Tipping being outlawed!

[paulista1950]

And so does the gas bill, the electric bill, the rent, the rates, the cost of the ingredients and so on and so on. The point is, why do restaurants feel they need to itemise out the cost of bringing your food to your table ? Do they present me with a bill for the cost of the gas to cook the food do they ? The price of a meal is made of off dozens of different elements - I just want the final bill, I'm not interested in how that figure was arrived at.

 

I could never get an answer for this question and I asked it MANY times.

[ToadOfToadHall]

He's a followup to the original BBC story on tipping :

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22969465

[Topsham]

Was out for dinner in Burriana in Spain with a group of about ten. The meal was rather dreadful. We were not paying for it, it was prepaid. We could have left a tip but decided not to.

 

As we left the restaurant the last one turned to the Maitr'd and in his best 'Spanish' said, "El mealo was el crappo!":eek:

[pmb1]

Was out for dinner in Burriana in Spain with a group of about ten. The meal was rather dreadful. We were not paying for it, it was prepaid. We could have left a tip but decided not to.

 

As we left the restaurant the last one turned to the Maitr'd and in his best 'Spanish' said, "El mealo was el crappo!":eek:

Good for you, but it does help to be in a party of ten when you assert your right not to tip.

[pfm18]

As most have said tipping should be a reward for good service as opposed to an expected thing.

 

For normal service neither good nor bad I just leave a couple of pounds.

[Salacia]

As most have said tipping should be a reward for good service as opposed to an expected thing.

 

For normal service neither good nor bad I just leave a couple of pounds.[/quote]

 

I'd like to leave a couple of pounds after normal meals. However, after having just tried on a pair of trousers from last summer, I think I have gained a few instead! :eek::D

[pepperrn]

"El mealo was el crappo!"

Ah, Spanlish. 'Been speaking it for years...

 

(Pretty good at Franglais as well).

[PenGwyn10]

We are dead against gratuities being added to the bill before any service has been given.

We tip for good service, we tip extra for excellent service, therefore we when sail on QV we shall ask for envelopes so we can tip accordingly.

Is that so wrong?

[Whitemarsh]

We are dead against gratuities being added to the bill before any service has been given.

We tip for good service, we tip extra for excellent service, therefore we when sail on QV we shall ask for envelopes so we can tip accordingly.

Is that so wrong?

 

Some will think it is wrong and some will agree with you.

 

I would like to point out that although the gratuities are put on your account at the commencement of the voyage, your credit card is not charged until the last night of your voyage. So technically you're not paying gratuities before receiving any service.

[njguy_south]

The reason for not tipping on the bar charge on a dining bill is because of the cost of the mark-up on wine and spirits. Would one truly tip 18 to 20% on a wine charged at $50? That would about $10 for the wine alone.

[CI66774]

The reason for not tipping on the bar charge on a dining bill is because of the cost of the mark-up on wine and spirits. Would one truly tip 18 to 20% on a wine charged at $50? That would about $10 for the wine alone.

 

You should never calculate a tip with the tax included. I do add a little something for the alcohol - but nowhere near 18-20% because of the markup mentioned above.

[PenGwyn10]

Some will think it is wrong and some will agree with you.

 

I would like to point out that although the gratuities are put on your account at the commencement of the voyage, your credit card is not charged until the last night of your voyage. So technically you're not paying gratuities before receiving any service.

 

That is true, but the service might be mediocre, or particularly good. We tip accordingy. Some time ago we sailed with Fred Olsen and about 80% of passengers used the envelope system. The service throughout the ship was first class and nothing was too much trouble. As a result, at the end of the cruise most of the staff were delighted with their extra gratuities and passengers had been served extremely well.

[keithm]

As most have said tipping should be a reward for good service as opposed to an expected thing.

 

For normal service neither good nor bad I just leave a couple of pounds.[/quote]

 

I'd like to leave a couple of pounds after normal meals. However, after having just tried on a pair of trousers from last summer, I think I have gained a few instead! :eek::D

Very good!! Also how true!

[Whitemarsh]

That is true, but the service might be mediocre, or particularly good. We tip accordingy. Some time ago we sailed with Fred Olsen and about 80% of passengers used the envelope system. The service throughout the ship was first class and nothing was too much trouble. As a result, at the end of the cruise most of the staff were delighted with their extra gratuities and passengers had been served extremely well.

 

I do not believe that most (or even a quarter) of those who remove the auto-tips, and use the envelope system, are tipping more than the auto-tips.

 

There is no reason to remove the auto-tips if one wishes to tip extra. Just leave them on and then tip extra to whomever you choose.

 

I will say that even a tiny tip in an envelope is better than no tips at all.

[balf]

[quote=Whitemarsh;

 

I will say that even a tiny tip in an envelope is better than no tips at all.

 

 

I think a tiny tip in an envelope would be thought insulting by the recipient.

 

As with the guy I once saw giving his room steward a small bag of sweets saying "hope you like jelly babies"

 

David.

[fantasy51]

There is also the question of whether you hand out the tip personally or whether you just leave it in your room. On my last cruise I prepared three envelopes. I took two to the dining room on the last night and left the other in my cabin ready to hand to my steward the next day. On my return to my room after dinner, my steward thanked me. He had seen the envelope with his name on and assumed he was to take it. That tells me that different cruisers do it in different ways.

[GHDPeter]

Agreed. I like the fact that Australians are paid a decent wage and that any tip I give isn't making the difference between paying the rent and not (in theory).

 

What I'm noticing more here at home is collective tipping jars. I'm not a fan of staff sharing tips that perhaps should only go to one or two people.

 

I used to work in a grill restaurant in a large 5star hotel chain. We were a self contained team of front and back of house. It was decided unanimously one extremely busy night to share our tips with the kitchen and back of house team. That continued for the next 6 years until I left and the restaurant closed.

 

The result however was remarkable, rather than loosing tips to the kitchen and back of house, we actually increased them through better quality service and teamwork. We then did a few other things to encourage better teamwork and understanding of our jobs and exceeded our budgets in some of the toughest times. But tips were not purely financial, we made a point of sharing positive feedback and also thanking those who provided internal service. We gave customers the opportunity to thank the chefs and back of house team, we put a portion of our tips towards our annual christmas party, and we made sure that every guest was treated as if they were the most important person in the restaurant.

 

We did not expect tips, but graciously accepted them and thanked those you gave us the opportunity to provide exceptional service not only to our guests but also to each other.

[sullaRaffaello]

The reason for not tipping on the bar charge on a dining bill is because of the cost of the mark-up on wine and spirits. Would one truly tip 18 to 20% on a wine charged at $50? That would be about $10 for the wine alone.

Yes, why not? Isn't food marked up also? How about just drinks at a bar without food?

[paulista1950]

Yes, why not? Isn't food marked up also? How about just drinks at a bar without food?

 

Because it the same work to pour a $20 or a $200 wine

Say you're celebrating an VERY special occasion and order a $500 champagne. Do you really think it's fair to tip the waiter a $100 bill?

 

I ALWAYS tip accordingly to the local habits, but even so I still think this is an irrational habit.

[turquoise 6]

Oh good, we've not had one of these in ages! :D

 

I have to agree with greengrunt8, "If you ignore me all night at a dinner table or a bar do not expect a tip", well said :) .

Sadly there are many staff in restaurants and bars around the world who do expect a huge tip for the good service they didn't provide, and for the poor service they did :mad: .

 

The BBC report makes interesting reading, thank you salad muncher for posting the link.

But what about your experience ,not the BBC. You are on board enjoying the services. not the BBC.:mad:

[turquoise 6]

Anyone read this article on the demise of tipping in the USA? Might it spread to the cruise ships also?

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22846846?ocid=socialflow_twitter_bbcworld

 

(hope the tread works, its an interesting article)

"I"m not hungry,I"ll just pick" and pick and pick on that salad. as long as it's

free!!:mad:

[turquoise 6]

I expect and reward good service but what really irritates me is when waiters wear those pre-tied or clip on bow ties! They just don't deserve a tip.

Yes I agree, !!!!! I expect and expect 24K, and with a:)

[turquoise 6]

The title of this thread makes it sound like people who dare to tip will be arrested or have wanted posters spread throughout the ship!

Yes I agree with you and I have a feeling that

Salad Muncher would LOVE to arrest the tippers for tipping for service:)

[Eglesbrech]

Tipping can get out of hand to the point of being really crass.

 

We were on a Celebrity ship in the Blu restaurant in May and the service was really poor. Really not good, with a 15 wait just to get a menu to read.

 

Some passengers decided that the way to skip the wait everyone else had to endure was to start waving 20 dollar notes around or laying them very obviously on their table. It was cringe worthy in the extreme. Unfortunately it worked which does not say much for the professionalism of the staff.

 

We took the matter of the poor service up with the hotel manager.

 

We had pre-paid the tips and for the first time ever on a cruise I was tempted to remove this for the waiting staff (but in spite of the provocation could not bring myself to do so). There was however nothing additional left apart from for the wine waiter who was always attentive even though he was busy as well.

 

Yes even Scots who are well known for being prudent with money do tip!

[Austcruiser84]

I used to work in a grill restaurant in a large 5star hotel chain. We were a self contained team of front and back of house. It was decided unanimously one extremely busy night to share our tips with the kitchen and back of house team. That continued for the next 6 years until I left and the restaurant closed.

 

The result however was remarkable, rather than loosing tips to the kitchen and back of house, we actually increased them through better quality service and teamwork. We then did a few other things to encourage better teamwork and understanding of our jobs and exceeded our budgets in some of the toughest times. But tips were not purely financial, we made a point of sharing positive feedback and also thanking those who provided internal service. We gave customers the opportunity to thank the chefs and back of house team, we put a portion of our tips towards our annual christmas party, and we made sure that every guest was treated as if they were the most important person in the restaurant.

 

We did not expect tips, but graciously accepted them and thanked those you gave us the opportunity to provide exceptional service not only to our guests but also to each other.

 

A whole team pulling their weight and working for the greater good is fantastic, but rare.