HAL's Tipping Policy

Mason Barge wrote:

On 11 Jun 2004 02:20:59 GMT, ando (RTCReferee)
wrote:

I, RTCReferee wrote:

You didn't by any chance say, "Excuse me, WAITRESS, did you?"

You're saying that a ridiculous semantic differentiation is going to
make for bad service on HAL?

No, of course not.

Did "waitress" suddenly become
politically incorrect while I was sleeping?

That depends how long you have been sleeping.

It is not proper to refer to female servers as waitresses and has not been
correct usage for more than twenty years.

Mike Yawn wrote:

WTF?!! Why should I be expected to tip someone I never see? A tip is
for personal service. Someone I never see cannot be providing me
personal service. HAL should be paying people who aren't in direct
customer contact salaries, which is what my cruise fare is paying for.

I think HAL has completely missed the point of what a tip IS.

Why must they go from one policy which does nothing but confuse
passengers, to another that does nothing but irritate passengers? Why
not let HAL pay the salaries, and customers determine the tips, which is
what everyone expects and, as far as I can tell, prefers.

Mike

I totally agree in principle, man. The cruise lines have some pretty
screwed up policies and procedures when compared to all of the other
service industries that operate in the US and in western Europe. They
certainly operate outside both the labor laws and widely different
customs regarding gratuities for service workers in the US and western
Europe.

HAL is actually at the top of my list for both mis-treatment of its
workers, and enigmatic customer tipping policies.

Howie

RTCReferee wrote:
It is not proper to refer to female servers as waitresses and has not been
correct usage for more than twenty years.

How come? A man is a man. A woman is a woman. A waiter is a waiter.
A waitress is a waitress.

Gender is gender.

What is wrong with using gender-specific terminology, as long as the
people themselves are treated equally?

--
Chris Cox, N0UK/G4JEC NIC Handle: CC345
If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

"see sea oh ecks at you aitch see dot comm" lid wrote
in message Message-id: :

A man is a man. A woman is a woman. A waiter is a waiter.
A waitress is a waitress.

Gender is gender.

What is wrong with using gender-specific terminology, as long as the
people themselves are treated equally?


And what would you have called Prime Minister Thatcher?

Ministress?

As it appears you are posting from your employer, United Healthcare, do you
think men in the nursing industry should be called "male nurses"?

From: ando (RTCReferee)
Date: 06/10/04 10:15 PM Eastern Daylight Time, asked, perhaps sarcasticly:

You didn't by any chance say, "Excuse me, WAITRESS, did you?"

Actually, on the few times that she was withing range (not shouting range, as
you indicated), I addressed her by name. I did not feel it necessary to state
her name repeatedly in my post here.

(I am not excusing her behavior at all, and I'm not trying to pick a fight
with
you at all, but someone who waits tables and serves meals should be called a
server, and possibly a waiter, regardless of gender.)

You may fine the title "Waitress" inappropriate, but it is right there on her
nametag. I did not take your post as, "picking a fight".



Ray

Wishing light winds and smooth seas to all

RTCReferee wrote:
And what would you have called Prime Minister Thatcher?
Ministress?
Maggie T, PM was indeed a ministress, although her job title was Prime Minister.

As it appears you are posting from your employer do you
think men in the nursing industry should be called "male nurses"?
Nurse is genderless, as is doctor. If a man wished to prepend the word
male to his title, that is his choice, surely. It doesn't make him a nur.

Other job titles are not genderless.

Oh, and who my employer is has nothing to do with the matter.

Chris

see sea oh ecks at you aitch see dot comm" lid wrote:

Nurse is genderless, as is doctor

As is SERVER

On 11 Jun 2004 15:36:34 GMT, ando (RTCReferee)
wrote:

Mason Barge wrote:

On 11 Jun 2004 02:20:59 GMT, ando (RTCReferee)
wrote:

I, RTCReferee wrote:

You didn't by any chance say, "Excuse me, WAITRESS, did you?"

You're saying that a ridiculous semantic differentiation is going to
make for bad service on HAL?

No, of course not.

Did "waitress" suddenly become
politically incorrect while I was sleeping?

That depends how long you have been sleeping.

It is not proper to refer to female servers as waitresses and has not been
correct usage for more than twenty years.

What is the PC term for order-taker, food-deliverer? There's always
the non gender specific title of, "Hey you."

What is the PC term for order-taker, food-deliverer? There's always
the non gender specific title of, "Hey you."



Once saw a sign: "Waitron Wanted"

*sounds like something in a drive-thru ;-)

Steve in FLL----sticking with Waitress and Waiter
and actress & actor!!!

Ray,

I am sorry that your meal at Pinnacle was the disaster you describe.

The evening that we dined there the room was not crowded so that the wait
staff was not taxed. We were not rushed nor did we have to wait long
between courses.

I found the meal to be the highlight of the trip, and I look forward to one
or two dinners there next time.
--
DG in Cherry Hill, NJ



"Zegarskis" wrote in message
...

Dick,

Glad to hear that you received the white glove service that HAL touts for
the
Pinnacle Grill. I wish we could report the same from our recent cruise on
the
Maasdam. The service was the worst we have received on any line over the
last
ten years. We were seated for almost ten minutes before we received a
menu.
The waitress claimed that she did not know that the table where we seated
was
her area? Five minutes later we received water, followed by bread ten
miutes
later; the water and bread was by way of the assistant waiter. The
waitress
finally came to take our order, and refused to offer any suggestions. The
wine
steward was excellent, discussing our menu choices and offering
suggestions of
compatable wines. Once during the meal, our waitress walked past our
table and
asked if everything was OK; she did this without stopping, just kept
walking.
About 10-15 minutes after we finished our entrees, the waitress asked
about
dessert, and left the menu. Ten minutes later, the assistant waiter took
our
dessert and beverage order, and later delivered both. When we were
finishing
our dessert, our waitress was passing by, and seem disturbed when I
stopped her
to request a second cup of coffee for Janet. Ten minutes later, no
waitress,
no coffee. Finally, the assistant waiter aske dif we needed anything
else; he
immediately got the coffee for Janet. Shortly after that he brought me
our
'check'.

About the time we were finishing our entrees, I began looking about for
the
Pinnacle Manager to express our dis-satisfaction with the service (the
food was
absolutely excellent). I only saw him twice, once talking with the
captain who
was also dining there with a party (they were getting much better
seviceg),
and the other time heading for the kitchen area. When I asked for him as
we
were leaving, I was told he would back in about 1/2 hour. Needless to say
the
only tip offered was to the wine steward, basically for his wine
suggestion.
With the $20/pp surcharge for Pinnacle, I feel $5/pp gratuity is
appropriate
for excellent service. I actually felt that HAL should have pad us for
the
dismal experience. I stopped back at the Pinnacle the next night to speak
with
the Manager; I told him of my total dissatisfaction with the service
aspect of
our dining experience, except for the wine steward. I told him that I
could
not even find him to express my concerns. He checked back at our
reservation
(didn't remember me smiling face - highly unusual on HAL) he said he knew
who
the server was and she would be spoken to. I told him the $20/pp
surcharge was
out of line for what was delivered, he said there was nothing that could
be
done about that, except offer apologies. We were tempted to try Pinnacle
later
in the cruise, but decided to stay with the excellent service at our
regular
table in the Dining Room.







Ray

Wishing light winds and smooth seas to all