Help with tipping

FWIW, the tipped wage in Florida is $5.08 currently versus an $8.10 minimum wage. So as @melcort10 indicated, employers can legally pay waiters/waitresses only $5.08 despite it being less than minimum wage as their is a presumption of tips. Some states are actually far lower than $5.08 (many are $2.13) which seems incredibly low, but…

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I’ve been watching this and trying to make sense of it.

I just can’t understand why the workers aren’t paid more, slightly increase your service prices, and ditch the tipping. It just seems cruel to undervalue employees like this.

But my biggest concern is that if there is little to no agreement amongst locals about how much and who to tip, how are us foreigners ever meant to get it right?
I understand why Australians are known as bad tippers! Forget ridiculously tiny layovers, booking the adrs, tiered fpps and creating optional touring plans. Tipping is by FAR the most stressful and confusing part of my holiday!

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You don’t realize how much is spent on tips.

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Very helpful

Never new about tipped wage, thanks for posting

It was a huge amount. Obviously at home you don’t eat out every day, but even if we did we’d never tip 20%.

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The backlash to that position in chat would be considerable

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I wholeheartedly agree with you that there is no real reason to have tipping. I think it would make life easier for all parties if there was just a price and that was the price! The biggest argument people make for tipping is that they get to pay based on the amount of service that they receive. But I find that argument absurd because the wait staff don’t know how much you are going to tip until you are gone! I think a lot of resistance to removing tipping comes from waitstaff themselves, they make good wages this way! (In 90% of cases.)

I also agree that even among American’s there is a difference of opinion in how much to tip in different scenarios. I am among the set who does tip less at a buffet (more in the range of 10-15%). I think that in the past 5 years tipping has changed quite a bit in that there is more thought about “helping” people who are working for low wages and thus tipping has expanded in scope. I think Uber is a great example. Originally they didn’t allow tipping as they wanted it to be included in the price. But it’s just SUCH a cultural thing and the drivers were making low wages that many people felt that they should tip. So now Uber has allowed tipping within the app.

Please, PLEASE don’t make tipping a super stressful part of your vacation! Like you mentioned, there is variation among Americans on how much to tip. I think if you are following the general wait staff guidelines and keep in mind valet and housekeeping suggestions you will be fine! The difference between 15% and 18% and 20% is not the end of the world.

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I’m not concerned about the cost, just accidentally ripping someone off!

I also don’t 'get’taxes being added at the till… Ours are added into the ticketed price so you know exactly how much your spending straight up.

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You’re not really making me want to go check out chat. Jeez.

I find chat too clunky to be bothered navigating. The forum is much easier

I love chat, but some topics bring out strong opinions. Tipping is one of those topics.

We are used to tipping so I know its not the same as what you guys from overseas deal with, but here’s a tip for making it less stressful, especially if you have the dining plan.

Before I left, I went through the menus for the places we would visit and figured out what we would likely order at each place. I then calculated 18-20% tip and put that in envelopes for each location. For all of our dining services, I was very close on the recommended tip and I didn’t have to worry about it because I’d already put the money aside.

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Do you NEED to tip - NO
Should you TIP - YES
There have been times I have not tipped as the service is exceptionally poor.

THIS is something people should really not freak out about. It simply is and you can either tip or not tip if you decide

WHY should you tip. These are lower paid wages and TIPPING has been the traditional thing to do. Things are changing but still - it is nice to tip.

WHY do I tip the maitre d’ on a cruise - I have NO IDEA - I don’t think I should - I don’t think he gave me any value - but it is the price of doing business - so I do. I consider myself very lucky to be able to go on a cruise so I do it. I tip him the minimal and save more for my room steward who works like a dog.

THIS is not something people should freak about - it isn’t that difficult. You tip in a restaurant, you tip any bag handlers, and you tip your maid - or not.

Tipping has gotten out of hand for sure. On my last flight, I was offered the opportunity to tip my flight attendant. This woman (a female in this case), has been trained to save lives of 100’s of people if there happened to be an emergency. THAT is her job and she is paid to do that job whether the need arises or not. The fact that she hands out crackers and water is just something for her to do in the 99.9% of her time when she is not tending to an emergency. She makes more money than I do; why would an airline suggest she be tipped?!

Also, I helped a friend a her ice cream shop for a month or after her student employees went back to school but before she closed for the summer. They had a tip jar at the payment register and also suggested a tip on the screen for those who paid with a card. Why?! How much better can one person be than another at scooping an ice cream?! I had a regular customer who would always tip me. After his ice cream he would always ask for a bottle of water. I would never let him pay. I would use the tip money to buy it myself.

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I don’t get the taxes either.

Chat’s great, there’s just occasional drama which is easy to avoid.

This is what we did and missoverexcited too. It saves any surprises. And by slightly over estimating, ensures you’re left with a few dollars for a last minute momento or makes sure you don’t have to break into rest of holiday budget.

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I agree it has gotten out of control for sure. Legitimate “TIP” possitions have been watered down with these other things. Would you tip someone at McDonald’s NO. I don’t tip for coffee, gas, etc. It is crazy.

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Just to throw my 2 cents in. My former roommate was a mousekeeing CM at POR. They were never expecting to be tipped, as they are a non-tipped role, but it was always appreciated. It seems she was just as excited about left over food (anything that was unopened and still factory sealed not just random half eaten things) that was left in rooms. The mousekeeping staff have first dibs on that. Our pantry stayed full of snack sized chip bags, bottles of water and other beverages. She also gushed about one family who left her a little goody bag and some sort of specialty toffee from wherever they were from. So while tips are always appreciated don’t feel obligated to do it. The same goes for Pirate’s League and BBB. Neither of these are tipped roles, but they are always appreciated. I should also note that tips at BBB (can’t speak for the PL) are pooled. Tips were taken away from a little while (anything that was tipped was donated to give kids the world) because people were not turning them in. There is a little lock box in the back where they are deposited. So just another thing to keep in mind. Always appreciated, but never expected.

On a different note I can understand while waiters and waitresses don’t want those tips taken away. I walked out with a waiter at Whispering Canyon one night after work and talked about how it was a relatively slow night and he was walking out with about $400 in tips just for that night. For comparison that was almost what I made in a week haha

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