Tipping for bad service?????

[fritzi]

We are sailing on March lst - Independence -

 

From some of the threads I get the idea that service was not all that good in the dining room - especially. What do you do about tipping at the end of the cruise - do you adjust or complain to the staff or both?

[MaryZ]

We are sailing on March lst - Independence -

 

From some of the threads I get the idea that service was not all that good in the dining room - especially. What do you do about tipping at the end of the cruise - do you adjust or complain to the staff or both?

 

LOL, so what's your plan when you receive over the top excellent service?

 

If you have poor service, you speak to the maitre d' about it.

If service doesn't improve, then you do whatever you would do anywhere else.

But you have to give the people the chance to improve service. So you have to issue a complaint so that they attempt to resolve it.

 

If it were not resolved, I would go to the pursers office and request to speak to the head of wait staff and speak to that person. Telling them specifics as to why I felt it necessary to adjust the tips downward.

But, honestly it would have to be a fairly huge issue for me to do that.

And I have done it. Years ago, when service was white glove, we changed out the tips. The waiter got what the busboy should have gotten and the busboy got the waiter's tip. And each was told to their face why.

The busboy was thrilled. The waiter remained his surley self. We debated between ourselves (my husband and I) to not give the waiter anything (yes he was that bad) but felt it would be more pointed criticism to tell him to his face that he only deserved what the busboy would get.

[megr1125]

good or bad service is subjective.....

 

if you are unhappy with your service, tell the headwaiter at the beginning....generally i will forgive less than stellar service on night 1 as it is such a long day for the crew...not that it should be an excuse, but in my world, i will give people a break the 1st time, but if by night 2 it isn't better, then i am going to say something........the servers are expected to make you happy and if you have an issue, and they don't get the chance to correct it, and you note that on your comment card, they get in trouble....

 

as for tipping.....the amounts are "suggested"...if you tip in cash you can adjust it...if you have prepaid your tips, or you add them to your seapass, it is my understanding that they cannot be changed.....

 

so...........i think that the generalization being made that service on one ship may be unfair....only you know your definition of good or bad service....

 

hope that helps...........

[fritzi]

Mary Z - said - so what's your plan when you receive over the top excellent service? lol

 

 

Geez Mary - It wasn't a fair response to my question. However, I do appreciate your comments about talking to the maitre d' first. By the way, I have been sailing several times and I have never received "OVER THE TOP" EXCELLENT SERVICE AND YET WE GAVE FULL TIPS OR HAD THEM CHARGED IN ADVANCE - ! LOL.

[Happy ks]

We've had great and not so great service onboard cruise ships, it's really up to the personality of the server and how well they mesh with the guests.

 

If we had a problem where it was to the point we'd adjust the tips downward, we'd see the head waiter and have the problem fixed instead of being disappointed and coming back here to complain when absolutely nothing can be done about it. Reducing tips doesn't really have the impact people think it does, the service staff just remembers you as cheap. Unless there are complaints filed, they have no idea you are unhappy.

 

Then you get to the point of what other posters are writing here. Service can be just as subjective as the taste of the food. We've had over the top friendly servers at times that become annoying. We've had servers who are very quiet, yet wonderful because they don't impose their own personalities on your evening. And we've had a lot of somewhere in between. Personally, I think a whole lot more people will write a negative account than a positive one and you have to remember this board represents a rather small percentage of the cruising public.

 

The worst service, to me, is when the server complains about their job. All of us work, all of us have tough times, many of us complain to co-workers and anyone else who will listen. But a food server in a restaurant, from Denny's to a cruise ship to a 5 star land restaurant has no business complaining or discussing income with the customer.

 

The taste and quality of the food should have no bearing whatsoever on service. I've honestly had better service at Denny's than one cruise we were on.

[kyriecat]

If you have my time dining booked, you have to prepay your tips. I think that I read here (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) that you cannot have them removed once you get onboard. RC will automatically charge you based on their guideline amounts. You cannot change the amounts either before or onboard.

 

If you decide to pay your tips using your sea pass once onboard, it's all or nothing. You cannot decide how much to give each person. You MUST use RC's guideline amounts for this. Also, if you get bad service after you turned in your gratuities form, you can get them removed, but again, you have to remove them all. Plus you have to wait in line at the purser's desk which can take forever.

[cruisePRN]

Are you taking traditional dining or my time? If you take my time you cannot adjust your tips, they are automatic on your seapass card thus taking away the incentive to provide great service. If you have traditional dining you will get envelopes to place a cash tip into so you can tip according to service.

[fritzi]

Thanks for your information. We are taking early seating dining and requested a table for two. One time sailing, the first night, the waiter was poor and unfriendly at our table. We went to the maitre d' and asked for a different table and area of the dining room. He was able to change the table for us and this solved the problem for the rest of the cruise. That may be the best way to handle that problem should it occur again.

[G'ma]

We are sailing on March lst - Independence -

 

From some of the threads I get the idea that service was not all that good in the dining room - especially. What do you do about tipping at the end of the cruise - do you adjust or complain to the staff or both?

 

I've never reduced the suggested tips for any reason. Never had "bad" service in the dining room or anywhere else.

 

Sometimes service is quick and efficient; sometimes it's a little slower....I don't care. I've never been inconvenienced, insulted, denied--no one has ever been rude, sloppy or inattentive.

 

Usually, it is my practice to leave a little extra for the wait staff and room steward. I also tip a favorite bartender and always tip the dealer at the table - win, lose or draw.

[newmexicoNita]

you might be reading too much into the reviews, some people set their standards so high they couldn't be reached with a 20 ft ladder. It sounds like you are preparing yourself for the worst. I would expect the opposite, Oh course if you do get poor, below par service you need to address it immediately. And, yes, you can adjust the tips downward or upward. We have usually done the latter..Only twice did we give less than the suggested amount, once on Celebrity, we gave the assistant more and the waiter a little less and we had good reason, one other time we did about the same. By less, I mean just a few $$S less.

 

Now, expect to get good service, don't start worrying before you even get on the ship and do address your concerns if you have any to the head waiter at the beginning, not the end.

 

Nita

[bplazo]

I would never tip less than the suggested amount.

[Trainman-2]

I would never tip less than the suggested amount.

 

This is a Toughie!

 

Terrible service is unacceptable and not worthy of the suggested tip.

 

Excellent Service deserves an above average tip.

 

It all boils down to using good judgment. I would never reward sub standard service with the suggested amount. And I would discuss it with the Head Waiter early on in the cruise, as soon as sub standard service became obvious.

[Bruins14]

Mary Z - said - so what's your plan when you receive over the top excellent service? lol. When I received over the top service I left more than suggested, and on my last cruise when the service was ok I left the suggested. I have only been on 2 Cruises so far, and have not received bad service yet.

[49holding]

If service is truly awful even after speaking to the maitr-de then I would adjust it downward somewhat, like 20% less than the suggested amount. In my 12 cruises I have only downsized my tips once , on a CCL cruise to the room steward . We were 4 in a room yet he refused to provide service to the other 2 occupants ( our kids), like make their beds, give them their own bathroom cup' as well as other cleaning issuess. He was surly and downright scary. Complaints did not improve his service or demeanor.So he got the suggested tips for 2 people not 4 and we told himwhy.The DR service was very poor on the same cruise but at least the DR staff tried so they got the suggested amt. We usually overtip ourservice on RCCL, Celebrity and HAL has been outstanding