Disney dining plan will NOT include grat in 2008

[JimMIA]

Today The Union contract was passed , so the servers will Lose the auto 18% grat on prepaid dining plans...

This tells me that the employees voted IN FAVOR of eliminating the gratuities -- presumably as a trade-off for gains in other parts of the contract (insurance benefits, higher base wages, who knows?).

Exactly snow white, just lets all get together and call guest relations and complain

Huh? You voted to accept the contract. If the servers are only a small group lumped together with thousands of other workers, and the union is not representing your interests -- YOU should change that. You should argue that your group of employees is sufficiently unique that you need a separate bargaining unit, and then force an election. There are labor laws which permit that, protect employees, and set out the procedures for doing just that.

I think it's unrealistic - and more than a little opportunistic - to now try to incite your customer base to try to get back something that you bargained away.

We will still tip our usual 20%, because we almost always receive great service at Disney restaurants. But don't ask me to walk the picket lines with you!

Its not our fault that Florida only pays 3.65 hr plus tips

Florida doesn't pay you a penny. Most server jobs are not covered by Minimum Wage laws, and therefore, the legal wage for a server is $0.00 per hour. The State of Florida may have set a floor of $3.65 to protect workers like yourself, but they don't determine how much you make.

Disney offers $3.65 an hour to people who choose to work at that rate, and that is a salary level they negotiated with your union.

So learn how to tip those who are in charge of getting your food out to you, or eat at Fast food places

Well said!

In many countries, dining costs are considerably higher than in the US and servers are paid a living wage. That is not true in the US, and if someone is visiting the US they need to acquaint themselves with US realities and conduct themselves accordingly. Or eat at McD's. Or vacation at home.

But don't come here and tell our servers that you don't think you should tip because we're not accustomed to doing so at home. You're not at home.

We have a bumper sticker here in Miami that sums this concept up quite well: "We don't care HOW you do things up North!"

 

[kaytieeldr]

AND THE BULLY PART IS FOR THE PEOPLE WHO COME FOR FREE DINING, SOME OF THEM IN THEORY HAVE NEVER EATEN AT A FULL SERVICE RESTUARANT EXCEPT MAYBE A FAST FOOD BREAKFAST PLACE,

Oh, please. I was sympathetic before, but THIS assumption is just plain ignorant (not the poster, but the statement).

 

[kribit]

Today The Union contract was passed , so the servers will Lose the auto 18% grat on prepaid dining plans, and it will make us have to solicite tips to regular guests who are veterans of the dining plan that already know the grat was included.. Also new items that were added, parties of 6 or more will now be automatic 18% instead a party of 8 , and The Disney Dining Experience 20% off food and drinks will Now include a 18% grat on the first total... Disney Told us that the removal of the Grat on the meal plans was a trial to permanent thing, depending if the guests Complain about it enough, So all of us servers and bartenders hope you will all call and complain , They are still charging the full price for the dining plan and there are rumors that they wanna totally get rid of the food plan...... Please help your cast members that you care for.

May I ask a question? Do you get the whole 18% of the tip that Disney includes in the DDP? I was always curious about that. Because if they do take a portion of the 18% included in the package, the servers would make more money off me. I typically give 20%.

 

[mom0299]

I have a question... If this starts in 2008 what if you have a trip that starts in 2007 and overlaps into 2008? We are going on Dec. 29th 2007 and staying until Jan. 4 2008. We have the DDP. Will the grat. be included in all of our meals since our trip starts in 2007 (they are charging us for peak season the whole time even though value season starts Jan.1) or will we pay for grat OOP starting Jan. 1 2008? Just curious.

 

[JimMIA]

Now, how is that benefitting anyone?

That's simple -- the beneficiary is Disney.

Under the current plan, Disney receives $39 per day from an adult DDP participant. They compute the "value" of the TS meal to be about $25 and pay the restaurant an 18% tip on that amount...or about $4.50. The Disney-owned restaurants make up the difference to the servers. If the check is $50, the expected 18% tip would be $9, so the restaurant loses the other $4.50 off their bottom line. That's why some of the non-Disney restaurants only pass the amount paid by Disney on to their servers and don't make up the difference.

In this example, if Disney does not change the price of the DDP at all, their bottom line goes up $9 per day for each adult diner -- $4.50 savings from the payment to the restaurant, and $4.50 increased net income at their restaurant.

We - the people who use DDP - either make up that loss to the servers or not. OUR cost has gone up from $39 per day to $48 per day.

The servers will lose two ways. Some people will not tip at all -- hopefully not many. Many people will not tip 18% -- many folks don't normally tip that much.

But the bigger problem for servers, IMHO, is that traffic in the restaurants will probably decline somewhat. They'll be getting a smaller percentage average tip from a smaller base of customers.

 

[dannyh23]

DISNEY SERVERS VOTED NO FOR THE CONTRACT, REMEBER WE ARE ABOUT 800 OF THE 27,000 PEOPLE IN THE UNION AND WE VOTED NO

I think JimMIA did a great job in replying to you, but I already typed this out and hit preview and saw what he said.. but I'm going to say it anyway!

What you are saying is that the Union Servers/Union Leaders did not do a good job of convincing the rest of the Union members to vote the contract down... and that a majority of Disney union members thought that overall it was a better contract than you apparently did.

In order to get some of the benefits in the contract, other things had to go, and one of those things must have been automatic 18% tips in the DDP. If you don't like what your union agreed to, you are free to work somewhere else, just like I am free to eat at Chef Mickey's of the Chinese Buffett down the street.

Quite frankly, I'm glad for this change. Service to the general guest should improve because 18% automatic tips are no longer assumed -- bad service will result in bad tips. Excellent service will result in tips that exceed the DDP standard 18%.

Coming on a Internet message board anonymously to make an appeal to Disney guests to call and complain (while at the same time calling the free DDP people rude and bullies) seems quite, um, "self serving"!!!

 

[Colleen27]

The DDP will be around 40-45 dollars a day for an adult 10 or older and 20-25 for a child under 10 ... and no grats, come on is Disney really that stupid. At least 50% of the people who do ddp will NOT do it under those terms. Right now people figure the annoyances you have to deal with such as having to use CS and TS, having to do the ddp for everyone in the room, ect... is worth the savings, but if it cost that much and no grats and you still have the annoyances, what's the point? I'd pay OOP in a sec if they actually go through with this... and I'll eat at the cheapest places available.

I agree. I could see Disney getting away with either removing the gratuity OR increasing the price and not losing too many people, but doing both is likely to kill the DDP. Especially with those price increases! That's a 100% price increase on the kids' plan, give or take, even before figuring the cost of the gratuity. And it makes it so that the plan couldn't be cost effective for children - 7.50 for a TS kids; meal, 4 for a CS kids meal, 3 for a snack... At those prices, the DDP would mean paying $20 for $15 worth of food. Even with a character meal, you have a $12 or $13 kids meal, plus the $4 CS and the $3, which is closer to breaking even, but how many people use all their TS credits for character meals or buffets?

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't be interested in spending $20-25 now for $15-20 worth of food in 6 months. And I think Disney knows that they aren't going to be able to sell people on the plan if that is how they structure it.

 

[borgthe]

OK,

I read the contract and I don't see where it says about the tipping or the dining plan. Can anyone enlighten me?

Thanks!

 

[Momof2J's]

Great! We're going January 6-11th 2008 and was excited to use DDP for the first time. If this is the case and the tip will be removed and the price goes up that significantly we will not purchase the DDP

 

[Nancyg56]

But the bigger problem for servers, IMHO, is that traffic in the restaurants will probably decline somewhat. They'll be getting a smaller percentage average tip from a smaller base of customers.

That is going to be a big problem for the restaurants and the servers alike. I have read here time and again how easy it was to get into Disney restaurants prior to this version of the DDP. I have also read how the menus have changed and that has also been blamed on the DDP. I believe that the DDP is responsible for the increased traffic and am not so sure about the menu changes. I do think that if this is indeed true, those who are looking for the "good ole days" may be very happy. The people who rely on the increased customer base may struggle and may not be so pleased with the end result.

My Mom always told me to be careful what you wish for. We'll see how this turns out.

 

[Disneyserver]

May I ask a question? Do you get the whole 18% of the tip that Disney includes in the DDP? I was always curious about that. Because if they do take a portion of the 18% included in the package, the servers would make more money off me. I typically give 20%.

The 18% went on our paychecks after we tipped out the bartenders, and the food runners, so No we dont get 100% of the tip if it was a cash or credit card tip

 

[Disneyserver]

OK,

I read the contract and I don't see where it says about the tipping or the dining plan. Can anyone enlighten me?

Thanks!

They dont post that stuff to the general public, you have to take the word of the cast members who live it daily in our lives

 

[JimMIA]

AND THE BULLY PART IS FOR THE PEOPLE WHO COME FOR FREE DINING, SOME OF THEM IN THEORY HAVE NEVER EATEN AT A FULL SERVICE RESTUARANT EXCEPT MAYBE A FAST FOOD BREAKFAST PLACE,

Oh, please. I was sympathetic before, but THIS assumption is just plain ignorant (not the poster, but the statement).

I'll agree the OP is being a little strident with this particular comment...however, that doesn't mean they are wrong.

I think any of us who have always enjoyed dining at some of the better restaurants at Disney can point to the trip where DDP got wildly popular. One sign was that ADRs got harder to get. The other was we started seeing noticeable numbers of folks in the better restaurants who were obviously there for the first time. Certainly not all of those people, but a noticeable percentage of them, are not on any server's "Guest Hall of Fame" list!

We don't go during free dining for reasons that have nothing to do with DDP - so I can't say this with certainty - but I'm pretty confident that the number of obnoxious guests rises during that period. I've heard complaints about free diners from virtually every server who has served us for the last three years. I'm sure it's not a big percentage of the free diners, but I'd bet working is a LOT more stressful period for the servers than other times of the year.

 

[Disneyserver]

I have a question... If this starts in 2008 what if you have a trip that starts in 2007 and overlaps into 2008? We are going on Dec. 29th 2007 and staying until Jan. 4 2008. We have the DDP. Will the grat. be included in all of our meals since our trip starts in 2007 (they are charging us for peak season the whole time even though value season starts Jan.1) or will we pay for grat OOP starting Jan. 1 2008? Just curious.

WE ASKED THAT QUESTION TO THE UNION REPS, AND THEY SAID THEY HAVE NOT SOLD PACKAGES FOR THE HOLIDAYS YET, AND THE GRAT WILL BE NOT INCLUDED IF IT OVERLAPS INTO 2008

 

[Disneyserver]

I'll agree the OP is being a little strident with this particular comment...however, that doesn't mean they are wrong.

I don't think any of us who have always enjoyed dining at some of the better restaurants at Disney can point to the trip where DDP got wildly popular. One sign was that ADRs got harder to get. The other was we started seeing noticeable numbers of folks in the better restaurants who were obviously there for the first time. Certainly not all of those people, but a noticeable percentage of them, are not on any server's "Guest Hall of Fame" list!

We don't go during free dining for reasons that have nothing to do with DDP - so I can't say this with certainty - but I'm pretty confident that the number of obnoxious guests rises during that period. I've heard complaints about free diners from virtually every server who has served us for the last three years. I'm sure it's not a big percentage of the free diners, but I'd bet working is a LOT more stressful period for the servers than other times of the year.

ITS TRUE JIM, THE INCREASED NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS COME DURING FREE DDP SEASON AND WE ALL SAY WHY THEY COMPLAINING SO MUCH?? THEY GOT IT FOR FREE...

ALSO I HAVE BEEN WITH DISNEY A VERY LONG TIME BEFORE THE MEAL PLANS WERE AROUND, AND BEFORE DISNEY LOWERED THE PRICES SO THAT ALL PEOPLE OF ALL INCOME BRACETS CAN ENJOY DISNEY AND ITS ATTRACTIONS. WE USED TO DO VERY WELL WHEN THERE WAS NO MEAL PLANS AND PEOPLE TIPPED US JUST FINE, AND ALOT LESS COMPLAINTS AND HEADACHES, THE DDP HAS MADE MY POCKET BIGGER AND BUT I HAVE MORE HEADACHES THEN BEFORE, AND PEOPLE CANT EAT AT THERE FAV PLACES BECAUSE OF THE DDP AND THE OVERWHELMING AMOUNTS OF PEOPLE ON IT....

 

[JimMIA]

Service to the general guest should improve because 18% automatic tips are no longer assumed -- bad service will result in bad tips. Excellent service will result in tips that exceed the DDP standard 18%.

I disagree, and I think this flies in the face of both human nature and logic. I think the servers will suffer significantly lower tips if this change happens.

I have dined many, many times at Disney -- both on and off the DDP. Until now, I have never noted the slightest difference in service based on how we were paying for the meal. If anything, we have received better service on DDP because every single server we've ever had has gone to great lengths to be sure we understood our options under the plan.

After more than 100 meals on DDP, I'm still looking for that server who is going to provide substandard service because their tip is guaranteed. I just have not seen that person yet.

However...Disney is a very expensive vacation and most of us (even those who go several times a year) underestimate our trip costs. For a newbie with sticker shock, under-tipping a server is an easy way to cut back on costs that are far exceeding their expectations. And because of the previous history of the DDP, they can rationalize their boorish behavior by saying, "Oh...I thought the tip was INCLUDED like it always used to be. ( )"

If that happens regularly, we can expect servers to give a decent level of service to DDP guests and hope for the best, while reserving their best service for OOP guests. That's just human nature.

 

[Nancyg56]

The 18% went on our paychecks after we tipped out the bartenders, and the food runners, so No we dont get 100% of the tip if it was a cash or credit card tip

This is routine for most establishments that add an automatic percentage to the bill. My DS worked for a resort in South Fl and while 18% was added to each bill he was not given the entire amount. He was fine with that because the people who shared the gratuity with him also did a portion of the work.

When I waited tables tipping out the bus people and the bar tender was on the honor system. I know that there were some hard working people who did not get a fair share from some of my coworkers. I think that way was not the best way many times.

 

[JimMIA]

WE ASKED THAT QUESTION TO THE UNION REPS, AND THEY SAID THEY HAVE NOT SOLD PACKAGES FOR THE HOLIDAYS YET, AND THE GRAT WILL BE NOT INCLUDED IF IT OVERLAPS INTO 2008

You need to unlock your Caps Lock if you want to make your points effectively. People are not going to listen to screaming.

 

[Disneyserver]

You need to unlock your Caps Lock if you want to make your points effectively. People are not going to listen to screaming.[/Q

sorry didnt realize it was on

 

[brochad1611]

Ok, I am getting a little concerned over all this hype. To be completely honest, I think this is bogus. I think the person giving us this information is unrelible and exagerating. Some of the statements seem to be rather silly and inconsistent. Please, my friends, don't panic over one person's rumor. Don't get concerned, frightened, or worried. Plan your vacation like normal, buy the DDP, enjoy the resteraunts, and wait for anything official before changing. It seems to me, if I was to make some outlandish statement and swear it to be fact, then people would believe me and start the complaints immediately.

Just my opinion on what I perceive.

Have a great day.