Why tip the restaurant head server?

[Favorite Auntie]

I have had Allen as my head server twice, he was fabulous! He always remembers my parents from previous cruises, and he goes out of the way to make it to every table every night. He gets over tipped every time! He has since been promoted to restaurant manager, but he still stops by my parents table to see how everything is going. He is truly great at what he does!

 

[Gigashadow]

As everyone has said the Head Server is in essence your Maitre D for each night. His/Her responsibility is to ensure proper timing and service from each member serving you during your sit down meals (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner). It is nice to get a more personal connection with him/her during somepoint of the cruise as we did every night and whenever we had a sit down breckfast or lunch.

During our trip we were upgraded to a CAT 3 room which includes concierge service (a level of service first for us), The girls were always there when you needed something (Just about any time of day) and even walked up to us at the pool, while sitting at Deck 9 staring at the ocean and knocked on the stateroom door to see if there was anything we wanted. I felt a "tip" was in order and went to the guest relations desk to ask what an appropriate tip would be. The member politely told me that concierge staff really wasn't a tipping position and that I should give them both a appropiate review on the cards left in the room, in that is what would be the most helpful for thier positions. I walked away dumbfounded and could only guess that concierge staff was compensated with salary for thier position. I gave the girls a praising review and hoped it was to thier carear's benefit. I still felt bad about not tipping them though, since job or not, they catered to my familys whims.

 

[Dreamer04]

As far as tipping the Head Server, I do. Regardless if he/she stops by my table or performs a personal service, such as chatting with the kids. Salaries for these employees are low and they rely on tips. I tip the recommended amount, if there is no additional service performed. If the service warrants it, I increase the amount. When I budget for the cruise, the tips are included.

Also, keep in mind that if the cruise is sold out, they will be busier than if it was not. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate extra attention to detail and personal service. But, I wouldn't hold it against the Head Server if he/she couldn't make to my table every night.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by Dreamer04
As far as tipping the Head Server, I do. Regardless if he/she stops by my table or performs a personal service, such as chatting with the kids. Salaries for these employees are low and they rely on tips. I tip the recommended amount, if there is no additional service performed. If the service warrants it, I increase the amount. When I budget for the cruise, the tips are included.

Also, keep in mind that if the cruise is sold out, they will be busier than if it was not. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate extra attention to detail and personal service. But, I wouldn't hold it against the Head Server if he/she couldn't make to my table every night.

I can't speak for DCL but for RCCL this does not appear to be so. And as I said earlier, most cruise lines that suggest tipping list the person as a person only to tip if they do something special, which the good ones usually do.

 

[trishy]

We always tip the head server. This guy/girl may not always be present at your table, but they do a lot behind the scenes to make the dining room run smoothly. Also any dining changes (i.e. late to early seating, table changes, rotation changes, etc.) are handled by the head server - I would think that would warrant an extra tip under the "doing something special" category.

 

[dclwdwlover]

I understand the point of view of the last two posters, but I guess I don't agree because I see a 'tip' as an 'extra' for service above & beyond what's expected & compensated by their wages.

After all, don't we all expect & appreciate every other employee (CM) on the ship going above & beyond & giving us a 'magical' experience by being extremely friendly, attentive & helpful? And they get wages, also.

If, indeed, I asked the HS to help me in any capacity - or - he/she just did because they were attentive & realized that they could be of help, I would absolutely give a generous tip because that is service that should be commended. To me - just 'being present' is compensated by the wages that they are given.

I don't want to leave an impression that I am cheap & this is why I feel this way. I always give a 20% tip for average service in a restaurant & give a minimum of 25% tip in a restaurant when the service is exceptional. Last two cruises we gave extremely generously to the stateroom hosts because they were terrific. Comparatively, I also have given a 10-15% percent tip for horrible service in a restaurant.

 

[Jeanny]

Originally posted by dclwdwlover
I understand the point of view of the last two posters, but I guess I don't agree because I see a 'tip' as an 'extra' for service above & beyond what's expected & compensated by their wages.

To me - just 'being present' is compensated by the wages that they are given.

I don't want to leave an impression that I am cheap & this is why I feel this way. I always give a 20% tip for average service in a restaurant & give a minimum of 25% tip in a restaurant when the service is exceptional.

I agree with DCLWDWlover, I am not cheap by any means either, but I'll have to see exactly what my head server does before I'll leave a tip "just because". Now, that doesn't mean I've already made up my mind that they won't get a tip. It just means that I wouldn't have known what a head server was if I hadn't learned it on these boards and my first thought would be if I don't "see" someone, and they show up on the last night, then I too think, he/she's just looking for a tip....

 

[ducklite]

I'm another satified customer of MacLean. He was fabulous, came by the table every night to make sure all was well, poured wine, cracked lobster, brought out extra desserts because he thought we *might* enjoy them.

He definitely earned, and got more than the suggested tip from us.

Anne