Just back: DDP and gratuities (big problem)

[epicureangirl]

Yes, she is a foreigner (Canadian) and it may be different for American waitstaff. However I do not believe this to be the case for a proportion of the cast members.

Yes, we're a strange bunch...

 

[mermaid&cinderella]

I just don't like that they expect to get the 18%-20%. That is not the norm that some people are use to. I am going to wdw in a few months and I have the plan and I iwll not necessarily tip 18-20% if I don't feel I should. What are they going to do to me?????

 

[epicureangirl]

Um, I am always suspect of a server who cries 'poor me' to a customer. Seems to me that she was telling you a story to get your sympathy. Believe me, as a person with over 10 years of service under my belt, no server is going to walk away from a table of 6 too embarassed to ask a perfectly legitimate 'how would you like to pay for that?'. As far as I'm concerned, when a server starts telling me what bad tippers other people are, that's my clue that they are fishing for an extra sympathy tip from me.
KC

And clearly they should elsewhere...

Do people actually give 'sympathy tips'? I have never heard of that.

 

[KNEIPPK]

You come in
You eat
Then they bring the check, with a seperate slip that suggests an 18% or 20 % tip
that you have to fill out right then or decline to fill out if leaving cash- then the card is run- deducting credits and charging room for tip

Kind of if a bad service

is the tip a suggestion or an auto charge?

 

[irene_dsc]

You come in
You eat
Then they bring the check, with a seperate slip that suggests an 18% or 20 % tip
that you have to fill out right then or decline to fill out if leaving cash- then the card is run- deducting credits and charging room for tip

Kind of if a bad service

is the tip a suggestion or an auto charge?

We just got back (trip 1/2 through 1/8), and it looked like everyone was still getting used to the transition. The first night, iirc, we got 2 bills - one with all 0's, and one that showed how much we would have paid if we had done cash. That one had a line at the bottom showing that 18% = $xx.xx. Then, they had to do two transactions - one to charge our DDP, and another to put the tip on our room. The next night, it had switched to having one line with 18% = $xx.xx, and the next line with 20% = $xx.xx. Basically, they were trying to help people figure out their math, so you knew the exact amount if you wanted to use those percentages. But, I think we always tipped over that, anyhow - we got excellent service the entire trip. BUT, our last night, at Ohana, dh wrote the amount on the bottom of the check, and may not have gotten it run a second time, and I didn't see it on our bill when we checked out - so our server may have accidentally gotten screwed out of his tip on that one.

Btw, there were 4 of us, so no auto-tipping applied.

 

[Nancyg56]

Um, I am always suspect of a server who cries 'poor me' to a customer. Seems to me that she was telling you a story to get your sympathy. Believe me, as a person with over 10 years of service under my belt, no server is going to walk away from a table of 6 too embarassed to ask a perfectly legitimate 'how would you like to pay for that?'. As far as I'm concerned, when a server starts telling me what bad tippers other people are, that's my clue that they are fishing for an extra sympathy tip from me.

First I agree that servers should not discuss their tips with customers. It is not professional. Having said that, I waited tables for many more years than I care to count. One restaurant that I worked at accepted a BOGO coupon from The Entertainment Book and it was stipulated that if a customer used the coupon the restaurant could charge 15% on the amount the bill should have been, I never did this and I cannot tell you how many times I was not given a tip or was not given an appropriate tip from those customers. This did not happen all of the time but enough that I hated to see those little cards come out.

What you forget it that most servers are not used to discussing their tip with their customers and do not want to be placed in the position of placing a bill for their service on the table.

 

[wendypooh]

We've used the dining plan 3 times now. Each one of those trips, DH always left MORE than the 18% that WAS included. We've been very fortunate and almost all of our servers have been awesome, therefore, we always left extra tip. I think Disney totally screwed up with removing the gratuity from the plan - the servers are going to suffer for it! I think it's in very poor taste for a server to have to present a customer with a seperate "bill" for the tip, it's embarassing and puts the patron in an akward situation should they feel the service not up to par. I certainly hope Disney fixes this!!! I would've GLADLY paid a little more to keep the gratuity included. We did purchase the DDDP for this trip. We do know that the grat. is NOT included and are prepared for that accordingly!!!

I just wish Disney hadn't screwed this up so royally!!! LOL

 

[wendypooh]

What you forget it that most servers are not used to discussing their tip with their customers and do not want to be placed in the position of placing a bill for their service on the table.

My thoughts exactly - I think it's horrible that Disney put the server in this position! It's bad all the way around!! I just hope that something changes before the servers are getting stiffed consistently - and you know they will!!!!

 

[JimMIA]

I just don't like that they expect to get the 18%-20%. That is not the norm that some people are use to. I am going to wdw in a few months and I have the plan and I iwll not necessarily tip 18-20% if I don't feel I should. What are they going to do to me?????

Nothing. The 18% and 20% calculations are obviously just meant to make it easier for you to tip at those levels.

As far as I know, the generally-accepted "good manners" tip is 15-20% in most places. In most major resorts I've visited for many years, most restaurants automatically add a service charge of at least 15%, with 18% mandatory not being uncommon. I have seen the automatic, mandatory charge as high as 22%. Disney has chosen not to automatically add that kind of charge to most checks.

I don't object to the calculations. I certainly think Disney has to do something. With a global clientele like WDW has, there are many people visiting who do not tip anything at all at home -- the server's income is factored into the food cost. If Disney didn't put some suggestion in there, the servers would get stiffed pretty often.

 

[KCMiller]

First I agree that servers should not discuss their tips with customers. It is not professional. Having said that, I waited tables for many more years than I care to count. One restaurant that I worked at accepted a BOGO coupon from The Entertainment Book and it was stipulated that if a customer used the coupon the restaurant could charge 15% on the amount the bill should have been, I never did this and I cannot tell you how many times I was not given a tip or was not given an appropriate tip from those customers. This did not happen all of the time but enough that I hated to see those little cards come out.

What you forget it that most servers are not used to discussing their tip with their customers and do not want to be placed in the position of placing a bill for their service on the table.

If the restaurants policy was that the restaurant charged 15% on the amount of the bill prior to the BOGO, then why the heck didn't you do it? Gosh, after the first time I got stiff I would have wised up. The biggest problem I had with waiting table, and why I stopped, was having my paycheck held hostage by idiots (duh, tip, what's a tip?), cheapskates (I just paid $150 for dinner, and only have $3 left - that's good enough) and irrational complainers (I didn't like the soup - I won't leave a tip, and that'll show the chef I mean business!).

I LOVE threads about tipping - people are so creative !


KC

 

[Nancyg56]

If the restaurants policy was that the restaurant charged 15% on the amount of the bill prior to the BOGO, then why the heck didn't you do it? Gosh, after the first time I got stiff I would have wised up. The biggest problem I had with waiting table, and why I stopped, was having my paycheck held hostage by idiots (duh, tip, what's a tip?), cheapskates (I just paid $150 for dinner, and only have $3 left - that's good enough) and irrational complainers (I didn't like the soup - I won't leave a tip, and that'll show the chef I mean business!).

I LOVE threads about tipping - people are so creative !


KC

For the same reason the Disney servers are having such a difficult time with this. I had never had any experience with this discount thing and had received very good tips for the most part. There will always be people who do not think they should tip, but that is another thread, I never took them personally.

I have to say that I knew the chance I was taking but I just could not bring myself to add an automatic tip onto a bill. There is a real difference between the establishment adding a gratuity onto a bill and a server doing the same thing. Just ask any server who has dealt with the backlash and the personal attacks and your hair will curl. I would rather take my chances then have a customer nitpick everything possible in order to justify leaving less or no tip.

I believe that Disney restaurants will go to an automatic gratuity for those who purchase the plan in order to reduce the stress on their servers and in order to ensure that they are able to keep an experienced and professional staff.

 

[Superspectral]

all of the servers we have had have brought us the gratuity slip before they run our card for the DDP. We have had to write the tip amount on the slip and then put our card with it and they run the card, charging the tip to our room. None of them have seemed to have a problem with telling us about how the tips work now.

The method for settling the tip on the dining plan that others have described seems awkward, unexpected and a significant departure from the normal way tips are given. It seems to me to me likely that this method in-and-of-itself causes people to start thinking about what they like/don't like about the tipping process-and let's face it-reading posts on many threads demonstrates that people are passionate about their feelings on tipping.

The ordinary process whereby you settle your check with the restaurant and then the server either brings change/or you fill in the tip on the credit slip (out of presence of the wait staff) makes tipping feel like an incentive. This is regardless of whether by custom or practice tips are rarely if ever withheld or reduced (I've only done this in extra-ordinary cases). In practice, I think only in cases of bad service or ignorance are tips witheld or reduced - which makes a small or no tip more like a punishment for bad service. But I think that people euphamistically say a tip is a "gratuity" so everybody(servers, customers, etc) are in a more postive mind-frame about the process, so that the fear of the unlikely bad service or confrontation doesn't create a bad mood.

On the other hand, the Disney Dining plan process where by you fill out your tip amount and then give it to the waitperson before leaving your table raises some questions. I think that most people are at least going to think, even if just for a few seconds: This seems presumptious - I intend to tip - but suppose service was bad and wanted to leave a smaller tip- is my server going to confront me? Why bring up such negative thoughts by the process?

I suspect that the Disney is using this method to minimize the chance that servers(or managers) steal from customers by adding a tip to credit card slips where cash was given (or the customer intended no tip) or by inflating the tip. The guest (presumably) gets a receipt with the actual tip paid. This minimizes the chance that the guest is going to complain at checkout about mystery charges (real or imagined). I also wonder if avoiding fraud is a reason why auto gratuities are added on tables of 6 or more, as I can imagine it might present a better opportunity to inflate the credit card tip.

The Disney method is even contrary to where technology is taking settling the tip by credit card. In Europe, and a few places in the US, wireless credit card readers are being used to let customers settle their check at the table. These come preloaded with buttons to add tip to the bill. Both check and tip are settled at the same time and you get a receipt for both. The difference is that the customer can settle the check outside the presence of the server. The server can check at a terminal whether the check has been settled, but otherwise the server or the bus-staff retrieves the card scanner after the customer has left. Such technology avoids the possibility that the server or management inflates or adds a tip.

 

[Marc A.]

It just seems to me that this whole debacle could have been avoided by just raising the price and keeping it the way it was.....
People that tip "extra" would do it anyway if they felt happy with the service and the waiters/tresses would get their tip automatically, which they deserve 97% of the time anyhow.

 

[mom_n_buggie]

I agree that Disney should have just raised the cost of the DDP to keep gratuities in the plan. Loosing the appetizer I can live with but, the tip being removed makes the DDP users feel uneasy about how they will be treated and it leaves the server in tip limbo!

 

[NMW]

We plan to just carry cash for our tips, so I don't think it should be a big deal at all.

 

[fairestoneofall]

I know that, on the old DDP, we always tipped extra. It seemed like less coming out of our pocket, since we had already paid for the DDP and felt like we were getting a deal. But, with the tip now NOT included, we won't be able to tip like that. We normally tip about 20% anyway, and that's probably all we'll do now. I can totally see how the servers are getting screwed by this change.

I wonder if Disney has done the separate slips to make sure that customers know that the new DDP doesn't include tips. I can see how it would be awkward. But, I just don't get it for a party of six or more. I've been to many restaurants where, at the beginning of our meal, our server let us know that there was an automatic 18% gratuity added to our check. I've never thought it was a big deal at all.

 

[Nancyg56]

It just seems to me that this whole debacle could have been avoided by just raising the price and keeping it the way it was.....
People that tip "extra" would do it anyway if they felt happy with the service and the waiters/tresses would get their tip automatically, which they deserve 97% of the time anyhow.

I think that Disney should have just scrapped the "old" DP and created the "new" one rather than monkeying around with a plan that was so wildly popular that many people who have used it in the past don't even think twice about booking it....they just do. It really isn't the same as the old one, the changes are financially drastic to anyone who was not savvy enough to research it thoroughly, so allowing people to book it under the same name is irresponsible IMO. When a company make positive changes t a plan they market those changes and make sure that the good word is spread. The company should have done the same thing here, but was not willing to so it would have made sense to give it a new name to make people aware that a change had occurred.

I doubt that Disney would have been willing to raise the price to include the gratuity. There had been plenty of feedback from people who wanted control of a gratuity that they were not paying for to justify removing it from the plan. Disney gains financially in the short run, and customers got what some thought they wanted. Time will tell how this works out.

 

[mickeysgirl17]

DBF and I were NOT on the DDP for our 1/2-1/7 trip (plane landed 1.5 hours ago). We had an AMAZING waitress last night at Le Cellier and she spoke of the new DDP.

A portion of the servers are foregoing tips for DDP guests because they do not feel comfortable asking how the party wants to pay for their tip. She said that it has become an extremely uncomfortable situation.

The waitress had left a table of 6 (new rules say 18% gratuity) without asking how they wanted to pay for her tip and they didn't leave her anything. And this has happened since the new plan went into effect. Yes, she is a foreigner (Canadian) and it may be different for American waitstaff. However I do not believe this to be the case for a proportion of the cast members.

If you are on the plan, I HIGHLY suggest carrying cash, and leave it on the table when you leave if you are not approached. I understand that people do not want to carry cash, hence the dining plan. But then be prepared to stand up and make the statement how you want to pay for their tip.

This woman in particular makes 2.15 and probably walked away from a $45 tip at that one table of 6. That's a lot of money lost nightly to keep yourself out of a very unique situation that your employer put you in.

I am writing to Disney about this, I am appalled. And yes, we left her a great tip (she was amazing anyway).

Enjoy the new DDP.

It's so unfortunate that disney has done this. I can't believe the servers have to be put in such a situation. I for one loved the old dining plan and hate the changes to the new plan. I can't believe first of all that they removed the appetizer and tip for only a $1 difference, but now its not as convienient because we have to bring money and those poor servers- I have always had excellent service at all eateries and I won't be shocked if service deteriorates becuase servers are not getting tipped. Disney needs to bring back the old DP!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Jumping on the bandwagon...this new way is just SOOOO awkward all around. But I think I figured out a solution. Order a drink (adult of course!). Then you will have an actual "bill" Add your tip to that bill (for the full meal of course) and it should alleviate the rediculous "tip bill" that they are handing out.

 

[SplashMountainMama]

We are a party of 8 leaving in 16 days for WDW. WE will be using DDP and I have no problem with the automatic gratuity for our party. Everytime I have made an ADR the CM's have been careful to tell me that a tip would be added and wasn't included in the DDP. My concern is with how to pay for the tip. I would like to carry cash for tips, but how do you know that it will be accounted for. I mean, what's to stop someone from saying I didn't leave any cash on the table?