Tips

[NekoChef]

1 minute ago, RichYak said:

I'm not sure I'm following you. What would be examples of the non-tipped portions of my room steward's job?

 

In the case of a room steward, it would be an easy conclusion to come to that if I change out your pillows promptly each time you request it I will likely get a good tip, but as my time is finite, the time spent changing pillows for the tip will likely degrade the experience of those in other cabins being served by that steward where there might not be as many "tip" opportunities. My optimization opportunity is to maximize my tips without being fired.

 

this scenario is:

- a win for the tipping customer

- a win for the steward

 

- a loss for the non-tipping customers who still pay gratuities

- a loss for the employer due to brand and other collateral damage.

 

The more a role's salary depends on tips (the measurement) the more the individual will bias their work toward maximizing tips. If a role's compensation was entirely tip based, the employer would have no leverage as even if they fired the employee, the replacement would behave exactly the same.

 

Conversely, if a salary is entirely fixed and they can't accept tips, then it is difficult to encourage an employee to go above and beyond.

 

So for me, as an employer, the goal is to set the fixed compensation sufficiently high that my employees wouldn't want to lose the compensation allowing me to be confident that my employees work for me, but have enough variable that I also know they will go above and beyond to delight my customers.

[jmdlv1]

I expect to get flamed by the anti- tippers but I see it differently.

I am happy to pre pay tips.

I am also happy to give cash tips to staff I interact with.

When I hand my room steward a $50 or $100 bill they are very ,very happy . Same thing goes for servers in the restaurants ,bartenders ,etc.

Most of these crew members come from impoverished areas. If handing out a few hundred  dollars on a cruise helps them or their family ,I'm happy to do it.

I agree that Celebrity has taken their pricing up too high while cutting back on services.

However ,I don't want to hurt the hard workers on the ships.

 

[d9704011]

6 minutes ago, jmdlv1 said:

Most of these crew members come from impoverished areas. If handing out a few hundred  dollars on a cruise helps them or their family ,I'm happy to do it.

Do you have an upper limit to how happy you can be?  Can you move from happy to delighted to ecstatic and eventually reach a state of nirvana simply by handing out tips?

[d9704011]

1 hour ago, NekoChef said:

First one person under performs, perhaps they had a bad day or perhaps their customers didn't tip them for going above and beyond (the reason doesn't really matter) 

You're losing me here.  How could a person under-perform because they did not get a tip for not going above and beyond.  Seems like a cycle of poor logical connection to me.  

[jmdlv1]

32 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

Do you have an upper limit to how happy you can be?  Can you move from happy to delighted to ecstatic and eventually reach a state of nirvana simply by handing out tips?

I think I'm somewhere between delighted and ecstatic.

I might get there though .Great question. I actually guessed your location before looking.

Edited March 5 by jmdlv1

[gcornell]

Since we are all sharing…. I tip once!  When did tipping twice become the norm?  Would tipping 3 times be even better?  When will it end?

[NekoChef]

5 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

You're losing me here.  How could a person under-perform because they did not get a tip for not going above and beyond.  Seems like a cycle of poor logical connection to me.  

 

not sure where i lost you. the specific reason doesn’t matter, just that they had some “reason” they underperformed.

 

in my example they are upset because they went above and beyond and weren’t recognized financially for the effort. so they they slack off. it is totally natural reaction.

[d9704011]

13 minutes ago, jmdlv1 said:

actually guessed your location before looking.

Probably based on my rapier wit and inciseveness.

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, NekoChef said:

In the case of a room steward

Well, I'll just say this: your entire post, to me, is backward and illogical, filled with strange presumptions and absolute contradictions, leading to a result that makes little sense to me. We clearly disagree about seemingly everything, so I'll just leave it at that.

[d9704011]

17 minutes ago, gcornell said:

When will it end?

When you become transcendent... or run out of money.

Edited March 5 by d9704011

[CaroleSS]

1 hour ago, gcornell said:

  When will it end?

I was at the airport and wanted a snack. I picked out my items and paid for them at an automated kiosk. At the end of the transaction, I was asked if I wanted to add a tip!

 

THAT is where it ends! No one helped me, but me. Do I get the tip?

[gcornell]

2 minutes ago, CaroleSS said:

I was at the airport and wanted a snack. I picked out my items and paid for them at an automated kiosk. At the end of the transaction, I was asked if I wanted to add a tip!

 

THAT is where it ends! No one helped me, but me. Do I get the tip?

Crazy. I was recently on a liveaboard (scuba boat) with my family for 7 nights. They added on a $2,000 service charge or $285 a night. It was a lot but the service was amazing and the staff to guest ratio was 1:1.  At the end of the trip the was an envelop in our cabins for extra tips on top of the $2k. It remained empty. 

[dlh015]

34 minutes ago, CaroleSS said:

I was at the airport and wanted a snack. I picked out my items and paid for them at an automated kiosk. At the end of the transaction, I was asked if I wanted to add a tip!

 

THAT is where it ends! No one helped me, but me. Do I get the tip?

Yeah, that happened to me, too...also in an airport...I'll admit I was a bit stunned for a mo'...

[NutsAboutGolf]

On 2/29/2024 at 5:40 PM, Pinboy said:

From reliable sources:

Staff are notified of who/ staterooms that remove the gratuities on Day 1 “claiming “ to tip on their own—Fact is , most Don’t tip anyone !
GR will show/ give anyone a list of the distribution of gratuities.

When a Staff member receives a cash tip for their service, they keep it— doesn’t have to be pooled.

 

If you park yourself at the seating by guest services on the last afternoon/evening, you'd be surprised how many remove the tips just for the reason you stated, so the stateroom attendant wouldn't know.  It's also possible they remove the auto-tips and leave a $5 for the attendant on the final morning

 

Disclaimer, we have never removed tips on any X sailings and generally give the stateroom attendant a $20 (more if longer than 8 nights) upon meeting them

[Pinboy]

47 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

If you park yourself at the seating by guest services on the last afternoon/evening, you'd be surprised how many remove the tips just for the reason you stated, so the stateroom attendant wouldn't know.  It's also possible they remove the auto-tips and leave a $5 for the attendant on the final morning

 

Disclaimer, we have never removed tips on any X sailings and generally give the stateroom attendant a $20 (more if longer than 8 nights) upon meeting them

You are correct re the “ remove tips on last night “. 

However, My post mentioned that the Staff are notified of those that remove the tips on Day 1 “ claiming “ that they will tip on their own ( Total BS ).

We also have never removed tips nor had a reason to and always left extra.

LOL—Mind you ,our Server did forget to bring my 3 shrimp cocktails at the same time once and the time I wanted round tomatoes there were none on the buffet menu and they always served the Gespacho soup cold.

 

[zitsky]

On 2/29/2024 at 10:55 PM, kaysha2004 said:

I never prepay tips.  Do you tip your server in a restaurant when you sit down or after the meal is complete?  Same theory for cruising.  However, if you don't prepay, you'll see a daily charge on your onboard account.  Go to guest services and ask them to be removed for the entire cruise.  They have to remove them by your request.  Then you can pay whomever you want when you want.

 

And if the cruise line doesn't pay their staff a living wage, that's not my problem.  I'll tip if I feel like it.  How do you really know if those prepaid tips are going to the staff that services your needs and not into Celebrity's profit margins?  You don't.

 

I've been giving my cruise dollars to Virgin Voyages the last couple of years.  Everything is included, basic wi-fi, basic beverages (soda, too), all gratuities, free fitness classes, and free dining at all 20 eateries.  Virgin pays their staff a fair wage.  Celebrity has taken a wrong turn with all their cutbacks and continuous high prices, so after my next cruise in April with Celebrity, they've lost all my future business.

Do you think the crew will cry when they lose your business?  You really showed them, didn’t you?

[zitsky]

2 hours ago, CaroleSS said:

I was at the airport and wanted a snack. I picked out my items and paid for them at an automated kiosk. At the end of the transaction, I was asked if I wanted to add a tip!

 

THAT is where it ends! No one helped me, but me. Do I get the tip?

You should complain about the tip that you were forced to pay.

[HopefulCruiser123]

I have been on four cruises so far.  A TA coming up in 2025.  The first three cruises we used the tip envelopes and on our last cruise they had the auto tips.  I knew before I went on my first cruise that I would be expected to pay tips.  That cruise was with my parents and was a Christmas gift from them.  I was young and had a low wage job that rent and car payments typically consumed.  But I saved every penny I could and was able to pay the “recommended amounts” plus a little extra and I placed the cash and a short thank you note in each envelope.  And I was tickled to death to do it.  Why?  Because I was HAPPY and grateful for all who had helped to make it such a wonderful experience. 
 

On my last cruise, we had the auto grats but I also brought blank envelopes and note cards with me knowing I would want to tip extra to our butler and stewards.   I also carried three pastel colored translucent piggy banks.  Two were filled with quarters and one was filled with dimes, all saved up with spare change over many years..   From reading about Labadee on Cruise Critic, I hatched a plan to take them with me and leave them on Labadee on our port day there.  Two of them were left in the tip basket of some steel drum performers near the ship and one was handed off to a young man who bussed our picnic table after lunch.  
 

To me, the “pleasure” of tipping means it can’t just be transactional.  It’s a sharing of the happiness and gratitude that I feel.  If I ever start resenting that I feel obligated to tip, then it’s probably time for me to stop cruising because it will most likely mean that I am not enjoying it any more.

[crazyank]

10 hours ago, RichYak said:

Well, I'll just say this: your entire post, to me, is backward and illogical, filled with strange presumptions and absolute contradictions, leading to a result that makes little sense to me. We clearly disagree about seemingly everything, so I'll just leave it at that.

totally agree!

[manmachine]

12 hours ago, gcornell said:

Crazy. I was recently on a liveaboard (scuba boat) with my family for 7 nights. They added on a $2,000 service charge or $285 a night. It was a lot but the service was amazing and the staff to guest ratio was 1:1.  At the end of the trip the was an envelop in our cabins for extra tips on top of the $2k. It remained empty. 

 

[hamrag]

18 hours ago, NekoChef said:

 

not sure where i lost you....

 

I'd guess you lost (never gained) most on this thread at the first sentence. It is commonly recognised that, for efficiency in writing, the sentence word count should be at most 15-20.

 

Quickly eyeballing that sentence, your word count was 3 or 4 times longer than that. Further, unnecessary or needless words should be avoided.

😉

Edited March 6 by hamrag

[Ex-Airbalancer]

People should just consider the auto paid Gratuities as a service charger for use of the staff  than tip if they think it is appropriate 😁

 

[manmachine]

50 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

People should just consider the auto paid Gratuities as a service charger for use of the staff  than tip if they think it is appropriate 😁

 

Make it a service charge and it becomes salary.  Then you to tip on top of that.  Nothing like doubling up!

[HopefulCruiser123]

8 minutes ago, manmachine said:

Make it a service charge and it becomes salary.  Then you to tip on top of that.  Nothing like doubling up!

I actually like this idea but the Cruise Lines will never go for it because then the advertised price for the cruise will jump substantially (again).  

[NekoChef]

2 minutes ago, manmachine said:

Make it a service charge and it becomes salary.  Then you to tip on top of that.  Nothing like doubling up!

 

With respect to the crew, I believe that the daily gratuities are already viewed as a salary (#70).

 

The issue is that "daily gratuities" is likely deliberately misnamed.  My guess is that during the collective bargaining agreement negotiations, Celebrity/RCCL wanted to reduce the salary component on their financial books and thus increase their margins but wasn't opposed to the salary being asked. "Daily Gratuities" were the compromise to make everyone happy.

 

This was win-win because:

Celebrity – By having "daily gratuities" advertised as an "optional" component they could reduce their salary line on their financial books.

Crew – By having Celebrity/RCCL add the "daily gratuities" automatically with a time-consuming process to eliminate them, they could count on the salary they wanted.

 

The problem is that this doesn't work anymore as the cost of cruising has jumped dramatically and cruisers are looking for ways to save.