How are auto gratuities distributed

[Biker19]

I miss the good ole days when the best threads were about what to wear on formal night and the decline of Western Civilization in the MDR.

 

LOL :cool:

[awestover89]

I miss the good ole days when the best threads were about what to wear on formal night and the decline of Western Civilization in the MDR.

 

I still see those threads. Along with the "why can't I share my drink package", "this sale didn't save me any money so it's a bait and switch"... actually, any thread with "... bait and switch ..."...

[TEXASMUNK]

The laundry, the painters, engineering staff, etc do not share in tips. The grouping listed get the tips.

Auto tipping is a direct result of the folks that STIFF THE STAFF. So the cruise lines have created auto tipping.

Bar staff have charged tips pooled.

Yeah, we know staff. Direct information.

[Cuizer2]

Before the days of automatic gratuities when we did envelopes you knew that whoever you gave your money to. However now if you do automatic it's all done behind the scenes.

 

Does anyone know how the system works. Are the tips all pooled in one big fund and distributed from there or do they give your specific steward your tips? Do they take a service charge out of it before passing it on to their employees.

 

In the era of gratuities included for some bookings it has me wondering if they are really giving that money out the same as automatic gratuities. I think the idea behind OBC is there is so much markup that 100 OBC costs them much less than 100. However if they cover my gratuities their cost is face value unless they aren't actually putting it in the pool. I know it's possible the OBC could be used for tips too but my guess is most people spend it on other stuff.

 

I know tip postings can get heated and I can see both sides but I'm just curious how it all works.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

People keep claiming that the tips are pooled. However, I check the pools everyday and I haven't found any tip in any of the pools yet.

 

That said, there are lots of theories on this, but in fact most likely only the cruise line knows for sure, and they aren't talking.

 

Bottom line, I would be willing to bet that the tips are pooled and they 100% are actually given to those that should receive the tips.

[Espn]

People keep claiming that the tips are pooled. However, I check the pools everyday and I haven't found any tip in any of the pools yet.

 

That said, there are lots of theories on this, but in fact most likely only the cruise line knows for sure, and they aren't talking.

 

Bottom line, I would be willing to bet that the tips are pooled and they 100% are actually given to those that should receive the tips.

 

I agree that I believe the tips are pooled but I don't think we will ever know how this actually works. I would just like to know, and I have asked this before, if I give the stateroom attendant $20 for getting me a lounge chair for the balcony, does he get to keep that or is it pooled. And I am not talking about removing auto tips beforehand.

[Cuizer2]

Was there a sale on tipping threads this week?

 

You noticed that too. :eek:

[markeb]

I still see those threads. Along with the "why can't I share my drink package", "this sale didn't save me any money so it's a bait and switch"... actually, any thread with "... bait and switch ..."...

 

Whatever happened to the shorts in the MDR and smoking on the balcony? And I haven't seen a good rumrunner post in ages!

 

Now if someone wants to have a cow tipping thread, especially involving the Ben and Jerry Suite, we're in business...

 

And, in fairness to the OP, I really don't know how they're split. There are two to three distinct models in the U.S. service industries, keep, pool, tip your own help, and I assume one or the other is in effect on the ship, either officially or through peer pressure.

[Cuizer2]

I agree that I believe the tips are pooled but I don't think we will ever know how this actually works. I would just like to know, and I have asked this before, if I give the stateroom attendant $20 for getting me a lounge chair for the balcony, does he get to keep that or is it pooled. And I am not talking about removing auto tips beforehand.

 

Extra tips, given above an auto tip is that person's tip to keep. Extra tips, give after auto tips have been removed, perhaps not.

[Espn]

Whatever happened to the shorts in the MDR and smoking on the balcony? And I haven't seen a good rumrunner post in ages!

 

Now if someone wants to have a cow tipping thread, especially involving the Ben and Jerry Suite, we're in business...

 

And, in fairness to the OP, I really don't know how they're split. There are two to three distinct models in the U.S. service industries, keep, pool, tip your own help, and I assume one or the other is in effect on the ship, either officially or through peer pressure.

 

OMG, I had actually forgotten about rumrunners, wow. I am kind of tired of the tipping threads. I think I will go to the Corvette forum where we actually talk about brake pads and which tires to buy next, you know really important stuff.

[mooseman52b]

They do however pay tax on tips paid with credit card. That is why when we dine out, we pay tips by cash so that they are not taxed on that.

 

Servers are taxed on the tips they claim. If they show an average 15% tips on credit card sales but only claim tips on an average of 10% of their total sales they are risking an IRS audit. By and large the IRS is going to use their credit card average and assess it to all of their sales when they audit them (plus the penalties and interest that a previous post mentioned).

 

And yes, they would be better off chasing cheats like Reverend "I'm not even ordained" Al :p

[thickerson555]

Do you think when there is a booking that includes tips is the money really added back into the pool.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[wilmingtech]

Not that they would ever get caught, but they are taxed on cash tips. If they choose to lie to the IRS and not pay those taxes then they are guilty of felony tax evasion, with a maximum penalty of $250,000 in fines and 5 years in prison. It's a technicality, I doubt if the IRS cares about anything that small on an individual level, but it is still illegal.

I worked in a restaurant that got audited. What triggered the audit was the total number of reported tips on w2s was less than the total reported credit card tips from that restaurant.

 

Every employee got audited. I always reported more than my total credit card tips so no problem. But others did not. They had to pay back taxes on the difference in reported tips vs CC tips plus a penalty.

 

The penalty was minimal, the worst part was that they charged interest (going back 3 years) on taxes owed. That interest added up quickly.

 

The people who got crushed were the servers that claimed 0$ in tips every night.

 

-Sean

[cruizergal70]

Maybe the IRS should pay more attention to the likes of people like Al Sharpton...Just saying! :p

 

Where did that come from? Should we counter with a white tax evader?

[markeb]

OMG, I had actually forgotten about rumrunners, wow. I am kind of tired of the tipping threads. I think I will go to the Corvette forum where we actually talk about brake pads and which tires to buy next, you know really important stuff.

 

You can come over to the BMW forums and listen to the boys in their underwear argue about which mod to put on their 3'er, instead of saving money and actually going on a date...

[mr walker]

Not sure if they know if you have prepaid or are paying daily automatically. However they do know if you have removed auto tips.

 

We always pre-pay (works for us). On a cruise last year (Voyager) we travelled as a group with some who did not pre-pay & who elected to tip on the last night in MDR. We added extra to the tips that the group collected. I mentioned quietly to our waiter that we had pre-paid, and he equally quietly said "yes I know".

So it seems they do know - "the list" does exist:)

 

I also was told by a cabin steward that part of the tips he gets he shares with others who help him in the cabins on turnaround day, so I guess the 'tipping-out' referred to elsewhere.

[Lordnlkon]

I miss the good ole days when the best threads were about what to wear on formal night and the decline of Western Civilization in the MDR.

 

 

Also the threads about people having their vacation ruined by someone at their table using the wrong piece of silverware for a certain part of the dinner. Can you image having to be put through that horror?

[iheartbda]

Also the threads about people having their vacation ruined by someone at their table using the wrong piece of silverware for a certain part of the dinner. Can you image having to be put through that horror?

Somehow, I missed all those threads.

[aubreyc1988]

[Thorben-Hendrik]

We added extra to the tips that the group collected. I mentioned quietly to our waiter that we had pre-paid, and he equally quietly said "yes I know".

 

 

What else could he have said?:rolleyes:

 

Really? or WOW? or "You are kidding me!" or what.....:)

[Havingfun2010]

Oh my gosh, a tipping thread. We give tips, and those that receive tips, will tip backwards. It is the way it works. Same with prepaid tips. The company handles the splits.

 

The staff understands the culture of tipping on the ship. They know what to do. For example, you tip $20.00 to get a lounge chair on the balcony. He goes, and tips, the pool attendant $10.00 to look the other way. You get your chair. Do you think he can do everything on his own?

 

You tip your steward an extra $10.00 to get your laundry back tomorrow morning. He takes it, and gives it to the laundry attendant, and gives him a few dollars to move it to the front of the line.

 

Do you really care how it works? I don't.

 

I give the waitress a tip. She tips the busboy. Do I care? No. Not my business the culture of that restaurant.

 

Cruise lines have a "tipping model" that is a computer program that manages both actual (prepaid) and assumed tips. When the tips, go over the expected amount, such as the model assumes the person should have received $250.00 in tips the model will split appropriately their tips, prepaid to pay back the other people who get a share. Thus their pay check is lowered. The cash they keep and if it goes over the expected amount they keep that amount 100% of it.

 

It's not complicated to understand. You tip, prepaid or not, does not matter, because the end result remains the same.

[Lordnlkon]

You tip your steward an extra $10.00 to get your laundry back tomorrow morning. He takes it, and gives it to the laundry attendant, and gives him a few dollars to move it to the front of the line.

 

Does that actually work? If it does that is awesome and I'm definitely going to start doing that.

[mattg43]

Where did that come from? Should we counter with a white tax evader?

 

 

Sure, I guess you could. However, I, like almost all other readers, just took it for what it was - a mention of a high profile tax cheat who owes millions without penalty. Everything isn't about race and implying that the poster who mentioned Sharpton is somehow a racist makes you look foolish.

Edited August 23, 2016 by mattg43

[bigque]

Whatever happened to the shorts in the MDR and smoking on the balcony? And I haven't seen a good rumrunner post in ages!

 

Now if someone wants to have a cow tipping thread, especially involving the Ben and Jerry Suite, we're in business...

 

And, in fairness to the OP, I really don't know how they're split. There are two to three distinct models in the U.S. service industries, keep, pool, tip your own help, and I assume one or the other is in effect on the ship, either officially or through peer pressure.

 

The Smoking on the balcony and the rumrunner threads were classics! :cool::eek:

[bigque]

Sure, I guess you could. However, I, like almost all other readers, just took it for what it was - a mention of a high profile tax cheat who owes millions without penalty. Everything isn't about race and implying that the poster who mentioned Sharpton is somehow a racist makes you look foolish.

 

Well I look at it like this, that this is the RCI board to talk about all things RCI. There are people on here from various different social, political, religious and ethnic backgrounds. IMHO I don't believe that interjecting your social, political or ethnic views into a thread is appropriate in this forum as you don't know who you may offend with those types of remarks. There are people that like Al and there are some who do not and sometimes from the views of the party viewing what was said it could be perceived as 'racist". I'm not saying what was said was racist but we have to respect the demographics of the folks that are on here and keep the forum cruise related!

 

Oh and by the way he does not owe "Millions" and is currently working down the tax bill through agreement with the IRS.

:cool:

Edited August 23, 2016 by bigque

[mattg43]

Well I look at it like this, that this is the RCI board to talk about all things RCI. There are people on here from various different social, political, religious and ethnic backgrounds. IMHO I don't believe that interjecting your social, political or ethnic views into a thread is appropriate in this forum as you don't know who you may offend with those types of remarks. There are people that like Al and there are some who do not and sometimes from the views of the party viewing what was said it could be perceived as 'racist". I'm not saying what was said was racist but we have to respect the demographics of the folks that are on here and keep the forum cruise related!

 

Oh and by the way he does not owe "Millions" and is currently working down the tax bill through agreement with the IRS.

:cool:

 

 

Correct. The initial comment was out of place. I just did not appreciate the implication that someone is racist based on a 1 line post on a message board about a prominent figure where race wasn't mentioned at all. If that initial comment is perceived as racist, then the issue is with the person who perceived it as such. It is much more likely that the person making the comment disagrees with the politics of Sharpton and not his skin color if anything at all - he or she may just disagree with the perception that the powerful get away with things a server may not be able to get away with.

Edited August 23, 2016 by mattg43