good service = 15%, bad service = 0%.

In my mind, you have to earn your tip.

Yes, they may only get paid a few dollars an hour, but they made the decision to take the job.

[Goes4FastPass]

As much as I HATE doing it, I think if the experience was bad enough to consider a zero tip you should speak to a manager, "lead" in WDW speak.

Sometimes servers can't control having too many tables at once (everyone who had a date last night called in 'sick' today) or too much to do (complicated DDP charge procedure create a lot of steps for servers, I'm told) - but if our experience was bad somebody needs to know that and not just leave no tip and have them grumble us off as crummy stiffs.

I'm very easy going and non-confrontational but every time we ride into the land of the purple road signs we (like all of you) spend a thousand (or thousands of) dollars and when we're asked to pay, we don't say, "Thank you for you patience." - nor could we get by with it if we did. The Walt Disney Company is a business with stock holders and it's a business that lives or dies by customer service. When that customer service isn't happening the stock holders (and Walt) want things fixed.

Please understand, I don't go on vacation to be grumpy. Yuch. I've left restaurants before where the server chased me out the door to thank me for the unusually large tip that's much more fun than ending a restautant meal with a complaint.

PS: I regularly pick up rolls of 'gold' presidential dollar coins at my bank (We're on THJefferson now, right?) and use them for fast food drive-through tips. They're always unexpected and very welcome. I returned to a Burger King 6 weeks after giving a window clerk a coin, "It's dollar man!" she said when I pulled up to the window.

[Polynesian Dweller]

For dining not on DDP, we tip 18% to 20%. On DDP we will leave something extra if its exceptional service.

Mousekeeping has always been a bit of a quandry for us. You don't always get the same mousekeeper each day and some do a better job than the others. They also apparently do not share tips. So if you do it daily, based on the previous days service, you are not necessarily giving it to the person who did the good job. If you do it at the end of the trip, only the last person gets it, even if you put it in separate envelopes labelled by day it won't get shared. Maybe someone has a strategy that works in these cricumstance and tips the correct person.

[jszczur5]

tips are included in the dining plan...right? Do you all tip 15 to 20% on top of that??

We never have, but I know that lots of people do. Except for our server at Le Cellier, not a single server this year deserved an additional tip. I don't even feel that most of them deserved the automatic 18% tip included in the DDP. Service and quality of food were a big let down this year compared to last. Le Cellier, being the major exception. Next year, hubby says, we'll just eat in Canada. From the breadsticks on, everything was exceptional. Best caesar salad I've had in a long time...and don't even get me started on the creme brulee sampler for dessert....

[Samtastic]

At home, I'm a big tipper (20-30% --Higher if the meal is like $15 at IHOP- i just leave $5).

At disney on the DDP last year I didin't tip above and beyond for this reasoning. If I was a regular diner (not on DDP) I'd probably get just an entree, or maybe the app or dessert. And I'd most likely get a cheaper entree. On the plan I normally ordered one of the more expensive choices for all 3. Thus my bill has MUCH bigger than if I was paying OOP. OOP I'd give probably 20%. On the DDP they were getting 18%. So instead of getting 20% of a $20-30 check [for me], they were getting 18% of $40-50. They were coming out ahead, so I didn't feel the need to pay over what I'd normally give.

This year I'll probably give 20% of the check with the DDP.

I only tip badly if the poor service is the server's fault (i.e. rude, nasty, forgetful, etc...). If it's slow service, order not 100% correct- these problems are most likely NOT the server's fault, and I don't see the point in punishing them because the kitchen staff was slow and did it wrong.

As for ME: I think I gave $5, and left $5 the first and last days for mousekeeping--it was only 2 adults and we're pretty tidy [I'm neurotic about making beds]

[SandmanGStefani24]

after looking at these posts, I guess I'm a generous tipper! I never leave less than 20% unless the server did something to upset me. My mother waited tables for a while when we were young. I have a soft spot when it comes to food service for that reason. It's a tough and thankless job so I tip more most of the time.