Mandatory gratuities?

I know that we recently had a thread about how much servers made made from tips which got quite a bit of feedback. Here's another side of the coin.

One of our favorite places to visit is Walt Disney World, in the last couple days I've read that effective January 1, 2008 they're going to add a mandatory 18% tip to the bills in all on property sit down restaurants. (It wasn't clear if this applied to buffets or not) I know in this forum we've got representatives from the three groups that this affects, servers, customers and restaurant owners/managers and I'd like to know the feelings of others on this subject.

While I am always sensitive to the plight of servers, and I do believe they often deserve a whole lot more than they receive, I am decidedly against any mandatory tip percentage.

Unfortunately, the service industry attracts some people less than able or willing to perform their job properly. While most servers I've been around are excellent at what they do, I have encountered way too many inept servers to be able to, in good conscience, support a mandatory tip percentage. However, I would support a mandatory wages increase for service employees.

Frankly, I'd rather the prices on everything be raised 18 percent and the employee paid fair wages.

[Robin Garr]

I'd like to know the feelings of others on this subject.

In general, Mark, I'd prefer to make my own decision, and I think most of us feel the same. Personally, in current times, I never tip as low as 18 percent, but being in or on the periphery of the business I tend to tip well.

I can understand it in special circumstances, though. Mandatory tip for larger parties, for instance, because larger parties are notorious in the business for tipping poorly. Someone invariably looks at 20 percent of a $600 tab for eight people and decides that $120 is way too much, so they leave 7 percent and run.

I suspect that something like this is in play at Disney World, where a significant proportion of the clientele is likely not what we would call sophisticated diners.

Bottom line, if it's necessary to put on a mandatory in special circumstances because experience reveals that there's going to be a problem otherwise, then I'm okay with that. But I'd prefer not to see it as a routine thing that all restaurants adopt for all tabs.

Robin, I agree completely with your analysis but I'm greatly concerned that this will just further propagate the deterioration of service in restaurants. Especially at Walt Disney World where the food prices are already inflated (by about 25% in my view) making a mandatory tip policy will only allow the servers to try less to satisfy the customers.

I've already seen a deterioration of service in general at restaurants in many places and if this policy starts to propagate outside of resort areas it will cost much dissatisfaction with the dining public.

I certainly feel that servers deserve to make a good wage and most of them deserve to make a lot more than they do but implementing this policy without also implementing a way to ensure that servers continue to provide good service is just not a good way to go!

I certainly feel that servers deserve to make a good wage and most of them deserve to make a lot more than they do but implementing this policy without also implementing a way to ensure that servers continue to provide good service is just not a good way to go!

Yeah, but I don't get tipped and I still do my job well. I think it would sort itself out in the end.

Most of your better establishments will have a disclaimer somewhere on the bottom of the menu.
It will state the tipping policy for groups of 6,8 or more, for an automatic gratuity to the 18 to 20% range.

Wow, I've been wanting to go back to Disney World for awhile, but now that has been chilled.

We were in the Brittish Virgin Islands where they tack on a mandatory percentage for servers. After speaking with some of our servers they complained that they did not see their full cut in the end. It seemed to be fairly common for the boss/owner to take out his share first. We would often leave a cash tip as well just to make sure.

I think it's a bad idea. I tip well for excellent service. To have a mandatory tip just encourages the people in the service industry who are lazy (a select few) to do a less thorough job.

The only people who would benefit would be the lazy ones. Hard working servers wouldn't get tipped well enough, because most people wouldn't leave an additional tip, there would be NO incentive to take care of your customer, because you're getting tipped either way, so customer service would suffer, and ultimately, the business owner would lose money.

I know that we recently had a thread about how much servers made made from tips which got quite a bit of feedback. Here's another side of the coin.

One of our favorite places to visit is Walt Disney World, in the last couple days I've read that effective January 1, 2008 they're going to add a mandatory 18% tip to the bills in all on property sit down restaurants. (It wasn't clear if this applied to buffets or not) I know in this forum we've got representatives from the three groups that this affects, servers, customers and restaurant owners/managers and I'd like to know the feelings of others on this subject.

Hah! Never thought I'd see this issue turn up here. We too were a little miffed by Disney World implementing this policy, since when we go there's generally only two of us. When they announced the Disney Dining Plan next year was no longer going to include tip I wasn't crazy about it, but I'd had a few situations on the DDP when the servers obviously knew they were getting their tip no matter what, and didn't give us the best service... most of the time it was ok, but once or twice it was rather bad. I thought the new DDP policy might encourage the servers to work for the tips more consistently. Then a few days ago I read about the mandatory tips for all table service restaurants

Oh well, we have a trip coming up in just a little under two weeks now. Our last trip to have the full dining plan and servers working for their tips. Won't be the biggest deal. There are many reasons to enjoy Disney World, and it won't stop us going... but I won't be surprised if the service at table service restaurants suffers a bit. I don't expect it to be a huge problem. Even before when our tips were covered by the Dining Plan we only experienced a problem once or twice in a 7 day stay.