Oh, no! Not another tipping on the DDP question!!

[Tiggerfanatic]

This one is technically for any CM/servers....

I know the new Dining Plan does not include the tip as it has in the past. My question is, does it make any difference to the server if I add the tip to my room charge, or is it better for you if I leave cash at the table? I had heard that if the tip is charged, the server has to wait until he/she gets paid to see that money, which doesn't seem very fair to me. I realize my trip is several months away, just getting all my little ducks in a row, and starting to fill my envelopes with the cash I'll need while I'm in the parks.

 

[Cnrtygirl]

I am curios about this too. Any CM out that can answer?

 

[eagles]

that would be a great question to have answered. i think i will start my little envelops also.

 

[Hakunamatata]

Excelent question. We are less than a month out from our trip with DDP.

 

[progroupie]

It wouldn't be a bad idea to ask your server what they prefer. Just pull them aside and ask them discreetly which would be easiest for them. I'm sure some wouldn't mind the money coming in their paycheck while some would like it sooner.

 

[wdwmagic]

I'm going to sound the mean one now, but I never quite understand the lengths that people go to for servers. Yes some are very good, but as are many other CMs at WDW. Every other CM has to wait until they get their pay check, so why can't the server wait? I often feel like we are supposed to bend over backwards for servers. I understand that server positions at WDW restaurants are virtually impossible to get, as the CM in the jobs wont leave - the tips are so good!

 

[progroupie]

I'm going to sound the mean one now, but I never quite understand the lengths that people go to for servers. Yes some are very good, but as are many other CMs at WDW. Every other CM has to wait until they get their pay check, so why can't the server wait? I often feel like we are supposed to bend over backwards for servers. I understand that server positions at WDW restaurants are virtually impossible to get, as the CM in the jobs wont leave - the tips are so good!

The difference is that the regular CM's are getting paid a regular rate of pay, the servers aren't. So all those regular CM's get a full paycheck everyweek and they have that money to live on. A server gets a much smaller paycheck because they're making server wages which is below minimum wage so they need their take home tips to live on as well.

 

[wdwmagic]

The difference is that the regular CM's are getting paid a regular rate of pay, the servers aren't. So all those regular CM's get a full paycheck everyweek and they have that money to live on. A server gets a much smaller paycheck because they're making server wages which is below minimum wage so they need their take home tips to live on as well.

I dont quite follow your point.

The regular CMs get $7 or $8 per hour, no tips, and get paid each week.

The servers make something similar to that, and get their tips each week.

Bottom line - regular CMs get a very small pay check each week (far below what many of them deserve), servers get a larger check each week once their tips are factored in.

 

[lilclerk]

I dont quite follow your point.

The regular CMs get $7 or $8 per hour, no tips, and get paid each week.

The servers make something similar to that, and get their tips each week.

Do they make similar to that or a lot less? I know my friend makes $2.50/hour as a waiter, but he rakes in the tips. Is it different in Disney due to the union?

 

[Hakunamatata]

Think of it this way, a family of four isnt going to eat for less than $40 for a sit down meal. If the server does an excellent job, they are probably going to get an $8 tip. Multiply that by the number of tables they handle at one time (5 maybe 6???) per hour and thats $40 per hour. Now I realize they probably have to comp out the bus staff and kitchen, but still, they are making more than normal CMs.

 

[jennc2001]

servers work harder than any of the other employees and get paid a lot less per hour. a servers bills get paid by tips, not paychecks...and it sometimes angers me the way people think about things like this ($8 a table, 4-6 tables per section). my fiance used to think like that too and it's really hard to explain if you're not actually a server. usually you tip out at least 3% of your sales which can take away about 4 tables tips. i've really never understood tipping on how much your check is, cause i give the same service whether someone spends $5 or $50...it's all the same with me. you should tip your server what they deserve as far as the service they give you and remember that they make approximately $2.13/hr....and that's a HUGE difference compared to regular CMs that make $7-8/hr!
(sorry.....i get a little heated on the server subject sometimes being i've done it for many years )

 

[progroupie]

I dont quite follow your point.

The regular CMs get $7 or $8 per hour, no tips, and get paid each week.

The servers make something similar to that, and get their tips each week.

Bottom line - regular CMs get a very small pay check each week (far below what many of them deserve), servers get a larger check each week once their tips are factored in.

Servers aren't making $8 an hour, it's actually about half that. That's what they're getting on their checks, so their actual paychecks are half of what a regular CM's is. The rest of their money is their tips which they take home nightly. The original poster was just wondering if they should tip in cash so the server would get it immedietly because otherwise they wouldn't get it right away and have to wait for their paycheck.

 

[progroupie]

servers work harder than any of the other employees and get paid a lot less per hour. a servers bills get paid by tips, not paychecks...and it sometimes angers me the way people think about things like this ($8 a table, 4-6 tables per section). my fiance used to think like that too and it's really hard to explain if you're not actually a server. usually you tip out at least 3% of your sales which can take away about 4 tables tips. i've really never understood tipping on how much your check is, cause i give the same service whether someone spends $5 or $50...it's all the same with me. you should tip your server what they deserve as far as the service they give you and remember that they make approximately $2.13/hr....and that's a HUGE difference compared to regular CMs that make $7-8/hr!
(sorry.....i get a little heated on the server subject sometimes being i've done it for many years )

Eh, it depends on what you consider the hardest job in the park to be. Servers do work awfully hard but they also get to do that work in an air conditioned restaurant which is more than a lot of CM's can say about their jobs.

 

[SanFrancisco]

Does anybody know why they stopped including the gratuity in the plan? I always thought that it was great Disney covered the tip. Sometimes we'd leave extra cash when we felt like the CM was especially great. I'm worried that if Disney doesn't cover the tip, some folks still won't leave one. I'd hate to see the CM's lose out.

 

[lilclerk]

I seem to recall a waitress commenting on this topic when we first learned that the ddp would no longer have the tip. I think she said something along the lines of a credit card company gets 5% of the total bill, so if you're only paying the tip on the card, the server is losing 5% of it.

 

[davidpw97]

I am not a server but I have been a pizza delivery guy and we prefer cash tips. I don't know how it works at Disney but this is how it works at the pizza place i've worked at. All tips, whether on credit cards, or cash are given to the driver at the end of the day. However, tips put on credit cards are automatically reported as income and taxes are paid on that income. A cash tip is not automatically reported and when tax time comes around I think most servers and other tipped employees leave a little off when they report their income so cash tips mean a little more money and less tax.

 

[Tiggerfanatic]

It wouldn't be a bad idea to ask your server what they prefer. Just pull them aside and ask them discreetly which would be easiest for them. I'm sure some wouldn't mind the money coming in their paycheck while some would like it sooner.

That would be OK, but I would like to know ahead of time as to whether $200.00 in cash is enough for the week, or if I need $400.00 to cover tips as well.

 

[jennc2001]

Eh, it depends on what you consider the hardest job in the park to be. Servers do work awfully hard but they also get to do that work in an air conditioned restaurant which is more than a lot of CM's can say about their jobs.

you make a point....God bless air conditioning!!!

 

[jennc2001]

I seem to recall a waitress commenting on this topic when we first learned that the ddp would no longer have the tip. I think she said something along the lines of a credit card company gets 5% of the total bill, so if you're only paying the tip on the card, the server is losing 5% of it.

hmmm, i've never heard that before!!!!

 

[J_Krafty24]

That would be OK, but I would like to know ahead of time as to whether $200.00 in cash is enough for the week, or if I need $400.00 to cover tips as well.

Do whatever is easiest for you. There is no need to inconvienence yourself so that a server gets their pay immediatly instead of having to wait a week (like nearly every other working person does, sometimes two weeks) or so that they can skip out on paying the taxes they are supposed to (again, nearly every other working person gets taxed on their entire income, why should servers be any different other than they can get away with it)