WE always tip the matre d. But I am not really sure why. He is always at the door to welcome us when we arrive at dinner and thats about it.
So I was just wondering who tips him and why. and if not why.
Some matre d's are better than others. Their job does entail more than saying, "Hello," as you enter the dining room. I ALWAYS tip the matre d' but the amount varies on length of cruise, satisfaction of dining experience, and his or her attitude.
We always do because they perform a specific service for us.
Our special needs child has panic attacks around people in costumes and he/she lets us know when they are at the front door taking pictures so we can leave out the upstairs entrance.
I only Tip the waiter or Waitress that serves me personaly. And I give them Cash without anyone seeing. Upon the first greeeting handshake with a ten spot in it then more if I get my 2 or 3 shrimp cocktails each night if I dine there.
Matre-A Matre-B, C or D Never does anything for me personaly to deserve a tip. IMHO
What about the Head Waiter? Not your main server, but the Head Waiter over your particular area of the dining room. If I recall, the suggestion is .50 per day per person. The Head Waiter supposedly has trained your primary server and assistant waiter.
I have tipped the Head Waiter several times, and not done so on several cruises. I especially did NOT tip the HW after he poured himself a half glass of our declared, special bottle of wine we brought for our 20th anniversary (we offered him a "taste," he poured himself half a glass). Bad manners on his part. We did not tip the HW when, after we found ourselves the only people at a window table for 6 and asked for table mates, he did nothing to accomodate our wishes (never saw him after the second night of the cruise).
Usually, I never see the matre d' except when walking in the dining room. I do not feel this deserves a tip. However, we just got back yesterday from a cruise. Our matre d' on this cruise came around and spoke to us every night. He always asked if there was anything he could do or anything we needed. He also would carry on a conversation. We felt that he deserved a tip for his effort.
We tip everyone according to their service performance. If they suck they get a small tip if any, however if the service is great, so is their tip. And is always cash. Especially the wait staff in the casino and also bar tenders. There were several cruises that we have been on when they said they were out of a particular type of beer. However, the bartenders came up with the 'beer they were out of' for us & got good tips for thier effort.
The maître d' (short for maître d'hôtel, literally "master of the hall") in a suitably staffed restaurant is the person in charge of assigning customers to tables in the establishment, and dividing the dining area into areas of responsibility for the various servers on duty. He or she may also be the person who receives and records advance reservations for dining, as well as dealing with any customer complaints and making sure all servers are completing their tasks in an efficient manner. In some localities or traditions the post is also known as the headwaiter or captain.
In the United States, these functions may be vested in a manager, supervisor, or cashier. A working maitre d' in the U.S. is usually associated with a destination restaurant, or one connected with a four-star or better hotel. Though the distinction between a maître d'hôtel and host is, in practice, one of nomenclature, less elite establishments employ a "host".
--Wikipedia--
Never knew what their duties were until now. I have always tipped them but was not sure why. Just thought it was the right thing to do...
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