I have noticed dining room service is not as good as it used to be… Just returned from a Princess cruise in Japan. The lines are cutting corners due to staff shortages or just to make more money. I always tip my waiters extra if they are good, this is addition to paying tips up front. I remember, and you as well when Holland didn’t allow tipping and you received great service. Remember when Holme Lines charged for deck chairs? LOL… A lot has changed over the years. I think tips were added several years ago by CCL and other 3 star lines since the crew members were getting stiffed on the short cruises to the Bahamas. The cruise lines said it was to cut down on the amount of cash they had to carry on board to make change for tipping on the last night. We may never know
OK, tip stories. I live in a tourist destination with a high cost of living. Many fast food places are still on reduced staff. The local McDonalds closes their inside dining room just after lunch with drive through only. There is a social online group who posts whether Taco Bell is open of cloed on a particular day. You get the idea that we are not back to normal hours yet.
A local Chinese carry out (they stopped table service for COVID and have not yet restarted it). I always tip 20% on a card or put cash in the tip jar. They really fill up the carry out containers. I accidently left a credit card there and they held it for many months until I came in again and handed it back to me. Although it was a Costco card and they could have called the only Costco here and told them they found it, but still, they checked the photo on the back and recognized me when I came back in.
A local restaurant always treats us like family and has reasonably priced food. Yelp lists it with 4.5 stars with 360 reviews. They received the The James Beard America’s Classic 2023 award. I always leave a 20% tip.
Haircuts (I am monk-bald) I get a discount but 20% tip.
At other fast food places 15% to 20% depending upon service.
I help at a local coffee farm which has tours. Almost all tour guides and workers are ‘WWOOFERS’. These are people who work-stay, getting room and board for their work but will also share in tips if they act as a tour guide, etc. During their off hours they often travel the island, visit other islands and enjoy paradise. There is a small coffee shop which accepts tips, a small store (coffee, t-shirts, local artist paintings, honey, etc) which also accepts tips on the Square terminal. The WWOOFERS also pick fruit and leave it in a basket and donations are accepted if guests want some. The tips are shared amongst all the workers for the above. The farm offers the tip ability on the terminals and with tip jars. This is a bit different than employees, as the WWOOFERS are a work/trade person but enjoy the tips they do receive. I can’t guarantee that all visitors understand that, however there are flyers explaining how visitors or people they know can enter the program for a minimum of 3 months.
I an a docent at a local historic church. During the tours I mention that repairs on the building and ongoing maintenance happens with donations and church parishoner tithes. I do not make a big deal out of it, but the church really needs donations. We can have 3 or 4 tour busses at one time and have to shuffle people around as only a bus load can fit in the church at one time. Many people drop a few dollars in, on occassion we get a $100 bill! If I personally am offered a tip, I thank them but decline. If they wish, they can drop it in the tip container. There is also a tip location at the fruit stand where local farmers leave fruit as a donation in the hopes visitors will drop a dollar or more in the container. So although ‘donations’ may be confused with tips, the idea is somewhat similar. If I see someone make a donation, I thank them specifically.
Maybe I’m old fashioned, but when on a cruise, my wife and I pay cash and give it directly to the person that performed the service, the stateroom attendant, Head server, etc. I also take a number of $2. bills for incidental tipping, such as the bartender, porter, etc. Many of them tell us they save the $2. bills for their grandchildren. As soon as we board the ship, I go to Guest Relations and remove any automatic gratuities. Call it what you want, but it’s a service fee, plain and simple.
We always single out a few people who we felt did a great job and give more than the prepaid gratuity. When you cruise you will see most of the workers come from non - US counties and work to send money back home. If you are able there is no reason not to help them out. Tip: try to do it in cash. Last time we tried to put in on our cc the concierge stared us down as we wrote out the people/positions we wanted to identify as additional recipients. It was very awkward.
Went out to a sit down casual (sports bar) place. The bill came with suggested tips STARTING at 20% and going up from there.
You have to question why we here in America have gotten to the point where we have employees HOPE for a decent wage relying upon the addition of tips.
I just took a Norwegian Cruise and they started charging a $20 per day per person charge for tipping this year. Additionally, some places (such as Starbucks) on the ship add a “Service Charge” AKA tip to their bill.
agreed
it is not a tip if it is ‘‘prepaid’’
i want to see the person that has helped me and put that money directly in their hand.
did a cruise decades ago. never again. not my style. from what i am reading, the entire experience has become adversarial and not communal. felt like a walking atm then, sense it has gotten worse today…
it’s out of control this tipping thing sick of it