Am I being cheap?

[Gig 'Em Mickey]

Think of it like that memo that goes to everyone in an office about cleaning the microwave. Everyone gets it so as not to single anyone out but it is really only intended for that one jerk who will nuke a hot pocket for 10 minutes and not clean up the aftermath of the explosion.

The reason he couldn't clean it up is he didn't have time to clean the microwave before is colon exploded in the bathroom.

Diarhea pocket!

 

[Lunamis]

When I have been to buffets and discussed it with other people there seems to be a 10% tip consensus. Naturally, unless the employee was really great.

Regular restaurants I do 15%-20% depending on service. I am still in college, I sometimes wish I could give more! Serving is not an easy job. Neither is hotel front desk- wish I got tipped for that:lol:

 

[rock_doctor]

Does anyone else think the whole tip thing in Disney world is kinda out of hand? It is so in your face. I dont mind tipping however I do mind being reminded through out my meal to tip.

Yes they are extremely aggressive so much so we no longer eat at Disney. Lucky we always drive so we can eat anywhere we want, just about every restaurant is w/in a 10min drive.

 

[ThinkTink721]

When it comes to tipping at restaurants, I always go on service including how much the server does & their hospitality.
The better the server, the better the tip.
:wave:

 

[Glasgow]

I wish tipping would just be removed altogether and the employees just got paid a better base salary. You might argue then that the service might deterioate .. okay, then fire that employee. That's what happens at most jobs ..

The other downside of tipping is that the servers sometimes will put on false airs or lie (say it ain't so!) to get a larger tip, so you never really know if they are being genuinely nice. Enough with all of this pomp and circumstance, I say! haha

 

[bogey33]

Being in the restaurant field for many years I think tipping should be calculated from service alone. Also the main reason most restaurant requests at least a 18 % tip is because most servers tip out at the end of the night. For example 2% goes to the bar and 1% goes the busboy. so that means the server should always go home with 15% of the their sales at the end of the night. I know they get minimum wage but they also have to report their tips at the end of their shift to Uncle Sam as well. But 100% agree if someone expects a tip because it is automatically added and they do a horrible job get a manager involved so you don't have to pay for unacceptable service. Just my 2 cents.

 

[macsmom]

Lots of people do NOT report all of their tips at the end of the night. I worked at a Ryan's for a few months. I was reporting all of my tips at the end of the night - I was told to and I had never been a server before. A friend of mine who also worked there could not believe I did it! You barely claim anything and then Ryan's makes up the difference to minimum wage. So, you walk out of there with good tips at the end of each night and then you get your paycheck in the mail with extra pay. Not alot, but a little extra.

danna

 

[timeman]

I tip based on service and ignore the % rule. The better the service the better the tip, the worse the service the worse the tip. There is one exception to that rule for me and that is if the person is new at the job and I get poor service I will leave the recommended %, but if I end up having that same person again a month or so down the road and still get poor service then they get a poor tip at that time.

 

[heliumalias]

As a non-American I tip unusually often. It doesn't bother me that they "remind" people to tip because I know that a lot of people are unaware of hte frequency of tipping in the US (just look at any foreign guidebook to the US. there is ALWAYS a section on expected tipping).
I personally vary the actual amount I give based on several things.

1) I like whole numbers so while I try to stick with 15-20% I do tend to round it into a nice neat number (i.e. if the tip worked out at 93¢ I'd give $1)

2) quality of service. If I see a cockroach near the kitchen (yes this has happened to me before in a quality establishment. Not Disney though) I will not tip. If the server ignores me throughout the meal I will not tip (again, has happened before at a restaurant where they automatically added service - that got the server in trouble). If the server goes out of their way to make the meal a good experience then I will tip more.

At buffets my max would probably be 15% (and a smiley face on the bill to make sure they knew I'd enjoyed it).

As for tipping in coffee bars....
I don't know what happens in the US but in the UK if you see a tip jar/cup/whatever in a coffee bar please DON'T tip them. As a former barista I never saw any of the tips that people put in the pot but wasn't allowed to say anything to people. I just had to smile and say thank you. It just went straight to the managers pockets.

 

[drossjr]

I would agree. 15-20% is customary for good service, but many tip a bit less on the buffet, as low as 10% when I've been with other people.

But it is really up to your discretion and the level of service you receive.

Always try to remember that a tip should reflect the service, not simply be a customary number.

And yes, I have worked jobs where I depended on tips and still feel this way.

agrees with you on this.nicely put. we usually tip based on the service. if we get great service as a full service establishment we go above 20% if its lousy who knows! :lol:

 

[drdoom1001]

At major restaurants servers usually tip out at the end of their shifts as much as 5% of their tips to other employees,bussers,bartenders,food runners, etc...So if they average 18% in tips they'll walk out with 13% or if they average 15% in tips they'll only make 10% of what their sales were for the day.Now for buffet servers I doubt they end up having to tip out that much,if anything at all so just over 10% should be allright.

 

[Beccone]

I wish tipping would just be removed altogether and the employees just got paid a better base salary. You might argue then that the service might deterioate .. okay, then fire that employee. That's what happens at most jobs ..

The other downside of tipping is that the servers sometimes will put on false airs or lie (say it ain't so!) to get a larger tip, so you never really know if they are being genuinely nice. Enough with all of this pomp and circumstance, I say! haha

I worked in the restaurant business for 10 years and I have to tell you, yes sometimes the servers have to dong a little acting (lieing). I have had to deal with many people who were either downright nasty or just treated me like their personal slave. And yes I had to smile, say thank you and deal with it or I was fired. I'm not saying that you are one of those people but I just wanted to point out that in that kind of business you always have to be on your good side.

As far as the poster who mentioned the roach they saw near the kitchen and didn't tip the server, I am pretty sure that the server has nothing to do with the roach being there, that would be managements fault. If a problems like that arises, call a manger over and in most cases, at least in any decent restaurant, the manager with comp your meal but you should still leave a tip.

As far as tipping goes, for the most part we leave 20% or more if service is great. My husband and I had never heard about the 10% tipping at buffets, we generally don't eat at buffets but tend to do alot at Disney. My husband and I agree that with our 4 kids we usually run the poor server to death so we don't mind tipping them more. I can honestly say we've never had such bad service at any restaurant in Disney where there has ever been a debate over how we should tip. Of course now as I said that we'll have horrible experiences on our next trip, LOL.