Auto Gratuities- Yes or No?

[Hutcha]

3 hours ago, hotsauce126 said:

I can’t believe people are trying to defend the practice of adding tax at checkout when it absolutely is deceptive to the customer when the US is the odd one out on it. Yes we’re used to it but that doesn’t make it a good system

The US doesn't have a national sales tax. It varies by state, and in some places is zero. It's not deceptive if it's a practice that's been in place for decades. It may catch you off guard the first time you visit, but once you know, you know. Given the choice of paying 0-7% of sales tax in the US or 20%+ of VAT, would you choose the VAT because you don't see it?

[Hutcha]

19 hours ago, vjmatty said:

 

You know, this is often the reason for how travel staff in other countries treat Americans. I mean as long as you are good with this....

Yeah, I'm good with it. I've never received bad service because my countrymen are known to be bad tippers. I've seen many a poster in these tipping threads that complain about the service they receive, once their accent is heard. Even though they've always followed the custom of the country they're in

[AlohaLivin]

6 hours ago, the penguins said:

We never said anyone tries to confuse us. It's just we try to be helpful by having the exact money ready only to find we haven't. Depending on the store and the number of people in the line the results range from laughter to a good deal of cursing (for example in a sandwich shop in New York at the height of the morning rush). PS lots of our friends in the UK use sheets with duvets.

Now you know,  next time you will know just to wait for the final amount until you get to the register 👍🏼 (And the duvet was an example as I’m sure you know). I’ve never spent a lot of time in that part of Europe, but my father spent quite a lot of time there away from home and family in 1944 and 1945.

[AlohaLivin]

3 hours ago, hotsauce126 said:

I can’t believe people are trying to defend the practice of adding tax at checkout when it absolutely is deceptive to the customer when the US is the odd one out on it. Yes we’re used to it but that doesn’t make it a good system

Deceptive? 😂 How would you suggest it be handled when the US doesn’t have a national tax and instead taxes are set at the state and local level? How exactly would that work? You would prefer a national tax that ranges from 6 to 20% like many countries have?  You would rather have a nationalized tax that is much higher than what you pay now so you know “exactly” the price vs. understanding the price will be a small percentage higher?  If you would check history you might see how it came to be that we differ from most European countries, we established a new country to do things differently. 

[rudeney]

41 minutes ago, Hutcha said:

The US doesn't have a national sales tax. It varies by state, and in some places is zero. It's not deceptive if it's a practice that's been in place for decades. It may catch you off guard the first time you visit, but once you know, you know. Given the choice of paying 0-7% of sales tax in the US or 20%+ of VAT, would you choose the VAT because you don't see it?

 

 

It is hard for people from other countries to understand our tax system.  Heck, it's sometimes hard for us to understand it ourselves.  While sales tax in your area may be 0%-7%, ours is 9%-11%.  Our cities and counties had discovered it's a quick way to raise revenue without having to let the residents vote on property tax increases.  If you really want a challenge, try selling computer software and services across state lines.  Not only are there thousands of different state, county and city rates, they have different rules for whether it's physical media, downloaded, pre-installed turnkey systems, plus customization come into play as to whether that is "product" or "service".  It's so complicated, there are several companies that make their profits by creating software to tell other software companies what taxes to charge!

[the penguins]

43 minutes ago, AlohaLivin said:

Now you know,  next time you will know just to wait for the final amount until you get to the register 👍🏼 (And the duvet was an example as I’m sure you know). I’ve never spent a lot of time in that part of Europe, but my father spent quite a lot of time there away from home and family in 1944 and 1945.

Our many US friends don't call us the "crazy Brits" for nothing. In fact following an exchange of views outside a school in Dallas ( I was waiting to collect our grandson) with a parent who turned out to be a performer on the local comedy circuit, a lot of these "experiences" have been incorporated into his act.

We love visiting,  touring by car and have taken the Amtrak from Seattle to New York, Boston to Dallas and Miami to New York.

[Tlbecker1]

2 hours ago, rudeney said:

 

 

It is hard for people from other countries to understand our tax system.  Heck, it's sometimes hard for us to understand it ourselves.  While sales tax in your area may be 0%-7%, ours is 9%-11%.  Our cities and counties had discovered it's a quick way to raise revenue without having to let the residents vote on property tax increases.  If you really want a challenge, try selling computer software and services across state lines.  Not only are there thousands of different state, county and city rates, they have different rules for whether it's physical media, downloaded, pre-installed turnkey systems, plus customization come into play as to whether that is "product" or "service".  It's so complicated, there are several companies that make their profits by creating software to tell other software companies what taxes to charge!

We live in Oregon and we don’t have sales tax and it is even strange for us when we travel to other states with sales tax.  We all get used to what we are used to.

[vjmatty]

7 minutes ago, Tlbecker1 said:

We live in Oregon and we don’t have sales tax and it is even strange for us when we travel to other states with sales tax.  We all get used to what we are used to.

 

I couldn't believe it when I was in Norfolk and found out VA charges sales tax on groceries, even in the Navy Exchange!  That's just barbaric.

[rudeney]

57 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

 

I couldn't believe it when I was in Norfolk and found out VA charges sales tax on groceries, even in the Navy Exchange!  That's just barbaric.

 

We pay a 9%-12% sales tax on EVERYTHING here in Alabama except real vehicles and real property.  Vehicles come under a different tax structure and are 3% - 5%.  We have an 8% "online" sales tax.  In order to keep online sellers from having to figure out all the county and city taxes, they can just charge Alabama residents 8% and remit it to the state, who then divides it per-capita among all the local counties and cities.  Oh, and we even pay sales tax on coupons.  The discount is subtracted after the sales tax is added onto the regular price.  Even a 10% off coupon is 10% off the pre-tax price, not the price after tax is added. The good news is that our property taxes are relatively low.  

[billslowsky]

7 hours ago, hotsauce126 said:

I can’t believe people are trying to defend the practice of adding tax at checkout when it absolutely is deceptive to the customer when the US is the odd one out on it. Yes we’re used to it but that doesn’t make it a good system

That someone isn't familiar with the system doesn't make it deceptive.

[DirtyDawg]

On 8/1/2022 at 5:43 AM, little britain said:

My first time in the USA I bought something at Gap for $9.99 and gave the checkout girl a $10 bill. And she wanted more!!?? I was very confused! 

And those bloody Yanks were driving on the wrong side of the road!

And there was no Cricket or Darts on the telly.

And what's with this sport they call football - they are allowed to use their hands! 🤯

And you would think, with all of that Yank ingenuity, they could figure out a way to make a decent cuppa. 🍵

Damn place has gone downhill ever since you Brits let them run it in 1776. 😉

[FamilyCruiserUK]

4 hours ago, AlohaLivin said:

Deceptive? 😂 How would you suggest it be handled when the US doesn’t have a national tax and instead taxes are set at the state and local level? How exactly would that work? You would prefer a national tax that ranges from 6 to 20% like many countries have?  You would rather have a nationalized tax that is much higher than what you pay now so you know “exactly” the price vs. understanding the price will be a small percentage higher?  If you would check history you might see how it came to be that we differ from most European countries, we established a new country to do things differently. 

Emmm cant you just put the price including the local sales tax on the product..........rather then getting to the tills and then paying the tax...

[yogimax]

Amazing to see how threads can get hijacked.  A debate about sales tax?  Really?

[AlohaLivin]

57 minutes ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

Emmm cant you just put the price including the local sales tax on the product..........rather then getting to the tills and then paying the tax...

I’m tired of this conversation. Feel free not to visit. We do it differently than you do it, in general our taxes are less than yours. What we do in the US isn’t wrong, it’s just different from Europe. Oh well

 

@yogimax I agree it’s silly. I didn’t start it, I just tried to explain it and apparently it is a sore spot for a few. The things people gets upset about on cruise critic is astonishing at times.

Edited August 2, 2022 by AlohaLivin

[Jgoodall08]

Ok so does the crew have to hand over tips directly handed to them or not? If they do then why do people tip “above and beyond” the automatic gratuities? I’d like to know, because if they do I am going to stop doing that because there’s no point. I want to directly acknowledge the people providing direct service to me and my family. 
 

edited to add that we asked our steward and waiter on our last cruise if they would be able to keep cash we directly gave them and they said yes.

Edited August 8, 2022 by Jgoodall08

[mjkacmom]

32 minutes ago, Jgoodall08 said:

Ok so does the crew have to hand over tips directly handed to them or not? If they do then why do people tip “above and beyond” the automatic gratuities? I’d like to know, because if they do I am going to stop doing that because there’s no point. I want to directly acknowledge the people providing direct service to me and my family. 
 

edited to add that we asked our steward and waiter on our last cruise if they would be able to keep cash we directly gave them and they said yes.

I thought they could keep tips from those who left the autograts on.

[the penguins]

36 minutes ago, Jgoodall08 said:

Ok so does the crew have to hand over tips directly handed to them or not? If they do then why do people tip “above and beyond” the automatic gratuities? I’d like to know, because if they do I am going to stop doing that because there’s no point. I want to directly acknowledge the people providing direct service to me and my family. 
 

edited to add that we asked our steward and waiter on our last cruise if they would be able to keep cash we directly gave them and they said yes.

The tips are theirs to keep whichever way they are paid - auto or direct. 

[Brandis]

I try to minimize the checkout bill at the last morning of the cruise, so I always ask the travel agent to add the gratuities to my booking, that way I can split it up into several smaller payments until final due date.

[zap99]

On 8/1/2022 at 11:51 AM, the penguins said:

Too much completion unless or until the other major players agree to do the same.

Tips are included in the price on P&O.

[Jgoodall08]

16 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

I thought they could keep tips from those who left the autograts on.

So if auto tips are removed, they must hand over the cash given… but if auto tips are paid, they can keep the extra tips?

[not-enough-cruising]

2 minutes ago, Jgoodall08 said:

So if auto tips are removed, they must hand over the cash given… but if auto tips are paid, they can keep the extra tips?

It is all theoretical, no one knows how the system works, it is purposely kept a mystery

[FamilyCruiserUK]

On 8/2/2022 at 8:27 PM, AlohaLivin said:

I’m tired of this conversation. Feel free not to visit. We do it differently than you do it, in general our taxes are less than yours. What we do in the US isn’t wrong, it’s just different from Europe. Oh well

 

@yogimax I agree it’s silly. I didn’t start it, I just tried to explain it and apparently it is a sore spot for a few. The things people gets upset about on cruise critic is astonishing at times.

I was just asking why. I know things are different was just curious if there was a specific reason not to put the sales tax on the price lable or even under it on the shelf sticker. A simple fix really.

[AlohaLivin]

4 minutes ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

I was just asking why. I know things are different was just curious if there was a specific reason not to put the sales tax on the price lable or even under it on the shelf sticker. A simple fix really.

It is really not a simple fix. Different counties within states have different tax rates. This would be logistically impossible. Everyone always has advise about how someone can or should do things better without understanding that perhaps they are already doing it the best way they can. Is it a take it or leave it issue.  Now on with more useful cruise topics 👍🏼

 

 

 

Edited August 9, 2022 by AlohaLivin

[takeabreath3]

On 7/7/2022 at 11:29 AM, Merion_Mom said:

EXACTLY, what I was saying to myself as I was reading this thread!!!

[hotsauce126]

On 8/2/2022 at 9:57 AM, AlohaLivin said:

Deceptive? 😂 How would you suggest it be handled when the US doesn’t have a national tax and instead taxes are set at the state and local level? How exactly would that work? You would prefer a national tax that ranges from 6 to 20% like many countries have?  You would rather have a nationalized tax that is much higher than what you pay now so you know “exactly” the price vs. understanding the price will be a small percentage higher?  If you would check history you might see how it came to be that we differ from most European countries, we established a new country to do things differently. 

how would that work? Print a new label. You’re making this way more difficult than it needs to be