Begging for Tips

[jimbo5544]

I'm Australian, and tipping is not part of our culture.

 

 

 

Part of this is due to our Labour laws, which by and large provide for a reasonably fair wage (wait staff in Australia earn $22 - $25 AUD per hour{$17 -20 US} plus some penalty loadings), partly that as a society, due to our distance (historically) from everywhere else, we have grown to be self sufficient and independent, and partly that we are (or believe we are) egalitarian, and expect service and assistance, just as we extend it to others within our work places, as part of our jobs.

 

 

 

Generalities, I know, and I am in no way attempting to aggrandize myself or my country men and women, but it is a fact that in every day life in Australia we just do not tip or expect to be tipped.

 

 

 

Only in Top End restaurants and flea bite tourist traps is there any expectation of a tip, and even there it is seldom pushed.

 

 

 

On my first over seas trip I was aware of the requirement to tip individually (no pre -paid gratuities) and, honestly, the prospect of having to tip mortified me. It coloured my enjoyment of the trip and embarrassed me, as, I assumed, I was embarrassing and demeaning the recipient.

 

 

 

However, adopting the When in Rome principle, I did tip the recommended 15% or thereabouts and came to realise that tipping or not tipping was a mind set, and by necessity or custom, the recipients accepted and expected it as a normal part of their employment.

 

 

 

I'm a lot more experienced traveller and cruiser now, and would not think of not tipping, except in Australia or New Zealand.

 

 

 

End of rant.

 

 

 

I hope it helps you not to think less of my country men (and Kiwis) in our approach to tipping. We've been culturally deprived!

 

 

 

Good info, thanks for the perspective.

 

 

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[Organized Chaos]

This thread, like every other tip thread, has degraded into little more than a bunch of people attacking and bullying anyone who doesn't tip or doesn't tip as much as they do. I see the same thing here that I do in just about every other tip thread...people telling others that if they can't tip "properly," (by their own definition, of course) then those people shouldn't go to land restaurants or shouldn't go on a cruise. That's just flat-out garbage coming from people who think way too highly of themselves. Sometimes people on a budget would like to go out to eat, but can't afford to tip as much as others. There's nothing wrong with that. They shouldn't have to deprive themselves of the dining experience because YOU think they're cheap.

 

One of the biggest accusations on this board regarding tips is that everyone in line at GS on the last night are pulling their tips. I'm not doubting it happens, but the fact of the matter is, NONE OF YOU know who does it or how many do it. And none of you know any of the reasons behind it when someone does it. I'm sure there are people who have legit reasons, but instead, many people here go on the attack and accuse them all of being cheap, low lives, and trash.

 

I don't care about the history of tipping, I care about what tipping became. It became a way to reward good service and that's how I handle it, regardless of what a bunch of self-righteous bullies have to say. If someone provides poor service, it's not my job to then still compensate for their lower wage. But it is their job to become better at what they do. If their tips are shared in a pool, and they are providing bad service, then those within the pool, and management, need to correct the one providing bad service so it doesn't continue to affect the others in the pool. I'm not going to reward the one who directly, negatively affected my dining experience just because the bartender, who didn't serve me, also gets a piece of the pie. It's not the customers' responsibility to make up for anything. With that said, on a cruise, we pre-pay grats and don't have any intention to ever pull them. If I experienced bad enough service, I'd simply notify someone. Any additional tips go to those who went above and beyond, not to give me a reason to brag on a message board about how much I tipped.

 

It's comical because so many people moan and complain over & over again that a hat or a pair of flip-flops ruined their dining experience, yet they expect the rest of us to just suck it up and ignore it if our waiter provides bad service.

 

It would be funny (to me) when someone doesn't prepay gratuities, or later removes them, that person doesn't get service from all those behind the scenes workers they are screwing. I mean the staff who wash the floors and clean the public areas, or stock the buffet, hand out pizza, test and treat the pool/hot tub waters, wash the beach towels, accept, store and distribute ships' wares and products, maintain the electrical and plumbing systems, etc. etc. etc.

 

Even better, how about security staff giving them some extra scrutiny every time they embark or disembark the ship? I can imagine their howls at GS complaining about the lack of service!

There's one big problem with your assessment. Not all of those people are included in the shared tip pool. So basically it's meaningless.

[jimbo5544]

This thread, like every other tip thread, has degraded into little more than a bunch of people attacking and bullying anyone who doesn't tip or doesn't tip as much as they do. I see the same thing here that I do in just about every other tip thread...people telling others that if they can't tip "properly," (by their own definition, of course) then those people shouldn't go to land restaurants or shouldn't go on a cruise. That's just flat-out garbage coming from people who think way too highly of themselves. Sometimes people on a budget would like to go out to eat, but can't afford to tip as much as others. There's nothing wrong with that. They shouldn't have to deprive themselves of the dining experience because YOU think they're cheap.

 

One of the biggest accusations on this board regarding tips is that everyone in line at GS on the last night are pulling their tips. I'm not doubting it happens, but the fact of the matter is, NONE OF YOU know who does it or how many do it. And none of you know any of the reasons behind it when someone does it. I'm sure there are people who have legit reasons, but instead, many people here go on the attack and accuse them all of being cheap, low lives, and trash.

 

I don't care about the history of tipping, I care about what tipping became. It became a way to reward good service and that's how I handle it, regardless of what a bunch of self-righteous bullies have to say. If someone provides poor service, it's not my job to then still compensate for their lower wage. But it is their job to become better at what they do. If their tips are shared in a pool, and they are providing bad service, then those within the pool, and management, need to correct the one providing bad service so it doesn't continue to affect the others in the pool. I'm not going to reward the one who directly, negatively affected my dining experience just because the bartender, who didn't serve me, also gets a piece of the pie. It's not the customers' responsibility to make up for anything. With that said, on a cruise, we pre-pay grats and don't have any intention to ever pull them. If I experienced bad enough service, I'd simply notify someone. Any additional tips go to those who went above and beyond, not to give me a reason to brag on a message board about how much I tipped.

 

It's comical because so many people moan and complain over & over again that a hat or a pair of flip-flops ruined their dining experience, yet they expect the rest of us to just suck it up and ignore it if our waiter provides bad service.

 

There's one big problem with your assessment. Not all of those people are included in the shared tip pool. So basically it's meaningless.

 

 

 

If it has, you just contributed....guess it is not so one sided.....

 

 

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[cruziJenn]

Oh, and some of us are just tight arsed bastards.

 

Lol ;p but you know that a huge number of us Americans love you Aussies anyway :rolleyes:

 

And I think that a lot of us would also prefer a much more simple 'system'....

[coevan]

"Originally posted by cruziJenn

So you're not old enough to know that everyone that you listed there gets paid at least minimum wage or much higher and don't have to depend on tips as supplements to their below minimum income?"

What makes you think there is a minimum wage at sea?

[BlerkOne]

For all you people calling the OP a liar, it really does happen. Just because you have not experienced it, doesn't mean it is a made up story. Have you ever actually seen someone die on a ship? No? Then it must never happen, right?

It was a few years ago but our travel mates, elderly and in a handicapped cabin, were hit up by the room steward for money to send back home. Long story about a death and cruise line not even allowing him to contact family etc, etc, etc. We had the same steward and didn't get the sob story. We both had paid tips and treated the steward exactly the same. The other couple were on their first cruise and may have appeared more sympathetic.

A lot could depend on your demeanor. They learn to read people and are selective.

I am by no means saying it is a rampant problem but accept the fact that it does happen.

 

Sounds like you haven't personally experienced it, either. It could all be made up.

[evandbob]

What I am saying is that skilled workers (electricians and engineers) are not in the tip pool, and behind the scenes people that support hotel and housekeeping should be paid a fair wage, not be made to rely on the tip pool. Tip pool requires that customer facing employees provide great service, since it is a discretionary charge. If you have a terrible stateroom attendant and remove a portion of the gratuity, you impact others you never met or saw. That's patently unfair. But that's the system in place. I know if I get lousy service I'm modifying my tip disbursement. If someone I haven't met or interacted with receives less because of that, that is a shame. But at that point it is up to all the crew members in the tip pool to work together and rely on each other; the weakest link in the chain is what breaks. If I have lousy stateroom attendant it's not my intention to penalize anyone other than that person. But that's not the system. That doesn't make ME the problem, it means the system is flawed. And I'm not going to be guilted into paying for bad service because it impacts someone else. I'd rather that other person I haven't met or interacted with be paid a fair wage. If my cruise costs $20 per person more or $50 per person more, so be it. I am OK with that.

 

 

But are you okay with paying the minimum amount of the suggested gratuity in total and have that added to your cabin fare? $20 per person and even $50 per person isn't even half prepaid gratuities for a week long cruise. Perhaps you only take 3 or 4 day cruises to offer such a low amount?

 

I would be okay if the FULL amount of the gratuities was added to my cabin fare. I've posted this idea forever on this board and elsewhere. We both agree the system is broken, but with things the way they are, I'm not willing to penalize all the behind the scenes workers who make a cruise enjoyable for the real or perceived lack of good service by one individual. I would rather point out that individual's deficiencies to their supervisor on board, or in my post cruise survey.

[cruziJenn]

"Originally posted bycruziJenn

So you're not old enough to know that everyone that you listed there gets paid at least minimum wage or much higher and don't have to depend on tips as supplements to their below minimum income?"

What makes you think there is a minimum wage at sea?

 

 

I wasn't talking about 'at sea' there and I don't recall ever seeing any bank tellers or insurance sales people on cruise ships. Casino cage crew yes but I'm not going to even try to guess how much they get paid. I don't really care and they're nowhere on my list of considerations for tips.

[E@syPe@zy]

There have been many, many threads on tipping and the same points are made over and over.

This thread is supposed to about "begging" for tips. I'll give the OP credit for introducing a new slant to the ordinary tipping threads. I do not believe I have seen that particular take on tips before. And probably with good reason.

I don't know if this happened to the OP and I certainly don't know what ship, when they cruised, or if it was even Carnival. Since she cruises NCL and Celebrity and stated just in May of this year, that she hadn't sailed Carnival in 20 years.

I find it all just too cryptic and since the OP stated she would not be cruising with Carnival again.

IMHO, I think it was a misunderstanding, and that's even if it happened the way the OP stated it happened in their first post.

I just know I'm tired of reading another rehash of the tipping dilemma.

[sanmarcosman]

I don't really care and they're nowhere on my list of considerations for tips.

Historically in America casino cage tellers are frequently tipped by big winners. It's not usually as much as what is tipped to the dealer but a gesture of thanks is often given. See? The more we talk about tipping the more we learn. :)

[suekay]

The closest I have ever gotten to that while on a cruise ship is on Disney they left envelopes with our dining staff individual names and our room steward and someone else I can't remember for us to leave tips in addition to those already pre-done

 

I always tip a little extra if my service was good normally that means the dining staff, my room steward, then of course piano bar guy gets tipped nightly as he plays my songs, and then if there is bar staff member that is just really good to us we will tip them extra .... Surprisingly this past cruise I just got off I did not tip my room steward extra and it's not that he did not do a good job in the room but the fact was I only saw him twice the entire cruise he would like sneak in the room while we were gone and by the time we got back all his junk was cleared from the hall and unlike most experiences the next morning when we got up to debark he was no where to be seen normally I find them hanging in the hallways usually with one last goodbye in hopes of getting an extra tip so he just did not get anything extra and well frankily he did nothing to go out of his way for us so I really was not feeling like he deserved extra anyways[/quote]

 

 

 

Now the difference in my opinion ,that would be the one that received more than an extra tip from me.

Me too

 

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[cruziJenn]

Historically in America casino cage tellers are frequently tipped by big winners. It's not usually as much as what is tipped to the dealer but a gesture of thanks is often given. See? The more we talk about tipping the more we learn. :)

 

Well thank you but I already knew that casino winners can be very generous lol.....

[sanmarcosman]

Well thank you but I already knew that casino winners can be very generous lol.....

I was somewhat in doubt. If you play I hope you win.

[2wheelin]

Sounds like you haven't personally experienced it, either. It could all be made up.

NO, I was in the room and heard it. But thanks for your vote of confidence.

[cruziJenn]

I was somewhat in doubt. If you play I hope you win.

 

Thank you, same to you, and I did win a nice LITTLE bundle on Magic a few weeks ago, first time ever playing. But it wasn't nearly enough to make me want to tip the cashier who only took about 30 secs to run my card and count out my money.

[LMaxwell]

But are you okay with paying the minimum amount of the suggested gratuity in total and have that added to your cabin fare? $20 per person and even $50 per person isn't even half prepaid gratuities for a week long cruise. Perhaps you only take 3 or 4 day cruises to offer such a low amount?

 

I would be okay if the FULL amount of the gratuities was added to my cabin fare. I've posted this idea forever on this board and elsewhere. We both agree the system is broken, but with things the way they are, I'm not willing to penalize all the behind the scenes workers who make a cruise enjoyable for the real or perceived lack of good service by one individual. I would rather point out that individual's deficiencies to their supervisor on board, or in my post cruise survey.

 

I wouldn’t mind that cost added per person to my cruise fare to pay behind the scenes workers fairly and/or ensure adequate service levels.

 

I’m not punishing behind the scenes workers if a guest facing member gives bad service, I’m penalizing that worker. If the system penalizes all then it is also on that team to ensure the guest facing workers are at their best since everyone earns off their back. If they earn together they are responsible for each other and money is a universal language, enough poor performance by an individual and they will be gone. Honestly, I prefer getting good service, never thinking about it again, and don’t mind being charged money for it. But I won’t pay the same for poor service as I would for good service. I won’t legitimize or reward poor service. I’m not a hard ass taking off tips left and right, but at the end of the day I’m going to judge the services I get and pay accordingly

[sfaaa]

Technically it is not begging if the guy danced on the MDR tray counter earlier and now asking for extra tip for his effort.

[cathyoo]

I am confused. We always pre pay our tips but if we didn't wouldn't the tips be automatically assigned to our Sail and Sign? So whether we pre tipped or Carnival charged us won't we need to go to the purser to have them removed?

[NotThePest_Too]

I've suggested, twice, that people look up for themselves the History of Tipping. Maybe some did but more than likely not. This history I'm linking is specific to the USA only. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/02/18/i-dare-you-to-read-this-and-still-feel-ok-about-tipping-in-the-united-states/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ddc55b54402d

 

One may also want to look up the history of how the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters came into being.

 

Tipping, historical in the USA, was done, or not, when a service was offered or provided without the owner of the establishment paying the "worker." You have to trace this back to 1865 and forward.

 

Ramona

[cathyoo]

Me too

 

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Me three(y)(y)(y)(y)

[txmom11]

".it happened and I am sure it IS a terminable offense which is why I didn't say anything but wow......"

 

The people on the board that know me also know I would have gone to the GM and specifically point out the situation. How would management know there is an issue if they are not apprised of a problem? This is why I always say people are afraid to complain or address a situation that you did not feel was appropriate. We have saying in the restaurant business, people don't complain, they simply don't return.

 

EXACTLY! I would have expressed my concerns to leadership. You can't fix what you don't know is broken. I speak as a manager. I thank people for bringing up issues. Now, are they always telling the truth? No. Is there ever a contextual issue or misunderstanding? Yes.

 

I've never had a Carnival employee "beg" for tips. If the OP had that happen, it really should have been reported so they could correct it.

[cruziJenn]

EXACTLY! I would have expressed my concerns to leadership. You can't fix what you don't know is broken. I speak as a manager. I thank people for bringing up issues. Now, are they always telling the truth? No. Is there ever a contextual issue or misunderstanding? Yes.

 

I've never had a Carnival employee "beg" for tips. If the OP had that happen, it really should have been reported so they could correct it.

 

That has been my #1 point as well, and thank you for stating it so clearly and concisely.

[BlerkOne]

NO, I was in the room and heard it. But thanks for your vote of confidence.

 

You could have said that in the first place. Fake reporting is not limited to Fox.

[Saint Greg]

you could have said that in the first place. Fake reporting is not limited to fox.

 

abc, nbc, cbs, cnn, msnbc

[jimbo5544]

abc, nbc, cbs, cnn, msnbc

 

 

 

LOL, true enough

 

 

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