Removing tips due to bad service

[LMaxwell]

5 hours ago, Sultan84 said:

 

 

Consider it this way: when you go to the bank and the teller is having a bad day, you don't go to the bank manager to demand to be refunded a part of the teller's salary. So why should you be doing this if some staff member on board is having a bad day?

 

Money is a lever and a universal language.  You can just as easily close your bank account and move your money elsewhere. 

 

The work may be long and hard, but on a cruise ship you are paying for an experience.  Why should a staff member take their bad day out on you?  They have supervisors they can speak to, maybe get shift coverage, take a little time to sort out what is going on.  Personally that seems like the smart move.  The company probably expects good service at all times, not if the staff member is in the mood to provide it.  

 

If you pay for service, you should receive reasonable level of service.  if you get great, personalized service, and can afford to, give a bit more to show your gratitude.  If you receive poor services, pay less.  Nothing wrong there.   

[reallyitsmema]

11 hours ago, PhoenixCruiser said:

 

Do you ever worry about companies keeping track of customer's complaints?  

 

Companies absolutely track customers complaints and Royal Caribbean has banned habitual complainers in the past.

[Mikew0805]

5 hours ago, Sultan84 said:

 

Thank you for mentioning the notion of salary. This idea of giving money on board makes it seem like a "tip", money given on top of a salary, when in reality it is their salary. It is just calculated in a different manner from most salaries.

When you see the amount of gratuity on your bill at the end of the cruise (or if you have prepaid this amount), you just have to think of it as part of your cruise cost that goes to the service crew (instead of fuel or food etc., things that you have paid for with your fare).

Consider it this way: when you go to the bank and the teller is having a bad day, you don't go to the bank manager to demand to be refunded a part of the teller's salary. So why should you be doing this if some staff member on board is having a bad day?

Not sure that is an accurate comparison. If I was paying for the tellers service directly, and I did not receive what I paid for, I simply would not pay it. Getting what you pay for, should not be a novel idea. The difference here is that the bank teller is actually working and receiving a salary based on what the bank states they contribute to the organization. Apples & oranges, since in a tipped position, the customer decides the compensation for a service or lack thereof. Luckily, since there would be no easy way to calculate this on a cruise, the cruise line have set guidelines, that customers can use to help with that decision.

 

I doubt I will ever experience anything that would cause me to remove the gratuities. I can think of reasons, but I doubt I will ever experience them. 

 

[PhoenixCruiser]

11 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

Companies absolutely track customers complaints and Royal Caribbean has banned habitual complainers in the past.

 

Yes, some posts lately are reminding me of Brenda 🤪👼

[blueridgemama]

The tips also include staff behind the scenes who you never see but provide essential services that enhance your cruise experience. If you remove the tips because one staff member provided you "bad service" you are denying tips to all the other staff.

[Bee Guy]

2 hours ago, blueridgemama said:

The tips also include staff behind the scenes who you never see but provide essential services that enhance your cruise experience. If you remove the tips because one staff member provided you "bad service" you are denying tips to all the other staff.

 

True, but in what other industry are we concerned with this?  Do you tip the cooks, busboys, maintenance staff, etc at resorts or restaurants on shore?   How about if that restaurant is in one of the poorer countries?

[momofmab]

I have never removed the gratuities, and appreciate the efforts to get rid of the awkward, old-school "handing over of the envelopes of cash" on the last night of the cruise.  We're not high maintenance people and would not remove tips just because our room steward didn't engage us in lively conversation.  I agree that most issues with cabin service can and should be resolved onboard by the hotel director.  If you choose to say nothing and brood about it afterward, then that's on you.

 

That said, I generally don't like giving a tip before I have received the service.  On land, we use a couple of food delivery service companies - one of them requires you to pre-pay a tip to the delivery driver before you can place the order ( a couple of times the food has arrive ridiculously late, or wrong and we've had to jump through customer service hoops to remove the tip), and the other one allows you to tip afterward (and as a caveat, you have to select a tip - or no tip - before the App lets you place another order).

 

I accept that the pre-paying of tips on cruises is now an industry-wide practice.  While part of me is still not thrilled about not being able to really control who gets what percentage of that daily service charge, it's better then roaming around on the last night with a handful of envelopes. 

 

 

[Sam Ting]

11 minutes ago, momofmab said:

I have never removed the gratuities, and appreciate the efforts to get rid of the awkward, old-school "handing over of the envelopes of cash" on the last night of the cruise.  We're not high maintenance people and would not remove tips just because our room steward didn't engage us in lively conversation.  I agree that most issues with cabin service can and should be resolved onboard by the hotel director.  If you choose to say nothing and brood about it afterward, then that's on you.

 

That said, I generally don't like giving a tip before I have received the service.  On land, we use a couple of food delivery service companies - one of them requires you to pre-pay a tip to the delivery driver before you can place the order ( a couple of times the food has arrive ridiculously late, or wrong and we've had to jump through customer service hoops to remove the tip), and the other one allows you to tip afterward (and as a caveat, you have to select a tip - or no tip - before the App lets you place another order).

 

I accept that the pre-paying of tips on cruises is now an industry-wide practice.  While part of me is still not thrilled about not being able to really control who gets what percentage of that daily service charge, it's better then roaming around on the last night with a handful of envelopes. 

 

 

We remove the tips and tip as we go leaving the money in the table after each meal an on the nightstand the last evening. Very easy. 

[springfire]

Some people on here worry about how another cruiser might tip the crew but the real issue is RCCL and the way they take care of their crew.  Royal sails their ships under the Bahama flag (Flag of Convenience)  so they can avoid labor laws among other reasons.  This Flag of Convenience allows RCCL to have lower standards of working conditions for the crew as Royal has less regulations to follow, the crew is not entitled to some basic employee rights, Royal can pay the crew lower salaries,  it also allows for the crews busy schedule without rest and many other ways to screw over the crew.   

This is not just Royal, all cruise lines use the Flag of Convenience to get by these laws.   

 

 

[LMaxwell]

14 minutes ago, springfire said:

Some people on here worry about how another cruiser might tip the crew but the real issue is RCCL and the way they take care of their crew.  Royal sails their ships under the Bahama flag (Flag of Convenience)  so they can avoid labor laws among other reasons.  This Flag of Convenience allows RCCL to have lower standards of working conditions for the crew as Royal has less regulations to follow, the crew is not entitled to some basic employee rights, Royal can pay the crew lower salaries,  it also allows for the crews busy schedule without rest and many other ways to screw over the crew.   

This is not just Royal, all cruise lines use the Flag of Convenience to get by these laws.   

 

 

Careful, that's how you get on a list...

[vacationlover_mn]

I think we would need to have bad service from everyone, a mean room attendant, and horrible food, to remove the autograts.  Fortunately, this has never happened 🙂

[blueridgemama]

17 minutes ago, Sam Ting said:

We remove the tips and tip as we go leaving the money in the table after each meal an on the nightstand the last evening. Very easy. 

 

So no tip for anybody that you don't see?

1 hour ago, Bee Guy said:

 

True, but in what other industry are we concerned with this?  Do you tip the cooks, busboys, maintenance staff, etc at resorts or restaurants on shore?   How about if that restaurant is in one of the poorer countries?

 

Tips are pooled in most restaurants to be fair to the busboys etc.

[Sam Ting]

11 minutes ago, blueridgemama said:

 

So no tip for anybody that you don't see?

 

Tips are pooled in most restaurants to be fair to the busboys etc.

That’s correct.  

[pstone1]

We have never, nor would we ever, remove the gratuities from our account.  We also tip extra in cash for drinks in the lounges and tip extra on the last night to those who deserve more. 

[ScottVV]

2 hours ago, Bee Guy said:

 

True, but in what other industry are we concerned with this?  Do you tip the cooks, busboys, maintenance staff, etc at resorts or restaurants on shore?   How about if that restaurant is in one of the poorer countries?

 

The Bus boys, Food Runners, Bartender's..  they are "Tipped Out" by the servers in most restaurants.  You just don't tip your server, but you're tipping everyone involved in your dining experience...    The cooks and dishwashers are paid no less then min wage, but the others I mentioned, are considered "Tipped" employees, and in NJ, the pay per hour is (or was in 2015 when I bartended) was $2.18 an hour... 

 

With that being said, you can't compare the wages, etc., of land-based employees and ship's employees - as stated above in various ways.  The dead horse of the Proper Way to Tip is "To Each Is Own"..  Like our Mama's and Papa's taught us, "Let your conscience be your guide....".  If you can live with what you do or don't do, then that's you....  Happy Cruising!!

[Thorben-Hendrik]

The more you tip - the less the crew gets from the cruise line🙄

In the end it all evens out - exept the cruise line makes more money the more you tip....it is a money scam to empty your pockets!👎

[ScottVV]

3 minutes ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

The more you tip - the less the crew gets from the cruise line🙄

In the end it all evens out - exept the cruise line makes more money the more you tip....it is a money scam to empty your pockets!👎

 

Proof of this please... 

[Thorben-Hendrik]

2 minutes ago, ScottVV said:

 

Proof of this please... 

If everybody stopps tipping - the cruise line steps in and raises the wages.👍

All RCI work contracts have a guarantee for the tip - RCI guarantees the tip - if you tip you make sure RCI does not have to fill the gap....🙄

[blueridgemama]

9 minutes ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

If everybody stopps tipping - the cruise line steps in and raises the wages.👍

All RCI work contracts have a guarantee for the tip - RCI guarantees the tip - if you tip you make sure RCI does not have to fill the gap....🙄

 

I expected no less from you😕😕😕😕😕😕😕😕

[Thorben-Hendrik]

2 minutes ago, blueridgemama said:

 

I expected no less from you😕😕😕😕😕😕😕😕

Same here!🙄

[not-enough-cruising]

5 hours ago, springfire said:

Some people on here worry about how another cruiser might tip the crew but the real issue is RCCL and the way they take care of their crew.  Royal sails their ships under the Bahama flag (Flag of Convenience)  so they can avoid labor laws among other reasons.  This Flag of Convenience allows RCCL to have lower standards of working conditions for the crew as Royal has less regulations to follow, the crew is not entitled to some basic employee rights, Royal can pay the crew lower salaries,  it also allows for the crews busy schedule without rest and many other ways to screw over the crew.   

This is not just Royal, all cruise lines use the Flag of Convenience to get by these laws.   

 

 

Yet the cruise ships are always full staffed, there is a wait list to get a job on a cruise ship, and most employees continued to sign new contracts. 

I don’t think cruise line employment is nearly as bad as what some people try and make it out to be. 

 

Back on topic, I’ve never removed gratuities for poor service, because I never pay gratuities before service is rendered. 

[jor3334]

On ‎4‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 8:15 AM, Mikew0805 said:

We just need the bed made, trash emptied, and towels replaced, and advise that they need not waste time making towel animals. Never seen a reason to remove or add more. Also, we do not make that ridiculous dash to pre pay them just before they raise them to save a couple bucks. 

OK. if you tip him to make your bed, empty trash and replace towels----what is he doing to earn his salary??

[proggieus]

On ‎4‎/‎17‎/‎2019 at 6:02 AM, Sam Ting said:

We remove the tips and tip as we go leaving the money in the table after each meal an on the nightstand the last evening. Very easy. 

I am sure all the staff who don't get their share of your auto gratuities are very happy for you.

 

 

 

 

[Sam Ting]

If they are unhappy, they should speak to their employer.  We don’t go around donating to billion dollar companies to pay their employees salaries.   We have our own more needy charities to donate to.

 

Have a lovely cruise!

[proggieus]

21 minutes ago, Sam Ting said:

If they are unhappy, they should speak to their employer.  We don’t go around donating to billion dollar companies to pay their employees salaries.   We have our own more needy charities to donate to.

 

Have a lovely cruise!

If you disagree with the companies pay policy then don't cruise with them.

 

but cruising and then using that EXCUSE to save a few hundred dollars is pretty slimy.

 

 

 

I bet you wait until the last night to remove them just in case word was to get out.