Restaurant Tipping

[stayhomemom77]

WDW suggests 18% tipping...does DLR do the same?

 

[BayGirl22]

I don't know what they suggest, but 18% is the guideline for all sit down restaurants these days, anywhere I have been in the US.

 

[Spassvogel]

The prices are so high, I figured tips were included.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

i don't tip every where and when i do it depends on the budget how much i spent and if the food and service was good or medicor I am setting tip aside for our cct meal and that seems to be the only one im gona do tips at.

 

[limace]

I think it's pretty mandatory to tip at any sit down restaurant, and you should include that in your budget (with an exception being horrible service, of course). I wouldn't tip at counter service restaurants.

 

[blackjackdelta]

We tip where it is appropriate..good service, servers attitude, timeliness of the meal, I could go on..I settled for 20%, I do not like odd numbers, but the establishment needs to earn the tip.

I also scan the bill for mistakes and see if percentages are added for what ever reason. Good servers work very hard to please..
and I do not always tip the 20%, that is optimal. I also tell the server what I think of the service and will go out of my way to tell the Lead the good, bad and the ugly. Nothing improves without feedback and compliments go along way. I do do things a bit different at club 33 though.
Jack

 

[sonnyjane]

i don't tip every where and when i do it depends on the budget how much i spent and if the food and service was good or medicor I am setting tip aside for our cct meal and that seems to be the only one im gona do tips at.

Uhhhhhhh..... Uhhhh???? Not sure what to say. Tipping is a part of eating at sit-down restaurants. I'm not saying you have to tip 20% even of you get bad service, but you really need to tip unless something remarkable causes you not to, and in that case you should speak to a manger. If it's not in your budget to tip, then stick to counter service. Waiters make less because their earnings come primarily from tips. Some servers make as little as $2 an hour.

 

[Casey's Mommie]

I've always thought standard tipping was 15-20% on all sit down meals. It's considered rude to tip less than 15% by everyone I know who has worked in the food industry.

 

[barbaraann]

For me, part of eating in a sit down restaurant is leaving a tip, and I always leave 20%. If I can't do that then I only eat at counter service places.

 

[KateDrake]

I think the 18% is Disney's way of assuring their servers get tipped. But the general guideline for years for sit-down restaurants across the country has been 15-20%, depending on service. Only if the service is really, truly terrible should you leave less than that. And in my experience, the Disney difference extends to CMs at restaurants as well, and I've always had friendly, competent service. So I would do AT LEAST 15% for average service, and 20% or more if the service was exceptional.
If you don't want to have to factor tips into your food budget, there are tons of great counter service options, where the CMs are paid a base wage that doesn't anticipate tips!

 

[PinkBudgie]

We always tip 20% for table service anywhere unless the service is really bad. But it has to be pretty awful, not just he or she is very busy. In the past 5 years or so 20% seems to be the new standard. If it is somewhere that is serve yourself but they bring water to your table, I'd do a little less.

 

[evnted]

I'd imagine 20% is now the usual tipping for good service. Any less can be taken as bad service or a stingy person.

 

[Nox54]

We tip an average of 20% for table service.
I would think 18% would be just fine.

 

[KateDrake]

Just noticed you are from BC stayhomemom! Now I want to turn the question around and ask you what normal tipping is up there? I'm planning a trip up there sometime in the next year, and I'd love to know what I should expect to tip! I know it can vary so much from country to country. Is 20% or so pretty standard up there, or are servers expecting less?

 

[TheZue]

I'm also from BC and 20% is standard here as well.

 

[BayGirl22]

I think the 18% is Disney's way of assuring their servers get tipped. But the general guideline for years for sit-down restaurants across the country has been 15-20%, depending on service. Only if the service is really, truly terrible should you leave less than that. And in my experience, the Disney difference extends to CMs at restaurants as well, and I've always had friendly, competent service. So I would do AT LEAST 15% for average service, and 20% or more if the service was exceptional.
If you don't want to have to factor tips into your food budget, there are tons of great counter service options, where the CMs are paid a base wage that doesn't anticipate tips!

I agree with all of this. I always assumed Disney (and many other establishments) "suggest" 18% to help clarify the local standard to foreign guests. I know when I travel outside the US I always try to figure out what is appropriate in that culture, as "standard" does vary country to country. They are just trying to simplify things for visitors by stating that up front.

In California the easy math to get close to the 18% range is just to double the tax and round up.

 

[SomeDude78]

From what I can gather, tips are like inflation, just goes up and up over time Back in the day I recall the rule of thumb being 10% as a starting point, 15% for good service, 20% for great. Now it seems that everyone just expects 20% no matter what

Call me a cheapo but these days I start with 15% as a baseline, drop it to 10% (or less in extreme cases) if service is terrible, and raise it to 20% for great service. I go higher on occasion but only for something exceptional.

I've had folks look at me "dirty" for leaving less than 20% ... those places automatically go on the list of restaurants that shall never be patronized again in my lifetime. Sorry, but if it's mandatory, put it in the price and don't leave it to chance. Also helps that I've spent a lot of time in various places around the world and by and large, tips are not expected, and most certainly not at 20%. I don't have any problem helping out my fellow man who makes less money than me, but when it becomes an expectation and entitlement regardless of service level, that's when I enforce some sanity.

 

[pixiewings71]

Uhhhhhhh..... Uhhhh???? Not sure what to say. Tipping is a part of eating at sit-down restaurants. I'm not saying you have to tip 20% even of you get bad service, but you really need to tip unless something remarkable causes you not to, and in that case you should speak to a manger. If it's not in your budget to tip, then stick to counter service. Waiters make less because their earnings come primarily from tips. Some servers make as little as $2 an hour.

I think she's only eating at CCT as a TS place, I believe the other places she's planning to eat at CS which require no tip.

From what I can gather, tips are like inflation, just goes up and up over time Back in the day I recall the rule of thumb being 10% as a starting point, 15% for good service, 20% for great. Now it seems that everyone just expects 20% no matter what

Call me a cheapo but these days I start with 15% as a baseline, drop it to 10% (or less in extreme cases) if service is terrible, and raise it to 20% for great service. I go higher on occasion but only for something exceptional.

I've had folks look at me "dirty" for leaving less than 20% ... those places automatically go on the list of restaurants that shall never be patronized again in my lifetime. Sorry, but if it's mandatory, put it in the price and don't leave it to chance. Also helps that I've spent a lot of time in various places around the world and by and large, tips are not expected, and most certainly not at 20%. I don't have any problem helping out my fellow man who makes less money than me, but when it becomes an expectation and entitlement regardless of service level, that's when I enforce some sanity.

You and I tip very similarly. What I usually do is double the tax and add a dollar or two depending on what the tax is where I'm eating. From there it goes up or down depending on the service I get. 18% is pretty standard for me but last week in Reno my BFF and I tipped our server at PF Chang's about 30% because he was simply amazing!

 

[DharmaLou]

I tip 20% standard anywhere sit down. If service is exceptional, I go up. If service is poor, I go down, but never below 15%.

 

[SomeDude78]

You and I tip very similarly. What I usually do is double the tax and add a dollar or two depending on what the tax is where I'm eating. From there it goes up or down depending on the service I get. 18% is pretty standard for me but last week in Reno my BFF and I tipped our server at PF Chang's about 30% because he was simply amazing!

Yep oftentimes I just double the tax and round up to the next dollar because I'm lazy ... I think I wind up between 15%-18% in most cases. Ironically the times I leave the biggest tips tend to be when I don't feel like they're expected by the service staff. What I leave shrinks when I get the feeling the person on the other end expects to get 20% regardless of how many times they ignore my request for water, let's put it that way I've left as high as 50%, but that's only when service is TRULY exceptional and I know someone has gone out of their way for me, and it usually helps if I've been drinking too