new gratuities charges

[davecttr]

i just leave the auto tips on and if anyone gives me exceptional service i tip them at the end.

 

My understanding is that the bar staff are on a form of commission as apparently the waiters prefer to work in the busy bars because they get more money?

[jeanlyon]

Too much OBC, sorry I do not understand?

 

I would like too much OBC please.

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

Dai

 

:cool:

 

 

Dai, sorry I realize that was confusing. I meant she had loads of OBC left - not too much.

[Sutho]

What has that to do with tipping policy on P&O :confused:

 

please explain

 

Americans think they will get inferior service if all workers are paid the same. They prefer an individual reward based system of pay opposed to a standard rate of pay for all people, hence the scenario of that American political propeganda reflects why they pay their workers crap wages.

[bazzaw]

Americans think they will get inferior service if all workers are paid the same. They prefer an individual reward based system of pay opposed to a standard rate of pay for all people, hence the scenario of that American political propeganda reflects why they pay their workers crap wages.

 

That is a very simplistic view of an extremely complicated society of over 300 million people.

 

Barry

[Libra Lynn]

Americans think they will get inferior service if all workers are paid the same. They prefer an individual reward based system of pay opposed to a standard rate of pay for all people, hence the scenario of that American political propeganda reflects why they pay their workers crap wages.

 

Really ?

How awful if true !

[Sutho]

That is a very simplistic view of an extremely complicated society of over 300 million people.

 

Barry

 

Life is simple, people are simple. Trying to think makes things look complicated.

[davecttr]

Americans think they will get inferior service if all workers are paid the same. They prefer an individual reward based system of pay opposed to a standard rate of pay for all people, hence the scenario of that American political propeganda reflects why they pay their workers crap wages.

Well they are wrong!. Take the cruise lines where tips are included in the fares. do they offer inferior service? I don't think so, in fact i know so. Take Thomson for instance, their tips are integrated into the fares and are not itemised seperately so you can't remove them. Yet thomson crews have a deserved reputation for being friendly, helpful, efficient and happy.

 

Maybe they are extra happy because not only do they get extra money from the built in tips but pleased passengers tip them anyway!

[Sutho]

Well they are wrong!. Take the cruise lines where tips are included in the fares. do they offer inferior service? I don't think so, in fact i know so. Take Thomson for instance, their tips are integrated into the fares and are not itemised seperately so you can't remove them. Yet thomson crews have a deserved reputation for being friendly, helpful, efficient and happy.

 

Maybe they are extra happy because not only do they get extra money from the built in tips but pleased passengers tip them anyway!

 

I totally agree that structured wages and inclusinve gratuities still have great service. However there is more than just me you have to convince. There are people who come on these forums who will not pay auto gratuities because they think service will suffer.

 

If people are paid a decent wage then they will still perform outstanding service. Even if they do not get any extra the fact they have job security and the threat of losing their jobs is enough to keep them performing and not working for reward based pay.

[southwinds]

One thing I have heard is that through the on board staff grape vine ... the stewards hear whoes tips have been removed.. I dont think I would want my cabin steward to think I had removed the tips.. I wouldnt want my tooth brush used to clean the loo... !!!!!!!! :confused: Is it worth the risk..

 

Even if you plan to tip at the end of the cruise.... I wouldnt want to cause any misunderstanding

We thought we would have the tips removed and do the envelope as normal BUT our cabin steward assured us he was happy with auto tips .. at the end of the cruise we were VERY happy with him ... a few extras done for us...so we gave him some Euros we had left over...and thanked him.

[Tizzy]

Hello Southwinds

I too, have heard that the staff all know who has removed 'Tips'

It is something I have never considered doing because I know how hard everyone works. I also dislike arrogant people and it really upsets me when I see how rude some people are, when dealing with the Staff. It doesn't cost anything to be polite.

Unfortunately a lot of people think 'tips' don't need to be considered as part of the holiday cost. This is why I really do think they should be included in the initial holiday price. Is it fair that some people pay and others don't ??? If this continues the cost will get higher and higher for the people who do tip.

[jeanlyon]

Yes of course they know who has removed the auto-tip. I told our stewardess at the beginning of the cruise and also said I would tip at the end. She was quite happy with that and vry happy with the envelope we gave her.

[Carinthalas]

We will be travelling on P&O for the first time at the end of April. On our previous cruises we have always left the Service Charges in place and tipped above and beyond if we have had great service.

 

To me a service charge is a cost to the holiday and not an expression of satisfaction.

 

I can say, as a Brit, it was sad to see that when some people found out that it could be removed that they went straight to the desk and had it removed. They then complained that they "felt" they where not getting the same level of service as they did before they removed them. This is first hand experience and from a limited sample, but the majority of people removing the Service Charges where British.

 

I try to allways pre-pay as much as I can so that when I am on holiday I can relax and not worry about the bill.

[LoveVimto]

It has been very interesting reading the past 6 pages, it shows how different we all are and we cannot say all the Americans, Australians and British feel the same way, I suspect this is probably why the cruise industry can't find one answer to please all of us and no matter how they go about it, someone will not be happy.

 

My personal take on this is that I would never remove the auto grats, I know how much the cost is at the time I booking and take that into account but what really needs to change is the three tier system at dinner, 1st is the person who has removed there auto grats and are giving the waiter the envelope, 2nd tier is the likes of me who think they are doing the right thing and leaving the auto grats alone and the the last tier is the person who double tips by leaving the grats on AND handing the envelope over, I suddenly feel like I too should have given another tip and am left feeling embarrased and explaning that I have already tipped and hoping my dinner companions believe me. My solution would be to make it mandatory to tip but make it clear no other tipping is allowed.

 

May I just comment on the gentleman who says cheap people dont tip...some people, including myself dont like wasting money, you dont always get 'better' the more money you pay, that doesnt make us cheap but frugal, in general the Americans expect a tip where as we British would like it to be earned!

 

Just saying!!

[jeanlyon]

Yes I totally agree with you. We now have three types of tipper!! (or non tipper).

 

And it's interesting to note the person above thinks its a service charge. That's what I think it SHOULD be. Not a tip. A tip is something you give personally to another person. A service charge is added to the bill. I shall continue tipping with an envelope.

[Sutho]

You forgot to include in your scenario above that there are people who go on cruises and do not tip. Plain and simple. The amount of people who posted on this thread are like 0.0003% of P&O's cruising population. Again it is an indisputable fact that there are plenty of people who cruise that do not and will not tip.

[LoveVimto]

Yes your right, I should have included the none tipper, I have been on Cruises and to dinner with friends who will absolutely not tip one penny and I find it pretty embarrasing, but its all in the wording, we can accept a 'service charge' if it is added to the account but the word 'tip' tells us that we will decide who and when to tip for a service going above and beyond.

 

Vim