Brits don't like to tip

[MAZANDSTEVE]

Great point! I can remember many a 'training' server coming in for their first training shift and they never came back!:p Happened all the time - people just don't realize how long you're on your feet and all of the many challenging:rolleyes: people you have to deal with each day....:)

 

 

:confused:That happens in many many jobs though:)

[Captain Jake]

$9.60 per hour is actually a terrible wage for a waiter/waitress in the U.S. For a server working in a mid level place, like Olive Garden for example, working a 5 hour dinner shift with 4 tables an hour (average amount) with check total averaging $30 (pretty low in my estimation) and an 18% tip they would average about $100 for their shift - making the pay $20 an hour. Obviously for higher end restaurants you would make much more since in our culture the tip is directly linked to the check total. That's why it's not just a job for college kids here but also for single mom's, dad's and other adults - you can make a living doing it here, although certainly you won't get rich doing it!:p

 

not totally true.Sure your logic is true in the metro areas but how about a waitress serving 5 buck breakfast in a small town? Those I usually tip much higher than 20%.Now we've been places where 4 couples have a 300 buck tab after an hour and a half and the waitress is trying to rush you along to get her next big tip.Now she expects 60 bucks for her hour and a half work but she seems hell bent on not giving her customers and relaxing night out since she is only interested in raking in the dough.Now this server would never get 20 percent from me.She would be lucky to get 10 and at that she would be overpaid since she did a crappy job

:cj

[marci22]

The cruise price goes up anyway after adding on what you need to take for tips! Makes no difference really. And then at least they will get paid the correct amount.

 

Well the argument could be made that you are at least in control of rewarding good vs bad service.

 

I agree that tips should be included in the price. I tip so it makes no difference to me. Just trying to explain the point of view of a server, which I was for many years.

[MAZANDSTEVE]

Well the argument could be made that you are at least in control of rewarding good vs bad service.

 

I agree that tips should be included in the price. I tip so it makes no difference to me. Just trying to explain the point of view of a server, which I was for many years.

 

 

Well according to many people on CC, its their wages so I wouldnt withhold anyway, there are cruiselines that have tips incl and they get great service, I think if it was a case of maybe losing your job if you do not give good service then that would be enough incentive, there are many people queuing up to get a job on a cruiseline.

[marci22]

not totally true.Sure your logic is true in the metro areas but how about a waitress serving 5 buck breakfast in a small town? Those I usually tip much higher than 20%.Now we've been places where 4 couples have a 300 buck tab after an hour and a half and the waitress is trying to rush you along to get her next big tip.Now she expects 60 bucks for her hour and a half work but she seems hell bent on not giving her customers and relaxing night out since she is only interested in raking in the dough.Now this server would never get 20 percent from me.She would be lucky to get 10 and at that she would be overpaid since she did a crappy job

:cj

 

$300 for 8 people is not really exorbitant, first of all.

 

Maybe her manager is telling her to rush because there are lots of people waiting. Maybe they have a reservation for the time slot following.

 

Believe me, most servers do not 'rake in the dough', they just get by. Lots of people on the edge, putting themselves through school, finding work after a job lay-off or divorce, etc.

 

Just say to the server "we'd like more coffee" and things should be fine. If she says "no", then adjust her tip accordingly. If you are not drinking or eating anymore, it's time to leave.

[marci22]

... there are many people queuing up to get a job on a cruiseline.

 

And if that is the case, there is simply no incentive for the cruiselines to pay more than what they are paying. Back to square one.

 

I think that not so many people are lining up, or the cruiselines wouldn't even be considering revising the gratuity method.

[luckyprincess]

not totally true.Sure your logic is true in the metro areas but how about a waitress serving 5 buck breakfast in a small town? Those I usually tip much higher than 20%.Now we've been places where 4 couples have a 300 buck tab after an hour and a half and the waitress is trying to rush you along to get her next big tip.Now she expects 60 bucks for her hour and a half work but she seems hell bent on not giving her customers and relaxing night out since she is only interested in raking in the dough.Now this server would never get 20 percent from me.She would be lucky to get 10 and at that she would be overpaid since she did a crappy job

:cj

Yes, breakfast is tough and most good servers don't pull that card - but unfortunatly some have to. I do live in a metro area, true, but you can have a diner atmosphere anywhere in this country. I tip much higher at breakfast too, personally. As I said, most good servers woulnd't apply for a breakfast job (or lunch unless it's in a business or tourist area) because you wouldn't make much. It's like a good doctor going to work in a town of 1000 people - they probably won't make as much as going to work in a hospital in a bigger town. However, we all know that some people don't have the luxury of choosing their workplaces - especially in small towns without a good economic outlook. I find these to be the exceptions, though. I imagine that the amount of servers working in NYC just today probably makes up about half of the servers serving in a $5 breakfast place in our small towns.

Your last example is a great example of a bad server that will be weeded out. It is not a job for the weak, pushy or impatient:) If you don't treat your diners well then they won't tip you well. It actually illustrates the point that her tip was in direct connection with her level of service - isn't it great that you could control the tip amount rather than having her get paid anyway for rushing you?

[Captain Jake]

$300 for 8 people is not really exorbitant, first of all.

 

Maybe her manager is telling her to rush because there are lots of people waiting. Maybe they have a reservation for the time slot following.

 

Believe me, most servers do not 'rake in the dough', they just get by. Lots of people on the edge, putting themselves through school, finding work after a job lay-off or divorce, etc.

 

Just say to the server "we'd like more coffee" and things should be fine. If she says "no", then adjust her tip accordingly. If you are not drinking or eating anymore, it's time to leave.

 

I agree 75 a couple isn't high rolling but a 60 buck tip should include excellent service.If the manager rushing customers out cost the waitress ,so be it.Another reservation for my table,not my problem.There is no excuse for bringing out entrees while customers are still eating their soup or salad

:cj

[MAZANDSTEVE]

$300 for 8 people is not really exorbitant, first of all.

 

Maybe her manager is telling her to rush because there are lots of people waiting. Maybe they have a reservation for the time slot following.

 

Believe me, most servers do not 'rake in the dough', they just get by. Lots of people on the edge, putting themselves through school, finding work after a job lay-off or divorce, etc.

 

Just say to the server "we'd like more coffee" and things should be fine. If she says "no", then adjust her tip accordingly. If you are not drinking or eating anymore, it's time to leave.

 

 

 

You see, this is the sort of attitude I wouldnt want to tip, no offence, but if I am out with friends and we go for dinner, its an occasion to be together and talk, not be rushed and shunted out the door so they get another customer in our place for more tips. It explains a few things for me now, while in the US, my family and I went to dinner we ordered starters then a main meal, the starters came as quick as a flash, which was fine, anyway, we were eating and chatting we had a 6 yr old with us too and yes not rushed in eating our food. Well, before we had even finished the starters, our mains came, I was astonished, for one, there wasnt any room for them, then they would be cold because we were eating out starters, so we sent the mains back and said we were not ready for them, the server was not too happy and we were not happy at the speed.

Now I see, its because they want as many in as possible to get more tips, if they were paid a wage, the service would not be as rushed, so the argument continues............ I dont see that paying the server tips gives you the service we require.

[MAZANDSTEVE]

And if that is the case, there is simply no incentive for the cruiselines to pay more than what they are paying. Back to square one.

 

I think that not so many people are lining up, or the cruiselines wouldn't even be considering revising the gratuity method.

 

 

Well of course they would, its more cost effective keeping the staff they have than training new people up. So pay the staff a wage and add it to the cost, we pay it anyway in tips. If people dont want it added, is it because they dont tip as much as they say??

[MAZANDSTEVE]

I agree 75 a couple isn't high rolling but a 60 buck tip should include excellent service.If the manager rushing customers out cost the waitress ,so be it.Another reservation for my table,not my problem.There is no excuse for bringing out entrees while customers are still eating their soup or salad

:cj

 

 

Exactly what I just said.

[luckyprincess]

You see, this is the sort of attitude I wouldnt want to tip, no offence, but if I am out with friends and we go for dinner, its an occasion to be together and talk, not be rushed and shunted out the door so they get another customer in our place for more tips. It explains a few things for me now, while in the US, my family and I went to dinner we ordered starters then a main meal, the starters came as quick as a flash, which was fine, anyway, we were eating and chatting we had a 6 yr old with us too and yes not rushed in eating our food. Well, before we had even finished the starters, our mains came, I was astonished, for one, there wasnt any room for them, then they would be cold because we were eating out starters, so we sent the mains back and said we were not ready for them, the server was not too happy and we were not happy at the speed.

Now I see, its because they want as many in as possible to get more tips, if they were paid a wage, the service would not be as rushed, so the argument continues............ I dont see that paying the server tips gives you the service we require.

Ugh - I hate it when a server brings out one course before the other is finished! It's not too difficult to 'fire' them in order - although to be fair sometimes the kitchen jumps the gun and yells at you to get them out - but mostly its just the server not paying attention.

There are lots of 'turn and burn' places in the U.S. They turn the tables and get folks in and out - but it's not the servers that regulate that - the managers need to make a certain amount of money so they want the place filled then get that group out and refill it all day/night long. It's the restaurant that wants to make money - they don't care about the servers tips so much, lol:p Kind of like when hotels oversell - another thing that gets me soooo mad!

[MAZANDSTEVE]

Ugh - I hate it when a server brings out one course before the other is finished! It's not too difficult to 'fire' them in order - although to be fair sometimes the kitchen jumps the gun and yells at you to get them out - but mostly its just the server not paying attention.

There are lots of 'turn and burn' places in the U.S. They turn the tables and get folks in and out - but it's not the servers that regulate that - the managers need to make a certain amount of money so they want the place filled then get that group out and refill it all day/night long. It's the restaurant that wants to make money - they don't care about the servers tips so much, lol:p Kind of like when hotels oversell - another thing that gets me soooo mad!

 

 

 

I almost spoke to the manager regarding this but didnt want to get the server in trouble , we were in again a few nights later and told the server to not bring out the mains until we had finished, he was back and forth checking if we were ready which again was a pain, we just never went there again, so customers lost, it doesnt always pay the restaurant to be that speedy. I dont mind if airlines oversell economy because it means we often get upgraded.:p:)

[marci22]

I agree it is very bad to bring out another course while the first one is still being eaten. The problem is, here anyway, that lots of people like to eat fast. So for every complaint about the service being too quick, there are probably 10 compliments on the speed.

 

You just have to communicate with your server at the beginning eg. "We do not want to be rushed tonight!" Otherwise, everyone is assuming.

[marci22]

Now I see, its because they want as many in as possible to get more tips, if they were paid a wage, the service would not be as rushed, so the argument continues............ I dont see that paying the server tips gives you the service we require.

 

If they were paid a wage, the restaurant owner/manager would still want to turn over as many tables as possible: that is the nature of most restaurants. At the very high end, that may not be as frequent. A restaurant has to sell food and drinks to make money. Just make it clear at the beginning that you want things at a certain pace.

[nellydean]

I think the cruise lines need to adjust for the areas that they are cruising. The UK doesn't have tipping like the US does. So adjust the price. Neither one is the correct way of doing things. They are just different. So each is correct for their region.

 

brits already pay extra for their cruises than americans anyway

 

and we do already have tipping, it just hasnt got out of control like in the states - I was once pursued by an angry waitress at a restaurant in grand central station after my husband only left one tip, she said it wasn't enough and wanted a second gratuity, cheeky cow!

[scrozuk]

brits already pay extra for their cruises than americans anyway

 

and we do already have tipping, it just hasnt got out of control like in the states - I was once pursued by an angry waitress at a restaurant in grand central station after my husband only left one tip, she said it wasn't enough and wanted a second gratuity, cheeky cow!

 

You are right there that cruises from the UK are more expensive, and that we also do have an element of tipping as well, but mainly only restaurants.

 

Your story about the angry waitress is amazing. You could always tip in Zimbabwean Dollars, pay them something like $100m Zim, worth about 15p I think!

 

ScrozUK

[luckyprincess]

brits already pay extra for their cruises than americans anyway

 

and we do already have tipping, it just hasnt got out of control like in the states - I was once pursued by an angry waitress at a restaurant in grand central station after my husband only left one tip, she said it wasn't enough and wanted a second gratuity, cheeky cow!

True you do pay more (which I just don't understand!) but obviously you are going to pay even more after they adjust the situation. One way or another your fares will be going up. If they add mandatory tips then it goes up and if they pay the service staff a flat fee (will never happen in my opinion as the company as a whole pays all of their staff the same with great success so can't see them suddenly changing it for a handful of them) they will go up to compensate them for that. Either way RCCL isn't going to absorb any cost here, of that I'm sure. Too bad but as we see all over - people gripe and complain for a while and then they go back to it. I'm sure RCCL knows that that will happen. That's why they continue to go after the new cruisers as well. Someone else here posted that you'll see advertising in the vein of 'all meals included for one price' or something to make the new higher price seem 'worth it'.:o

[pcur]

Back to the original post with the link to the article:

 

I'm glad RCCL is rethinking their policy, which I interpret to mean they will start including the tips in the price of the cruise, and pay the crew members out of that after the cruise is over.

 

Our assistant waiter on our Rhapsody cruise in Australia, ending 11/3/09, told us that when the Rhapsody transferred from Alaska to Australia the last two years, quite a few crew members put in for transfers back to ships leaving from US ports. He said the large number of Aussies and Brits on the Australian cruises causes the crew members to have a serious decrease in income, because the majority of the passengers either don't tip at all, or tip way below the suggested amount.

 

I know it's a cultural difference, and I know that each side has it's arguments and justifications, but what bothers me is the crew members are suffering because of this difference. RCCL will have a serious issue with it's staff if they don't solve this issue pronto, because the service will start to suffer.

 

The crew members work very, very hard as we all know, and SOMEHOW they need to be paid appropriately. I accept tipping with no problem, but both my husband and I wish they would just include the amount of the tips in the price of the cruise, and we will tip extra in cash for exceptional service.

[luckyprincess]

The crew members work very, very hard as we all know, and SOMEHOW they need to be paid appropriately. I accept tipping with no problem, but both my husband and I wish they would just include the amount of the tips in the price of the cruise, and we will tip extra in cash for exceptional service.

Good post! I just take it upon myself to 'include the amount of tips in the price' of my cruise by doing pre-paid gratiuties! I mean, its all the same amount anyway, so if I pay it now or later doesn't matter much to me. I prefer to not have to think about it onboard unless I want to tip more for exceptional service.:)

[CGTNORMANDIE]

To start with, the word "tip" is listed in English dictionaries as a "reward" or "gift" for services given. It says nothing about "wage supplement".

 

If I was an American I would be angry about this. Not about people not tipping, but about the need for the tip in the first place. You guys are being ripped off by the companies. The employees are being ripped off and the guests are being ripped off while the companies (cruise lines restaurants etc) are making money. They (the companies) should pay a fare wage and not rely on the customer to make up the difference. You should be mad as hell about this with the company, but instead I read time and time again about abuse to the non-tipping customer (or on here about a customer with the temerity to question the tipping process)

 

Why do you tip for service? If you go to hospital and a nurse brings you a drink of water do you tip them? If they bring you a bed pan, do you tip? How about at the lawyers office, do you tip the receptionist when she seats you in a waiting room and gives you a coffee, do you tip the lawyer for their advice? "Thanks for that Mr. Lawyer, here is your $1000 dollars for that letter you wrote and here is another $150 as a tip".

 

Wake up and start getting Mad as Hell at the companies that require you to tip because they pay rubbish wages. The tip-virus is spreading around the world, stop it now before it's to late.

 

I do not agree with your logic. Shipping companies have been running their ships using the same system for more than 100 years. The culture might seem foreign to you but it is the norm when at sea. The companies answer to their stock holders. When you are stepping aboard a ship you are entering another country, so to speak. Do not expect it to conform to your country. I just returned from a 10 day cruise on RCI and I was more than happy with the excellent service that I received...much better than anything onshore. I will stay with the tried and true method...thank you.

[peteukmcr]

I read the numerous posts on here regarding tipping with great interest. I do not wish to go into the rights and wrongs of amount of the wages paid to service industry workers in the US, whether the companies are using the tips from customers to make up wages, nor what a fairer system would be.

 

However, I have a question to my US friends. Can you explain why when I first visited the US 29 years ago, the recommended tip was 10%, by the 90's it was 15% and now in the early 20's it's 20%? The price of the food and drink in a restaurant will have increased over this period of 29 years, so 10% of the total now will be more than 10% back then. It just seems strange to me that the recommended % has doubled.

 

I have experienced many of the points made by previous posters, rushed service, tips for everything, seen people being berated for not leaving enough - perhaps the service was bad, that's why the tip was small.

 

Perhaps it's a cultural thing, a previous poster mentioned that people expect fast service, that maybe the case in the US, but perhaps other cultures do not. Perhaps eating out in the US is more common than in other countries and so for those where eating out is a special occasion, they don't want to be rushed and so if they are, they don't consider that they have received good service.

 

This is especially true of those on holiday, it should be a relaxing time, not rushed.

 

I have never received bad service onboard a RCI cruise, I will continue to tip as I know it is expected and for information, if booking direct with RCI in the UK, pre-paid gratuities are expected, any price you are quoted online will automatically include them. You do not have the opportunity to elect to include or exclude them.

[peteukmcr]

Oh, I forgot, the OP's title of this thread is 'Brit's don't like to tip'. I disagree, it's not that we don't like to tip, as I mentioned in my previous post, it's a cultural thing, we're not used to tipping for so many things like is expected in the US. The title of this thread is misleading IMHO.

 

Also remember, that when people cruise in the Mediterranean, an average VAT (Value Added Tax) is still charged on all purchases onboard, so there is already an increase in cost to the holiday maker which makes the overall holday more expensive. That is not mentioned in any brochure or cruise documentation I've seen from the US cruise companies sailing in Europe.

[themaxydog]

This topic has been and will be thrashed to death until hell freezes over.

 

First off, there are a couple of major differences between the service we receive in Australia and that recieved in countries and on cruise ships where the wait staff rely on tips.

 

In Australia you have to go to the counter to get a drink, order your latee, your meal in most pubs, clubs and some street eateries and then you must pay in advance. Countries such as America and most Asian countries employ people to come to you in all the above cases and run a tab.

 

Personally I enjoy the extra service of being able to sit at a table and have someone come to me. We lack the personallised service of other countries and the interaction between customer and establishment that adds to the experience of going out. The small token of a tip at the end of the drinking session or meal is a way of expressing to those who operate the business your opinion of it.

 

In Australia you must go to the counter and request your next beer or coffee from staff who will then decide if they will serve you. In countries that have a tipping culture the staff will come to you and ask you if you would like another beer or coffee, thats why they tip!

 

I like the idea that the tips are included in the price of the cruise because of where I come from, this avoids the possibly of offending someone accidently but, it does not restrict me from adding a bit more.

[nellydean]

 

I have never received bad service onboard a RCI cruise, I will continue to tip as I know it is expected and for information, if booking direct with RCI in the UK, pre-paid gratuities are expected, any price you are quoted online will automatically include them. You do not have the opportunity to elect to include or exclude them.

 

We always sort a cruise online and then book with RCI by telephone, and you can decide not to pre-pay your gratuities, as we did last summer on BOS. In the end, we added them to the bill (which turned out a bit more expensive) but this was because I had spent all my dollars in the casino and didn't have anything to give them :)