DDP - tips

[dreamfinder]

Do the servers still get the tip if you leave it by card/Magic Band?

They do, as does Uncle Sam.

 

[danyoung56]

Just be sure, OP, if you book one of the rare TS meals where the tip is already INCLUDED (e.g., Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue, Cinderella's Royal Table), that you don't double-tip!

That becomes really important when using the Tables in Wonderland card, where tip is always included. I've felt cheap at times not leaving any additional tip, but I usually add an extra 5 bucks in there.

 

[HarperRose]

Just be sure, OP, if you book one of the rare TS meals where the tip is already INCLUDED (e.g., Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue, Cinderella's Royal Table), that you don't double-tip! We went to CRT for dinner one night -- a party of 6 -- and while I was in the restroom, the bill came. My aunt, who thought she was doing something nice, and because the receipt included the usual "write tip here" line with the percentages pre-calculated, went ahead and paid a tip -- an additional $80 (a fortune for this generous aunt, who lives frugally on a fixed income) on top of a bill that was already nearly $400 and included the tip !!! There was no way for my aunt to know this -- the receipt didn't clearly indicate that a gratuity had already been pre-paid, and our server "neglected" to mention it when she presented the bill, or when she scanned my aunt's MagicBand to claim her giant "bonus" tip. (I don't think this server's conduct is necessarily the norm: we've never had a server present us the bill at Hoop-Dee-Doo without reminding us that the gratuity was already paid.) By the time I found out a couple of days later, there was nothing I could do about it, but the memory of it still stings.

CRT is pre-paid in full, so why were you presented a bill?

 

[Weather_Lady]

CRT is pre-paid in full, so why were you presented a bill?

Search me. We've never NOT been presented a bill for any meal, on or off the DDP, pre-paid or no, even when the amount to be charged was zero. Clearly in this case the server was hoping to get more gratuity added on, which she succeeded in doing.

If you Google "Cinderella's Royal Table receipt," you'll see photos of dozens of other people's receipts, so our experience was not an aberration. Whether they've already charged your credit card or deducted from your DDP credits, why wouldn't a restaurant give you a receipt to confirm what was charged (or in the case of the DDP, how many credits you have remaining)?

 

[crxbrett]

So the servers are basically duping people into tipping twice? Is that correct?

 

[Weather_Lady]

So the servers are basically duping people into tipping twice? Is that correct?

I'm not saying that -- again, I was not at the table when the bill came and I hope it was a misunderstanding, although the server apparently didn't question my aunt when she agreed to pay an additional gratuity of over 20% on top of the gratuity-included total. I was just pointing out to the OP that the risk is there -- that it's easy to forget that you already paid a tip if you're presented, 6 months later, with a bill that contains a spot for [another] one to be added, and that your server might not say anything about it. Perhaps our server innocently believed that we intended for her to get a ~$150 tip for serving us a $360 meal - I'll never know.

 

[danyoung56]

I think most servers are very aware of how the tipping works, and just keep their mouths shut in order to make another 20 bucks. I mean, can you imagine a server saying "Now, I've already been tipped, so don't give me any more money"? Ain't gonna happen.

 

[crxbrett]

Hmmm. I think a server would probably know the tip was already included unless they were a rookie. That seems super shady if that is what they are doing. A lot of people probably don't know and think they are only getting the 1 tip.

That's unscrupulous on the server's part. I'll definitely be on the lookout for that!!! I'm not paying any server 30%, let alone 40% of a bill!!

 

[danyoung56]

For great service I'll usually throw in an extra 5 bucks, but I'll check the bill pretty closely to make sure the server is getting their due.