Best Of

Then there is $10 per day pp for the bus driver on some tours too.
I don’t think I’ve ever paid $210 for a piece of clothing, not even a coat. I guess that’s why I can afford to go on lots of tours. I’m not objecting to the tip, I don’t want t carry that much cash by choice. Never underestimate the trauma of being robbed.

kfnknffzk - That, in my opinion, is short sighted given that on one has offered any solutions to the more far reaching
implications of using credit cards to pay for gratuities after the fact. Sealord has touched upon some issues.

If they offer a web-based way to pay a tip (not included in the price of the tour) at the end of a tour it doesn't preclude people that feel strongly about tipping in cash from doing so. It simply allows people that don't feel comfortable carrying all that cash to have a way they feel safer to tip.

The fact that tips have been provided this way for 'some portion of one hundred years' means nothing. One hundred years ago Tauck probably didn't fly guests around in airplanes. When airplanes became a viable option Tauck evolved and incorporated them into their business strategy.

All that is being suggested by offering, not mandating, a web-based solution for tipping that can be done at the end of a tour is seeing Tauck evolve to new technology for the betterment of, at least some of their customers, while still allowing the others to stay with the cash based system.

Based on comments in this thread it seems like offering both a web-based system and a cash based system for tipping would make the most customers happy. That seems like a good business model!

Sealord - Those who think they can visit remote places with nothing but credit/ATM cards will eventually be proven wrong.

It's not an all or nothing situation. The problem is the amount of cash. I always carry some cash, but not thousands of dollars.

Kfnknfzk - Yes, Tauck will have to absorb the administartive cost associated with modifying their website and payroll system. It's all part of running a business and keeping it up to date.

Quite true, a lot of small businesses will bypass a tip or offer a discount when paying with cash. I have no problem carrying cash for the TD, do wish there was some other way to pay them.

As far as the evaluation form goes, to me is a waste of time because there is not enough space to describe the thoughts about the trip, when staying in 5 or 6 hotels it would be nice to be able to rate them individually. I the welcome dinner is awful, one can spend all the space just talking about that.

Ok. Fifteen dollars per day for a 14 day trip is 15X14=$210 per person. We are not talking about thousands of dollars except perhaps for those who plan on doing back to back to back trips on a months long trip. I’m guessing that is a small number of people. If you are not comfortable carrying around two hundred and ten extra dollars, perhaps foreign travel is not the correct activity. I’m guessing that in this crowd many people have single pieces of clothing that cost more than $210.

Not to beat a dead horse but this thread began with a notification that Tauck had increased the “suggested” gratuity amounts. Once again, in their communication Tauck says the following: “Please note: Although gratuities represent the majority of your Tauck Director's compensation, ourpolicy prohibits Tauck Directors from directly soliciting gratuities.” So, these gratuities are not truly gratuities, these are the TD’s compensation for the most part. My take away is that Tauck is either not paying them or paying them so poorly that they are dependent on our gratuities. If you look up the definition of gratuity this ain’t it folks. Time for Tauck to pay the TD a decent wage, increase the price of the tours and eliminate this so called gratuity. Then, for those who wish to extend a gratuity in appreciation of service ( a true gratuity) so be it. This eliminates all the discussion about carrying cash, which currency, the freeloader issue, etc.

This is a really interesting discussion…. We don’t fill out the evaluation forms anymore. We bring them home and formulate a letter a week after when we have fully thought about everything and then mail it. Given the fact that we complained in a big way about a tour director in Ireland in 2012 and Mike H had the same guy and was also complaining about him at least 10 years later, it is pretty obvious that they read them, may or may not call and act concerned, and then don’t do much. They may change hotels or itineraries ( eg Scandinavia), but about certain things, complaints fall on deaf ears. As for tips- we write checks for american dollars. We don’t care if we are luddites. It is the most convenient way to tip in American dollars and we don’t want to carry a lot of cash🤷🏻‍♀️. I was recently called by customer service about an unrelated issue , and expressed dissatisfaction about the tipping mechanism in place. My suggestions were either include it in the price ( like the cruises) or let us do it through the Tauck website. I assume they don’t want to deal with tips because then the income will have to be “ claimed” and taxed. Personally, I think the tip should be included in the price. I also think tours should be advertised by number of full days…. A welcome dinner and a breakfast on the way to the airport are not 2 tour days. Just a pet peeve….