UK Gratuities

[AmberCascades]

I read an article yesterday about a restaurant in Vancouver that wants to try to move society away from the tipping culture and their plan is to forbid tipping at their restaurant. However, they say they would have to pay their employees a decent wage to keep them, obviously, and so they would raise their prices by 18%. This would be non-negotiable since it would be blended into the prices. So now it is no longer at the customer's discretion. Your only choice would be to eat there or to eat somewhere else. But if everyone else raises their prices in order to cover their staff's wages then the choice to eat at restaurants just got a whole lot more expensive. I have no way of comparing food prices in Vancouver, Canada to those in Sydney, Australia. Do Australians pay more for stuff because they don't have a tipping culture? Just curious.

 

I don't think the amount the cruise lines are asking for is exhorbitant. Would people prefer that they just blend the gratuities into the cost and raise the price of cruises? Of course it would still be there but it would be hidden. And staff would still get their well earned pay. Just something to think about. (18% of my next cruise!!?? Whoa yeah, that would be a lot more than they are asking for at the moment).

[Pente85Camino]

Thanks for the clarification Ken!! I saw that the ship was registered out of a different country, but did not realize that the wages were also done from there. But yes, PMcC1998, I think it would help explain our "tipping culture".

 

Thanks for helping my information make more sense!!!!!!!

[Ourusualbeach]

Thanks for the clarification Ken!! I saw that the ship was registered out of a different country, but did not realize that the wages were also done from there. But yes, PMcC1998, I think it would help explain our "tipping culture".

 

Thanks for helping my information make more sense!!!!!!!

 

It was a great example especially for those from other countries who do not realize how little many of the servers in Florida make. (Myself included as our minimum wages while low are not that low)

[Pente85Camino]

It was a great example especially for those from other countries who do not realize how little many of the servers in Florida make. (Myself included as our minimum wages while low are not that low)

 

Yep!, well, then don't move to Texas if you are tipped - regular is $7.25 while tipped employees get $2.19. The companies are supposed to "make up the difference" to get to regular minimum, but I have friends in the service industry that know some employers do not abide by the law.

[NEMMRRC]

Something else to add to the mix, it is likely service staff on a cruise ship are contract workers and not actual cruise line employees. No doubt the cruise line outsources the service jobs to a third party for a set fee. That third party then contracts the workers to serve on the ships. The prepaid gratuity or daily service charge may be a result of the cruise line's contract with the staffing agency.

[first_time_dav]

We have already pre paid our tips as we chose My Time dining. They are itemised on the invoice seperately but I see the total amount as the cost of the cruise. When we're paying just under £5,000 for a two week med cruise from the UK, what's another £300 or so? We can obviously afford it otherwise we wouldn't have booked it. Not sure why there's so much moaning about it.