Orlando Florida/Disneyworld (Part 2) *CLOSED*

HIJKsplit

Thanks for all the above response's :T

pinkzebra

Going back to the tip thing - we always tip 15-20% (in restaurants) if the service is good. It may seem alot, but you have to consider the wages they get, and also the cost of healthcare insurance - did you know that the average American family pays $12,000 healthcare insurance a year?? (and my American friend pays even more than that).

sturll

pinkzebra wrote: »

Going back to the tip thing - we always tip 15-20% (in restaurants) if the service is good. It may seem alot, but you have to consider the wages they get, and also the cost of healthcare insurance - did you know that the average American family pays $12,000 healthcare insurance a year?? (and my American friend pays even more than that).

I just do not buy the whole "do you know how much a waiter gets..." When you drive past a homeless man do you throw him a dollar? Its garbage mate. A waiter is paid to do the job they do, if they dont like it or the wage then get another job.

Simple.

Amy83

sturll wrote: »

I just do not buy the whole "do you know how much a waiter gets..." When you drive past a homeless man do you throw him a dollar? Its garbage mate. A waiter is paid to do the job they do, if they dont like it or the wage then get another job.

Simple.

Its not quite as simple as that though, waiters in the US take the job with the understanding that the main bulk of their wages will be earnt from tips...the wage paid by restaurants isn't usually even enough to live on. There's some restaurant chains over there who don't pay an hourly wage at all if I remember rightly, so the tips are very important!

We got back this morning, and tipped anywhere from 10-25% for everything (ice-creams/drinks to full meals)

sturll

Amy83 wrote: »

Its not quite as simple as that though, waiters in the US take the job with the understanding that the main bulk of their wages will be earnt from tips...the wage paid by restaurants isn't usually even enough to live on. There's some restaurant chains over there who don't pay an hourly wage at all if I remember rightly, so the tips are very important!

We got back this morning, and tipped anywhere from 10-25% for everything (ice-creams/drinks to full meals)

Then im sorry but get another job.

Added to the fact we need to be realistic here, say you tipped $20 for a meal. Thats a tenner give or take for some guy bringing you a few drinks and your plated meals? So lets say he dedicates 5 minutes total you you. Thats £10 for 5 minutes work? Ehich he is already paid for .

Thats £120 an hour at your rate.

vivatifosi

I've posted this before (ad nauseum, sorry) and agree that you should tip reasonably in America. What brought this home for me is that I'm a member of the Disney Vacation Club so we go regularly and stay in nice accommodation with a kitchen. On one occasion I had to go back to my room because I'd left something behind after I'd checked out. I found the cleaners sorting through my leftover food to see what could be salvaged and taken home with them. They'd made a neat pile and put it in their own bags to take away with them. I was amazed that this could happen in supposedly the richest country in the world rather than somewhere like Zimbabwe, where to a certain extent it would be more understandable. It amazed me more that this happened on the watch of one of the better employers. It gave me a real wake up call and made me realise how much people struggle to get by in Florida while I'm there and having a great time.

This made me ask questions about tips in restaurants. It was then I found out that wait staff don't get the same basic wage, often have to pool tips (so they aren't getting £10 for 5 minutes work) and quite often have to do other work (for example cleaning or making the desserts) so you can't assume that they're on the floor and making tips the whole time.

Sorry sturll, there's a lot of posts we're in total agreement on but not tipping...

sturll

That is quite a sobering thought and one which does surprise me. I had seen similar things in Mexico with a few pesos but not food.

Lets not forget though generally you tend to find Hotel maids are Mexican - which in terms of the population of US are the bottom of the food chain. It still gets me now when i think back to Reno and i saw loads of Mexican guys sat on most corners. I asked someone what they were doing and he said "they sit there all day in case someone needs some work doing - they'll work for $20 per day" It really does bring it home. Especially when we live in such a country where people are happy to sit by and live on the state for no real reason other than because its easy.

In ragrds to tipping though i do stand by what i have said and do think that rounding the meal up or maybe $10 is sufficient.

vivatifosi

Thanks sturll, I think the maids at Disney are Haitian, which probably puts them even further down the food chain. At a time when people are flaming each other left right and centre on other boards its great that we can disagree courteously!

disney_cjd

Everyone you can call sit and try and work out what a waitress earns per hour for busy tables and justify what you want to tip - that's up to you BUT the convention is at least double the tax. If you don't like that fine, leave what tip you like, round it up by ten bucks or whatever. The US is a strange nation and they have stange conventions. Its a nation of tipping which is od to us as basically only food, cabbies or hairdressers get tips here and thats all qutie debatable also.

For exmaple, you have a pizza delivered in teh US, you tip the pizza guy - I do not see anyopne ever doing that over here,

As for buffetts, I dont eat at them but I woudl leave a couple of bucks as someone still has to clear all your mess away.

Cheers
craig

Indout96

I tip the pizza / chinese delivery guy over here as well - it no wonder I'm poor :rotfl:
Anyway only 24 working days until I'm back in Florida :j but no more Bennigans :eek: Looks like it will have to be Applebee's for ribs now. By the way does anyone know if Dan Marino's has shut down at Pointe Orlando as the one in St Pete's had been taken over when we were there in April, exactly the same menu but a new name & Owners. Hhhhmmmm Lobster Ravioli :j